Echoing a recent quote from a Square Enix technology director, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has said in an interveiw with Gamasutra, that the entire industry has been "penalized" by such a long console generation. He also added that the lengthy generation is also to blame for the lack of new IPs:
What we missed was a new console every five years. We have been penalized by the lack of new consoles on the market. I understand the manufacturers don't want them too often because it's expensive, but it's important for the entire industry to have new consoles because it helps creativity.It's a lot less risky for us to create new IPs and new products when we're in the beginning of a new generation,our customers are very open to new things. Our customers are reopening their minds — and they are really going after what's best.
At the end of a console generation, they want new stuff, but they don't buy new stuff as much. They know their friends will play Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed so they go for that. So the end of a cycle is very difficult.
I can't disagree. While many consumers are very happy with their current consoles and aren't yet ready to drop cash on pricey new systems, the longer the new generation takes, the more of the same we'll get, and the more other emerging platforms will eat up market share that may be impossible to reclaim. Read more about the negative implications of a long console lifecycle, here.
