Oviously no one knows but I assumed that TESV would coincide with a new Xbox. Anyone else expecting that announcement? What would be the point on five year old console?

It's for the PC/360/PS3

It was already said by Todd Howard it's for this generations game consoles.

Five years is no where near long enough for it's lifetime. It's sale are only at 45 million and they obviously aren't going to be releasing any new console until it's gets much more higher. I bet you $20 there will be no Xbox 720 announcement involving TES V next year.

There really isn't all that much else they can do right now with the xbox and PS3 except maybe graphics updates, and microsoft has already said that they want the xbox to be a 10 year console

The http://bethblog.com/index.php/2010/12/13/skyrim-featured-in-the-next-issue-of-game-informer/#more-11943 for Skyrim's announcement states that it will be for Xbox 360/Playstation 3/PC.

Also, I've read that the current generation of consoles still have a few years left in their cycle, due to the fact that most games don't even tap into the hardware's full capabilities.

The gaming industry is moving too rapidly in terms of the advancement in technology. In an attempt to keep video games cheap and affordable (not just for the consumer, but for the big three as well), Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony are going to expand the life span of their consoles to double what the old ones used to be. At least with Microsoft, the Xbox 360 is supposed to last another five years before a new console is released (kinect is meant to help this longevity). Also consoles typically aren't used to their fullest potential until near the end of their lives anyways. What really intrigues me about what Todd Howard said was the fact that not only does the engine and game function on existing consoles, but the game looks like it could be for a new generation of console.

I would have thought people would be sick if the limitations WRT PC, fog distance. Polygon count. Isnt 360 like a 9800 Gpu (at best?). No one would want that on PC.

...plus the slim just came out. (With the built in Kinects port.)

Xbox 360 is supposed to last for more than 3-4 years from now.

There won't be, but five years really isn't that long for a console. 5-6 is kind of a typical gap, and the gap between the Xbox and the Xbox 360 was actually 4 years.

EDIT:
That... won't happen.

actually the life time according to Microsoft is another 3 years for these consoles

Why not? Obviously Microsoft and Sony both re-invested in both of their consoles, with the motion control. The could continue to add peripherals (or capitalize on the existing ones) or release upgraded versions, like PS3 Slim and the new black 360, upgraded and improved.

The 360 may be around for a few more years, but make no mistake: developers have already maxed out what it can do graphics-wise and have been just nibbling around the edges for a while now. Good looking games have mediocre frame-rates and no anti-aliasing in sight.

Not to mention the limitations placed on game design due to RAM, storage space of DVDs, etc.

Key words: according to Microsoft. According to Sony, all of their systems have a ten year lifespan. This is despite the PS1 releasing less than six years before the PS2, the PS3 coming roughly six years after that, and the PSP on the path to being replaced... again, about six years in.

Console manufacturers will invariably claim that their consoles are going to last several more years until they've announced a new one, because otherwise the incentive to buy their current product decreases.

10 years is a very ambitious estimate with the current evolution rate in computer technology. These consoles are starting to get dated, and the developers are becoming aware of that.

That being said, I very much doubt the next generation will be next year. 2012, maybe 2013.