Analyst: This console cycle may never end
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It's not too uncommon to say that the current crop of consoles won't be replaced for quite some time. Some believe that the current generation will last until around 2012, at which time it will be replaced by the next round of hardware (or the Apocalypse, if you swing that way). Others say that this generation of consoles will be the last, as publishers will soon jump to a unified platform rather than create disparate versions of games for a handful of platforms.
Signal Hill analyst Todd Greenwald falls into the second category, only with a little twist. Speaking to GI.biz, Greenwald said he doesn''t expect a new console until at least 2011 but added, "if new services like OnLive take off, or if Xbox Live and PlayStation Network become more and more robust, there may not be a need for another console cycle." An interesting idea, though we're inclined to think that such upgrades to the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live would require similarly upgraded hardware to support them.
That is ... unless both Microsoft and Sony have been developing server-side solutions akin to OnLive. Frankly, as long as they keep "teh Haloz" and "Snaaaaake" flowing, we're happy to just sit and watch.
