For how long should the current-gen last?

Here I was thinking the Switch 2 was just a Switch Pro with a few exclusives. Let's be real, it's next-gen for Nintendo IPs. Sony and Microsoft is a whole generation ahead and the PC is three generations ahead.

that's not how console generations work.

I legit feel like the gaming community as a whole is getting dumber and dumber reading shit like this.
it's like many have some form of amnesia where they forgot the entire history of the industry and can only remember the last 5 years.
or somehow devolved into talking like 10YOs on the school playground again.

the Wii was the same console gen as the 360 and PS3, while having a similar hardware power gulf between them than the PS5 and the Switch 1 have between eachother.
the original Xbox was more powerful than the Wii in fact, while being one generation older.
guess which system was also part of gen7 (Wii, PS3, 360)... the DS, a system that's less powerful than the Dreamcast and couldn't even do stuff like texture filtering, which is a step back from even the N64 (although I prefer no filtering at such low resolutions)

it really feels like talking to primary school children whenever people say shit like this.

the Switch 2 is gen10, and it roughly follows the established handheld system timing/cadence of releasing slightly ahead of the home consoles. just like the DS and PSP did, and like the 3DS and Vita did.
 
Last edited:
Never thought I'd say this, but I think this generation needs to last as long as possible. Feels like it needs to be at least 7 years long like the PS3/X360 generation. Even 2027 feels early, but historically speaking... we'll be seeing new consoles from both PS5 and Xbox within 2 years, max.
 
People still don't realise that "generations" don't exist anymore. PS5 will keep running the same games that PS6 runs, just because these consoles are share the same architecture and because of that developers don't need to make games exclusive for "next-gen" devices.

No matter if the PS6 release in 2027, PS5 will keep receiving games until 2030 at least.
 
Developers don't optimize for the current gen. PS5 only has a few PS5-only games and Xbox just started to release XSX/S-only games....and it's been 5 years. If they all harnessed the full power of the systems and optimized the games, this generation could, and should last 5 more years.
Yes…minimum 5 years.
 
The effect from this should have been:

"Cool, now people can check out other new I.P. from new publishers and developers. There are tons of new games and experiences out there worth checking out."

Sadly, instead it has mostly been:

"We should continue to only pay attention and be upset about the same top 5 publishers not releasing games fast enough as nothing else matters"

This is also how it should've been in the discourse surrounding exclusive games.

People act like multiplatform games just don't exist and so we get retardation like "PlayStation, 5 games".
 
Here comes the generation Wikipedia police, like many said, gaming today is a lot different from what we've seen if I had to size up this gen (ps5, series x, switch/switch 2) I got this gen lasting another 4 years.
 
This is also how it should've been in the discourse surrounding exclusive games.

People act like multiplatform games just don't exist and so we get retardation like "PlayStation, 5 games".
I agree but unfortunately, it's a conversation that isn't brought up enough because there's too many PC gamers online.

However if you checked in on someone who simply owned and uses a Switch 1 for the past decade(and nothing else), there is a case for how they simply missed a ton of current gen releases due to it's graphical limitations.

In addition, it was always treated as the 'additional console' (PC and switch or PS5 and Switch) rather than a primary one, and somehow that's not alarming for Nintendo...at least not yet.
 
Last edited:
The graphical jump we are getting with 2x power is minuscule these days between systems. This one could last a long time as long as we get 60 fps options with VRR.
 
While I'd love true next gen to start as soon as possible, at this point I'm not even sure what it would change. Sony will probably use the power to throw even more peach fuzz on their characters faces and spend the next 4 years re-remastering TLOU while tossing piles of cash into the never ending GAAS fire with little to show for it. Xbox going to show up with 15 more game trailers with no release dates and another reminder that elder scrolls is still on its way.
 
It will last a long time, beyond 2030 in the cross-gen context.
But I believe that the new generation will not take longer than 2028, I would guess 2027.
 
Switch 2 is 10th gen. Get it right
sipping president obama GIF by NowThis
 
Crossgen will last at least till 2030, reasons for that are simple:
1) New consoles gonna be super expensive
2) New consoles wont be crazy much stronger from current gen ps5/xsx in terms of pure raster(they will have much more rt and ai upscaling capabilities but raw cpu power likely gonna be 2x as fast, gpu 3x, which means if game wont have raytracing as requirement, it will have 1080p 30fps version for ps5 even if its close to 1440p60 (ai upscaled to 4k)on ps6.
 
2028 is best for next gen consoles. They have to make money first. Let the cycle go longer. We are no longer getting those 30fps games so there is still scope for more timespan.
 
I don't know if gens matter anymore outside of keeping up to date with newer technologies. The current gen consoles can handle outstanding content, so it's not like we're desperately waiting for more power. I get excited about new consoles regardless of the age of a console. I can't wait for the next xbox console as it will likely coincide with a new Halo game. If rumors are true and something comes out next year I'd be thrilled. I look forward to the next Switch but I can't really afford it at the moment, so i'll probably be searching FB Marketplace in a year or two for a good deal instead.
Definitely this post. Some of us play some really old consoles, from time to time, and it doesn't bother us, because art and gameplay. Power is completely enough, in current situation, to make art
 
Last edited:
My prediction is PS6 in 2028. crossgen games until 2032, or possibly longer depending on compatibility with the rumored handheld.
 
Last edited:
Well, Nintendo is coming out with their nextgen console in about 2 weeks. Already preordered so all is well. It'll be interesting to see what their internal teams can achieve on that one.

Now that everything else is on PC and the same engines are used and often pushed further on PC I can't say I care much about other consoles.

I'm more interested to see what Valve plans to do with SteamOS and their rumored return of Steam Machines the coming 1-2 years. And what Microsoft plans to do with their Xbox App and multi store big screen UI.
 
I personally think hardware should be updated every five years.
I agree given that nowadays console generations remain the same architecture. PS6 is going to be a PS5 Pro+Pro.

Also those "pc-handhelds" launch annually and don't give a shit about generations!
 
I'd prefer 6 years for a gen before releasing a new console but this gen feels like it just started. 2 years for cross gen, 2 years for games made for the current gen, 2 years for games mastered for that gen, and then rinse and repeat. So each generation would last 8 years for a console for most releases and then you could just do greatest hits discounts for extra money after the 8th year for the next 4 years.
 
Ask again when Sony starts releasing some games. As someone who has a PS5 for exclusives only, it seems like there is nothing to play. I think if they manage to get out the last Horizon game and the one ND game that will drop this gen then maybe it will be time to start looking at PS6. But what real advances will there be by then that will wow the masses? If they are putting together something now to launch in Fall 2027 it would likely just be something built around the next gen AMD tech which is just going to be faster and more expensive than what they have in the PS5.
 
Until it will be technically and financially possible to provide a sizeable leap in performance and/or features at similar price levels.
 
The effect from this should have been:

"Cool, now people can check out other new I.P. from new publishers and developers. There are tons of new games and experiences out there worth checking out."

Sadly, instead it has mostly been:

"We should continue to only pay attention and be upset about the same top 5 publishers not releasing games fast enough as nothing else matters"
Good. Great. Look for other genres and developers. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's healthy for the art form.

But my original point was that development by many well established, talented studios has slowed to a crawl this generation. I used those series as examples as to how quick game development was in prior generations, particularly the PS3/360 generation, when compared to current gen.
 
Good. Great. Look for other genres and developers. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's healthy for the art form.

But my original point was that development by many well established, talented studios has slowed to a crawl this generation. I used those series as examples as to how quick game development was in prior generations, particularly the PS3/360 generation, when compared to current gen.
I never said 'you are wrong' I merely said that the effect should have ended up better from the cause.

In the 90s and 2000s, gamers would have simply moved on to the next game in a game store or rental store. Now people cling to those established studios too much.
 
They need to wait till the current GPU tech can fully render games in pure Ray Tracing mode at 60fps. Any middle-of-the-road upgrade will only lead to more disappointment.

I'd say wait till 2030 at the earliest.
 
Honestly, I want it to last as long as possible. Better hardware is only going to mean higher devices costs and even longer development times, just for diminishing returns on graphics.
 
Every generation seems to have negligible visual improvements so why not make it last as long as possible? What's the real benefit to buying new consoles these days? Most newer games could run fine on previous generation hardware with some tweaks if console gaming weren't so restrictive.
 
Last edited:
I don't wanna see another console until we're approaching the turn of the decade, everything is still releasing cross gen, what's the point to even release anything sooner?
 
After they bungled this gen I'm pretty much out. I think we've crossed the rubicon in terms of expected fidelity going forward and I'm honestly content to just sit on the sidelines and read/watch about new stuff than actually play any of the bullshit that's been trickling out the past five years.

Next gen graphical leap isn't going to be revolutionary and since every big game release takes at least 5 years dev time, most new games look old as soon as they launch. Development costs aren't going to go down so the whole thing is gearing up to flatline or drastically change for the worse from here.

I wish it could be different but the only justification for a PS6 in the next year or so isn't from a place of practicality, it's pure cyclical capitalism. Line needs to go up for these companies whether the consumer wants it or not.
 
Last edited:
Lets see, COVID hampered development, games still releasing on last gen consoles, new consoles still not being fully utilized.

I wish it lasts until 2030 but we know that aint happening because money talks. I think 2027/8 sounds plausible.
 
Top Bottom