When Do You Think the Next Generation Will Start??

[Intrinsic]

2020. Few things to note/consider.

All 3 manufacturers will release in the exact same year. Nintendo doesn't have the mindshare or brand power anymore to ell based on hype alone or from releasing first. If Nintendo comes a year early like they did this gen, no matter what they do, everyone will just assume that sony and Ms will do better and wait it out regardless. So nintendo has to come at the same time with everyone else and it least have hardware that is on par if not better than them.

We are no longer in the 5yr cycle. HD games simply cost too much and takes too long to make. That means that at best most studios would have 2-3 games released in a 7yr cycle. If we take into account that more money is made from game sales in relation to the market size, then the best time for any studio to be making games is in the 4th year and up of a console cycle. With the cost of HD gaming, devs/publishers will be less willing to jump start a new generation. Its a money thing.

The power argument, is completely irrelevant in the eys of publishers or devs. Are the consoles capable of 1080p/60, 1080p/30, 900p/60, 900p/30...etc. Yes they are. And as far as mass market appeal is concerned, especially when you consider that probably over 90% of everyone using a console has it hooked up to a display that peaks at 1080p or less; thats all that matters. We can talk about how GTA6 can or could look 5 times better on PCs from now till the sun burns out, it wouldn't stop it from selling over 30M copies on consoles. At the end of the day, thats all that matters to publishers. The sooner some gamers realize this the better. And once you get this, you will see that power and consoles never really go hand in hand.

I believe that the 3ds is the last traditional nintendo handheld we see. Their just isn't a market for a traditional handheld anymore. Next nintendo handheld (if they make one) will be a tablet/phone or maybe even both.