if EA had a console and made all the games exclusive to it that could work.

thing is i dont really see a gap in the market, can the industry support 3 HD consoles?

@woopah: Yes it can. You'll see it next gen. Of course the expanded audience will help there even more.

Look at that the MS got me with their spin!!!!  Though I did know the entertainment division did include more than xbox but I cant believe the Zune is helping has anyone bought that thing...lol

@bdbdbd

thats the thing, will the casual audience graduate onto the PS360?

or because of brand loyalty will they simply move onto the core games on wii?

@bdbdbd

thats the thing, will the casual audience graduate onto the PS360?

or because of brand loyalty will they simply move onto the core games on wii?

I'm still holding to my prediction of new entrant(s) coming onto the scene by next year. I also totally disagree with this assumption that any new entrant would need a ton of money. Obviously you need money for R&D and marketing but that's it. Noone should sell their system at a loss, that was always a bad business model. Even when Sony dominated although their system sold 6:1 vs Nintendo's the end profit was more like 1.5-2:1.

All a new entrant needs to do is follow Nintendo's example. Introduce something mass market friendly, make it innovative and sell it at a profit. Even if it never catches up to the HD consoles it would still be a nice profit generator.

Now this is all too easy to screw up. Apple is probably the best choice, IF they can release it at a mass market price and not Apple's usual premium pricing. But Apple has the know how to do something different and truly innovative while making it seem like the new uber-cool gadget to get.

As for Sony & MS - Yeah they are in R&D for next consoles but I feel both will want to keep the current generation going as long as possible in order to actually achieve profitability (meaning recover start-up costs and make real profit).

I was having a discussion like this with my mac gamer friends, and the general consensus is that Apple will not try to push into the console market.

Apple markets their product as a lifestyle, which doesn't include gaming. If they were to make a console it would alienate all their current Mac fans and they would need to generate an entirely new set of fans.
Also, Apple doesn't like to sell cheap. They like their hardware powerful, reliable, and expensive, which isn't going to work next gen.

As for the other competitors, I think Sony and MS are going to take a lesson from the Wii and release cheaper consoles with innovative controls. Also, Nintendo is going to do something crazy that isn't motion control.

Another possibility is that Apple adds game downloads to an Apple TV type device with some kind of controller, probably something in the vain of a Wii-remote but different.  Similar to what they are now doing with the iPhone.

Of course there's also lots of other potential companies who could enter, Apple just has the most savvy.

 26 years later and i still haven't graduated...for what it's worth.

...and i think the answer is hightly dependent on whether or not MS/sony copy the wii's controller or do something along the same lines.  my parents refused to play any video games with from the NES to GC (err..ps2) generations specifically because of the controller.  now they own a wii and a ds.  i really don't see that audience "graduating" as they had 20+ years to graduate and never did.

I dont like the WII controller persoanlly so I hope they keep their options open