I hope so. It would be nice to see the best win a generation.

Ms is at a huge disadvantage this gen! Know one knew who they were!

Now xbox is known round the world in a huge way!

I know so many people who waited for a ps3 after being more aware of them as a brand but have now said they would next time definatly make xbox the 1st console they buy.

Sony are now renoun for their promisses rather than product. Ms deliver, if something is announced then it comes out in mounths not years!!

As for nintendo... I dont call that gaming. Gamimg to me IS about having fun but its allso abot story telling i enjoy games as much for how fun they are but more so the story etc! Hence why my wii is played for 40mins total a week compared to 7hours plus a week on my xbox.

This reasoning seem specious to me. Granted we haven't seen anything explicitly to the contrary, but there's nothing that suggests that the Wii's new demographic cares about graphical progression - at least, not in a way comparable to how they care about Nintendo's software.

We will have to see it can go either way.

1) The majority of PS2 owners were not hardcore gamers, they were indeed the casuals, as is always the case with the winning console of each gen. Hardcore and core gamers make up the smallest part of the market. Most of the casual gamers this gen went to the Wii, DS, or PSP. As far as America, it's still going to be in a distant second place when all is said and done. First party titles are not Microsoft's strongpoint. Aside from Halo and maybe PGR and Fable, its internally developed games aren't anything to write home about. If third party devs were wiped off the planet tomorrow, Microsoft would be in the most trouble.

2) Digital downloads aren't going to be big anytime soon, if ever. People prefer to have a hard copy, and current internet connections aren't sufficient enough to facilitate digital downloads, especially in the US. They'll be around as they are now with XBLA, the PS store, and Wiiware, but again, they won't play any kind of decisive role.

I wouldn't say that visual progression is unimportant or vitally important, I think that the Wii simply satisfies the needs of gamers in other ways and these needs are of more importance to most people than the vista offered by the HD consoles. I think people tend to forget that visual complexity often goes hand in hand with increasingly complicated gameplay mechanics as developers try to add too much to games and they lose sight of important basic fundamentals. The Wii itself improves the visual aspect, but thats nothing compared to how it simplifies games to make them more palatable for the masses once again.

Nope, the HD wii will come out and people world round' will consider it the second coming.

All is lost going against Wii HD...

Let's examine this logic.

Nintendo had two winning consoles, then a second place console, then a third place console, then a winning console.

Sony had two winning consoles, then a second/third place console.

Microsoft has had a second place console, and a second/third place console, and you think they have the momentum to win a generation?

Notice that Nintendo's worst selling console (GameCube) was the one that innovated least. And the best selling console (will have) innovated most.

Neither of Sony's winning consoles innovated a great deal, but they took Nintendo's innovations and improved them. When Nintendo failed to innovate with the GC, momentum from the PS1 carried on to the PS2, like momentum from the NES had carried onto the SNES. And, like every generation, the market grew.

The seventh gen saw Nintendo innovating like they've never innovated before, kicking them right back into first place.

What about the PS1? My theory is that Sony tapped into an entirely new market (Europe), and of course was far wealthier than Sega or Nintendo. This combination allowed them to shoot into first place, with a massive lead of 70 million consoles over second. Microsoft had the money, yes, but they were going against the quality of the PS2, and that was something they just couldn't beat.

So Microsoft had basically no chance of winning this gen, unless they innovated like Nintendo had, and even then, it's doubtful. Sony had a shot. If they had, again, built on Nintendo's innovations, they would have been in first.

But hang on. They had nothing to build on. As I mentioned, the GameCube wasn't really innovative at all.

So on an entirely different topic, I think part of the reason the PS3 is in last is because of the GameCube...

Going back to the topic at hand, Microsoft is in a similar situation. They have the money, but they are against Nintendo's innovation...and Sony. Wait a minute, remember how the PS2 and to a certain extent PS1 won? Building on Nintendo's innovations. Which is precisely what Sony can do next gen. Microsoft is in no position to come in anything better than second, unless they manage to build on these innovations better than Sony, something they've never done before.

People say the Wii 2, or Wii HD, or whatever, is "a sequel to Wii, so it'll be in first!" Not really. The Wii got where it was with innovation. Chucking in a feature that your competitors had seven years ago is not innovation. So to be honest *raises flameshield*, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this "Wii 2" was in third. Assuming of course that they add nothing new.

So my predictions for next generation?

1) Sony

2) Microsoft

3) Nintendo.

As things stand right now. Of course, they could change, and there are a lot of possible unforeseen factors at play. Such as the possible introduction of a fourth console.

1. Well, the good thing about Nintendo is the depth of their games is all that matters. The graphics really is a non-factor because Nintendos gameplay always shines through (even when they have few games). They know they cannot depend on third parties and their graphics hungry games (thanks to Sony), so lets just hope for a good HD Wii. I think Nintendo gets it that the majority of the casuals will not graduate to the multiple button controller like Sony and MS have said. All they need to do is stay close enough to what the Wii was built on, with a couple of improvements and a love price and you have a winner.

Nintendos biggest vulnerability IMO is the fact that they can be blindsided by 3rd party brilliance. Fortunately for them, much of the HD software released this gen didn't have the magic which saw then pummelled by the PS1. They are only one company, and doing it alone against a horde of different competitors is difficult even for the best. The other issue they have is that their Wii owners may not graduate from the Wii. Wii Fit is brilliant, but for someone who owns the Wii for just that program, they have very little reason to upgrade the way I see it.

2. Microsoft might not get enough of the casuals, however, they can bag the hardcore base which are still hungry for an HD system today (Which are probably the majority of the PS2 fanbase). They've already got America and Xbox Live has over 17 Million users. All Microsoft has to do now is make affordable hardware that is undisputed quality, which no one can argue with. After this gen is over Microsoft will be solidified as a true competitor because it will have multitple quality first party titles, much like Sony and Nintendo. They will have a very good run next gen.

If they release first they have a chance to excite the market. This is as much a game of momentum as anything else and once they have that they have the chance to lock in key sections of the market with their Live network and build from there. This is pretty much a similar strategy to Nintendo, its the network effect of multiplayer. If they get a commanding lead here, it won't matter if they don't have the coolest games because people will buy the console their friends have just to play, chat or whatever. People will even advocate their console of choice to a friend just to get them to play online with them.

3. I have an eerie feeling Sony is going to be the weak link next gen, despite the fact that Blu Ray prices will fall. Everyone who cares enough about gaming knows Sony has lost its only connection with gamers, which was primarly gathering all of the third party games with a shovel. Now that Microsoft is playing the same game, they want to act like they are high and moral. Their world will never be the same. Once Digital downloads become big with consoles instead of hard formats, Sony will be forced to leave. Sony will do well next gen, but I believe they will still be in third.

If you look at the games Sony has released thus far, say for the PS2 you can see that really they haven't got a clue as to how to make a game which appeals to a lot of people at once. On a console of over 100 million, the sheer lack of huge selling games is a testament to how badly they have done thus far in making or finding these games. Their performance this generation leaves me wondering if beyond the hardcore gamer they actually know how to make a game which appeals to a lot of people at once. Granted, Microsoft is only a little better here except they make up for it with their wallet.

As far as digital downloads go, I think you're overstating what you perceive as a weakness when infact there is none. Their greatest weakness in transitioning to digital downloads is that with Blu Ray now they cannot offer reasonable download sizes next generation for current generation games. Microsoft on the other hand is perfectly positioned to take advantage of downloadable games on the other hand. I don't think they will be forced to leave, unless they get whipped again. However their greatest challenge is overcoming Xbox Live with the fact that its sucking up the core and hardcore gamers they've set their business up to target.