^I would hate there to be only one console: because that console could never meet everyones needs.
For example if there was only 1 console and it was like the Wii, hardcore gamers would take a hissy fit and vice versa.

People like to be able to choose between Mario, Killzone and Halo.
People like to choose between Blu-Ray, Netflix etc

@Ben

I´m very fond of the idea of only one system...the closest I ever got to that sentiment was with the NES.

yes you would think about it, the one system would have Mario AND Killzone AND Halo thus you would be free to choose what you wanted, with the current way of things sure you can choose to play all 3 but you'll have to spend

250 USD on a wii

at least 199 USD on a 360

at least 399 USD on a ps3

on one system you would only pay once for the console and have litteraly all those franchises mentioned.  To put things simply it would be drastically more efficient for everyone involved.

 Yea but one system cannot have Blu-Ray, Netflix, Home, XBL, Marketplace, PSN, PS Store, WiiWare, Motion control, XMB, Dashboard etc etc all together.

A one sysytem industry sounds very like a Planned economy...communist.

Thank God it will never happen

sure it could and why not?  though actually think of it this way.  It would be the BEST parts of those mentioned.  And don't say it will never happen.  Look at television.  Sure there are different brands but in the end they are all doing the exact same thing.  When you turn on HBO on a Samsung your getting basically the exact same thing as turning on HBO on a Sony tv.  The whole point of one console is that its the OPPOSIT of communist.  WIth all the money freed up that was being wasted on stupid things like landing exsclusitivity it will now be funded into making games thus delivering a higher end of quality.  And sure everyone could be appeased.  When you turn on your tv you got nickelodean for the kids and CNN / Fox / MSNBC news for the grown ups

 See it's funny because there will be tech heads saying ''what the hell? How can he even watch that tv with those awful black levels. There's such a massive difference, that is just unwatchable''. In fact you yourself complain about your tv, yet then go on to say how moves have to be hd. Well if your tv has bad black levels and is worth complaining about you are probably getting a pretty rubbish picture. Only if you upgraded your tv would you in retrospect realise how bad the current one is. Yet retrospect doesn't get people to buy a product.

The fact is most people really don't seem to care that much about resolution. Tbh i've never even been entirely convinved the shift from vhs to dvd was because of image quality. For me personally it was about physical size, convenience of being able to skip chapters etc, having subtitles,extras with the discs etc. Blu-ray really only offers an improvement in picture, and it doesn't seem to be a necessary one.

People often use side by side comparisons or scroll overs to show the difference however while those show the actual difference it doesn't show what people perceive the difference to be. If you showed them a dvd, then a week later a blu-ray they would barely notice the difference.  If people do shift to blu-ray eventually it will simply be because they need a new player and why not get the newest one, or because they are forced as dvd releases stop.

No, as gaming grows more than 1 company will always want some of the pie.

As for the TV example, there are still many differences. Some have built in DVD, better picture, 1080P, 720P, Freeview, better sound etc and its these things that people use to decide what TV to purchase.

And there will always be more than one contender in the gaming industry, nomatter how much the industry the leading company controls.

eg: The Ipod owns like 70% of the Mp3 industry, but Zunes, Zens, Walkmans etc still compete

@Zim, the tv I play and view on isn't our best tv ^_^ I've seen the Blu-disc's on our much better tv and of course the black levels are much better. I was just emphasizing that you can REALLY tell when it comes to nature, or well lit movies, and that's with our average tv :P

i understand your point and yours holds just as much validity as mine.  All i'm saying is that there is a reason that more and more game developers are pushing for a more centralized form of gaming.  and if the economy continues to tank we may come to the point where there is only one machine.  Like it or hate it its not an impossibility.  There is only so much money to go around and with all the layoffs and closures hitting developers they are going to find a way to eliminate their losses.  Also my comparison to televisions was a bad one.  I was simply using it to show that there can be a unified system.  If you buy a tv and find out you cant watch the channels you want on it your going to take it back.  I hope that will one day happen with gaming.  You can get any game you want on any system. Even if there is more than one.  Same thing with the MP3's you mentioned.  Sure there are differences but you can still put the exact same songs on all of them.  The second you can't your going with a different brand.  Games need to do the same thing.

Theres only one physical movie format, one physical format reader and theres only one major consumer OS... Let it be like movie formats and have several companies bid for the attention of the consumers once every 6 years and the winner gets all.