So I watched the recent episode of bonus round and some thoughts came to my head. Here they are. Please share what you think of them. Its about the ps3's alleged 10-year lifespan. I'll provide evidence to support it.

1. First and foremost, the ps3 is still drowning in losses. It'll have to make the money for ps4's R&D like it's predecessor did for it

2. Many devs are still having problems with the ps3's architecture so it's possible that the machine hasn't been pushed anywhere close to its limits. Couple this with the fact that powerful hardware has gone out of style and graphics are no longer a necessity due to the wii success, and there's evidence that the ps3 may be plenty powerful enough for the upcoming years

3. Development costs are getting atrocious, releasing a more powerful machine in  a few years would piss off third parties becuase they're finally making inroads at learning to efficiently use the ps3 hardware and cut costs where possible so they would reject another spike in dev costs.

4. There would always be retail versions of games in a format sellable at gamestop and other retail stores. Pachter points out why in the latest bonus round video. M$ owns major marketshare in the internet business and apple owns like 30%. This is why it would be good for M$ but not necessarily for other publishers (due to new licensing fees) and retailers so even when internet speeds can keep up. All may not necessarily go this way (watch the video at Gametrailers.com for details), thus blu-ray would be viable for a WHILE.

5. FIRMWARE. That's right. This is one of the single most important things. Think about the ps2 gen. The ps2 you bought at launch still has the same functionality as the ps2 people are buying now because it was not possible to update the functionality of the system without releasing entirely new hardware. Now, fast forward to the ps3 gen. Think of the XMB and its functionality at launch and compare it to what we have now. It feels like we are already using ps4. Someone posted a link that I can't remember now where it was stated in the article that there is still lots of room for updates in the ps3 built in flash drive. They stated that it isn't even up to half way full yet with the massive updates the sytem has gone through. There leaves a lot of hope for the future when this data could be compressible. Add that to the fact that functionality not power has become the new trend and we may have a real long-lasting system on our hands.

Side note: Some may speculate that if M$ launches a new system, sony would have to follow suit. This is not necessarily true because third parties may shun the system if it's more powerful again because this brings a lot of baggage as we've seen this gen. Nintendo is most likely going to release a HD console eventually, but even they would be sitting on their victory this gen for as long as possible and wouldn't be doing so soon either

Discuss...

VIDEO (the future of gaming): http://www.gametrailers.com/bonusround_list.php

Yes 10 year Plan will happen like PS2. The people buying PS2s now will be buying PS3 in 7, 8, years time thus keeping Funds up that they will lose from Launching PS4

All good points dude. Especially numbers 2 and 3.

-To compare, see the early PS2 games vs the later ones (KH2, MGS3, ZOE 2, all look miles, miles, miles above the early PS2 stuff.) Can the PS3 be pushed like that? hell yeah. Can Sony's first and second party do that? you bet. With a little thought you can see where I'm going. Hell, even third parties have the ability to do that if they want.

-Viable system against let's say, Microsoft's next system. If the emphasis on hardware and graphics persists MS is gonna have a system that many 3rd parties will have a problem supporting, due to production costs that are too high and can't be recouped. The PS3 isn't cheap to develop for either, but it could prove itself as a better platform for many devs...

-As devs get more experienced with the PS3 architecture, it'll be easier work for them. Less stress, faults, bugs, less manpower needed. Lower developmrnt cost and higher quality. Sounds good to me...

-In the next few years the PS3 hardware will be cheaper to produce. From that I hear price cuts. From there I see buyers coming. In the end we're gonna have a bigger fanbase that could generate high profits, and again, be a viable system even if it's old (see PS2).

-Well, Sony improves. See PSN service, games on PSN, projects such as HOME, big online games. That should draw buyers in with the right advertising, don't ya think?

These are some of the things I see in the PS3's future, some of them are feeback to yours, Pristine.

So would the 360 be equivalent to the PS4 since day one since it has had everything the XMB currently has, and more, since launch?

Anyways, there is no way that the PS3 will still be the main Sony console in 2016. They might still sell new consoles, and it will likely still be supported, but there is no way it would be the lead system.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

HOME itself and the social networking and all it pormises make it look like it was meant for ps4

You can make all the reasons why the 10 year plan might possibly work, but the reality is that the only systems to (really) survive past the beginning of the next generation were the market leaders. The reason for this is simple, the market leader has value beyond its processing power and features because of its large library and solid support from third party publishers.

I'm glad they will release it for PS3 then :)

But the PS3 will eventually be the market leader

The ps3 also had things the 360 didn't have like HDMI support and blu ray when it launched. Media center capabilities are a 3rd but I'm not exactly sure if the 360 has that or not. You sentiment is also why M$ too may be unwilling to jump headfirst into the 360's successor too soon except they're hell bent on taking on nintendo this time around. The only limitations on the 360 I can think of is DVD which may not be all that important because dowloadable full game service is possible with the 360 as is. New hardware is unnecessary.