"Next-Gen"

This should be short.

For the longest time we've been referring to the Xbox 360, the PS3 and the Wii as "next-gen" systems. The following question is directed at the populace that continues to do so.

Why?

These systems are no longer "next-gen". They are current, they are now. We are no longer awaiting their release, although we may be awaiting an opportunity to get our hands on one. These systems are not being released in 2011.

It irks me on a fundamental level that people STILL, especially journalists, refer to these systems as "next-gen". The Xbox 720, PS4 and Wii Tuu are "next-gen". In fact, the whole "next-gen" term is completely new to the marketing hype surrounding the new generation. That it is still being used is evidence of how it is almost purely a meaningless marketing term.

So quite simply, stop. If you must refer to them as something, "current-gen" or "the new systems" work perfectly well. The systems also have names, proper nouns of a sort, which also have a job they can do. I swear if I read another journalist who uses the term "next-gen" I'm going to wail and gnash teeth.