Sony theoretically doent have the budget for developing the most powerful console next gen. 

My personal feeling is the next XBox will still dominate with hardcore players.

The current 360 can run decent versions of Crysis 2, Battlefield 3, The Witcher, etc. Yes, they're not PC perfect by any means, but to the average consumer they're close enough.

The "720" even if those leaked specs are true would be several times more powerful than a 360 and be able to give you some pretty damn high end visuals. I think what MS is banking on more than anything is that most developers really can't afford to make games that go beyond a certain threshold of visual complexity. 

Though honestly I wouldn't put it past MS to simply bump up their GPU spec once they get more details on the PS4. They can afford a $10-$20 loss easy on some launch units, Sony is much, much more trouble financially and MS did bump the RAM in the 360 later on. If developers are yelling at MS to go more powerful, I tend to think they will listen. 

I think Sony can only go up from this gen. A reasonable launch price such as $299 for the base model and $349 for the bigger HD model would get it started off right.

The PSP was $250 at launch too. And add to that price of at least a 4 GB memory card.

I'm shocked to see how many people in this thread mention things like "hardcore gamer" and "most powerful hardware" as strategies that Sony will use to win next gen. Talk about retro thinking...

i think microsoft could be screwing themselves over if they include all the bells and whistles (also if they ban used games). If Sony can price the ps4 well and stick to the hardcore i think they could win everyone over.

also, if the wii u is significantly cheaper than the xbox 720, then ms will probably not get any of the casual crowd. i think nintendo learned alot from the 3ds launch, and also there software is what drives their hardware.

Well microsoft is currently in the best position to be successful next gen with Xbox life giving a huge financial advantage over its competitors. But I think microsofts biggest advantage over Sony will be Sonys potential breakup. I still anticipate either Samsung or lg purchasing their tv division...and if Samsung goes for the devices division as well it could lead to an end of ps4 development or at least a delay of release. But if that doesn't happen ps4 should follow a similar pattern to ps3, which is to say struggling to be profitable but a commercial success in terms of volume sold. Sonys continued lack of monitization of its online service will slow its earning potential and keep shareholders from fully supporting the ps4.

Not sure why the author writes off the wii u. Most developers believe it will be more powerful than the both Xbox 360 and ps3 and with a one year head start could see a successful and more important...profitable launch.

It is far too early to tell. We don't know anything about the next Microsoft and Sony consoles.

It you make me guess now, I would think that Microsoft and Sony are going to be battling out another very close gen like this one. I would also guess that Nintendo has the best chance to come out on top.

It all depends on MS getting a head start and how long it lasts.

Difference is Xbox is a much bigger brand name now then it was in 2005 and if the reliability is good out the gate thats an even bigger reason to invest in it. Bigger Japan, Europe and especially NA brand presence will mean everything it gained over Sony this gen, only multiplied.

That is something I forgt to mention in my post.  Nintendo will be getting a nice boost by launching first, as we saw with Microsoft this generation.  Both Microsoft and Sony will need to launch in 2013 to avoid giving up to much time to Nintendo.  If either Sony or Microsoft launch in 2013 and the other waits until 2014, than the one that waited will be doomed to 3rd place.