(CNN) -- If console gaming were a first-person shooter, it would be taking heavy fire right now. A red hue would envelop the viewable screen from all sides, an ominous sign of spilled blood.
Or worse, near-death.
Despite this, Nintendo will release its new Wii U console on November 18, ushering in the eighth and possibly last generation of traditional home consoles as we know them.
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So is this it then? Is the death of dedicated gaming upon us? In a word, no.
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I'd sooner pay nothing up front and $5 to $10 later than plunk down $60 on a game and hope I like it. Adrian Crook, game design consultant
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Not only that, but gamers' tastes have evolved to include quick, bite-size gaming sessions -- something consoles have never been good at. (Gamers must go to the living room, wait for the console to power on, load the game from the main menu, wait for it to boot.) It's much slower than tapping an icon on the smartphone you already carry in your pocket.
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When it's not taking a backseat to more convenient app gaming, some say the console has stagnated creatively.
"You would think that XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade), PSN (PlayStation Network), and the rise of 'free to play' would have opened a door to smaller games that can take more risks creatively, but right now they're just cut-down versions of box-product games, or retreads of games I played on the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System)," says Hutchinson, referring to the online gaming networks offered by Microsoft and Sony.
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"People aren't as motivated by cutting-edge graphics as they once were," says Paul Neurath, creative director at Zynga, makers of "FarmVille," "Mafia Wars" and other social games on Facebook.
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In that sense, next-generation is no longer "next." We've arrived.
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Nintendo declined to comment for this story.
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"The business model for a five-year life cycle isn't working for Sony and Microsoft," says Cole. "They spend billions to R&D and market these new systems, they sell them at a loss for the first few years and then they don't really have the software business to make up the cost. They are better getting out of the business entirely rather than go after a five-year life cycle."
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In wake of all these changes, what's a console maker to do? What might reinvigorate interest in living-room and dedicated handheld gaming?
A first step would be fresher consoles themselves. The Xbox 360 is 7 years old, while the Wii and the PlayStation 3 are both 6.
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As if reminded by the lackluster sales of the handheld 3DS and PS Vita gaming systems, he adds, "But I don't know that we really need a new hardware cycle at this point from a creative standpoint."
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Da kommt man mal nicht immer on und plötzlich sind auch Konsolengames so tot wie der PC es ist. Wir sollten CW umbenennen in "StoneWars" oder so, das ist ein Hobby, das niemals aussterben wird.
