After revealing NATAL, they said something to the extent of: "With Natal, we do not need to release an entirely new console in the next couple of years"

That was not their exact wording, but it was close.

Anybody else hear that? I, for one, am happy. It gives everyone more time to work on, and perfect their next consoles. And gives us fans more value for our purchase. Since games take longer to be developed these days, the console lifespans should be longer than before. With Natal revealed, and Sonys motion controller revealed.... both coming out around 2010 ... we could get another 5 good years from this generation.

I hope this generation lasts at least 5 more years.

I dunno. In 5 years I think the gap between what is possible on PC and 360/PS3 will be too large for me. Sure they can keep adding awesome new features like the 1080p instant video, but eventually games will not be able to get much better....

I'd say 3-4 years is a good time for the next generation regardless, and I hope MS uses this technology as included with every "next" console and merely uses the remainder of this gen as like a test run or something.

It should.

Honestly, I cant see graphics getting THAT much better than they currently are.

The bad economic situation will keep MS and Sony from releasing new consoles as well.

No one wants to pay another $300-400 on another new console.

Eh, I just don't know, though. A lot of games today still are not even 720p native. I'd like to see that improve, for one.

It may be able to stretch out that long, but I still feel like 3-4 years is the max to wait before releasing some new hardware. They just need to make that new hardware the right hardware and not go too expensive like last generation. $250-300 starting out price with very limited price cuts (like Wii this gen) would be a lot easier to handle than $400 and $600 launch consoles which after a few years finally reached $300 and $400.

I agree. 5 is about right.