You tell 'em Rol!  Like the old N64 slogan says... Get 'N or get out!

Seriously though, I am (for once) going into a console generation completely open minded, but leaning towards 720 and possibly Wii U if Nintendo can deliver on the games and the hardware itself doesn't feel like a "last gen" console like the Wii did.

There's no need to be open minded, shit is just going to get worse.

I will be much more open minded for next gen. At the start of current gen, I was much more Nintendo-focused, then adopted Sony into my life. Now I am much more willing to try whatever impresses me the most. And above all, the price MUST be right. I'm looking at you Sony, none of that 599 US dollar bull....

Apple has the means to turn this whole industry upside down... I think they are just waiting for the right moment. When that happens, I hope PC gaming is still alive and well.

This generation, I got all 3 home consoles. I only got the 360 because they had a couple (timed / English localized) exclusive jRPGs. I don't see MS venturing back into the jRPG genre again, so I'll 95% chance be skipping them next generation. Outside of that, I have been able to get all the games I want that's on Xbox on PC or PS3. I don't give two craps about Kinect family games of shooters, or online gaming that requires voice chat for that matter.

So, I will most likely be getting the PS4 and Wii U next generation and passing on the Xbox 720.

I'm going to try to resist this time as it was pretty disappointing last gen.

I got the 360 at launch with CoD2 and Kameo, both not very exciting but I couldn't wait to see HD console gaming. Dead rising was better but the large overscan area on my hd ready crt tv obscured half the text at the edges and the font was too small to read anyway. I should have waited until I upgraded my tv. HD ready was a scam, useless. And just when it started getting good it went rrod of course.

Then I did it again with the ps3 and the wii. All I played on the ps3 in the beginning was the GT HD demo and FF12. At least it was a good blu-ray player. Launch BC ps3 died too in year 3. And I should have bought Zelda TP for the GC, the pointer control for the bow did not outweigh the loss of camera control for me.

So I'll (try to) be a bit more critical of the games this time before I buy one. No HD or blu-ray player to wow me this time, already have it. Oh well who am I kidding, 1 decent game and I'm sold. Too weak to resist. The smell of new electronics, someone should bottle that.

Hmm, this generation somehow showed me that I should not buy a new console in the first two years. You are likely to buy a revised version at a cheaper price and the first two years are often lacking good games.

To be honest, I felt this generation was a step back. The PS2 was so awesome for singleplayer experience. Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Suikoden, Onimusha, Devil May Cry, God of War, Ratchet & Clank, Soulreaver, Jak and Daxter, Sly Racoon. You had more variety in Games and each game had to be something special to be interesting.

This Generation I felt a lack of japanese Games... And the Westernizing of Japanese Games brought some heavy disappointments.

This Generation it seems to be all about online competitive multiplayer games. I just hate them... You know that a game will most likely be not worth the singleplayer experience if it has online mulitplayer added. I fear that even games like Uncharted will be ruined by the online multiplayer. Assassin's Creed Revelations already suffered from it.

It is also hard to be excited for the next Nintendo console. I do not like the DS Stylus controls to be honest and I am glad that many of the great SNES remakes do not make use of it. The Wiimote is the most stupid Controller I ever had to use and the waggle ruined it for me. Now the Wii U is going the same route and will be built around a tablet. I did not like the extra screen with the dreamcast. It is hard to look at the TV Screen and at the controller at the same time. I just wonder how that should work with most games and what the extra controller should add. In the end it may create a new genre like the Wiimote boosted the dancing games.

Somehow the world has changed. In former day you bought a console because it had that one or two special games you were looking forward to. I remember how I went almost crazy because I wanted the SNES for Super Mario World and Zelda 3 alone. I bought the PS3 just for Final Fantasy XIII. It used to be software. Now the main feature is a control Scheme regardless if there are actual superb games for it.

Now it is all about shooters. Maybe guns and brutality are the main appeal for the masses after all. It is somehow a bad sign that games like GTA4 or COD are seen as the best practice of game development.

Ok, back to topic. It is hard for me to look forward to the next console generation when some of the best games this gen were PS2 classics for me. As long as the main features advertised are new control schemes or new online features I am not really interested in upgrading to the next gen. Maybe after 5 years into the cycle when Final Fantasy XV will be released ^^

Is picking out of the big 3 really open minded, isnt that just the norm, wont most of you end up with at least 2 of them if not all 3?,

Open minded would be trying out PC gaming again, or OnLiveGaikai, Tablet gaming or a console from a new player, be it apple, or steam or google

This. Very much this. Nintendo is the only one that still seems to be going somewhere that's not as bad, and I'm not sure even about them. (And this is coming from someone who has never owned a Nintendo console or handheld.) Of course if things do turn out good elsewhere, I don't see why I couldn't jump in... But one thing is, I'm not buying a console that requires me to pay for multiplayer seperately (Live) so that should leave me to Sony and Nintendo, and I don't exactly have much faith in Sony at the moment.

I'll choose the console that fucks me the least and I mean free online, no restrictions on used games aside from online pass and affordable price with everything on the box (hard drive, wifi).

And of course third party support since every console has its own great exclusive franchises.