i think the wall is less about technology and more about humanity. compare Rachet and clank to super mario galaxy. does rachet and clank look better than super mario galaxy? well yes it does but how much better? the graphical jump from mario 3 to super mario world was amazing, the jump from super mario world to mario 64 was amazing. this newest generation just doesn't wow me. oh sure, i thought gears of war and bioshock were visually great and better than last generation but there just wasn't that wow factor anymore. i think that's why i play my wii soo much more than my xbox, motion controls are doing a lot more to make an impression then visuals.

oh and legend: compare UT to GoW. those character models look waay to simular to me.

I'd like to point out that I haven't seen a game better than Mario Sunshine enough for me to say it's truly "next generation" as in N64 -> GC or PS -> PS2 was.

Therefore I feel we hit such a wall in 2001.

Buy a 360 or PS3... Oh and a HD TV as well ;)

I think we are, but there are always development kits which can speed up the process and thus lower the costs hugely. The question is: can these kits viably be created within a console's lifespan? Can they be created quick enough? With the PS3, we don't seem to have seen that.

I have played on both with well-regarded games, and the improvement is slight but not enough to justify a brand new console.

no. technology will continue to grow. However, in terms of games, it may start to level off due to the self imposed limits relating to dev costs and possible returns.

I don't see the next gen have anywhere near as much a leap in technology as ps3/ps3 or xbox/360 had. Wii will double again and probably include HD abilities. But, that is about it.

To some extent those games are all shooters with a "realistic" art style, so I would say they are a whole lot like one another.  I would much prefer games like Trusty Bell and R&C to the dark colorless blah.

I agree with gameboy, the graphical leap this generation was minimal. My bro does have a 360 with HD TV, and I've seen Heavenly sword and Ratchet on a big screen HD TV at my friends house, and it's not the same leap as in previous generation. From NES to SNES you went from blocky things (almost just symbols) that represented characters, to bright colorful worlds that were very distinct and recognizable. I mean play Super Mario Brothers 3 on the VC and see how dull the colors are, the flicker at the edges of the screen, the vacant single color backdrops and that was the best graphics on the NES right there. Then play super Mario world with it's rich colors, virbrant backgrounds, huge enemies, it was beautiful at the time, and the later games like Super Metroid are still gorgeous.

Then you change it completely with the next generation, it goes 3d. Who's mind was blown by the like of Mario 64 or even Tomb raider? Mario was even brighter, and more colorful, huge three dimensional worlds to explore, it was a revolution of console gaming. But with that revolution came huge roadblocks. The characters were extremely blocky, textures were muddy (or in PSX's case, just static pictures that low poly characters walked around on as with Resident evil or final fantasy games), it was practically went back to the days of blocky symbols that represented insects or people, that you recognized in a general way even though it barely looked like what it represented. But it was a huge leap.

Then the next generation was like NES to SNES. They tore down the limitations of the previous generation. Characters became crisp and sharp, worlds smooth and detailed, textures seemed lifelike, worlds were fluid, and expansive. Everything became larger, more detailed, ideas could be openly expressed as they were imagined rather than trying to interpret ideas into small blurry blocky worlds.

And now this generation the big advancement is....the same as the last one! Now things are even more detailed, textures even sharper, worlds even bigger! It's the same as the last generation but a little prettier. It seems like a tiny step compared to the previous generations. Rather than the pattern of new-refined-new-refined-new, they tried to go with "refined a bit further".

Then there is the wii, the new NES, or N64. It's motion technology and IR functions are flawed, unrefined, limited, leaving developers confused as what to do with it, and it's also the future. Super Mario bros was a smash success showing what the NES could do, and it got a thousand poor imitators before it was improved upon, expanded, evolved, and before vastly different games were made by other developers. Mario 64 was the blueprint for a hundred crappy 3d platformers before we got the incredible 3d games we have today. Wii sports seems to have spawned a bunch of crappy minigame and waggle fests, but also some genuinely fun, clever and interesting ideas (such as zack and wiki). And as developers get interested in it, explore the possibilites, and invest some imagination we'll get some truly amazing (albeit it still unrefined in the same way N64 and PSX games seem unrefined now) games from them.

The next generation every console will have extensive, refined, detailed, incredible motion sensing that can truly express the ideas and imaginations of the developers and after this generation they will have plenty of ideas that need expressing. I'm not impressed with the evolution of the HD consoles because I've been playing those games since Mario 64 launched, I'm intrigued by what the potential of the wii, because that is the true future of gaming.

They look and play nothing alike.