I think the three consoles will have a similar range of gpu power, but judging by how out or reality Sony is lately, probably they will have the most powerful.

You know full well I am talking about the Zelda demo. I don't know why you are bringing the PS360 multiplat showreel into it.

But whatever, you seem dead set on thinking Wii U will just be a slightly upgraded PS360 so by all means, continue doing so against all odds.

I'm thinking Microsoft will want to feed off of the ongoing sucess of the 360 and Kinect for the longest, and will therefore release their system, likely the most powerful, last. Wii U will be weakest, though not by as long a shot as the Wii is to to HD twins.

I think the power of the PS4 will have a lot to do with how the Vita does against the 3DS.

PS4, eventough I'm hoping they will introduce the 5th Dimension(4th is so last gen) and give us a Time machine option, Sony won't even have to give us all this in order to have the most powerful machine.

I'm really thinking Microsoft will go full Kinect next gen and not focus on graphics leap.

Here's what i think will happen:
Each of the 3 console manufacturers will build their machine in a way that is reactionary to the way in which this generations gaming consumers "treated" their product.

Sony wants a return to glory and will make a huge push towards a new image.
Sony will build the look and functionality of their console in a way that resembles an apple product. It will be more refined and more evolved. Powerful ? of course- but not the most powerful. They will continue to offer a ton of content for the core gamer.

Nintendo is tired of being treated like a little kid. They want respect from gamers and gaming journalism and will do whatever they have to- to get it, even if that means abandoning a winning strategy. They are choosing to target the core gamer as well as the casual but may not realize how this will negatively affect sales, they also have a ton of work and R&D to achieve to compete in this competitive space. Powerful? Yes, more so than many will expect- but it may be hard for people to notice.

Sony and Nintendo are easier to predict because both saw dramatic shifts in sales reception from last generation to this one.
The Xbox brand has continued to grow but they have never led the market- ever. They are still the newest of the 3 companies even though this will now be their 3rd console. I believe they will try to evolve every aspect of the 360. Their console will be the most powerful of the 3. They will continue to push with Kinect 2.0 and may make some key acquisitions to bolster their comparatively small first party lineup. What will end up being by far the most expensive console to produce will strangely become the smallest gamble of the 3.

So long story short- 720/Nextbox will be the most powerful console imo.

Sony did go on record saying they wouldnt make the same financial investment as they did with PS3.

That suggests a less powerful graphics leap to PS4.

But on the other hand.....Vita showed us that Sony isnt changing anytime soon.

Personally, I think that the outcome of this generation will lead all three manufacturers to take a different approach with the next generation.

With Sony and Microsoft, their massive losses in the beginning of this generation coupled with not achieving the marketshare of the Wii will (probably) lead them to focus more on accessable gameplay rather than cutting edge technology. While I wouldn't expect them to be (in relative terms) as under-powered as the Wii was, I would expect their systems to be smaller, more energy efficient and (relatively) less powerful than the PS3 and XBox 360 was.

In contrast, the inability of Nintendo to attract decent third party support was (in a large part) because the Wii wasn't viable for ports from the XBox 360, PS3 and PC. While I wouldn't expect Nintendo to release bleeding edge technology, I would expect Nintendo to release a system that is between 4 an 10 times as powerful as the HD consoles are currently.



Now, which system is more powerful will depend heavily on which system launches last; but I expect the difference between the systems in processing power to be less than what the typical consumer will care about.

A large portion of the research and development of the PS4 has already been done, and I doubt that Sony will have much of an opportunity to change strategy between when the outcome of the PS-Vita vs. 3DS becomes clear and the PS4 releases. After all, it takes 4+ years to develop these systems from concept to reality and it will (probably) be late 2012 or early 2013 before we really know how the PS-Vita is competing against the 3DS.  Realistically, the PS4 will probably be release in 2013 or (at latest) 2014, and they're really approaching the point of no return on making any significant strategy changes.

Does it really matter at this point?