a lot of people would have been satisfied in 1989, 1994 as well. I agree the Consoles of the Day is always the most awesome ever in every why till the new one arrives. then it's like why am I stuck with sucky console when I can have the new most awesome Console Ever.    

Very true, but the consoles of the past never really kept adding feature's in the OS and adding more things to do and an online store/movies/games.

Adding features to the OS will not keep the PS3 competitive against a Console of 2-3X the power. if the competition bring out a console of 2-3X the power of the PS3 in the next 2-3 years and SONY dose not respond then it is over SONY has already lost large market share this Gen due to there stupidity.

The Developers/Publishers and consumers would just leave SONY if they Tried to keep the PS3 going though all of GEN 8. The PS3 like the XBOX is still very under powered when in relation to HD.    

I don't think 360 or Ps3 will release anything soon. Like I mentioned before these consoles have kept updating it's self with more features and add-ons. Even the Wii has Wiiware and Netflix.  Consoles of the past didn't have features like this but to play games.

Unless it have been delayed until five or more years from now, delayed cannot imply suspended development, early stages of development start long before release. And Cell architecture was an obstacle only when its dev tools were still immature, currently developers don't complain about it anymore.

About the delay, it's not totally unlikely, PS3 is doing well enough WW and it just needs to do better in USA.

I wonder if people that are satisfied with the current consoles never complain about long install / loading times, sub 720p, screen tearing, frame rate drops, bad shadows, 2d trees, pop up etc. Dev's complain too about the limitations of DVD9, the read time of blu-ray, memory limitations.

Yes Netflix is nice if you have uncapped internet and don't mind 5mbps HD, but I rather play games. TV's keep getting bigger, 1080p tv's are becoming the norm. It's just waiting for who takes the plunge first. If sony and microsoft wait too long they might leave the door open for someone else to take a shot.

How many of you hardcore gamers are going to ignore a new console if it comes out? ps4 end 2012 if kinect does even better next christmas, nextbox end 2012 if kinect falls flat. End 2013, maybe 2014 if the balance remains the same and Nintendo doesn't do anything.

I should just point out that, at the end of this year, the XBox 360 will have been on the market for 6 years and it would be entirely possible for someone to release a system that was 8 times as powerful as the XBox 360 and still sell it for $300.

It is also noteworthy that a lot of the changes that come between generations are not strictly processing power, and can include changes to user interface and services which weren't (really) possible on the previous system; and even if they are it may take years to implement and integrate them into the older systems. For example, compared to the DS (or even the PSP) the 3DS' processing power is impressive, but it is the screen that is the primary element that is attracting people to that system; and the system based friend codes, gamer coins, downloadable content, and (probably) several features I have forgotten make it a much more compelling product even at a higher price.

There is a situation I would call Nintendo's dream, where Nintendo is able to release a system with enough processing power that it will be difficult to release a system with significantly more processing power within several years after its release without increasing the cost dramatically, this system has a user interface improvement which makes it as compelling as the Wii was, the system includes most of the services gamers have come to expect at a reasonable level, and they're given 18 to 24 months to monopolize the market prior to their competition releasing competitive systems.

The reason this is so ideal for Nintendo (or anyone else in this position) is that they will have a cheaper, more popular system, with a more established library, and have a userbase that ensures that most third party games released for their competition will also be released on their system. When a company has been able to achieve this (PS2) it has not ended well for their competition.

I agree that in the time that the XBOX 360 and PS3 have been out that CPU Tech and GPU Tech has come along way. the 7800/7900GTX and 1900XT that about 5 Gens behind the current GPUs and I am not sore what both would do about the CPU side at the moment. 

so yes at he moment you could make a console 8-10X the power of the courent 2 HD Consoles for around the sam price point I was just giving a ruff example before.

and I have heard rumors about a year go that Nintendo is looking at making a new Hardcore Gaming Console for Gen 8 now they have made so much money from this Gen also the 3DS getting a lot of 3rd Party support I believe is an indication of this as well. 

One more thing is in favour of next gen not starting too early: 3rd parties need some years of mature dev tools and streamlined dev process this gen to profit enough, having to start next gen development too early could cause them new high losses without current gen lasting enough to balance previous ones with a long enough period of higher and more profitable sales generated by larger user bases and platform maturity.

you know there is another alternative interpritation of a IBM bassed playstation 4 R&D project being ended...

And that is that it's done and Sony are about ready to release the PS4 at any time...