They all will enter the next generation consoles standoff

They'll do pretty much what they did this generation

Nintendo will go for the casual/big market
MS/Sony will go for the Powerful/Full of Features/Expensive market

I can see MS or Sony coming out with a 'secondary' console to compete with Nintendo

Kind of like Mercedes-Benz and their $30,000 car, Porsche and their SUV, etc you catch me drift...

i think all three will make a new machine, and i am pretty sure EA or Apple might try there hand

I'm absolutely sure all 3 will release a new console. As for a new competitor entering the market, wel.. not this generation, and I don't really think anyone will try next generation either, but then again, you never know.. :p Apple just might give it a shot. :p

all 3 will and all 3 will have motion/ir sensing controllers

M$ buys darwin for motion control. Sony detects motion with PSeye. Nintendo will upgrade there Wii-mote. All will have traditional controllers to attract a wide audience of third party developers.

MS & Sony have Blu-ray = Media Center
Nintendo will have HD-DVD = Anti-Piracy

EA focus on US & Others. Multiple Hardware manufacturers.No license fee for Third Partys. Online distribution only. Motion control depends on Third Party.

8th generation 300mln gamers time frame (10years)
300/4=75mln
You can be profitable with 75mln sales, don't you?

Sooner or later all 3 will make another console, but: Nintendo is in a strong position, so, it can decide its own release strategy undergoing very small influence and listening almost exclusively to public; Sony saw that releasing first didn't save MS, but also that previous leadership didn't save them, so they'll try to devise a good strategy and also to avoid the excessive cost that plagued PS3 for its first 18 months and forced it to have a launch price too high; MS still hasn't grasped fully the unwritten laws of this market, so either they'll try to understand more before deciding anything or they'll rush next launch too trying again to gain an advantage on Sony and Nintendo, but this could be fatal to XBox 720, as Sony put enough stuff into PS3 to make it a longlasting seller and will be able to ignore MS' moves and keep on selling PS3 till its natural time for changeover, while Nintendo choosed to avoid competing on pure performance field, so it will be able to continue undisturbed its strategy.
About others entering the market: as there will be one market leader, with more market share than the others, there will be room for only two other players with more than 25% share (the first threshold indicated in some studies on game theory applied to economics, 40-41% being the threshold for leaders and 70-72% the one to become a monopolist, leaving place for at most only another player with real influence, but no hope to become leader, unless the market starts growing strongly towards unexpected directions), so only three players, leader included, will really be influent, irrespective of how many competitors ther will be in all. And an excessive number of competitors could fragment excessively the market with damaging consequences for all, in this case the best sellers could remain the actual generation, just like XP (for different reasons) is doing to Vista despite every MS' effort.

lol. you never know if sony and other make console before 3-4 year so what that post ????

1. Yes, of course.

2. No. Others like Apple and other cell phone makers will take some steps, but it will take at least 4 years before they're real competition. As for non-hand helds, no way.

i think they all will.

one thing that worries me with motion sensing is that I HOPE i do not need a HUGE room dedicated just to setting up a game system.

ie cameras everywhere, sensor floor mat. a jump suit and helmet etc...

1. Will they? Yes.

WHEN will they? That's the more interesting question. Like the SNES, Nintendo isn't going to move the Wii until they are disrupted by another console. Sony & MS are also in interesting positions.

Sony: Sony is working hard to make the PS3 profitable, and that might take a while. They also need to reevaluate why they are in the console business. They thought consoles would be the one-stop media player paradise in everyone's living room, but the Wii has easily taken that spot. They could try to clone the Wii but the movie & music branches from Sony would disagree with it. Expect another console next gen but...it'll be interesting to watch which way Sony goes.

Microsoft: MS entered the market to prevent Sony from becoming the one-stop media player. MS burned a lot of money doing it, and Sony has been sucessfully halted. MS also wants to integrate media playback into its console (through Windows instead of BluRay though) so going in the Wii's direction is also against their philosophy. Sony is making another console, so MS will make one also. If Sony were to drop out though, MS would lose a lot of motive to make a new console instead of pushing the X360's features.

2. Newcomers?

Entering the console market is very expensive (see Microsoft.) With such fierce competition, you simply MUST disrupt games to your values (like Nintendo did with the Wii) or you will be stomped by the incumbents. Very few companies have the money and the creative design necessary to launch a console. Apple, maybe?