For better or worse, the PS3 has launched and the Wii shall be here in the blink of an eye.  Oracle that I am, I’m posting some of my predictions for this generation of console games as well as a bit on the handheld front and the format wars.  Of course, one could point out how the Wii isn’t directly competing with the 360 or PS3, but no one really believes that, except perhaps Nintendo.

Next Generation Predictions as Foretold by Throwing Eggs at Gamecubes and Reading what was Revealed by the Patterns  Therein and Stuff:

1.  Nintendo won’t “win” this round.  They may close the gap significantly, but they won’t be the clear winner.
2. On that note, nobody will win.  PS3 and the 360 will both sell more than Nintendo but be so neck and neck with each other at the end of this hardware cycle that it won’t matter who sold more consoles, as the difference will be negligible.
3. Sony and Nintendo will be forced at some point to charge for online play.  The cost will be less (Nintendo) and equal or greater (Sony) than Live.
4. Like death and taxes, there will always be crappy games, even in the HD era.
5. Your room will be so cluttered with peripherals for all three machines that you will pose a fire hazard and will be required to undergo a Fire Marshal’s inspection.
6. Early adopters will get burned when the slimmer/sexier/different colored/better functioning version of their favorite machine is released.
7. Sony and MS will eventually break even.  Nintendo will laugh and point with each check for Wii profits they cash.
8. The PSP will remain behind the DS in sales.  The DS will be redesigned in an ultra small form factor ala Gameboy Micro that looks and functions so cool but doesn’t sell as well.
9. Blu-ray will tank because of its funky name.  HD-DVD will win because people will think “Well, I have an HDTV, so I guess I need an HD-DVD player for movies”.  Both formats will eventually be replaced with digital distribution methods.
10. Finally, at the very end of this generation, all three will come together and merge into one mega-corporation and release the “NintendoSoftStation363Portable lite 4″.  The anti-Christ will subsequently emerge and usher in the armageddon.

And that, as they say, is that.

Guard your hearts.