Why PS4 won't be cutting edge, and neither will Xbox3 - or Why Nintendo might win next gen

[JEMC]

UltimateUnknown said:

Cthulhu said:
There is no need for Sony to release a new console if ps3 can compete with a "next" gen console

I never expected that when I paid 650euro for a 2007 60gb ps3

I was just about it write this.

From what I can see, even though the Wii U is undoubtedly stronger, it's not THAT much stronger than the PS3. The multiplat games won't look exponentially better on the Wii U when compared to the PS3 since the Wii U isn't as big a jump as Wii and PS3 for example. So the PS3 could receive slightly scaled down ports of games for the Wii U.

In that case one has to question, why would Sony even bother releasing PS4 which as the OP claims, won't be a big leap over the Wii U? Why would they sacrifice a 60M userbase just for a small leap in power? Why would they bother going through all the R&D, marketing and start from scratch again if there is not much change? I mean we all know how they have already lost so much money.

I think people should look at the difference between the Wii and Wii U and see how huge a jump that was and not look at the jump between 360/PS3 and Wii U. There is no need for any manufacturer, be it Sony or MS to release a new console if there is not a significant jump from their previous iteration. As gamers you should be wanting as big a leap as we can get with a relatively affordable price. Why would you want consoles that are just a little better than the ones we have been playing on for 7 years straight?

While the WiiU might only be 2 or 3 times more powerful than a PS3 (allowing the PS3 to get scaled down versions of WiiU games), and the PS4 with the small jump that the OP is suggesting could again be only 2 or 3 times more powerful than a WiiU (again allowing it to get dumbed down ports of PS4 games), that still  would make it as much as 9 times more powerful than a PS3 (PS4= 3xWiiU=3xPS3 => PS4=3x3xPS3=9xPS3).

It doesn't look as a minor increase to me.