This coming November marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Xbox 360 game console in North America. Five years used to mark the end of one generation of consoles and the launch of the next. however this 7th generation of consoles appears to be displaying some stamina with Microsoft and Sony in particular focusing on the addition of accessories, further advancements in online play and on the addition of additional features to the existing consoles rather than launching a new 8th generation console. I for one would love to see the launch of a new wave of consoles with faster processors, better graphics and more memory however it would appear that for the time being we're going to have to settle for accessories like project Natal and the PlayStation Move rather than with a new core console. I'm guessing that the 8th generation will likely see a proper launch in 2012.

While I'm disappointed that a new console generation isn't yet on the horizon, there are a number of technologies that the next generation needs to embed, and frankly most of these developments have little to do with more processing power and memory. Now, without further adieu and in no particular order, below is a list of features that I want in my next console:

1. Full social network integration. Microsoft has launched Twitter and Facebook apps on the 360, the PS3 and Wii support web browsing, social services like Raptr.com have launched to stream game playing statistics - but for the most part these are all partial solutions. The next console needs to be designed as a social console. Social feeds need to be a basic component of the game so that at any time during a game for example you can view tweets left by people while they were playing that particular level or from people posting in real time or in a given location. This needs to be designed so that it's seamless and so that it doesn't interfere with the core gameplay - however there is no question in my mind at least that social networking will be embedded into all forms of media, from television to books to music in the future. Let's make sure that the game console is part of this revolution.

2. All accounts need to be cloud enabled so that all games and game saves and game data is downloadable to any system via the internet. The idea of having to unplug a hard drive and plug it into a different console (as is the case with the 360) or to carry around memory cards was a good idea five years ago. Today it's stupid. Valve's Steam platform for the PC an Mac is the standard that the next generation of game consoles should be looking to top.

3. Full integration with live television and other forms of content should be embedded into the system. With the recent launch of GoogleTV it's clear that the television and the web will continue to merge. Sony has decided to partner with Google to combine its televisions and Blu-Ray standards into a GoogleTV enabled unit. The next generation should incorporate all of this into a single game console.

4. Let's do away with physical media - but let's do it respectfully. I'm a collector and I like owning something physical - it gives me something tangible to hold on to. There is no doubt that the future is digital so let's move to it - but let's make the alternative to physical better than physical. Steam is once again a good place to start as a base level. Games acquired through the Steam service are available to be downloaded over and over again on different computers (and now even on different operating systems). The caveat being of course that you can only play the games while you are logged in to your account. This is a reasonable trade off - but let's do it for all media - digital books, movies, television programs, music and games. And while we're at it - let's set up a proper library for each title to give us a sense of tangibility - give the title it's own area with additional content and bonuses and so forth. 343 studios is doing this with Halo Waypoint on the Xbox 360 and Sony is developing something similar in PlayStation Home - but both of these solutions (especially PS Home) are clunky. Let's streamline it. And let's also make it portable. if I want to take a look at my game collection on my BlackBerry or iPhone or PC or Mac or whatever - there should be an app for that. A rating system for each game/movie/book and so forth should also be available so that we can track our likes and dislikes.

That's four points and I'm just getting started. I'll post part two of this later.