14 DAY TRIAL // Let's face it, gamers, current gen consoles are already obsolete. Not hardware wise, as there seems to be enough processing power in them to make them a match for mainstream PCs for at least a few years. Not software wise, as there are interesting games and AAA titles that are coming up on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. But they are obsolete as far as perceptions go. We know what do to with a Wii controller, we know how a PlayStation 3 game looks, and we've learned the interface of the Xbox 360. Frankly, in a world where everything is moving faster and faster, console manufacturers are still thinking that the life span of the current consoles will be just as long as that of the original Xbox or of the PlayStation 2.
It's clear that Microsoft and Sony would like to sell their consoles for around ten years. The main reason is the fact that they have invested a lot of money into the development of the PlayStation 3 and of the Xbox 360 (the companies have not revealed the actual sums) and they need the gaming consoles to sell in a lot of units to get a profit. The other reason is that creating the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox 720 will most likely cost even more.
How long can gamers be interested in the current generation of consoles? Speaking to Forbes, Brian Farrell, from THQ, says that "Those engines have a lot of Steam left in them. We think it could be seven or eight years before new machines start to roll out", while Mike Capps, from Epic, stated that the next Unreal Engine would most likely arrive with the next generation of consoles, between 2012 and 2018. While 2012 doesn't seem to be far away, 2018 is actually ten years from now.
So far, only Nintendo talks about doing a Wii 2, while Sony only says that it expects the PlayStation 3 to sell 150 million units and Microsoft's Shane Kim reveals that there are no plans for a new console from Microsoft.
The bad news is that the PC is moving fast. Just look at the jump of graphical quality in games that took place between 2006 and 2008. Crysis looks better on a tricked out PC than arguably any game on a console and who knows where the PC will be in 2012. So, we've got at least four years to spend playing the already obsolete Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii.