Xbox 360 had record sales in 2011, and most importantly, Microsoft (and Sony) are now making good profits from the consoles due to the lower cost of making the hardware. Microsoft and Sony won't want to divert attention to new hardware when they want to maximise revenue from the current gen consoles. Sony and Microsoft have clearly stated that they will not talk about the next gen consoles at this years E3 and in the near future.
Also, I don't see PC's as competit...
I think that there will be an Xbox 360 price cut this year, probably announced at E3. With the 250GB model receiving the 320GB hard drive as standard later this year. I think that Microsoft and Sony will say nothing about the next gen at the E3 and also say nothing until 2013 E3 where they will be announced for launch late 2013. Reckon that Sony and Microsoft will be very aggressive this year in an attempt to take some gloss away from the Wii U launch and rollout.
In my opinion, F1 2011 is the best racing game I have every played (I play it on Xbox 360). Yeah a bit glitchy, and you can get penalised sometimes unnecessarily, but overall it is an exciting, intense experience. I mostly play coop though. F1 2012 is a day one purchase for me.
I think a price cut will be announced at E3 and, of course, some new game titles. I also think that the 250GB console will get the 320GB hard drive as standard later in the year. Reckon the Wii U will have a big battle this year against an aggressive Microsoft and Sony.
I think that Forza 5 will be a launch title for the next Xbox in late 2013. Forza 4 looks great on Xbox 360, the next Forza should look amazing on much more powerful hardware.
I think that late 2013 will be the launch date for the new Xbox with Forza 5, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty, PGR 5, Fable etc, and maybe a new Gears of War. Think Halo 5 will be out in late 2014.
I just can't see the Wii U having anywhere near the success of the Wii. The Wii was a freak, nearly everyone I know bought a Wii, even the people who were definately not gamers. The Wii U is quite different to the Wii and will probably be priced a fair bit higher at launch. Also, they are miles behind in on-line services with the Wii and have a lot of ground to makeup. The Wii U is also arguably being released too late as Wii sales have slipped alarmingly over the last year in contrast to...
I think Sony need to launch at the same time as the next Xbox (I predict late 2013). Using their financial issues as a reason to delay the launch, I think, would be a mistake. Sony could be left in the dust of the Wii U and next Xbox if they lag behind. This is a very unforgiving and harsh industry in some ways.
I think that the next Playstation will be an evolution of PS3 anyway. Upgraded cell chip, new gpu and use of blu-ray disk (with maybe increased capacity). Relativel...
Sithlord-Gamble
Can't see Sony launching after Microsoft, the one year head start by the Xbox 360 gave it a lot of momentum. Sony won't want to give the Wii U and the next Xbox a head start. Also, I think Microsoft will be very aggressive in chasing the number one position in console sales for the next gen. Whatever anyone thinks about their strategy it has been very successful in terms of sales and profitability.
Not sure if Sony can afford a pri...
Sony will be watching Microsoft closely at the E3. Microsofts press conference is always before Sony's so I think they will take the lead from Microsoft. I get the feeling that Sony would prefer to launch in 2014 but they know that the one year head start by Xbox 360 hurt them and they won't want to do that again. I personally think that they will both announce at the E3 (for launch late 2013) in order to take away the limelight from the Wii U.
There is plenty of fanboy hate to go around; I'm sure the Wii U will be picked to pieces when the final specs are announced at the June E3 game show. This is probably the worst thing about this gen of consoles, the fanboy hate. Most of it being biased and ignorant. With Sony, however, I think some of it is disappointment. Sony ruled gaming with the PS1 and PS2 and now it is back in the pack in a fierce rivalry with Microsoft and Nintendo.
I think it is mainly coincidental that the 'weakest console always wins the gen'. For example, PS2 was released earlier than the Xbox and had more developer support. I think the next gen consoles will be native 1080P with a substantial jump in graphical fidelity (and refinement) but this will be done using relatively low cost CPU/GPU, not cutting edge tech (to keep costs down). I think that the next PS/XBOX/Wii won't be much different in graphical abilities anyway. With their prof...
I'm starting to think that the next Xbox will be fairly radical, more than just a graphical update. I think the rumours of a touchscreen on a controller (smaller than the Wii U though) may become a reality as Microsoft won't want to be blindsided like with the Wii; they will want to cover all bases this time. Coupled with a higher resolution and virtually lag free Kinect will allow games to use the controller, and/or touchscreen, and/or gesture, and/or voice control which could make f...
I think that another reason exclusives are becoming less important nowadays is the large number of third party game releases each year and the massive amount of content we now get in games (including DLC which extends the life of games). I play games about twice a week and pretty much only play Battlefield 3, Gears of War 3 and F1 2011. The first two games, in particular, have a lot of different game modes including campaign and quite a few multi-player variants. Compare this with games from ...
Forza_is_King
I actually think that some of Sony's current woes originated with the launch of the PS2; they overhyped the consoles 'emotion' engine capabilities, and, the PS2 was also difficult to code (compared to PS1). I think that there will be a PS4 however, Sony have a large and very loyal fan base that has the potential to generate good returns (if done right). But I think it will be a more back to basics approach, a relatively simple and cost effective co...
trouble_bubble
The Gran Turismo series has been around longer, and, is popular in Japan, that may partly explain the increased sales compared to Forza. The core Halo games (Halo 3, Halo Reach) have sold gangbusters. Halo Anniversary and Halo 3 ODST have sold reasonably well but nowhere near the core Halo games. Incidently, I am expecting Halo 4 to be the biggest selling Halo game. I do expect Sony to slightly reduce their first party game output in response to their current...
An open network for Wii U sounds promising but do you really want each game to potentially have a different online experience? Closed networks like Xbox Live help ensure a consistent on-line experience across all games. I am sure big publishers like EA or Activision will utilise all the on-line features for the Wii U but what about smaller developers with much smaller budgets? If Nintendo can pull it off then great but I have my doubts.
Dorwrath
Console sales do matter to gamers, without a decent sized console install base third party game developers will generally not be keen to release games on the system.
Microsoft will be ecstatic with Xbox 360 sales this generation. They have gained massive market share and have a lot of momentum leading into the next generation. I think the current 250GB console will soon get the 320GB hard drive as standard and that there will be a worldwide price cut later in the year as a lead in to Halo 4 (which will be huge). I wouldn't be surprised if the Xbox 360 2012 sales exceed 2011's.
I think Xbox 360 will have record sales this year. There should be a big price cut ( maybe announced at E3) and the 250GB console will likely be upgraded to 320GB as well to provide better value. Halo 4 will be huge and games like Kinect Star Wars, Forza Horizon, Minecraft and Witcher 2 should be popular.
This should produce a lot of momentum for the next gen Xbox that should be released late 2013.