8th generation of consoles is an interesting beast. While it was a step up over what was offered by the previous generation, it was possibly the first time in gaming history that the leap wasn't big enough to warrant instant adoption. Sure, facial expressions are more detailed which means we no longer have to excessively rely on pre-rendered cutscenes as much, and Open World games no longer have to sacrifice visual detail for their massive scale. But generally speaking, not much from current generation looks light years better than what 7th gen could put out vs say, going from the PS1 to the PS2. In fact, a lot current gen games could be put on 7th gen level hardware and not loose too much in the process. The main improvements this gen have more to do with improvements made to RAM, architecture, and development tools than fancy processors.

I'd say the cracks of this started forming last generation. 7th generation ushered in the HD era, and was the biggest leap in technology we've had yet. But it showed there was still a large market for 6th era visuals as well. HD didn't become standard until later in the gen, and 6th generation was when 3D games really started to become fully realized, so it was good enough for a lot of more casual consumers. Just look what was out that generation. The DS and PSP were the most successful handhelds have ever been despite vastly weaker hardware (DS especially), the PS2 was still selling very well, even through most of the generation, and the best selling home console at the time, was an enhanced GameCube with a TV remote known as the Wii.

Even the HD twins themselves were elongated. 7th Generation had the longest lifespan of any console generation to date (8-9 years vs. the 5-6 of its predecessors), and even then, the PS3 and 360 still kept getting plenty of great games, including many AAA releases, even 3 years into current generation. 7th generation was the point where graphics were really becoming good enough for a lot of people, and adoption rates of next gen-level tech are growing slower and slower. That, and with consoles and AAA games getting increasingly expensive to develop, consumers are becoming less and less wowed by each new generation leap. Even now with current gen consoles fully in the spotlight, the best thing you can say about them is that they can finally do Open World games proper justice. There's still plenty of 7th gen era games that with a few improvements, can look presentable as current gen titles, it's a big reason why publishers still keep re-releasing games from that era and even 6th generation games on current systems. Hell, just look at some of the most popular titles this gen. Minecraft, Fortnite, Rocket League, Shovel Knight, Sonic Mania. All games that don't really have bleeding edge graphics, but are able to win over the hearts of gamers with gameplay and visual style alone.

Things are only going to get worse next gen IMO. While there will always be improvements made in graphics, how big of a leap next gen will actually be is looking pretty questionable. Even when PS5 and Xbox Scarlet arrive, will most people really sit and say "Oh yeah, I really need to upgrade right away!" Not really I don't think, many gamers and developers will still be fine rocking 8th gen consoles for quite a while before they abandon them, likely even longer than they did with 7th generation. At the moment, current consoles have more than enough power for everyone but the AAA developers who need to keep pushing the envelope. Even the comparatively under-powered Nintendo Switch is still good enough to run the majority of modern games and remasters at lower settings. I feel major improvements going forward will be focused more on AI, physics, etc. and even then, that tech will still be too expensive to be adopted by anybody but the AAA crowd for quite a while. So what I'm trying to say is, are generational leaps becoming less and less important these days?

Anyone who says the Switch has a drought. Likely doesn't own a Switch and shouldn't be taken seriously. You'd have to be either blind, or stupid to not see all the third party and indie games the system gets on a regular basis.

@blueberry_bandit: The point of a PlayStation hybrid would be that it wouldn't be aimed at the main PlayStation audience. They have a PS4 and eventually PS5 for that. The PS hybrid console would be aimed at the Switch's target audience, that being casual audiences, mobile gamers looking for a console, lapsed gamers, and those either too busy or too intimidated by traditional home consoles. I love the Switch, but I think Sony can and should create a nice alternative to Nintendo's product.

Nintendo tends to be more willing to compete when they have a direct counterpart to their console.

@ArchoNils2: The length of time in which a console is still being sold in stores, and supported with new releases officially licensed by the Platform holder. The Dreamcast officially "died" in 2001 and 2002 as Sega ceased all first party manufacturing of the console and developer support at that time. People are making unlicensed games for it because it's very easy to develop for and exploit.

@Ant_17: My guess is that they're trying to build a singular unified development OS, where they can build a game, scale it to desired platforms, and deploy a single ROM file onto the store that can run on any PlayStation platform. This will help developers smoothly transition over to the PlayStation 5, while also ensuring that those who still support the PlayStation 4 don't get left out, and ensures porting between all 3 systems in near instantaneous.

@TheMisterManGuy: Not denying how impressive it is, just saying that the Switch hasn't reached its full potential yet, plus you also have to consider the fact that Kratos and his new game single handedly hurled PS4s to people for most of the first half on his own, so there's that as well. Switch fever is real, but it's still impressive how well the PS4 is able to hold its own.

@sakaixx: Well comparing a new console with a unique concept and is only a year old to a console that's five years old and already having its best sales now that its more affordable and everyone had moved on from the PS3 is a bit different. Switch was also plagued with supply shortages in its first year, and those supply issues are basically gone. As more of the Switch's bigger titles this year start coming, PS4 could be facing a much stiffer sales gap going forward. This is why Sony needs a more direct answer to the Switch because its selling well, and will only sell more each year.

They can still do that, but they can also make a weaker hybrid home console aimed at a completely separate demographic on-top of that. Remember, this PlayStation Snap won't be aimed at the people buying a PS5, it'll be aimed at casual gamers who want something cheaper, more accessible and more convenient than a traditional home console.

Nintendo's Switch console has seen a lot of success since launch, and it's record breaking launch and consistently high sales are making the console harder to ignore among third party publishers, and Nintendo's contemporaries. Not too long ago, Sony mentioned that they can no longer afford to ignore the Switch. Newly appointed Sony Interactive CEO, John Kodera also talked about being interested in another mobile PlayStation device.

Now I love the Switch, but I don't the hybrid home console market to be a Nintendo monopoly. I think the Switch needs a direct competitor or two, to benefit. Of the big two, Sony was always the hardest to predict in terms of how they would respond to the Switch's success. Microsoft could at least make a gaming focused Windows 10 tablet that could dock to a desktop monitor, but Sony is more of a wild card since they don't really have that kind of synergy and infrastructure. So why don't we speculate about how Sony will approach the next generation.

In my opinion, I think Sony is going to go into next gen with two consoles, rather than one. The first console, will be PlayStation 5 with all the next gen specs and features that gamers and third parties are looking for in a new console. The second console, will be a Switch-style hybrid with detachable controllers that we'll for now, call PlayStation Snap. It'd be similar to when Sony had the PSP and PS3, and PS Vita and PS4 where Sony offered two platforms, but it'll work a little different this time. Rather than aim at the PlayStation gamers who want something to accompany their PS5, PS Snap will be targeting a completely different audience. Sony will position this device at more casual gamers used to mobile games, lapsed gamers who want something convenient, or simply newcomers who want a cheaper, more user friendly alternative to next gen consoles. Similar to the Switch's target audience.

At home, the PS Snap "Go Unit" console rests in the "TV Unit" dock. When the player is ready to go, they simply take the Go Unit out of the TV Unit, and snap on the "Play Unit" Controllers, which connect via some ultra-force magnet technology. At a table, you can pop open the kick-stand, and snap off the Play Units for some tabletop gameplay, with each controller containing a Sixaxis accelerometer and gyroscope. You can even pass a Play Unit to a friend for out of the box multiplayer, and connect multiple Go units together via Wireless ad-hoc. Sounds familiar right? And it should, but there are a few key difference here.

The Play Units themselves mimic the layout of the typical PlayStation DualShock controller (And yes, DualShock 4 and 5 controllers will be fully compatible), but with a twist, a rotating mecanism lets you swap the positions of the analog stick and face buttons. This comes in handy when you're sharing a Play Unit with a friend, but it's also useful for deciding a good control layout. A 2D game may make you want to use the controllers with the default layout, but in a FPS, you might want to prioritize the analog sticks over the face buttons.

The TV Unit also has a few tricks up its sleeve. In addition to a Tegra X2 processor powering the main Go Unit console, the TV Unit will also contain an x86 co-processor, along with an extra GB of RAM. This allows TV performance to match the PlayStation 4 as closely as possible.

Now, you won't be playing too many AAA games on this thing, for obvious reasons, but there should be plenty of stuff regarding software. On Sony's side, a new Horizon game will release exclusively on PS Snap, ports of some of the best, and less demanding fist party games will also arrive, and a new multiplayer IP from Japan Studio will release on PS Snap, PS4, and PS5 with cross-play. Because they all use the same development environment, tools, OS and hardware, porting between the three systems is near instantaneous, which should reduce software droughts. For third parties, indie games will be all on board, and Japanese developers will support it with the same kinds of games found on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Western Developers will use it as an entry point for casual gamers to get into AAA franchises with remasters, as well as ports of less demanding titles like Doom.

In the end, this is all speculation, much of this will likely be false, and Sony can do something completely different for all we know. Still, it's fun to speculate as to what a Switch alternative could potentially be like.

@stuff238: I expect the Switch to last longer than that. It's selling very well, and is on track to have Nintendo's best third party support in years. It'll be at least a good seven years before Nintendo replaces it.