The ex-VP of Xbox Europe feels as though the game console as we know it will be going the way of the Dodo in less than a decade's time.

here is a definite convergence of other devices, such as set top boxes. There's hardly any technology difference between some hard disc video recorders and an Xbox 360, for example.

In fact in 5 to 10 years I don't think you'll have any box at all under your TV, most of this stuff will be virtualized as web services by your content provider.

CVG clears up that last statement about the lack of a physical box.

We think he means you'll stream data from a server or PC straight to your telly, so technically they'll still be a box involved somewhere - it just won't be a console as we know it.

Given the rate at which things are progressing with consoles, they're coming closer and closer to being PC's. All or some of them already have Internet browsing abilities, swappable hardware (hard drives, peripherals, and aesthetic pieces), the ability to play multiple media formats in a media center environment, software updates, support for keyboards and mice, among other things.

What are your thoughts on this? Will the game consoles, as you know it, be completely gone within a decade? In some ways, the "console" has already started to fade.