This shouldn't surprise anyone. Consoles actually do take a while to make and they start working on them almost immediately. That being said, I think there kind of had to be another console generation even though the analysts keep saying consoles are on their way out. The 8th gen systems are rather unimpressive as far as powerful hardware is concerned and developers had already started running into limitations early on. These consoles can't last for more than 5 years.
That's another thing. For those of you who were little kids when the 7th generation started, having 7-8 year console cycles is not the norm. It had to be that way last generation due to the fact that Sony and Microsoft had to make up for the huge losses from the PS3 and 360 in their early years and because the industry had trouble adjusting to HD development. The 7th generation saw many casualties in the industry. Most console generations run between 5-6 years. Now that Sony and Microsoft have hardware that isn't too expensive and because developing for them isn't that difficult, console life cycles are going back to normal. So don't be upset if you find that your PS4 is getting replaced in 2018 or 2019 at the latest.
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