What's interesting about this article is that it confirms another 5 years for the system as well as plans to be more aggressive in Europe.  That was hinted at during the E3 conference when they announced Xbox Live would be available everywhere Xbox 360s are sold (which includes Eastern Europe which currently doesn't have it).

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/microsoft-kinect-to-extend-xbox-360-lifecycle-for-five-years

Microsoft has said that new motion controller Kinect, coupled with the release of the slimmer, quieter Xbox 360, will help extend the format's lifecycle for another five years.

However, speaking to GamesIndustry.biz last month, European executive Chris Lewis would not be drawn on details about pricing for Kinect hardware or software, nor would he offer any solid details on sales expectations for the new Xbox 360 and the motion controller.

"I think 2010 will be a very big year for us, it is in many ways for us mid-lifecycle," said Lewis. "What you've seen is with this new sleek design and Kinect for Xbox 360 we've got at least another five years of this generation where we continue to offer great experiences for people."

"We continue to attach more games than competitive platforms and we have the healthiest ecosystem with 25 million people connected through Xbox Live. So we are uniquely placed to continue to do really, really well in this business and enjoy ongoing momentum."

Although not offering numbers, Lewis said that sales expectations for the next financial year were aggressive, with pressure from the US on the revitalised system to perform well in Europe, a key territory for the business.

"I can't be explicit about the numbers but I can say our market share has grown. Our business ambition for this financial year, which begins on July 1, is certainly bigger than last year and we constantly set ourselves ambitious targets.

"Don Mattrick is not shy about aggressive targets for Europe because he now knows we've got the right assets, now more than ever, to really appeal to our audience."

(More and a full interview with Lewis at the link)

agreed well maybe not 5 but 3-4 easily also even if there was no kenict the relaunch of the 360S would of been enough for another 3-4 yrs

Makes sense to me...they wan't to extend this gen out as long as possible.

Hmmm

I wonder why they said this.

The way I see it, consoles lives are extended because of the games that are exclusive to it.

Saying, "the console lifetime is extended by 5 years" doesn't mean they won't release a new system, but if it does, they can pretty much pull out, because sony and nintendo will have new consoles within 2 years.

Now, the ps2 lifecycle was extended because ps3 couldn't play ps2 games. That was really the only reason.

So, this statement might imply that either nextbox won't be able to play 360 games (which we already know is false because MS has stated that it would be Backwards Compatible), or nextbox won't have kinect, or that it will have a motion control far different from kinect.

lol.  It's cute how certain manufacturers think it's them who decides when platforms have 10 year lifecycles.

Without a doubt...the 360 will be a force for the next 5 years, with or without Kinect, imho.  Withnthat said, I think we will see a new xbox console in 2012, which will create an overlap for the 2 consoles til 2015.  I think M$ is looking at Sony's PS2 to PS3 tranisition, and will try to make the tranisition more natural, like moving from one operating system to another.  It reduces the development cost for software, and really allows to produce a cutting edge piece of realible hardware at a reasonable cost ($399). 

I strongly believe that too. New hardware looks awesome, and a healthy integration of good games for Kinect, could make this happen.

This is just more of that friendly PR designed to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside armed with the knowledge 'propaganda' that if you purchase the system today that it won't become obsolete within the next couple of years. With no guarantee or legal implications this is as good as a politician's promise at election time.

But in all fairness I don't believe that Sony or MS will want to kick-start the next generation anytime soon, as they've spent a fortune this gen. and would like some more Live and Premium subscription fees to get back in the black. 

I don't think Microsoft or Sony or Nintendo can decide the lifecycle of their consoles...look at 3DS: that'll kill the PSP, even if Sony says "10 years plan". Sony or Microsoft can say that the successor tu current consoles will come out in 2015, but what if Nintendo launches a system more powerful than both, with something disruptive and the sales are amazing? I doubt Nintendo will do that as long as the Wii sells well, but it it really happens it doesn't matter 10 or 20 years plan, they would have to launch a new system before it's too late, for example speaking of third party support.

Xbox Slim extend 2 days life cycle more likely, behold the Red Dot of Dead after 2 days of purchase:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7AMf92r5eI&feature=player_embedded#!