There will be another generation. I can't imagine the next 5-7 years seeing worldwide Internet connections changing to fast fibre. It was the same argument for disc based games disappearing, but I believe it is still too early from a global perspective. I also don't believe transmission technology in it's current form will ever "reliably" support streaming services. By reliably, I mean with low enough latency to satisfy hardcore gamers. Platforming maybe, which is what I think Sony are likely banking on for casual take up.

Who knows, there may be a revolution in technology next week, next month or next year, but economically I suspect mass coverage (and uptake) of super fast services will not be an overly high priority in much of Europe.

In reply to a post by mrnelster:

What happened to the little box you fitted to the rear wall mount bracket holes on the back of your TV? That was a neat plan, unlike all these set top box designs.

I think you mean the Xi3 Piston. Really neat bit of kit I wouldn't mind one of those for a desktop computer. It's already available at $999. It's not a official Steambox but you can install SteamOS or any other OS you want on it.

I wonder why Valve didn't officially partner with them ?

In reply to a post by astateoftrance:

In reply to a post by mrnelster:

What happened to the little box you fitted to the rear wall mount bracket holes on the back of your TV? That was a neat plan, unlike all these set top box designs.

I think you mean the Xi3 Piston. Really neat bit of kit I wouldn't mind one of those for a desktop computer. It's already available at $999. It's not a official Steambox but you can install SteamOS or any other OS you want on it.

I wonder why Valve didn't officially partner with them ?

Loving the look of that!!

In reply to a post by astateoftrance:

I think you mean the Xi3 Piston. Really neat bit of kit I wouldn't mind one of those for a desktop computer. It's already available at $999. It's not a official Steambox but you can install SteamOS or any other OS you want on it.

I wonder why Valve didn't officially partner with them ?

The future of consoles has to be making them upgradable. It's rediculas to have hardware that you're going to be stuck with for maybe 7 years.
I imagine PS5 will be out in a couple of years otherwise Sony etc will be left behind

I disagree, a upgradable console would essentially be a PC. What makes them great is that you do not need to upgrade them and you know any game will run fine. All the specifications being the same also allows developers to maximise their potential, just look how amazing GTA 5 is on a 7 year old machine.

Exactly and the game that takes up all of Swanny Time ?

Imagine what we going to see in the next 12/18 months if not before

well cloud gaming doesnt need fast connections, there is no downloading gigs of data, it just needs reliable connectivity with decent latency.

Who knows where internet connections will be in 5-8 years time, but think how things have progressed since 2005 on connectivity.

It needs a minimum of 5Mbps. Then you will need to allow bandwidth for other users within the household. You can't have the game stuttering because somebody else is loading a content heavy website, so in real world terms 8Mbps would likely be a safer minimum.

But then our digital future will not only bring streaming game services, but also TV. My friend has 5Mbps in his little village. When his missus downloads a movie from Sky (only download, not stream) his connection is fooked and he starts warping all over the shop. So you need connections to be able to handle multiple streaming applications, which doesn't bode well for streaming gaming services for the masses. I would say a post contention 16Mbps is likely to be necessary. Doesn't BT promise not to drop below a minimum of 15 or 16Mbps on their normal fibre connections? That suggests to me their anticipated built in capacity for multiple streaming in modern homes.

And when I say "our" digital future, I mean of course Europe. Sony as a worldwide corporation is unlikely to ignore emerging markets. MS might (and almost did) because their predominant xbox markets are the US and UK.

I believe we have at least one more generation to come after this one, maybe ten years, before the cloud can realistically become the norm for hardware operations, rather than simply storage.

In reply to a post by mrnelster:

I believe we have at least one more generation to come after this one,

I believe in Father Christmas

You were Father Christmas this year...