http://www.avault.com/index.php?p=119

3. Where is it all going? What do you see happening in the next five years and beyond?

JR: Right now MMOs, mobile and PC episodic are really polarizing into the newest most important segments in gaming. Next-gen console is big but its future isn't too bright with the emergence of cheap PC multi-core processors and the big change the PC industry will go through during the next 5 years to accommodate the new multi-core-centric hardware designs. My prediction is that the game console in the vein of the PS3 and XBOX 360 is going to either undergo a massive rethink or go away altogether. The Wii has the perfect design for a console that doesn't pretend to be a PC and is geared more toward casual gamers than hardcore gamers. The hardcore gamers are going to either be playing on their PCs or a new PC-like platform that sits in the living room but still serves the whole house over wifi, even the video signal.

dgsag

Later on:

But seriously, I'm not the only one that's predicting the end of the console. ATI definitely knew the writing was on the wall regarding video adapters when they sold to AMD. Why? Because the multi-core systems of the future will utilize the on-board-cores to handle video; no need for a separate adapter. It's already happened to audio in a limited fashion with on-board audio chips (great quality vs. onboard video) and will continue to transform when multi-core hits. Instead of buying the Creative X-Fi Gamer audio adapter you'll probably be buying the software instead or else it'll become a built-in driver courtesy of Microsoft's latest OS. What does this mean for console? It means PCs that are cheaper because they're based on a solid foundation of several inexpensive CPU cores and the hardware will begin to rely on software to control them for many different functions which include audio and video. When hardware design reaches this stage the expensive custom chip development of consoles becomes a risky ROI.

Who else is predicting the end of console? Well, here's an article just 5 days old I just became aware of while reading Digg links to my interview. Now, I agree with the prediction for the Playstation and XBOX console timelines (maybe one more generation) but not Nintendo. Why? Because if you want to play Mario, Zelda, Starfox, Wario, Donkey Kong, etc. you'll only be able to do it on a Nintendo system be it handheld or console.

Nintendo's power is in their IP and they own a universe of their making in which most of us are gladly a resident. In terms of handheld systems, no one has been able to achieve their success in almost 20 years. So I'll leave Nintendo out of the doom & gloom of console because they separate themselves from the technology path that Microsoft's gaming division and Sony have been following.

This is by John Romero, a highly respected game designer, programmer, and developer in the video game industry. He is best known as a co-founder of id Software and lead designer of their groundbreaking personal computer games Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake. His unique game designs and development tools, along with the revolutionary programming techniques created and implemented by id Software's lead programmer John Carmack, led to a mass-popularization of the first person shooter, or FPS, in the 1990s. He is also credited with coining the term "deathmatch."

Well, this is certainly a new perspective than the age-old "PC GAMING IS DYING!!!!111!!!!1" At least the third article I've seen mentioning something like this. Cows and lems, watch out. ;)

Discuss. :D

I don't think this is far from the truth, I have been playing my PC far more then my Xbox360 lately, WOW, beats out GeOW lately in my mind. 

That would be cool to be able to play somone in a FF game from my 360 with people from the PS3.

I hope this happens.

 Link

Lemmings aren't the ones being force fed Blu-Ray.thirstychainsaw

I'd rather be force fed Blue-Ray, then to have to buy a system that i have to buy 20 add ons just to have a good system, oh and then a year latter the System Mocrosoft should have put out in the first place comes out. for pnly 60$ bucks more.

Dude it's the price, just about everyone I know myself included would buy a PS3 in a heart beat if the price was lower, and it's still only been 6 months from when it was released, good games are coming.

The PS3 is not done for, look into the PS2 and it's launch and the year after that, the PS3 is going thou the same stuff, i think for some crasy reason Sony plans for it to go like this.

All I have to say is PRICE DROP, I can wait for one, can you? 

I'm always serprised at how people will gladly pay 300-400$ for a MP3 player just to hear there music, but when it comes to buy a new Gameing console with all the the X-box 360 and PS3 offer, suddenly becaome a bunch of cheapo's that complain to no end about the price.

Beacuse Sony thought they where giveing the people what they wanted, cool new powefull tech, oH and here is a news flash, NEW POWERFULL TECH IS NOT CHEAP.

The PS3 is ahead of it's time, in it's tech and it's price. 

I think the Wii will do just fine, people are geting sick of going googoo over super cool graphics, it's geting to the point where you don't give a crap how sweet they look because they all look so good anyway.

And I really hate this whole AA/AAA crap, it's made a gradeing system that ends up only giveing like 2-4 games a gen great scores, where in the real gameing world most people don't care if it's been given a AAA, they still have fun with the games they like.

I think Wii will do the best this Gen, then Sony, and in last will be microsoft, All i can say to microsoft is to stop putting so much  attention on 1-2 super AAAAAAA games and give us more variety of decent games. 

So there is all this hype for the next gen console from Microsoft, The X-Box 360 yay! So we buy this awsome console....... One year later, guess what? OMG a all new and better X-Box 360 is coming out, and the live sevice is being geared to run better with the New Xbox 360 Huh. So if we wan't to take full advatage of what Microsoft is trying offering us we will have to buy the new console. YAY?

I don't think so, this is such a douchebag move by Microsoft. So what in a year after this new launch, what we will have to buy a all new console again, just a little bit better? And So on and so on. Let the ultimate milkage from MIcrosoft begin! I feel sorry for are kids.