Nintendo should make a Pokémon MMORPG. The whole game topic is a good base for a decent online game.

and by all those factors that you mentioned i honestly believe were heading into the second video games crash...or more likely slump this time

instead of disappearing games are shifting into overlysimplistic minigames, and overused concepts, were taking two steps backwards often times, PC has been in a slump for years already, its not dead, but its definitely a pile of sh*t compared to what it used to be like....

i know there are still great games out there to be found and all, i just see a very dark time coming for gaming, i honestly believe that networking everyone together in every game is a BAD BAD BAD idea, on paper its great marketing and creative and all that jazz, but i think were going to have the no child left behind effect, everything will become so dumbed down that games will lose their challenge so everyone can have a chance to take a walk thru the looking-glass.....i know i sound like a cranky old man, but i like my simplistic elegant games like katamari and then i like my super insane hardcore games a lot too, Single player games have allowed people to sit back from society and to challenge themselves on their own, and i believe that we will loose a lot of that, we've gained a lot of refinement in menus packaging presentation gfx and all these other facilitating factors...but the core of the gaming experience is often weak or missing....

i hope im over reacting but i doubt it, i see the wii selling far too well for having very few games and no future at this point to GAMERS, i see online becoming the hot word for the rest of its lifetime and becoming a forced integration, and net neutrality is even being threatened, why do i feel like im in a watered down episode of Doctor Who???

Man, I don't want to be thinking about Next-Gen consoles. I don't have the current-gens yet! But I don't think they'll change too much. Nintendo specifically, has struck gold with the Wii and to change that is gonna be bad news. As for Sony and Microsoft, Sony needs to rethink their strategy a bit. Sony can't sell their next system for 600 bucks, again. It killed them the first time and hopefully they learned their lesson. They also need to make less complicated hardware as that bit them in the ass when developers went to make multi-platform games.

I'm hoping this time around that Sony and Microsoft don't race to get their system out first

A lot of problems came in with that

The reason I don't list Nintendo is because their system came out later :p

I'm hoping they go down in price, ($250 is luxury)

I'm hoping for way BETTER games, I mean if its true, we're already halfway through this gen, then damn, all I have for the Wii is Brawl, Res Evil 4 and the Umbrella Chronicles, nothing else seems buy-worthy

Sony isn't selling much I don't think

and I'm hoping if Nintendo sticks with these remotes, that they make games more Wii-mote dependent

Kind of like that star wars game coming out, a go in the right direction, but I want more

Sony and Microsoft will continue to appeal to the mass amount of fans they already have, and by that I mean coming out with the same old shit with slightly better graphics. I know it's hard for these companies to come up with "new" storylines, but come on....I'm sick of seeing the same stuff, only this time I have to pay alot more to see it. The games that are being created for today's Next-Gen systems can be beat within a week, and that's it. These kids don't go back to the game and go buy something else.

I wouldn't be surprised to see games beeing purchased on-line taking over the "physical" purchase, but I don't think that'll be coming soon. I agree with you Archard, I think after a few years the "wow" factor did wore off, but as long as these companies keep spitting out the latest, and the best looking...people will continue to buy it. The Wii did it's job in bringing the player into the game by making it all virtual, and I don't think we'll se Microsoft or Sony do that until it consists of a virtual helemt and all that blasphemous shit.

I want to see these consoles being made ALOT better, they can't take a beating anoymore. They all are so fragile. Overheating, freezing, it's like you can't touch the thing. My Gamecube can run for days nonstop without getting hot, and not to mention I've dropped it like a million times.

For now, I'm just looking forward to Diablo III, for PC .

I expect the biggest change to be the peripherals. Wii remote itself, the Wii Fit board, and the like are really opening peoples' eyes to the potential of 'alternative' input.

Look for more biofeedback systems like (and beyond) the one for 'Journey to the Wild Divine' and things like eye-tracking systems to be a big breakthrough. These 'gimmicks' will have dozens of failures before a commercially successful iteration is hit upon and called 'innovation.'

You can bet this is where the people who want more from game development than cranking out another Madden or another 'AAA' FPS are looking.

Okay, first off, I've gotta say that Sony is going downhill. Sure, the PS3's got great graphics, but the games are pretty much all the same. I mean, good graphics is cool, but if you don't have good gameplay on your game, then it's really just plain bad. Not worth the freaking 600 bucks they charge everyone for it.

Well, Microsoft is doing decently with the gaming community, but I really don't know what they can add for the the next generation of games. I mean, they've got good graphics, and its got online capabilities, and they've got decent games. But what are they going to DO for the next consoles?

So then now we get to Nintendo. Nintendo has really landed in a goldmine with the Wii. Microsoft and Sony really shouldn't have rushed the release of the consoles, cause it kind of messed them up. Now the Wii wasn't rushed, and they made it carefully and made it well. Its got online, MOTION CAPABILITY, decent graphics. And honestly, if the game is good, who gives a crap about graphics? Now, one of the powerful techniques Nintendo used when making the Wii is that the motion-capability has made the game FAMILY-FUN. I mean, I'm not saying that your mother would wanna play MOHH2 but think about the other games. Wii Sports, Wii Play, Carnival Games. And Wii Fit is pure genius. Now, as you can see, Nintendo is definitely superior to Microsoft and Sony on my list. Now, for Nintendo's future, I agree with archard. More online games would appeal to many gamers. The motion sensor thing is also something that I think Nintendo should stick with. Now, if Nintendo is going to make a new console, then the best thing that I can suggest is graphics. As I said before, I don't really care about graphics too much, but graphics like the PS3's would be cool. Also, Nintendo should definitely stay teamed with Sega, cause everyone loves Sonic, and it would bring them lots and lots of money . Thank you for your time, and this is my opinion, so feel free to disagree, but if you call me a noob, then, well, uhh, I'll be very displeased. God I have awful comebacks.

Ya know archard, saying we are halfway through this cycle might be premature as 2 of the consoles have yet to reach 2 years of age. The ps2, and i know yes lol the record breaker.... its in its 9th year and has over 140 titles coming out on it in 08 or something like that.

That aside, its wonderful to see people bash sony still,and ps3 makes its way along... the 2 previous systems had a few years before they were sucessful and trends are definately repeating themselfs again as ps3 gains popularity despite the fact many people bash the thing lol. as for things like the wii... sure its cute, family friendly and mostly cheap... its technology isnt that inovative as the wii remote is basicly just a futuristic version of the nintendo "power glove". The wii is infact a gold mine when it comes to system sales as it broadly strokes over so many different backgrounds and age groups, but, and yes its a big but, a majority of these wii players seem to not be too into gaming as a regular recreational habit... ergo as you can see where i go with this, not hardcore gamers who spend lots of $$$ for several games to play. that aside gaming has a potential to make broad and high dreams, or be crushed as we have seen huge blockbuster selling, yet not so satisfying sequels...coughhalo3cough... or another damn rhythm based game like guitar hero rock band ect which i find as an insult both as a gamer and as a guitarist. sorry if i offend you but seriously 2007-part of 08 was just a monotonous time for gaming. Anyone heard about this game called MAG, look it up, that concept is what i believe the future of gaming might be, and i feel that services like xbox live's tv and movie download and ps3's copy version are some concepts we might see progress in the next few years. Here's to optimism.

Let's not be so pessimistic, guys.

Every generation brings something new to the gaming world. Why not the next gen, the 8th? I mean, who would have guessed during the beginning of the 6th generation(PS2, Xbox, Gamecube) about consoles using motion sensors and downloading demos or movies online. Only time will tell what lies ahead. Maybe there will be no video games in the future, which I hope will never happen, or there will be new revolution in gaming history.

The future is unpredictable, but because the past was so great doesn't mean the future will suck.

Stay optimistic!

The graphics don't need to improve, but the developers need more ideas for the future games - in the end it comes down to them. Otherwise a sort of Web 2.0 system for the video gaming world would be okay.

Honestly, I'm not going to lie.. but I hate the Wii, Boring, easy, short games.. that just don't interest me as much as the other consoles.. and the whole motion sensing idea is silly, I mean in concept it's awesome but I'd rather sit with a controller then flail in rock paper scissor style movement because the Wiimote can't read too much movement.

And that's why Nintendo is doing the MotionPlus system, to fix the limited feeling of connection between your motion and the console's perception of it.

Whether or not it will work is another issue, but it's definitely a developing technology.

Personally, I think the more our "virtual" states mix with our reality, the worse things will become.

When these companies start putting chips in our bodies for a game, thats when I stop playing games all-together

I actually think the PC will make a comeback, PC games have always been strong, and for those of you who say otherwise...blow me

The consumers still want flashy things, so the gaming companies will feed it to them for a little while longer. I expect to see Madden 2010, another Final Fantasy that is blown to hell (C'mon! You can summon a freaking cycle?), and a few more shite FPS before anything surprising comes along.

I think that given the development of NFT gaming, something new awaits us next year. There have been many announcements of interesting games that look very promising.