I think Xbox shaped this gen greatly but Nintendo Wii did the other half of the work...
Why The Xbox
- They made achievements a standard now. Everybody asks for those and it's now unthinkable to release a console that won't support some kind of achievements.
- Great online integration making almost everygame having some sort of online multiplayer on consoles. Some people hate this but online on consoles this gen is where it is because of the 360.
- Download content, yes I know some think they are the bad side of this gen but to others it's a great addition and Xbox made DLC what they are this gen whether you like it or not.
- Put the light on western devs on consoles. Yes, the market has now shifted to western development and is also the target. Even if Japan keeps pumping incredible games, western games are the juggernauts of this gen. Past gens western games were praised solely on PC but thanks to Xbox we also get them.
- If there's one thing I like the most this gen it is XBLA because it brought a lot to small devs and Indy devs. Also XBLA is home to some of the most incredible indy games.
- Also Xbox proved BlueRay was unnecessary this gen...
Why Wii
- Because of Wii we get motion controls now. Gamers are not exclusively the "core" audience anymore. Grand mas and sisters, soccer moms all want to be part of the fun and now they can.
- Because of Wii, both Sony and MS released their version of motion control thus making this gen longer. The success of Kinect this gen ensured a new version of it next gen and (it's almost a given) next gen will be based of motion... thanks to Wii.
Why not Sony
- Because they followed on almost everything this gen.
