What a coincidence... I just wrote an article about this: http://www.gamingcapacity.com/will-nextbox-and-ps4-need-unique-selling-points/

(not a coincidence, while writing a reply I decided to make it an article instead. Thanks!)

So that is just always going to be that way?

I don't see why the trend will suddenly break. Also, when the 360 came out Xbox support was dropped. Playstation consoles get support for years after their successor comes out, so PS3 is more likely to have longer legs.

You're welcome :D glad I could inspire! I'll give it a read =)

Well, even though CoD and Battlefield all looked better on PCs, they sold much better on PS360; so if they wanna compete with Wii U they better bring something else to the table as well.

COD and Battlefield sold better on consoles and also gave birth to larger shooter communities loyal to Xbox Live and PSN's online community. Nintendo has conceded that they will not compete with the two of them in the online market, so that battle is a lost one. The Wii U needs to compete with them, not vice versa. Nintendo is now in Sony and Microsofts house now.

Well, the way you paint the picture in the article PS720 wouldn't have any USP at all... An USP is something unique and something that sells the system. Being able to press a button and switch between apps isn't an USP. Xbox Live was an USP (was because Sony and Nintendo is/has caught up), Motion Controls was an USP, Miis was an USP, Miiverse could be an USP as well as the new controller - pending on how it's utilized.

The consoles needs to evolve to stay relevant - not just add better graphics.

That's my 2 cents =)

The point I wanted to make, and obviously didn't portray rightfully, was that better graphics isn't necessarily an USP and isn't the end all be all. If Nintendo can get good ports of all 3rd party games (not those bastard gimped versions Wii got) PS720 is in for some rough competition.

It's the small things like tweaks to the achievement systems, better cloud integration, a more seamless UI, a faster OS... dozens and dozens of these smaller changes lead to a uniquely great overall experience. It's not a USP in a traditional sense, no, but the overall experience sells the system. Look at Xbox Live currently, you could pinpoint hardly any major features it has over PSN, but it's the little tweaks and polish that make people think it's that much better (generally speaking), and that's what helps sell the system. Think about that, but on a larger scale. Also, games :P

Saying this is just better graphics is wrong. Look at PS3 at launch... Meh OS and UI... THAT was pretty much just a system with better graphics, but look at it now... with countless features, countless updates, countless little touches... it's like a whole new system. Microsoft and Sony are better software innovators the way I see it, and like I said changing up the hardware doesn't neccessarily make anything funner to play, it just makes us play our games differently if that makes sense. I think software innovation has far more potential, in terms of improving our experience. 

@Bolded: damn true! It's very exciting that at the end of a generation the console will be totally different from how it began! I'm excited to see where these SW innovations will take us during the next gen!