Thanks god that Microsoft and Sony still exists in the video game market. Hardcore gaming will never die!!!!

Simply put. If MS and Sony give Nintendo two years on the market without releasing a competing console they are screwed. Nintendo completely dominated the market with the NES to the point were the average consumer thought anything video game related was Nintendo. They let Sega establish the Genesis for a couple years before the SNES launched and it took them most the generation to regain the number 1 position in market share. Even then Sega retained a sizeable portion of the market.

Nintendo is number one in marketshare. Giving them two years to court 3rd parties and "hardcore" gamers would be foolhardy. Neither Sony nor MS could claim to have the most powerful console any longer. Some developers are already complaining about the "limitations" of the HD consoles. They'd be playing right into Nintendo's hands.

There was reason that Sony rushed the PS2 to the market a year early. Even though Sega was in financial ruin, Sony knew that giving the Dreamcast two years on the market unfettered would be a mistake. They saw what happenend with the NES and the Genesis and chose not to repeat the mistake.

sorry i mean way of gameplay... xP

DS and Wii is a very good example... xD

A Wii 2/Wii HD probably would influence Sony and MS to release the PS4 and Xbox 720 soon. But I really, really hope not. It would be unnecessary IMO. After all, is the Wii 2/HD really going to steal the "core gamer" away from the Playstation and Xbox camps? Why would you go buy a Wii 2/HD to play  multi-plat "core games" when you can already play those on a PS3 or Xbox 360? Even if the Wii 2/HD had better graphics, that didn't stop the PS2 from killing the Xbox. So as long as the games are being made for the PS3 and Xbox 360, the "core" base isn't going to defect to Nintendo, which is still tainted with the "kiddie" label in the eyes of "core gamers".

The hardcore market gravitates towards the latest and greatest hardware. The casual market ultimately determines the "winner" of a generation. The reason the PS3 is in last place is because unlike the PS1 and PS2, it didn't capture the casual market. The casual market won't gravitate toward a Wii2 initially but the hardcore market that Sony and MS have built the PS3 and 360 market on will.

It should also be added that one of the core reasons that the Playstation was able to dominate the N64 was that Sony had an 18 month head start; and the timing of the release of the PSP seemed to be intended to be 12 to 18 months before you would expect Nintendo to replace the GBA. Sony has demonstranted repeatedly that they are aware of the advantages of releasing a system early, and seem to try to use that advantage when it suits them.

The Wii 2/HD would have to secure big name exclusive third-party "core" games in order to win over the "core" market though. That's why the beefier Xbox didn't beat the PS2. The PS2 retained a lot of the type of core games it had in the PS1 days and it had a slew of core exclusives. So it staved off the Xbox threat. I don't see third-party developers ditching the PS3 and Xbox 360 for Wii 2/HD. They'd make ports to the Wii 2/HD sure. But ports aren't going to convince core gamers to defect to Nintendo.

That would be a recipe for failure. After 2-3 years console race is already decided and MS and Sony consoles would be dead at arrival unless they bring something completely new. Just copying and improving is not enough. And I wouldn't say neither PS3 nor 360 have much steam left any more. PC's flew past their specs years ago (even PS3) and even laptops are a lot faster either of them. But console generations are decided by software, not hardware. If your console has best games, your console also wins console war. Great hardware is worthless without great games.

Even if the N64 was released in 1994 or 1995, the N64 might have been doomed without CD-ROM media. The high production cost of cartridges put off third-party developers and the practice of passing on the cost to the consumer pissed off gamers. My memory is a bit hazy but I remember some N64 games being pretty darn expensive. Whereas the PS1 games mostly debuted at $50 (or less if a budget title).

Back on topic, If the PS4 and Xbox 720 are rushed out, they're going to be like $500-600 and it's going to piss off a lot of people who just paid $300 for their PS3/Xbox 360. When you release a console early to try to win some console war, you risk pissing off your customers. Just look at Sega. They pissed off Genesis gamers by pulling the plug on the Genesis and releasing the Saturn to beat Sony to the punch and then Saturn gamers by pulling the plug on the Saturn and releasing the Dreamcast to beat Sony to the punch again. And look how that worked out for Sega.

The "beefier" Xbox didn't beat the PS2 because it didn't have a casual market. Xbox's fanbase was almost 100% hardcore. You can be number 1 in marketshare solely off casuals, but you can't if you only net the hardcore.