With all of this talk about the next generation of console systems floating around lately, my mind has been trying to grasp exactly what the games will look like. I've made some general stabs in the dark here before, so I won't do that, but I will say that I'd like to think that this next generation will be a long one. Here's what we know about the next generation: every one of the systems (presumably) will be stupid fast. Seriously. Sony and Microsoft will likely both offer crazy multimedia options from day one, and all three should have Internet connectivity out of the box (whether or not Nintendo actually uses it is certainly up for debate). So what could possibly come after that? Obviously, games will continue to get more and more complex, but my mind simply cannot come up with anything that shouldn't be possible. Obviously, until we have any concrete information this is all complete speculation, but considering the staggering amount of money it's going to cost to fund a next-generation title, looking beyond that is enough to give any developer the shakes. Could this next-generation last a decade? Probably not. Even if developers don't have any need for more powerful hardware after five years, the console makers, who by that point will have to deal with slumping hardware sales, will probably push for another generation regardless. It's a vicious cycle we've got in this industry, and it's doubtful we'll break out of that any time soon.

Console Game of the Evening: Yar's Revenge for the Atari 2600. "Simple yet addictive sci-fi themed arcade shooter. An extension of the Asteroids genre. Plenty of fun, frantic action to be had at higher levels." (submitted by kek).