I would like to see a PS5 release in the autumn of 2020 followed by an Xbox 2 release the following year. I'm guessing one or both will be between $400 and $500.
This idea failed HARD in the past, but what does everyone think about the idea of "versions" of the same platform? Like a combined platform from Sony/Msft/Nintendo that hardware manufacturers could pay royalties to them to produce (ala: 3DO w/ Goldstar, Panasonic, etc) and royalties split between the 3 for software/hardware both. This wouldn't keep those three from making a version themselves and we could sort of customize our systems in a way, not only with choice of manufacturer, but colors, styling, etc. It would of course come with a standard that spec'd the CPU, GPU and RAM, but most everything else could be changed. Since you would of course have this baseline for game makers to program to, but just a few options manufacturers could add/change:
Casing styles, sizes, colors with different ventilation systems. I would like to buy one that would mount into a 19" rack myself.
Built into their TV's or Receiver's if they would like (like the Roku) would be an option for some.
HDR10/Dolby Vision, 10bit/12bit color options
Large HDD's or even SSD drives or SSD/HDD combos (think Apple fusion drives)
Dolby Atmos/DTS:X support
USB 3.1 Gen 2 / Thunderbolt 3 ports or equivalent for external drives/accessories.
Different styled controllers (but adhering to a minimum button standard in a fixed position, A, B, X, Y, RB, etc)
Future upgrade port? Not sure about this one tbh.
One positive would be no more hardware fanboy wars.
But I have a feeling this idea would be appalling to most gamers now.