Did we REALLY need or want a new generation of consoles?

[Nem]

Dr.Henry_Killinger said:

Nem said:
The answer is not really, despite what some hardcore will tell you here, wich is their vision.

Tech wise there isnt a huge evolution that can be perceived by the human eye. The average consumer cant tell the difference and doesnt like purchasing multiple consoles. I know of people that have bought Wii's and PS3's last year.
The hardcore though, were eager to see something new. This wont last though. As diminishing returns become bigger between generations, the high the chance that the market will collapse on itself. People just wont see the value on buying a new product for hundreads of euros/dollars for something they can hardly comprehend.

I am convinced that we might only have one more gen after this new one, if at all. Streaming is the way, not because its more convenient or better, but because there isnt a logic support to the purchase decision of a new console. I'm certainly not looking forward to it.

Gaming is inherently Niche. The average consumer you describe was a lot less likely to be part of the market a few gens ago. While I doubt that we will even see another gen after this one. This one was clearly overdue. Technology has clearly advanced since last generation, especially when every other field of technology has significantly advanced multiple times in the same time span.

Diminishing returns is inevitable and unstoppable, I wouldn't be suprised if this gen lasted longer then last one. Those calling last gen a fluke in terms of length have nothing to stand on because the trend is against them.

Newness is irrelevant, its just a crutch for actual improvement. Convience and Improvement are what matter now cause the newness is not a renewable resource.

Mario 64 for example wasn't influential simply because it was new, but mainly because it was new and done well. Their were many 3d games before it.

That makes sense in regards to the generation beeing longer. That would allow for a more perceivable improvement on the following gen and would allow the technology to achieve more acceptable prices for the perceived jump.

I definitly think you are right there in theory. But we have seen Microsoft rushing a gen before. I think that if they are losing and not selling the division they will try to rush the next cycle in, much to the probably cost of the whole console hardware industry.