Based off of what you're saying, consoles may as well be outdated before they're even out, unless you're talking about PC and consoles in their own category and not gaming as a whole. As for your CPU, that isn't something that happens to all CPUs, maybe something was wrong with yours. Most PC hardware comes out one/two years at a time but that doesn't mean the previous version is obsolete now. I use a gtx 650 ti which is almost 2 years behind (800 series coming out soon) but it's not like going from PS3 to PS4. There is no downfall as you say, the newer version is better, of course, but it isn't miles ahead.