There are two factors at play as to why there are no "new" consoles.
1- There's been a recession on the go, that is said to be even worse than the Great Depression of the previous century. This recession has harmed the semiconductor industry and I have first-hand experience of the massive shortages and lack of new products. Last year, we saw leadtimes of almost 12 calendar months. The earthquakes in Japan spelled disaster for an already compromised industry.
2- Current microprocessor technology has reached a practical limit, and to go beyond this requires further developments in the technology used to fabricate microrprocessors. Even with multi-core technology, the limitations has been reached.
The XBOX 360 is a poor design, and this is what happens when Blue Collar programmers (aka Microsoft Fanboys or Bill Gates wannabees) attempt to delve into the realities of hardware design when all they have ever known all their lives is their beloved .net bloatware and Microsoft corporate culture, the same kind who have never soldered a joint in their life and detest Linux like the plague.
