Next Gen

written by Blain Newport on Monday, 31 January, 2011

Salt Racer brought up the subject of the next generation of consoles and how nobody talks about it. I suspect that's because they're still a ways off. Well, maybe not Nintendo, but trying to predict their next move seems foolhardy.

Sony and Microsoft are making money right now. They like that. Both companies lost huge sums on launching the last hardware, and that wasn't during a prolonged recession, so they probably want to hold off as long as possible without getting caught napping.

Microsoft spent 500 million promoting Kinect and will want to spend at least two holiday seasons (2010 and 2011) cashing in on that investment. Sony also invested in their motion controls, and the thought of another launch like the PS3 probably still makes some of the Sony folks break out in a cold sweat.

That said, Sony is introducing a hand-held that can play Metal Gear Solid 4 (at reduced frame rate, but still). If that much power can fit into a hand-held, full HD 3D consoles could probably be ready today, if it wasn't for the economic roadblocks.

My guess is we'll see announcements at E3 2012. But that's just a guess.