The current gen is only four years old but its replacements are well underway (Microsoft/Nintendo/Sony/Metro)A new generation of video games consoles is already on the horizon but what form will they take and why are they arriving so early?Video game consoles have been a mass market commodity for over 50 years. Once imagined to be a passing fad, of interest only to children, video games are now the most lucrative form of mainstream entertainment in the world. And in that 50 years they have established a pattern of release that has proven remarkably consistent and predictable until recently.The general rule of thumb is that, barring complete failure, a video game console lasts for around six to seven years before being superseded by a new format by the same manufacturer. There is nothing to say companies like Sony and Microsoft have to release their new consoles at the same time but neither wants to give the other a head start, when a new generation of hardware is about to begin, and so invariably they launch at almost exactly the same time.Even the normally unpredictable Nintendo usually releases consoles in the same generational pattern, the Switch only getting out of synch because of the failure of the Wii U at the beginning of the previous generation. Thats relatively unusual but the changes that the new generation of consoles will bring, over the next several years, will be an upheaval the likes of which gaming has never seen.By the common reckoning we are currently in the ninth generation of video game consoles. Theres disagreement over whether the Switch belongs to the eighth or ninth generation but the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 are definitely Generation IX. What happens afterwards though is very unlikely to be a smooth transition of power.In terms of current console sales, Xbox has been badly beaten by PlayStation for the last two generations, with demand for Xbox Series X/S collapsing so much last Christmas that it led to Microsofts current (but still confused) focus on also releasing games on PlayStation 5 and Switch. This means Xbox has been the only one talking about a next gen so far, with Sony remaining stoically silent on the issue.Xboxs next gen plans The Xbox Series X and S have not been very successful (Microsoft)To many peoples surprise Microsoft has already announced its intention to make a next gen console, even if theyve not shown it in public or explained anything about it. Theyve also repeatedly hinted at releasing a handheld console, but theyve never been clear on whether thats a next gen device or based on the Xbox Series X/S.The only thing Microsoft has said about the next gen console is that it will deliver the biggest technological leap ever in a generation, which seems a dubious claim given the ever-decreasing scope of graphical improvements between each generation. So either Microsoft is setting themselves up for ridicule or they know something that we, and more importantly Sony, dont know.Perhaps it could be something to do with AI, which they have a natural advantage with, but its hard to guess what they could be alluding to and what level of success they expect from a new generation of consoles, given the Xbox Series X/S has done even worse than the Xbox One.Xbox hardware sales have got so bad that many suspected Microsoft would soon give up making consoles altogether. Thats not as disastrous as it might sound as, thanks to buying Activision Blizzard, they are now the biggest games publisher in the West and, once game streaming becomes more practical, they have a very clear advantage in the technology that will inevitably make consoles obsolete.But streaming is not practical at the moment, not when it depends so much on the quality and reliability of your Wi-Fi connection. This has led to Microsofts current marketing campaign seeming very confused as, on the one hand, they encourage people to play Xbox on other devices, with the This is an Xbox tagline, and on the other Xbox boss Phil Spencer has insisted theyre not going to give up making consoles.What is the Xbox handheld console?The only thing we know for certain is that the long-rumoured handheld Xbox is a few years out, which implies its a next gen device and that rumours of a launch in 2026 are incorrect. Microsoft can be economic with the truth sometimes though and may just be trying to put Sony off the scent.Although what theyre going to do in the meantime is a mystery, as without anything else to boost it, Xbox Series X/S hardware sales are going to slow so much that a next gen device would be starting practically from scratch, which does not seem a very attractive option for Xbox.Nintendos next gen console plans The Switch is getting ready for retirement (Nintendo)Unusually, the most reliable predictions for the next gen are those related to Nintendos new console, nicknamed until anyone knows better the Switch 2. Nintendo is the most inscrutable of all game companies but because the Switch is almost eight years old, and theyve said its successor will be unveiled before April next year, it stands to reason it will be released relatively soon, most likely late spring or early autumn 2025.At the moment there is no official information about the Switch 2 at all, other than it will be backwards compatible with the existing Switch. Leaks suggest that it will look and operate much like the original Switch but theres a good chance that information may be wrong and until Nintendo announce it officially we wont know for sure.When will the next generation of consoles start?Despite all the rumours and official hints we really have no firm idea whats going on with any of the three companies. But its not just Xbox hardware sales that are in trouble, as PlayStation 5 sales have fallen off faster than expected as well.With each new generation, as the increase in power becomes smaller and the spectre of streaming grows closer, the question is asked as to whether consoles actually have a future. Will there even be a next generation of consoles?For Nintendo the answer to that question is clearly yes, but whether they follow the generational pattern or not their goals and methods are very different than Sony and Microsoft (and generally more successful but, as usual, nobody ever thinks to copy their low-tech, games-focused approached).Microsoft has said there will be a next gen console, but will it be any more than a novelty for hardcore fans, a way to prove theyre still in the hardware business while focusing instead on third party publishing, Game Pass, and streaming? At the moment, its certainly hard to imagine their next gen console as anything more than a sideshow.Then theres Sony, whose recent plans seem to have flipped-flopped from a focus on live service games to an imagined return to traditional single-player titles. And it is only imagined, at the moment, as theyve never discussed their intentions in public and have not announced enough new games to draw any firm conclusions.PlayStations next gen plans The PlayStation 6 is inevitable and inscrutable (Sony)Sonys position is the most difficult to understand because theyve said nothing about the PlayStation 6 at all, beyond a few vague references. Although this did include an assurance that consoles remain the core of our business. Interestingly, Sony also insisted that there are other elements beyond graphics which can be improved, in order to make a next generation console seem desirable.This can be interpreted multiple ways, from a Nintendo style shift away from a focus on graphical power to a hint that they are investing in the same mysterious technological leap as Xbox. Although the context of the quote merely talked about the PlayStation 5s faster loading times and 3D audio, so it may not be anything exciting at all.Its certainly hard to imagine that the company that just released the 700 PS5 Pro console, whose improvements in graphics can only be demonstrated under laboratory conditions, would suddenly ditch the high-tech approach but at the moment everything to do with PlayStation 6 is pure speculation.When will the PlayStation 6 be released?Obviously, there will be a PlayStation 6 in the future, Sony has acknowledged that much already, but theyve never said when. If the next gen Xbox does come out in 2026, or thereabouts, then Sony will no doubt try to match its release date but if Microsoft makes its move later then all bets are off.Except the trigger for a company starting its next gen plans in earnest is when console sales peak and that has already happened for both Xbox and PlayStation. So that would traditionally mean that a new console is no more than three years away.It is, as you can see, all a confusing mess. And its worse because the companies themselves dont seem to know what theyre doing either, with reports of in-fighting at both Microsoft and Sony, over their future direction and what to do about the rising cost of making games.While the Switch 2 may end up being a relatively normal product launch its unlikely youll be able to say the same about the next gen Xbox and PlayStation. As the PS5 Pro has shown, everything to do with console gaming is getting more expensive, with increasingly less obvious improvements.Will this be the last generation of video games consoles?If Microsoft and Sony cant clearly justify the price and existence of a next gen console to their audience, then the entire concept of generational consoles may disappear and well never get as far as a PlayStation 7.More TrendingAs long as the games keep coming in some way, whether thats via streaming or some other means, it ultimately doesnt matter how theyre delivered. But the video games industry is changing and its becoming increasingly difficult to have confidence in the companies that are supposed to be leading it.Sony and Microsoft have spent most of the last two years either making abrupt, poorly explained changes of direction with live service games and multiformat releases or seemingly being paralysed into inaction, unsure what to do after the video games boom during lockdown proved to be far more short-lived than they hoped.Perhaps they both have cunning masterplans just waiting to be unveiled but the big takeaway from the post-pandemic games industry is that publishers are far less sensible and forward-thinking than you might hope for. What will happen in the next generations of console is currently a mystery, but perhaps one that even PlayStation and Xbox dont know the answer to. PlayStation won this console war but will there even be another one? 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