No 'next gen' consoles until 2013, analyst claims

But HD Wii may land next year

Anyone unimpressed by the capabilities of the PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360 may have to wait another four years before a superior generation of consoles hits the market, an analyst has forecast.

Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan, recently said in an industry newsletter how “the ‘next’ generation [of games consoles] will begin after 2013”.

His view is based on the belief that game publishers will “resist” introduction of any new console hardware requiring a software refresh until such time, because they’ve “yet to capitalise on the immense investments made in being competitive in the current cycle”.

But Pachter, who’s previously lent his opinion on everything console cost-related, has also predicted the introduction of an HD Wii next year.

His forecast may not be too far wide of the mark. Gaming sources have already claimed that Nintendo will introduce an HD-capable Wii – thought to feature more powerful core hardware and on-board storage – before 2011. ®