So many people writing Google's unannounced console off before this new gen has even started! I hate Google as a company but the next gen of console gaming is extremely unpredictable right now.

Nintendo: Doesn't really have any major competitors (except Sony when it comes to Japanese games, which it looks like they'll be successfully courting) so the question is, can it keep up the current sales or will it be the next Wii and be irrelevant in a few years?

Sony: Yes they are the current king of console gaming. As they were in the PS2 era, and were not for most of the PS3 era. People seem to forget just how retarded Sony's gaming division was for about half of that console generation. They were only barely able to inch past the 360 lifetime sales due to 1) higher sales abroad, 2) Free online gaming (which they no longer offer and instead are the most costly and arguably don't even give you as much as their competitor) 3) PS3 didn't have a red ring of death problem the 360 was notorious for. If Sony is smart, they'll have a massive advantage going into the next gen, but considering their recent censorious nature regarding Japanese games that no one asked for, and their initial pushback on crossplay which everyone was asking for, I'm just sitting here waiting for their next blunder. Microsoft did it this gen, Sony could easily be next. And if they get greedy/arrogant enough to make another system for 599 US dollars....(or even $500 for that matter).

Microsoft: If there's another Xbox One as a TV/Non-gaming box debacle, they are done. If not, and their first party games are numerous and worthwhile, it'll all depend on how great or poorly their competition do. People forget that there's still a base that prefer the Xbox brand, especially when it comes to online gaming, but....

Google: That controller looks abysmal but if that's not the end result, there's so much potential for a Google console. Will the online be free (and of exceptional quality)? If yes, then it already has an edge on everyone (which they should do if they're smart). I would think their online service would be top notch, they've already courted some third party support, and getting Sega exclusives or other serious new IPs as exclusives could make or break it. And this is all assuming the specs are comparable to Sony and Micro's. Will it outperform? Will be the pricing be the same, higher or less?

Google also has one MASSIVE strength over any of it's competition: they can pump as much God damn money as they want into their gaming division and still have enough money to buy a small nation. Youtube still isn't financially successful yet they've kept it going for market dominance. They could easily sell their system as a massive loss, just to hurt the competition, and play the long game. How about the competition? Sony: gaming division is the only one not on the decline. Nintendo: They have a great deal of money in the bank but they're also very conservative in their spending (and they're not really a direct competitor). Microsoft: It's hard to tell just how willing they are to give the Xbox brand another go. If next gen is a bust, this could be their exit from the console market, even though Microsoft as a company has no shortage of funding.

Finally, what if Google decides to fuck with their search and Youtube algorithm to promote their system and de-prioritize Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo? This alone could make such a massive difference that legislators might get involved (though that could easily backfire and result in them taking Google's side).

I didn't get to read all of the comments so my apologies if much of this was already discussed, but my point is that there's a variety of ways things can go and we probably won't have a solid idea until we're closer to the next gen, but there's a great deal of strengths and flaws of each company that I feel people are overlooking.

The good news is, next gen will (probably) be great for consumers thanks to the abundance of competition.

I wish them success and I hope they bring good games. But, if they want to have success disturbing the market buying studios (maybe even publishers?) left and right causing the market to fragment even more, then I hope they fail and burn.

That's true, but it also depends on how aggressive they are and which are their ultimate goals. After all, those companies also got to be what they are because they weren't affraid to bet big on their projects.

OK, this actually looks like a serious effort. Jade Raymond is in it too. It looks like we can assume Google will make something gaming related. Might still not a console in the classic sense, but it does look more like it. I am excited to see what they offer.

Cheap attempt of a jab against MS. And wrong too.

See, Xbox might not had the same stellar success the Playstation brand had, but they are far from failing. MS has established itself as an console maker, has a constant albeit not stellar track record and is still expanding. They've beaten Nintendo twice. Sooo, I would say their methods did work. If you don't believe me, look at all the really failed attempts at joing the game industry: Bandais Wonderswan, Apples Pippin, NECs PC Engine, Valves Steambox.

Very possible. They might throw in a digital publishing infrastructure and become a big competitor of Valve and Epic.

I expect google is going all-in here, they will release a next-gen console along with a streaming service. They will probably try get all AAA games released on their platform and have big games themself. The streaming service will be a bonus, so if you buy a game on your console it will work on their streaming service (PC, laptops and android tv)

Basically Google will create a new service that works on everything. And I think Microsoft is doing the same, if you bought a digital game on Microsoft service it might work on Xcloud (game developers must approve this to happen). Now my own prediction is streaming and subscription services (PS now and Gamepass) is a waste of time and will fail.

Don't know Jade Raymond historic, but considering she is coming from two well hated publishers with bad practices and that Phil Harrison also have a bad historic on his endeavors on consoles that doesn't bring much faith on their project for me.

Seems like a fair position to take.

Your post really is a great summary for the whole topic and should be read by anyone in the thread. (It should be linked in the OP. Maybe I do link recommendable posts in the OP in my next thread.)

I would add the following:

1. For MS you forgot Gamepass. In my opinion Gamepass is a valuable offering and I did not take it, because it is too late in the gen and the Xbox One overall too unattractive to buy it for Gamepass. If the next gen console starts with Gamepass, and it offers from the start the library of Xbox One I could start the new gen with a sizeable library through a Netflix-like subscription service. This could very well the thing that makes the decision for the next XBox for me, if the new machine overall looks like an attractive offering.

2. I think people invest too much in this rendering of the Google-controller. It seems like an artist drawing based on the patent. We all should know, that drawings of controllers in patents are not like the final result, because they focus on the area that the patent is about, not about a product.

Wait a minite! Microsoft absolutely subsidized XBox!  They lost $1 billion per year on the original console and defended it as “market defence against Sony” to their investors.  They lost $3 or $4 billion on 360 (can’t remember which) before they turned slightly profitable for the last half of it’s life (one billion was to pay off RROD problems, though). You could argue Xboxone is doing mediocre because ms stopped blowing all so much money on it.

This will be very interesting. I am a cloud gaming skeptic, ad I would argue a console is a smart, but very difficult, choice to try to lever your streaming service into the market. I assume we will now see Microsoft get more aggressive about consoles again...it is going to be something else.

I don’t expect major success for Google at a glance, but who knows where they could go.  definitely do not mistake that controller design for final, and don’t mistake Googlebox for Ouya, this will be totally different.

Option 2 (sorry if someone said it already): the controller is the console and it hooks up to any web device to the streaming service.