What's next for consoles in 2012? With smartphones and tablets eating up their market share, how will console manufacturers keep gamers interested in the next year?

Most game consoles are getting on in years. Microsoft's Xbox 360 was launched in late 2005 while Sony's PlayStation 3 was released a year later in 2006. While both consoles are far from their graves they're already a generation old in comparison with PC hardware. Even tablets like Apple's iPad are getting closer to the graphics provided by the PS3 or the Xbox. Gamers shouldn't expect to get announcements from Sony or Microsoft about a PS4 or Xbox720, but it's not farfetched to expect some product leaks or even an acknowledgement from both companies that they're working on the next-generation consoles.

Meanwhile Nintendo will release Wii U, its next-generation console, sometime between June and December 2012. The new console will have a more powerful processor than either the Xbox 360 or PS3. The Wii U will have a tablet-style gamepad with a quad-core 3Ghz PowerPC-based 45nm CPI with 768Mb of memory and an ATI-based GPU. It's going to be a powerful new console and the 6-inch resistive touchscreen will offer a novel way of gaming.

Sony will have a busy year convincing gamers to shell out money for its new handheld, the PS Vita. At a time when dedicated handhelds are being passed over in favor of tablets and smartphones, the new console will have to really prove that it's worth the money. The Vita has a 5-inch touchscreen when gamers have a variety of 10-inch tablets to choose from. Smartphones can produce impressive visuals so a dedicated gaming handheld would have to offer more.

The PS Vita is also expensive: it's going to cost $250 to $300 for the handheld. Its main selling point seems to be having two thumbsticks for a real gaming experience that tablets and smartphones can't replicate. With sales of PS Vita in Japan falling far short of Sony's expectations and Nintendo's 3DS underperforming as well, 2012 could actually mark the end of dedicated handheld consoles.

Another platform that could be on the verge of dying is PC gaming. Consumer PC sales are down in 2011 and there are no major releases to look forward to in PC games. There are the usual sequels like Diablo III and Doom 4 and the console ports like Mass Effect 3, Syndicate and Bioshock 2. Dedicated gaming rigs are looking to be far too expensive to invest in when developers aren't really taking advantage of the hardware.