Hmmmm, well PS1 = CD Drive, PS2 = Dvd Drive, PS3 = blu-ray Drive, So PS4=?

Moores Law states "The number of transistors that can be inexpensively placed on an integrated circuit is increasing exponentially, doubling approximately every two years"

A consequence of this has been that for a very long time (in computer terms) we have seen an approximate doubling of processing power on a processor with a slight reduction in cost and energy use every 18 months; there are time periods where the focus has been on increasing processing power faster than that which has resulted in faster, more expensive and higher energy use processors.

If you assume that the PS4 will be released 6 years after the PS3 was, it shouldn't be all that difficult to produce a system which is (roughly) 6 to 8 times as powerful as the PS3 in an affordable and low energy use compared to the launch PS3 systems.

The PS4 will probably be like the PS3.... very much oriented towards graphics

its power should depend on the price

 SHD Drive.

well by the time the ps4 would come out 2017 the world will have ended so does it really matter? ten year plan... much like soviet 5 year plans see what it did to them

I don't think the next-gen will be as big of a jump for MS/Sony as this gen was. I also don't think PS4 will continue to use the cell processor.

I see a more moderate jump with quad core type cpu's and the traditional jump in gpu's to be about on par with the best line of computer video cards of the time.

I bet they really try to keep the price $300-$350 with a much smaller loss, if any, per sale of each hardware (<$150).

MS will definitely not get into a RRoD type of issue again and Sony will definitely have a better software lineup within the first 3 months, by double what it had with the PS3.

I am unsure if they will try to "copy" Wiimote abilities or continue with the current control setup and still fight over the more traditional gamer space.

Nintendo will probably release a console last at it will probably be somewhere between the PS360 and the PS4/neXtBox. It will have HD capabilities as HD tvs will now be in the majority and the cost of that technology will have significantly decreased. Plus, as usual Nintendo will not support any type of video playback, though the player will be some form of HD capable disc like the VMD or something else that builds off of current DVD technology. Nintendo will probably also aim at continuing its channels and have a HDD with the ability to now dl GC games and play Wii games. As for the controllers, idk. Probably some linear growth from what the Wii currently offers on a much more precise scenario. This would help with BC and regain the new user base.

Of course this is all speculation and I could be completely wrong in every possible direction.

dont be too suprised if it does though, who would of expected an 8 core processor for ps3?