When do you want the next generation of consoles?

For the purposes of this discussion, we shall not consider Nintendo, since right now, it appears as though they are on their own generational cycle.

But yes, the PS5 and the Xbox 4- when are we expecting these consoles? How long do we want this generation to be?

For reference, each generation so far has had an average cycle of about 5-6 years, before a successor was introduced to the market, except for the seventh generation, which went on for eight yearsbefore the successor systems were introduced.

Obviously, no one wants the PS4 and Xbox One to stick around that long, especially given that they seem to be technologically... well, middling, at best. On the other hand, on a 5 year cycle, we would already be done 40% with both systems this holiday season, and that does not feel right either, especially since it seems as though the AAA development cycle for both consoles is only just now beginning.

So how long do we want these consoles around? When do you expect to see the PS5 and Xbox Infinity on the market? What are your reasons for wanting the PS4 and Xbox One to stick around for however long you want them to stick around?

This generation needs to come to a close November 2018, the only reason a 5 year cycle seems strange right now is because the last generation of hardware outstayed its welcome by roughly 3-4 years, slogging along holding the industry and technological development back.

These consoles have already peaked, they're x86 PC hardware, any PC gamer knows exactly where the road ends with these things and that point has passed.

I think I'll be content with PS4 and XB1 for many years to come. I still play PS3, 360 and Wii games, and even PS2, Dreamcast, Xbox and Gamecube games on occasion.

My reason: I dislike buying new hardware every couple of years. Personally, I wouldn't mind this gen hanging around until 2020. If tech advancement is most important to you, PC is a better choice.

You don't seem to understand that since most game/technological development these days is ham-stringed to consoles, under-powered console hardware holds back technological advancement thus artificially stunting the PC.

Far Cry 3 was a great example of this from last gen, the game they originally showed off at E3 was obviously configured for a PC's rendering budget, however that was dramatically scaled back to cater to a console rendering budget which intrinsically scaled back the game for the PC as well as they centered the development around weak console hardware.

Consoles should be locked at 5 year generations, period. No shorter or longer. PS5 and Xbox 720 should release Q4 2018. End of story.

If a console gen is shorter then 5 years you run the risk of releasing a new console before the first console had a chance to drop in price enough.

If a console gen is longer then 5 years you run the risk of the console becoming too outdated in terms of tech as well as gamer fatigue. The games industry as a whole always benefits from new consoles.

The best strategy that I hope they go with is introduce medium-high powered affordable (around $399) consoles every 5 years. Its a much better alternative to releasing a behemoth but expensive console every 7-8 years.

@nyadc: You don't seem to understand that most console gamers are very casual, don't keep up with tech, don't care about tech, and don't play everything like we do.

Since these consoles are selling at a faster rate than previous generations, larger user bases will mean stretching things out as long as possible, and selling less tech advanced games to maximize profit. Making money is more important to the industry than advancing it. These systems are much more capable of making quality games than their predecessors.

No time soon. These consoles need to beef up their exclusive line up before I'll care about moving on.

I wouldn't care if these consoles lasted a decade or more. The massive advances of the past are over, it's just polishing things to look ever more shiny now. All the problems of the past that I was eager for more power to solve are basically solved. We have the giant worlds, we have screens filled entirely with enemies and NPCs, we have awesome physics and good AI, we have no problem with draw distance (remember the N64 when stuff turned to fog 20 feet away?), we have the high resolution and pretty lighting.

We can always bump resolution and fps, and more power will never be a bad thing. But it doesn't seem all that pressing. Budgets are the limit more so than hardware these days.

Personally, I'm already satisfied with the PS4 technologically. The Xbox One is a bit more disappointing but it's a fine system. I'm in no great rush to see a successor console. I do think that BC is an absolute, unconditional must if either company plans to release a successor console in only 6 years. Thankfully, BC should be very simple this time around.

I don't think there is any chance the PS5 will release in 2018 as Sony has never really followed the 5 year lifecycle. PS1 released in '94, PS2 in '00, PS3 in '06, and PS4 in '13. More importantly, the PS4 is a runaway success that may end up rivaling or exceeding the PS2, so there is little incentive to release a followup console before 2019-2020.

Just for reference, I figured I would put this here:

Third generation: 1984-1989 (Launches of Famicom and Mega Drive respectively)
Fourth Generation: 1989-1994 (Launches of Mega Drive and PlayStation respectively)
Fifth Generation: 1994-1998 (Launches of PlayStation and Dreamcast respectively)
Sixth Generation: 1998-2005 (Launches of Dreamcast and Xbox 360 respectively)
Seventh Generation: 2005-2012 (Launches of Xbox 360 and Wii U respectively)

The sixth generation is a bit of an odd case- the Dreamcast technically kicked it off, but it never actually competed in the sixth gen era market place. If we only want to count the systems that did compete, we would instead have:

Fifth Generation: 1994-2000 (Launches of PlayStation and PlayStation 2 respectively)
Sixth Generation: 2000-2005 (Launches of PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 respectively)

These consoles selling at a faster rate doesn't mean they will hit the same market cap the last generation did, you're actually contradicting yourself in this very post.

"You don't seem to understand that most console gamers are very casual, don't keep up with tech, don't care about tech, and don't play everything like we do."

If that were in fact the case wouldn't people stick with their 360's and PS3's for a long time to come as they don't care? All that these consoles selling faster than the last generation means is that people have been starving for far too long trapped behind extremely dated technology, not because they're something special. These extremely fast sales figures are burning up the core gamer base, after that is exhausted there is no telling what will happen, but expect a pretty massive decline in momentum.

22 months into the life of the PS3 and Xbox 360 people weren't saying that these consoles needed to be replaced, that they're too underpowered, because they didn't need to be and they weren't, the PS4 and XBO however are a different story at this same 22 month time frame, they've already hit their hardware limitations, they're upper low end PC's and that weakness is going to dramatically expand over the next 12 months.

They need to go by the end of 2018, they're too much of a hindrance, they're too hard for developers to actually do anything with that can showcase current and future graphics technology and have been a laughing stock against the PC since before they even released.

They're not junk, but where they stand in the hardware hierarchy they are.

@nyadc: Again, you're viewing things from a different standpoint than the average console consumer. A lot of so called "hardcores" that post here haven't even made the jump to current yet. Games take a long time to develop, so you can bet both Sony and Microsoft will not be chomping at the bit to throw out new systems when it's taking them so long to make games.

The big third party devs had to nudge them to release new systems last gen because of the limitations they had. That isn't the case this time around, and they can get more out of the hardware this time.

Expect another extended generation just like the last one.

Does the whole "hardcore" thing really relate to hardware or generations though? Don't wanna start another silly pointless "what IS hardcore" talk but if someone's still hanging out on 360, finishing off Dark Souls II DLC or whatever, that seems pretty normal to me and not really a sign of "casual" gaming.

I guess the proper term here to use would be 'invested,' not 'hardcore.' A lot of people are enthusiasts, and are more invested in gaming as a hobby, and in keeping up with the latest and greatest- these are probably the demographic bigboi is referring to. Meanwhile, a massive amount of the population plays games, sometimes even plays them a lot, but does not necessarily care to be on the cutting edge (i.e. more than 80% of the console market). This is the less invested demographic.

Hardcore should refer to time investment, so yeah, tying it to generational leaps seems silly to me.

I'm fine with 8 years or so. Personally I'm usually in no rush to go out and buy a new system. I like to see devs push a system to it's max.

Well, what will happen to the Japanese then? Unless it's Square-Enix or some other juggernaut corporation (but it seems that CAPCOM and Konami have both lost that status), then the majority of their all smaller studios are a generation behind already and it's extremely well-documented, even by the Japanese game developers themselves.

Not necessarily- most of them are making a transition to the PS4 (and the NX, apparently), so by 2018 or so, Japanese studios should have caught up.

Of course, a new console in 2018-19 will mean that they are behind again for a while, but Japanese studios have always preferred to support older tech over newer one anyway.

Yes, just poor wording on my part. Should have went with "dedicated".

Another reason I think this gen will carry on like that last, is the uncertainty of things to come. By that, I mean we've seen a much bigger transition to digital in the console market than before, yet there are still sales for retail copies. Companies will probably want to keep a strong eye on that growth rate and might kill physical all together. Who knows?

Last gen the hardware was more about the movement to HD than actual processing. Currently developers can create much better games than ever before, and I think they can milk it for a long time to come.

If this gen lasts eight years, I'm going to quit gaming. Five years, no more, no less.

I don't. everyone migrate to PC. Shh don't resist. You'll thank me.

I like the traditional 5 year console cycle. 6 years is the absolute most that any console should last for before a successor is introduced.

Our current gen consoles were underpowered from the very moment they launched, unlike last gen's consoles, and by 2018 they will be extremely outdated and will be signficantly holding back what game developers could create with modern hardware.

The last generation lasting for so long was a special case situation due to the global economic crisis at the time and the hardware that they used for the last gen consoles (which was very, very powerful for the time it launched). Neither of those situations are true for the current generation, so I feel we'll be back to the traditional 5/6 year console cycle.

I personally expect Nintendo to release their new console in 2017 (they can't go any longer than this given the Wii U's poor sales and hardware), Microsoft to release their new console in 2018 (they will want to get the head start on Sony this time), and Sony to release their new console in 2019 (since they are leading the console market but the company as a whole is in financial trouble, they will try to ride it out a little longer than Nintendo and Microsoft, but if they wait any longer than 2019, they will get left behind). I would really like for it to play out exactly like I just described as well since that means I will get to experience the joy of getting a new console every year for three years in a row.

5 Years tops so 2018 but I'd be ok with 2017 since this gen is so underpowered. When the next consoles release in 2018 they need to be $600 so we can get a real generational leap. A $400 box won't do that in 2018.

I wouldn't be surprised if this console cycle lasts until 2020 or longer.

2018/19 seems a good time to switch. Nintendo is gonna screw up badly if they release something akin to the ps4 in power in 2017 though...

All the complaints about Xbox one resolution issussues are a good indicator that it shouldn't be dragged on for more than a normal gen.

Consoles might stagger out more, nx 2017, Xbox 2018, ps5 2019. Either way, I don't expect them until 2018 at least.

This gen will probably be longer than the last, graphics have almost peaked and arent making the same impact they did in the past.. Whatever slick shit bricks sony and ms release next better bring the innovation.

i want racing exclusives.. i want the fu**ing racing games.. whether it's this gen or the next!

where is PGR?

where is motorstorm?

where is GT?

where is a decent F1 game?

only forza is delivering.. other than that we always have the buggy prorekt cars and photomodeclub..its pathetic

I'd like NX to come out and use 14/16nm technology, so if that means Nintendo can't have that ready next year then make it 2017. Just so it can much more easily have impressive specs with the efficiency Nintendo wants and also it'll give them more time to have software lined up for it without any droughts.

The other 2 companies? I probably won't bother with them because I know the AAA industry is only going to get worse, not to mention they could be all digital or just stream boxes. As it is by the time I get a Ps4, i'll have been waiting more than 3 years before it's worth it to me and with another generational leap will come even longer waits, more patches and more dlc.

I wouldn't mind 5 years or longer. If you change out the consoles too quickly it will become more difficult for developers to get their games out. It's not like the consoles are staying as they were when first released, they update their software and updates of game engines makes sure that you find more clever solutions to the challenges you have as developers.

I would say 5 years, but we're in a transitional phase as is. With the price of 4k tv's dropping they could be common 3 years from now. What does that mean for consoles? Can they push 4k/60fps without breaking your bank 3 years from now? I highly doubt some of you would settle for 30fps 3 years ahead. Which means you could be looking at a 1080p console again while 4k is the norm.

I think this gen will last 5-6 years (from PS4/X1 launch, as said not really counting Nintendo right now), not 7-8. Expecting 5 if whatever Nintendo comes out with is a console and it's more powerful than the other consoles(which would be anywhere from late 2016 to late 2017 I'm guessing).

I WANT this generation to last as long as possible. The number of console exclusives doesn't justify come close to buying them at the moment.

Realistically, they will last as long as companies think they can sell more systems and games by buying exclusives.

6 years is the sweet number, but I'm perfectly fine with 7. People need to realize we're at year 2 of this gen, having it last 5 years would cut game releases during the gen in half since most games still take 2 years to develop which is half of a 5 year gen cycle.

Agreed, i'd like it if they lasted as long as 360 did, or even 10 years.

Until 2019 or 2020 (excluding Ninty).

If it was 2018 then this gen = a letdown.