| STEKSTAV said: But i mean, looking at Sony and MS, both will most likely keep their online service as they are, Sony will keep and/or upgrade the blu ray, microsoft might upgrade to blu ray, the launch of natal cant be a short term product but rather a huge investment for the future of xbox.. so it'll be there still. Sonys 3d gaming is taking place this gen and all consoles will most likely have full BC if a new console would launch. So why would they need to invest in a new console launch (i.e taking a loss to push for installbase) when what is making the consoles successful is taking place right now and for a few years to come. Sony has their 10 year plan for example.. that would most likely mean a new PS console within 4 years. And in return that would most likely mean a new Xbox within 4 years. And knowing we'll have to wait a few years to get some good 3d games. Or to see the full effect of the support for Natal (which basicly will release 2011). I dont understand why they would just shut it all down and relaunch a new console the following year, or the year after that. I think we'll see new SKU's with optimized components, harddrive upgrades and new features. But i dont see the need for "next gen". The need to start all over again with pushing for installbase, new marketing and new "niches". I think this gen will be like the DLCs. We'll see small updates to keep this gen alive until there's actually something out there that can justify a NEW console. |
I don't think anyone thinks the current gen wouldn't keep selling and being supported for a couple of years into the next gen much like the PS2 which is 10 years old as of march. there are advantages to launching the next gen while this one is still strong, any losses can be of set by profit from last gen while you get early adopters to get a foothold into the next generation, and developers can generate revenue while they build their tech (engines etc) for the next generation. Then as the last generation fades you can drop the price of the next gen consoles to get the wider audience with your next gen games. Much better than waiting until you are making little to no money and you have to take a loss on the console to compete with the competition.
Being the first to launch a next gen console can have it's own advantages as microsoft have shown, I think whoever launches first will also set what level of tech jump there will be as multi platform titles are ever more important for third party developers, I don't think any of the big three will want their console to be to far away from each other (Nintendo may not care) I mean look at the PS3 even with it's technically more powerful tech because it was so unique for a long time it got inferior ports and the Wii doesn't get many ports at all.
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