Seriously, what is the point of them brining out new consoles at this point, when considering that PS3 and Xbox 360 seem to be in the prime of their lives? I mean PS3 and 360 have gone through their rough times and can now basically demand the games they want. Look at how well, both consoles sold over the Christmas season 2012. I even remember when I picked up my Wii U on November 18^th, 2012, some dude was in there trying to buy a 360 and was oblivious that there was a new console being released that same day.

PS3 and 360 are now household names, so why are Sony and Microsoft releasing new consoles now?  Considering the question, I guess the same could be asked about Nintendo – but with Nintendo, it is clear to see that they had an aging console with the Wii, so it would make sense for them to upgrade their hardware. I mean Nintendo has never been in the business of ‘future proofing’ its home consoles or handhelds – so it makes sense for them to upgrade ever so often (I actually think Nintendo has 1 or 2 upgrades to the Gamepad to be released). The same however cannot be said about Microsoft and especially Sony who no doubt seem to future proof their consoles with reasonably up-to-date tech. Sony even said that they had a 10 year plan for PS3 – but it’s only been six years so far since the launch of the PS3.

Moreover, with games like The Last of US, Dust, Beyond, God of War and Sly Cooper, just to name a few coming in 2013 for PS3, and games like Gears of War, Gears of War, Gears of War, and Gears of War, just to name a few coming in 2013 for the 360 (ok maybe 360 needs an upgrade), not to mention all the other 3^rd party games coming in 2013 – so why release new consoles in 2013?

Can some please explain this me? I mean are Microsoft and Sony that afraid of what a comparable Nintendo console will do to them in the market? Even if Wii U is a success, it certainly doesn’t look like it will be dominating the industry for at least another 2 to 3 years, if at all. So why are Sony and Microsoft seemingly jumping the gun, throwing money away in R&D for PS720, and killing PS360?

"Releasing new consoles now"

Now... like in 11~23 months? Yeah...

console hardware and soft ware sales are down YoY in 2012 and will be more so this year. if any of them manage to sell more than 10 million units then that would be something special, but they need to release a successor for those gamers who have bought the ps3/360 about 7 or 8 years ago. they need to release new hardware while there is still momentum.

Market fatigue. By the end of console generations, people buy less games; thus, the arrival of new consoles re-ignites the gaming industry and raises interest of future games.

Yes, while games as killer awesome as Halo 4 prove that our current gen systems still have life left, at some point your have sold to everyone who is going to buy your console. We have nearly reached that saturation point. The only thing you can do as a manufacturer is discontinue the old, end support, and put out a new model and sell it to everyone who wants the latest games.

That's not crazy, it's good business.

"Seriously, what is the point of them brining out new consoles at this point, when considering that PS3 and Xbox 360 seem to be in the prime of their lives? I mean PS3 and 360 have gone through their rough times and can now basically demand the games they want. Look at how well, both consoles sold over the Christmas season 2012."

Lolwut? Both consoles are down pretty substantially this year, and next year they'll decline even further. The gaming industry NEEDS new consoles ASAP or else it'll collapse and BenVtrigger will be unemployed!

something tells me that the next xbox and playstation might not do so well at launch mainly the next playstation cause sony always does something that is very expensive for the console like the vita memory cards and the PS3 launch price

OK, but isn't the point of the console maker to get to a point where you actually are not looking money on the hardware, which for MS and especially Sony that takes some years, to get to the point where your just raking in the cash from game sales and a large user base?

23 months? really? its most likely in 9 or10 months. i dont see any of them waiting for xmas next year. Q1 2014 max

"really?", like i know when they will release...