I forgot to list that. 

Local storage is one of the biggest handicaps mobile currently has. 

Apple could fix that in a flash with a Micro SD port, backpedaling on their entire pricing structure in the process, which is why they'll never do it.

Charging a $100 for a 16 to 32GB storage upgrade and another $100 for a 32 to 64GB upgrade has gone beyond ridiculous with current solid state memory prices being a fraction of what they were when iOS debuted and yet the pricing model remains.

So, the backwards solution will be play games via cloud/streaming or continue to add $100 to each doubling of local storage. Either that or games are going to have to be smaller than they are on console which is no real solution at all if these games are supposed to be the same. They would be like PSV games, which are fine, but not the same. 

That would be ideal, but Windows still has an iron grip in the PC gaming marketshare and Linux doesn't have much support. Also, while Valve is trying to promote OpenGL, the API needs to be cleaned up because its ridden with so much old code that isn't even used. I would love for Linux to have as much support as Windows, but it's just not going to happen soon.

As I type this from a Windows laptop...

I vastly prefer Linux based operating systems for both gaming and general use. I wish they had more support, and support is growing, but not there yet. I hope desperately that in the coming days Linux will see more dedicated support.

The iPad Air and iPhone 5S GPU measures out around 150 gflops, the Wii U is rumoured to be around 350 gflops (possibly more), the PS4 can peak around 1,84 tflops or 1840 gflops, while the tablets and smartphones make leaps in technology, I'd say give them 3 years to match the         Wii U's graphics performance, by the time the tablets and smartphone's reach the PS4, we'll probably be well in the 9th gen. Don't forget dedicated GPU and CPU technology make leaps too (Nintendo's rumoured Fusion console was rumoured to have a GPU performance of 4,6 tflops or 4600 gflops)

1. The developer support isn't there yet. And for good reason. Windows has had a monopoly on the market for a very long time. What reasons do developers have to support Unix when half the world is on Windows? I'm no Valve fanboy (at all really), but I am very happy that through their impetus developers will start supporting SteamOS (which means it'll work on Ubuntu, Mint, Debian no problem). 

So I disagree with your point because it is short-sighted. 

2. You missed my definition of "real". I'm not talking about casuals and never have. Neither do most people on the internet (which is why tablet games get so much hate).

3. Linux is a free OS. Ubuntu is so simple my grandma could use it. There is no reason, save and except the status-quo, why Linux shouldn't get more dev support.

So doomed? No.

But I do see consoles as becoming an increasingly marginalized market segment unless they manage to successfully transition to home entertainment hubs at which point they are more than just gaming platforms/consoles.

This is what MS was trying to do with the XB1. It's partially what SCE did with the PS3. The XB1 is far more integrated and enabled with the HDMI pass through functions, cable compatibility, etc.

Consoles like the Wii U (which even has TV remote integration) will become even more marginalized as platforms for specific games, as in Nintendo games. Anything beyond that will be a matter of developers and publishers attempting to increase their potential audience as much as possible so long as a platform under consideration for distribution is economically viable. Smaller publishers/developers don't have the luxury of supporting small niche platforms unless they know there is a built in market for their software.

The Linux support by developers will follow broad market user support.

Do you see that happening? Realistically?

Yes, computer geeks love the idea of Linux. Open source people will champion the concept and its advantages. But the general consumer public simply doesn't care about it and that's what drives adoption and growth. 

We will get there. 

I've been using Ubuntu (and others) for work. I have to simulate very cpu/memory intensive things on a daily basis and it's just plain better. Less resources wasted. More control over my system. The community is amazingly helpful.

I wrote some script files so that when I type work/work_interests/relax then each of the 4 desktops are opened with everything I want. I could never, ever go without four desktops. As you can hear - I'm a fanboy. You also use the mouse much less which means your brain stays switched on (instead of browsing mode) and it's simply a lot faster.

phew...sorry

As long as there's a shift in momentum then I'm happy.

Let people waste $$$ on an OS for their home/company. I'll be doing it for free. And I'll show as many others how to do it too.

evev some of the better vita games are around 5 Gb.  but true AAA is in the 20-40 Gb these days making apple a complete non-starter for me. i'd still have to add a controller (which would technically be a peripheral and we know how those are supported) and their still isn't an easy way to get the picture onto a tv without buying another device like chromecast. i'm not playing on a tablet screen, i didn't buy a big hdtv not to use it. they are currently no games and apple has no first party developers. 

they have a lot of work ahead of them for me to take them seriously.