Well that's it people, the 7th generation is now in its penultimate stage, that where we start hearing about the next generation and get psyched for it. The final stage is of course dwindling sales and eventually, death.

But what does that mean for us, the gamers?

First up is the obvious - we get a shiny new toy to play with in less than 12 months, only problem is we gotta pay for it

Secondly and almost as obvious, the PSP2 has to come out soon. Nintendo holds all the cards in the portable race, and simply being more powerful than Nintendo's offering is not going to be enough for the PSP2. It needs to release soon after the 3DS or it will not get 3rd party support. Sony needs to announce what they have planned for their next portable. This E3 would be ideal, if they are far enough in development. If not, maybe GDC or E32011 with a launch soon after.

Now for some speculation - what it means for the release of the 8th generation of home consoles. Nintendo also state that they only go into a new generation when they encounter gameplay that cannot be done on the old hardware. We now know that for the 8th generation, this is 3d. Obviously, Nintendo will want to space out their launches, so that they can have a good launch lineup ready for each. If you believe that the 3DS will make it to Japan by november this year, then get planning for November 2011 for the Wii2 Japanese launch. If you (like me) believe in a March 2011 release for the 3DS, then the Wii2 will hit Japan around March 2012.

Now for completely baseless speculation - the release of the PS4 and 720. I'll leave that to the rest of you actually. Go nuts

Well, imo of course, next gen of home consoles will take few more years to be announced, so this gen is far from over. Also I don't expect a PSP2 soon, I think they'll push a PSPhone and a Tablet using the PSP games, but honestly I understand very little of this industry lol.

About a Wii 3D, this is what Nintendo wish? I mean, if they release a Wii 3D next year 3D won't be a new stuff, differential tech against thei competition, right?

not sure what things are on the nintendo side.. but im confident this gen will last another 5 years.. xD

Well the 3DS will force the PSP-2 to come out this year, but home consoles could still run for two years or so before X720/PS4.
Not trying to sound like a fanboy, but to be honest I think the Wii is more susceptible to medium-term sales decay and thus the unveiling of a successor. This too could force Microsoft and Sony to release their home consoles a full year earlier in the worst case.

Yay the death of gaming! Now we get motion control and 3D! WOOHOOO!

I really hope 3D is not the next big thing. I just bought a TV and really don't feel like having to upgrade.

The PSP is declining (rapidly in the West, slowly in the homeland) If they allow Nintendo time to build up a considerable lead, they'll never be able to convince devs to put their games on the PSP2, especially considering the low software sales of its predecessor.

Actually, I just thought, it is entirely possible that Nintendo will go a different approach for their home console, because with a portable you have to include the screen, but if you put 3d on a home console, you exclude people who don't have a 3d tv

Also, I'm not sure, but if you were suggesting that the PS3 can actually play 3d games and make it worth making them 3d, then I suggest you start a new thread and send me the link to my wall, because it is something I'm interested in discussing, but this thread is about the future

Yeah, just freakin' shoot me.

This generation is far from over, my friends.

It's true the PSP sales are falling, that's why they would push a PSPhone imo. Last year PSP saw a resurgence in terms of produced games (mostly these games underperformed in terms of sales) and the PSP Go was released at a high price, I don't think a lot of studios would put some effort making games if this was Sony's full plan, that's why I think we are going to see a PSPhone soon using the same games of the regular PSP.

I think Nintendo will try something completely different for their next home console, not 3D only. What that would be? I have o idea at all lol.

i honestly think that the psp is superior to the ds game wise, the ds is a console for kids not gamers.