Now that it looks almost certain that the 360 and PS3 will strive towards a ten year cycle what benefits do we feel a mature console market will bring?

Doesn't look that certain to me.

Advantage wise, having a few extra years before funds and effort are moved to new consoles means some very well made games should come out late for the consoles.... assuming they do last longer than usual.

Consoles used to live about 8 years. I hope the consoles this gen will have a much longer life cycle than that.

I did say almost certain and it is definately the more likely outcome anyway I expect a few naysayers on that aspect but lets play devils advocate and say 10 years.

The benefit to gamers in my opinion is lower console prices and improved games. This in turn leads to greater adoption. It also allows for more innovation especially if developers of both hardware and software believe they will make a return that does not require instant adoption.

This one will go on a long time. This gen still feels fairly fresh and it costs way too much for devs to make games as it is so 10 years would be fine.

Next gen is going to be ridiculous so I hope this gen last alot longer.

Imagine how expensive games will cost to make and how many delays they will have next gen! The amount of devs that will go out of business or simply shift development to cheaper systems (ie. handhelds) will mean less games.

Ps3 has only been out 2.5 years and devs are just starting to really get a hold of the system and master it. Look at the giant leap from Uncharted 1 to Uncharted 2 in terms of graphics.

I was about to say the long term plan would favour the PS3 as in the sceneraio you painted above with Uncharted 1 and 2. Then I thought it is almost just as likely that it will hit your other point about expense and will probably naturally slow.

I'll say what I've said in numerous other threads lately; this gen will be a lot shorter than was expected at its beginning (or even just a year back or so).
Well, that's what I think anyway.

What does this even mean? 

Are we talking about the time before the next generation of consoles is released or the time that the consoles will continue to remain in production/support by their manufacturers?

I think generally it is taken to mean how long this generation (This generation being the PS3 and 360) will last before they are replaced by a new console. Obviously the period of support after that can be whatever.

Although you make a good point should we be generally taking this to mean the above.