They'll only be at the beginning of really pushing the hardware though. Not to mention, one year is already in the past, which means only 4 more years left.

The last console generations have been that way anyhow. Games start looking better and performing better the longer the consoles are out. Eventually they will hit a wall and nit be able improve anymore, but 5 years seems too soon. They won't be anywhere near hitting that limit.

Go back to last gen and think of the games that came out at that 5 year mark, then compare them to the games that came from then on. There's still a difference there.

I would say that if the devs already cant do 1080P (looking at you Ubisoft) then we should be looking for a change next year

I say 5 to 6. I also don't think MS will risk having a slightly weaker console ever again. Xbox Two will probably be backwards compatible, 4-5 times more powerful than the PS4, and all apps and services will transition seamlessly because by 2018 MS will have already laid the groundwork for all of its platforms and in the case of Xboxit will have a huge backlog of Universal apps. Windows 10 will be hitting its stride and MS will have mastered hardware and distribution as exemplified in its Surface Pro 7 and Windows Phone 10 devices.

I hope only another 3 years.

Till it ends?

My guess is 2020

Hopefully no longer than 4 more years (5 total years). Lets be honest, the systems were already underpowered the day they launched. Things like whether or not a game is going to run 1080p shouldn't even be a question at this point, its been the standard for years now.

If talking hardware in the box.... 5 years.... then v outdated. However, I reckon the "box" is the deciding factor here. Will consoles evolve to stream... rendering the current gen potentially capable of lasting 10-15 years through streaming... or will lack of gamer demand for pure streaming conclude that this gen... will be no different to any other, and last 4-6 years as "current" Gen, until a new system is released.

Personally. I'd say we will see another wave of consoles... but I honestly think gaming will ditch physical consoles after that gen in favour for digital. By then.... I'll be out of it as I'm not I'm favour of that, i guess I'd switch to PC.

I like how the Wii U is so far out of this equation.

360 launched in 2005 and Xone launched in 2013. That's 8 years between launches. The next gen will probably be the last one - and as such, it should come much sooner then people realize. X-mas 2018? I actually don't think we need a next gen, but I happen to know that Sony and MSFT are already working on prototypes. Nintendo will launch its new console for X-mas 2016 (at latest in mid 2017).

Streaming is real. The infrastructure is developing quickly. I've got the option of having 1 Gig service in my new house (I'm settling for just 100mbps). And that's from Hotwire - the worlds worst cable/internet company. The PS4 and Xbone are both powerful enough to handle game streaming etc... Instead of making the home hardware more powerful, they will probably focus on making it cheaper and smaller. I'm not talking about a $200 PSlim. I'm talking just a $50 controller that wirelessly syncs with your TV. At some point they may redesign the console so significantly that it technically feels next generation, but with streaming they will just add more hardware to the backend and maybe sell you peripherals (Like Morpheus, Kinect, etc...). WoW is the most successful game in history - and 99% of the computing power is remote. You can play it on a tablet. Same with PS3 titles on the PS4. And you will see some stuff out of MSFT in 2015/2016 that increases the AI, physics and environmental destructivity 10x (if you haven't seen the Crackdown 3 video - you will be amazed).

I know people on N4G are going to hate it, but the entire industry wants to go from selling you a disc and loosing 90% of revenues to piracy and used games - to charging you $15 a month for access to their entire catalogue.

Just look at Japan. Console sales are in the gutter and everyone is playing on their phones.

If your asking when the PS4 and XBOX ONE predecessors will be out, 4th quarter 2018.. However the PS4 and XBOX ONE will still be supported long after that date as we've seen with the previous consoles in the past.

Hopefully, with both systems essentially being PC architectures, the next consoles are forward compatible so new games work on both PS4 and PS5, with PS5 just having better running engines/effects, higher quality assets, etc. Similar to how a better cpu/gpu/ram in PC runs the same game but only better than a worse hardware set up.

If that's the case, I'd like new consoles no later than 5 years with the cross-gen compatibility beginning to end after about 7 years.

I remeber MS talking about forwards compatibility a few years back, it's a great idea imo.