I don't recall much talk about consoles being doomed in the previous two or three generations at least. 

Partly because the industry has grown each successive gen for a while 

SNES + Genesis + Turbo Grafx 16 = 92 million (approx)

Playstation + N64 + Saturn = 144 million (approx)

PS2 + GCN + XBox = 197 million

Wii + 360 + PS3 = 270 million

This gen will mark the first time we'll see a fairly large decline I think. 

At this rate, the 20M prediction for PS4 many are preaching about, seems more and more plausible. November is going to be big in NA, and December in EU!

I don't think they're "doomed" but they are definitely on a decline and probably eventually headed towards being phased out especially if broadband caps in the US start to ease with fibreoptic. Like I do think there will be a Playstation 5 ... but a Playstation 6? Not so sure. There may not be a need for physical hardware in the traditional sense by then. 

I think this gen will end something like this ...

100 million (PS4) + 40 million (XB1) + 19 million (Wii U)

so wii u up!wii u is going to be again yoy up for sixth consecutive month!Also wii u refused to go back in 20-30k...some games are used to give a pre week boost...along with the day of release,so the woman with the hot legs gave that boost,i m looking forward to this week sales!i wont my prediction to come true ,like did in july August and September!Also, bayonetta s week doesnt include just dance and the voice wii u? japan might have a boost with kirby game release in japan,on 28 th of october!they like kirby a lot!

(i want') sorry i couldn t edit my mistake from my mobile!have pac man wii u released?

Same :) but it will probably be 20 millions.

Wii U still pitiful, but glad 3DS is still above 200k for another week.

Nothing stopping PS4 it seems.

Am I the only one that doesn't see a decline in total number of consoles sold as a bad thing?

The "gaming industry" is very different this gen than it was every other gen before it. Primarily because this gen theer is a an outlet for casual gamers. some of which would have picked up a console that now simply wouldn't need to. That does not mean the next GTA will not sell 30M+ copies. Nor does it mean that the next COD, FIFA or Madden or AC will sell any less than they typically do.

I think thats what all the naysayers seem to forget. Consoles does not have to sell 200M+ or more than they did the previous generation to be deemed viable or successful. 100M wii consoles sold didn't stop nintendo from jumpstarting the current gen. I will truly worryabout the gaming industry when the big selling games start to sell around half of what they typically used to sell. Till that day, the gaming industry is just fine.

I mean if only 50M people buy a PS4, but these 50M people buy an average of 10 games each per year. Then the PS4 will still end up being the most profitable and successful console sony has ever made.

MGS,Dragon quest,bloodborne will all be system sellers

Now if only Sony would advertise the z3 with the ps4....