In an interview with G4TV, Microsoft’s Aaron Greeberg indicated that he expects the Xbox 360 to stick around for quite some time.

I think we absolutely have a very long life ahead of us. I think what we’re seeing this generation is that we have a console that is no longer limited by hardware. … We see a very, very long future ahead of us as we think about the platform and we’re not even thinking about the next generation at this point.

Greenberg indicates that the power of connectivity through its Xbox Live system is partially responsible for the lifespan of the Xbox 360.

I think that what we did with the New Xbox Experience, and many people said that it was essentially like launching a new console and we did that through the power of software.

Sony had made similar remarks about its PlayStation 3, but theirs seemed, in part, a defense of the console’s slow adoption compared to its competition.  Apparently the company didn’t expect its leading-edge console to really catch on until 2009-2010 anyways.

Microsoft has promised that it’s “just getting started” with the New Xbox Experience, and that more updates and goodies are on the way for the Xbox 360.