Elmofongo: oh sony I don't know where the source is so mabye where I heard is bullshit but years ago when ps3 first launched,they said PS3 is not designed to be obsolete
kodeen: I don't think they designed it to be obsolete, but it was an inevitability since technology always marches forward. When they released it they were planning on it being a 10-year console, but that may have just been marketing. The fact that there are multiple console manufacturers means competition, which means someone will always re-start the arms race.
I dont doubt they can get a 10-year lifecycle on PS3. Just look at it, the PS3 has been in the market for almost 6 years, and the PS4 probably wont come out till 2014. That would lead the PS3 with 2 years of support before reaching the 10-year goal, which is quite achievable.
When they said the PS3 would have a 10-years lifecycle, they didnt mean they wouldnt release another console within 10 years, but that they will support the PS3 with new releases for 10 years. And based on PS1 and PS2 experience i really dont doubt theyll achieve that. I mean, cmon, even the PS2 got FIFA12 last year. In fact, only now Sony decided to close their SOCOM PS2 servers down, while Microsoft closed Live on the original Xbox 1 or 2 years ago. And the end of Live means the death of every MP game on the Xbox. There are still servers for some PS2 titles.
Sony doesnt imeditally drop support when they release a new console. Both the PS1 and the PS2 got quite a few releases even after new consoles were launched. Microsoft, on the other hand, dropped support on the original Xbox as soon as the Xbox 360 launched, making its lifecyle extremely short. Nintendo did the same thing, but at least they released one of their launch titles on both GC and Wii (Zelda Twilight Princess).