Consoles:
1st In: WiiHD or another name. Functionally similar to the Wii, but has a massive upgrade in processing power, ala this current generations massive increase. However, keeping with the Wii, power will still be well under current PCs of the time. I would "think" it should feature some sort of multi-core system, but Nintendo has never done a multi core. It's feasable they might go with a single core 3.2ghz or whatever is fastest in a single-core design, and focus on well-suited co-processors like the PhysX engine, or derivative. That way it's simple, but a massive horsepower upgrade, as it acts like a second core, but truely dedicated to extra abilities. It should have a bit more ram (256 to 512mb of ram that's in the 1.5 to 2.0ghz range). Hard drive? Who knows. The big question is optical format: Will it have Blu-Ray or DVD? I think it might feature a Blu-Ray, as by then it'll be the cheapest format of the time. The second Wii will feature a fully intergrated online network akin to the PSN, and most likely free, but the most content starved, as Nintendo focuses on Multiplayer and VC, but not the bells and whistles that PSN and XBL are known for (original games). Devs haven't commented anything upto now about releasing games on VC, despite Nintendo saying that VC would be a major boon to devs (remember those quotes before E3 last year?).
Release date: March 2011 @ $249.99 USD with a pack-in title like Wii Sports.
2nd in: NextBox. Microsoft should do well this generation, becoming profitable, reliable, and a decent contender in Japan (with 2-3m units sold for the 360 in Japan by 2012), and still maintaining a lead in the US, and doing far better in Europe last gen, but not leading. By this point, MS has initiated their "end game" to replace the rapid Wii sales, as they've made H&E profitable for a few years in the 360. However, the mistakes with the 360 such as reliablity and price have been majorly addressed. Power wasn't nor will be a concern with the 360 vs. PS3, as the 360 still will have a pretty decent (but noticable) battle vs. a very strong PS3. I would expect that by then, multicore processing has become better, and the 360 will utilize many many cores, ala Cell, but have a far better ability to share the burden of loading, keeping dev times down due to programming each SPE takes far too long. MS will probably lead the way, like the 360 with dev tools and documentation for their new system. I'd expect around 2 to 3gb of ram in the 2ghz or more range. We might even see frequencies upto 2.4~3.2ghz for the ram. The hard drive should be small (120gb), but standard on all units. The optical drive will either be Blu-Ray or HVD, if HVD or Protien HVD is an affordable storage medium by then. XBL will contiue to be MS's ace in the hole, as through the 7th gen, MS will continue to build and perfect the XBL system. Lots of games, both 360 BC titles, as well as indie content keeping the indie platform(s) viable.
Release date: November 2011 @ $299.99 for the standard model.
3rd In: Playstation 4. Sony has a very rough lifespan, and although promising a 10 year PS3, jumps ship a few years early, and PS2's the PS3 and keeps dev-ing for the PS3 despite the PS4 launch. Don't expect the PS4 to be $600 though. Sony will lose enough cash over the next 6 years to ensure that the PS4 is affordable. Attempting to go back to the "good old days" of the PS1-2, the PS4 will be very modest in its hardware, but still better than the WiiHD and NextBox, primarily due to a later launch date than either. Specs will include around a 200gb HD, with standard USB drives or comparible, as being the normal. They will probably keep with the cell, but add more and more SPEs. By the end of the PS3 cycle, they've built strong dev doc tools, and the major 3rd parties have learned to cope with the Cells strengths and weaknesses, and have built games that are noticably better than the 360s. SPE-wise, I'd expect the frequency of the new Cells to be a bit higher and feature the next magnitute of bit-rate for the CPUs, and upto 24 cores. But again, only done because the doc tools are good enough to allow for so many cores. Ram will be similar to the NextBox's ram. It could even be hybrid ram ala the XDR in the PS3, and use a few cores for the frequency. I would think that Sony might keep the BR-ROM with the PS4 to keep costs down, and 50gb should still be enough for a game. The PSN by then will be a beast, and very close to the 360's in terms of misc. content such as Sony movies, but not quite as strong for indie games. The PS4 will do a bit better than the PS3, but nowhere near PS1/2 numbers.
Release Date: November 2013 @ $249.99
Handhelds:
1st in: PSP2
After a hardware revision, Sony nails the PSP1 right, and sales start doing better both for games and media. Although selling only 2.5:1 vs. the DS, it becomes a strong handheld in need of a succuessor. Balancing price and power, it will launch at a lower price, but still vastly superior to the still-out DS and upcoming 3rd competitor. Spec wise, I am totally unsure. I would, however, expect that with the vast upgrades in processing power for smaller systems, it'll still be single core, but probably feature a 3.2ghz with a decent bit of ram - Sony will say it's near the X360s power. It will probably feature a new UMD format, but be basically a BR-Lite. Sony will try to re-ignite dev support of the PSP2, and try to make it viable for both multimedia and gaming, as the PSP1 wasn't really a gaming device until later on in it's lifespan.
Release Date: Sept 2010 @ $199.99
2nd in: Mystery Western 3rd Handheld.
I anticipate that a 3rd player in handhelds will show it's face sometime shortly after the PSP2 launches. Similar to the PSP2, it will be similar to the Xbox vs. PS2 wars. The system will feature strong intergration of multimedia, and gaming, but try to garner the DS-like features of touch screen, PDA significance and such. The power of the system will be a bit better than the PSP2, again, citing the PS2/Xbox spec race. The price, however, will be very competitive as the mystery company (Apple, or equivilent), will have enough tie-ins with other products to keep the price down, on what it does. Sales wise, it'll scare the poop out of the PSP2, and really hurt the DS, making it a 3-horse race like the Wii/X360/PS3 race of last gen.
Release Date: May 2011 @ $199.99
3rd in: DS2
With sales only recently stagnating due to the new mystery handheld, and continued PSP2 sales, Nintendo will end up launching the much-lauded DS2. With sales still at breakneck levels in Japan, the DS1 has become near-irrelevant in the US and, waining in Europe, similar to what the PSP did about 7 years earlier. The DS2 will be a DS1 with a much-beefed up system, similar to the GBA vs. GBC. Nintendo will improve some sort of functionailty, allowing for more casual/social gaming, as thats what sold the DS1 in Japan. Spec wise, it'll still be inferior to the PSP2, and muchso versus the mystery system, but a vast improvement. It'll be more powerful (slightly) than the Wii, and a strongly increased storage capacity design versus the DS.
Release date: November 2012 @ $179.99
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
