Which video game system will be released in North America first?

Nintendo has run on a five-year release cycle for two decades: NES in 1985/1986, SNES in 1991, N64 in 1996, Gamecube in 2001, and the Wii in 2006. I'd bet that they'll put their next console out, whatever it is, in time for Christmas 2011.

Sony's PlayStation series has had a six-year cycle: PS1 in 1994, PS2 in 2000, and PS3 in 2006. Despite Sony trying to hype the PS3 as having a ten-year life cycle (and, hey, the PS1 was manufactured for more than 11 years), it wouldn't surprise me to see a PS4 by Christmas 2012.

Microsoft seems to be running fastest of the bunch, with only four years between the Xbox's launch in 2002 and the Xbox 360 in 2006. If that trend continues, they could potentially put a successor console out by 2010, but it's unfair to extrapolate a single one release cycle into a long-running trend. Of the three, though, they're the only one that I think has any serious chance of putting out new hardware by this question's end date.

ACER?
http://www.trustedreviews.com/gaming/news/2009/02/27/Acer-Comsole-Rumours-Re-Surface/p1

I think at this point it would be too much of a surprise, and like pixelpaws said, Microsoft will probably be the next... And I think they are supporting the Xbox 360 enough now where they wouldn't suddenly release a new console. It'll come soon though... Or maybe Microsoft will finally go onboard with handheld, probably their next step. They are the only one that doesn't have a handheld, so I really think it's inevitable.

Microsoft needs to make the uber handheld - basically combine the iPod Touch with the PSP. They already have the Zune, and they already have the 360, and they have more resources than any of these other companies.

The first company to come out with something like the iPod Touch / PSP or iPhone/PSP will dominate the market for years and make one-trick-ponies die a quick death.