If you see it that way. I interpret future proof as having the foundations for new features and functions and being competitive to newer technology for a long time. Yes the Wii is very successful but that doesn't help Wii owners to get better looking games or better media playback or better online functions ...
Winning the past generations was important because the winning console was getting all the good games. This gen the Wii wins but all the good games (at least for me) go to the PS3 or 360. And this doesn't seem to change. (besides japanese devs)



That's because multimedia PCs are hard to use and esp. hard to setup. The PS3 on the other hand is as easy to use as a DVD player in some areas the XMB is much more user friendly than a video recorder. But sony still lots of integration to do. An iTunes like media store in every high-end TV and media player they sell and more integration between products would be amazing.

@Kyros: But that doesn't make PS3 future proof, even if the tech would keep on living. PS3 is future proof due to it's tech. Oh, btw, were discontinuing it tomorrow. PS3, remember that one? PEE ES THREEEE.
You get the point?

The problem is, that the devices are expensive, which multimedia PS3 would be too (and Sony would need to sell it with profit) and PS3 wouldn't have the option to customise it.
Also, people buy their stuff usually for single purpose, otherwise all the electronics we'd have would be PC:s, and single purpose devices are easier (and cheaper) to replace when needed and you don't have to throw away stuff you would still like to keep.

the best words are: ''Sony had hyped the system so well, and was coming off great success with the PSone, that it was able to crush Sega like a grape'' Sega will remember PS2 for A LONG TIME

Yawn, its pretty obvious that the Wii could have the longest lifespan on the shelf if Nintendo so wanted, except they will probably discontinue it as soon as the new Wii is released as they don't need low cost profitable hardware duplicated as they don't follow the lose money then pray to succeed model of business. This seems to be their typical modus operandus, especially as the new consoles will offer backwards compatibility.

Microsoft on the other hand don't care whether you have an Xbox, Xbox 360 or Xbox Next so long as you're continuing to purchase services from them. For example, if someone buys a console in the year 2009 and uses it strictly as a media centre/download box for the next 12 years paying their $50 a year credit card payment and im sure Microsoft will be extremely happy. So in that respect they can find a use for the console even if games are no longer being released. The ditto aspect of this goes to the new Primetime service which they haven't released yet, all looking at getting the consumer into what is effectively a long term service contract with them.

They don't need to even have games released for their older systems for them to remain somewhat viable as long as they have a decent userbase supporting the system. So is this a better long term plan for a console? Probably! Sony really is backing themselves into a wall here if they think the PS3 will still be a viable games system in 6 years time as most users either don't buy as many games or upgrade to the latest and greatest which is potentially not their system even!

@Squiliam: Assuming Wii drops in price after its successor comes into market, Nintendo would be able to get additional sales (software and hardware) from people who wouldn't buy the system (or the new one) anyway unless it's dirt cheap (Wii priced at 99 isn't impossible after N6 is out).

bdbdbd said: @Squiliam: Assuming Wii drops in price after its successor comes into market, Nintendo would be able to get additional sales (software and hardware) from people who wouldn't buy the system (or the new one) anyway unless it's dirt cheap (Wii priced at 99 isn't impossible after N6 is out).

The problem is, they will also tend to erode their next generation uptake as people are more likely to buy a cheaper Wii if it does essentially the same job as the Wii 2. Look at the Arcade/Premium price cuts for the Xbox 360. There were as many people purchasing the Arcade who would have otherwise purchased the Premium as there were people purchasing the Arcade because its within their price/comfort zone. The next generation hardware will likely cost as much as the current generation hardware so they will probably be better off to not erode their margins in western countries. The future I see for the current Wii is market development in emerging markets whilst the western market will likely get used to the idea that the Wii is always $250.

 

@Squiliam: Not quite. Nintendo will try to distinct N6 from Wii, how do they do that, i yet don't know, but the key is, that assuming Wiis successor is priced at 250, it, and Wii at 99, aren't after the same consumers. Wii is getting the late adopters and its successor the early ones. So far not one leading console have died fast after the successor is release. At the moment PS2 is earning its "extra" on its "overtime" and the sales don't effect PS3, since the consumers wouldn't buy expensive console anyway, but the cheap PS2 will do with Singstar and the likes.

@bdbdbd: The issue with trying to predict Nintendos actions with regards to the Wii after the next N6's release is an extremely cloudy and difficult process. For the start we do not know exactly what the next system will be and furthermore I don't believe it will be easy to predict how their company ethics may relate to the Wiis future. I don't believe the idea of having people purchase Wiis at a low price, only to be orphaned in a few years like the PS2 was fits into their brand of ethical behaviour inspite of how profitable it may be, even if they only paid $99 for the system.

Kyros said: The most popular console will live the longest. No matter what the tech inside is. If you see it that way. I interpret future proof as having the foundations for new features and functions and being competitive to newer technology for a long time. Yes the Wii is very successful but that doesn't help Wii owners to get better looking games or better media playback or better online functions ...

The Wii is just as updateable as the PS3 and XBox 360 are ...

It may not have the same internal storage capacity but the Wii does support SD cards, Wii Homebrew has got the Wii to accept SDHC cards (Maximum Capacity of 32GB), and it is plausable that the Wii is a firmware update away from accepting SDXC cards (Maximum Capacity of 2TB).

 

 

 

article is spot on

PS3 has little of what made PS2 a 10 year console.......and Sony is known for saying one thing and doing another (backwards compatibility and rumble).