Oh yeah I agree, which is why I specified compared to the competition ;p
It really is interesting how it all played out and only goes to show that it's anyone's game next gen.
Ah ok. Well you are right though, continued gens are up for grabs. I will expand a bit though that in this day and age, 2012 and beyond .. consumers are expecting the highest level of seemless technology built into these consoles. Its not a transitionary generation anymore.. all of these features that were added this gen are to be expected next. They are expected to be better, run better, offer more and run alongside even more innovated software features.
Nintendo can probably get away with missing this mark because their loyal customers will buy just about anything they make. Lets be honest.. heh. But Sony competing directly against MS, a software giant .. they have quite the challenge ahead of them. Sony simply cannot put the best hardware in a box, price it right and launch with the best exclusives. They are going to have to make the next Playstation more than a game console and are going to have to really 'nail' PSN (SOE?) in the next gen.
MS is going to be unifying all platforms next gen. Windows 8, Windws Phone 8, Next Xbox.. they are all going to be software rich and interlinked with probably quite the powerful cloud services. I know I"m going out on a limb here, so please bare with me. But Sony has to in the least somehow match what MS is going to do or they have no right barking about competing side by side. If both consoles are powerful game machines but one has bountiful software features over the other ... thats going to be quite the edge in this day and age. I think a lot of consumers these days are expecting a lot more from their console than for it to simply 'play games'. Software features are going to make or break Sony or MS I think. Thats going to be the real separation.
Competition is healthy for consumers so I hope Sony hired some real software engineers to design services that can go head to head with MS. MS is definitely going to flex their muscle next gen in that department, Live is likely going to take on a new role that expands far beyond the Xbox. I hope Sony has the foresight to see this and is working hard to beat MS. Again, I think Nintendo already knows they cannot compete in that space .. so they will offer something unique and different, something they know will satisfy their audience.
But again like you said earlier.. its anyones game and gentlemen.. start your engines!