Price cuts are rumored for the ps3 and 360. and There are some big releases, GTA V is go to be massive in America and Europe, pokemon x and y is going to be massive everywhere. Could these big releases right before the new generation hurt their presence? The new consoles dont really have the "it" factor right now yet, they seem like good systems but all of their big releases can be found either on the 360 or ps3, and no backwards compatibility hurts them big time. What do you guys think?

Yeah, i think so. Why buy a new console when there are many new releases coming out for current hardware? I see a slow start for both PS4 and Xbox One after the initial launch.

I was in denial that the new console would arrive this holiday. I can't believe they would compete against their legacy consoles. This has to be the first time in all the console wars where this happened. Don't new consoles normally come when the old ones are dying?

How can one or two games overshadow a major hardware launch like PS4 and X1? GTAV releases two months before and Pokemon X/Y will hardly ruin you at 40€...

The new consoles will be fine : many people will want the ultimate experience for Battlefield 4, Watchdogs, ACIV and many others won't wait to pick major next-gen exclusives like Killzone ShadowFall, Forza M5 or Thief 4.

I think so, yeah. There's going to be fighting between themselves, as they will launch mere days apart. Add in the Wii U with its rumoured price cut and expanding library, as well as the PS360 with GTA, GT and Into The nexus coming, and more...they will have good launches. But after that? After all of the hardcore fans have got a system? I don't see it reaching out to the mass market. I expect 2 more Wii U's, maybe not to the same extent, but similar style of start.

NES, SNES, PS1, PS2 were all selling extremely well when thete successors came out.

I just looked that up and you're correct.  I'm being biased because, though the last offerings were good, I had no interest in their final games.  Ps360 on the other hand... I can't wait for gta v!

There is a "threat" that those few big releases for current-gen, majority of new games being cross-gen and so on, could prove to hurt the sales of next-gen platforms. I for one am saying, that given Sony's way bigger support for PS3 than PS4/Vita, would make me not even think twice before choosing PS3 this holiday season if I didn't have one already.

Still there are to major things, some minor things in favor of next-gen platforms.
Firstly, this is the longest generation we've had, and people really are tired of it. Some already proceeded to PCs, a lot of people are waiting for the moment to jump to the next-gen platforms. Current-gen certainly shows fatigue, both on hardware side in yoy numbers (a price cut could help with sales definitely although I don't believe it will happen this year) and software, with all smaller game releases this year dissapointing especially considering the huge install base. The market is saturating, at least for this entry price, I believe PS3 for about 149$-179$ could show a very nice surge in emerging markets adding a couple of millions, but not for over 200$. Secondly the hype is big. This may a deceptive indication of success but I believe it just shows that people are really eager to get the new, exciting consoles.
Then we have the launch line ups, which are really strong for both Xbone and PS4, of course majority are cross-gen titles, but still the quantity is very good, plus the new consoles have enough power that their versions are significantly better, be it graphics, performance, advanced physics, etc. Both have very good third party support which should prevent software droughts, PS4 already has another big game for Q1 2014 in inFamous SS.
PS4 also has a really good entry price 399$ for a shiny, new Playstation with 500GB HDD comparing to a 7 year old PS3 with 250$ or more depending on HDD size and bundled games.

That said we have two like very direct competitors launching this holiday, so both will suffer in sales, if only one would launch instead like the Wii U did. Still overall I think both consoles will have stable, decent sales after the launch period in which they will most likely sell out in majority of markets, with PS4 coming slightly on top.

It they want the ultimate experience for half the games you listed they may as well get a top end PC.

It they want the better console experience sure get next gen console.

Then show me the 399€ PC that can run BF4 at maximum level