Did you read the OPs question? If you had then you would know that the discussion is exactly about the future. I even put it in the post you quoted. If you still don't feel like reading it then simply look at the title of the thread.
Mobile GPUs are just fine for playing games now and in the future. See the 770m and the 780m. Both capable of playing games extremely well and both found in laptops with the same price range of a MacBook. If by huge then you mean slightly more heavier then a mac (around 2 pounds) then yeah, I guess they are huge. Of course they would have to be to perform gaming well. You need the space for cooling. Then again, if you are talking about gaming... is 2 pounds a big difference? I don't think you need to goto the gym for that.
Its give and take, you cant have it all. You can have extreme portability, OSX, and nice aluminum build for the cost of not so good on games. You can have excellent on games, upgradeability including graphics cards, and a fancy eye catcher at the cost of some portability. All depends on your needs. Judging by the thread title and the OPs question.... What do you think he is looking for?
Sure, if you are a heavy gamer then a desktop is the way to go. Of course, you could also get an alienware or one of the other laptops that I listed and perform almost as well as a desktop and far beyond what the Mac can offer.
Yes, it can drive past games well. It can drive current games so so ish. It wont be driving next gen very well for very long. You even said so in your first paragraph.... What was the OPs question again?
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Fair enough statement here.^^^ Although, I doubt the Iris Pro is enough to satisfy most peoples gaming needs.
This is where you lost me again. You contradict yourself from your first paragraph. It is unlikely to play anything well 2 years from now.
I'd say you need to read what I posted first, because I answered you and then the OP, however since you did quote and reply the answer to the OP, I'm confused as to why you're asking me several times if I read what the OP asked, even though you quoted me answering him... Very confusing. Or you probably started quoting and replying before reading the whole thing through.
Let me make this clear: Your opinion of gaming, may differ by miles and ages from someone else's. If you intend on giving judgement on a forum or simply an advice like on this thread, you really need to take that into account.
Why do I say this?
Well, you're giving the big bad games talk. Personally, I'm playing nowadays current games (2013 releases) that my MacBook from 2007 could still play. And no, this isn't a little gamer's opinion, I have been a competitive gamer and what today would be considered a Pro since I earned money from it, and yes, I love Mac. Heck, at some point I even competed with a Mac, and it was no big deal, I couldn't afford to have several setups back then.
So yes, you may not be able to play BF5 (or even BF4) on a 750M at full res, but the 770M isn't in much prettier shape with a resolution like this. This is why, as we both agree (I think) you have dedicated setups for gaming, which isn't the OPs question. He isn't asking if he should get a dedicated setup, he's simply asking, how long can I expect to play latest games on this thing, without giving any other details. You can play next-gen on the MBP, but every game is different and requires something different, you should know this. I fully expect to be able to play most games that come out in the next 2 years by lowering their quality, if needed, and without when I get started with my eGPU project. For everything else there's the ugly baby at home.
In short: No one said in here what kind of games and on what quality, so you're pretty much assuming, just like you're telling everyone else not to assume, you could take the same advice and organise your advice based on what's being asked.
Hard, cold answer: Can I play 2013 games on a 2011 rMBP:
Yes. Will I be able to with the 2013 MBP: I'll let you answer, although somehow I'm expecting a talk about next-gen differing from 2011 to 2013 and the 750 being a 650.
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Re: External graphics cards + TB, you folks saw what this guy did with a MacBook Air, right?
http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/31/macbook-air-home-built-external-gpu/
This one is with the 13"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxxtd2kVf0I
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So I did end up picking the dedicated graphics option. I am ok if the graphics aren't the best. But even having ps3 level graphics would be good enough for me to be honest.
And as long as I can play games (from time to time) for the next 3-4 years I am pretty good.
It's just that during my summer vacations I often do not have access to a console and would be pretty happy if my mac can at least (for a bit) serve my gaming needs.
From what I have seen in the comments, the laptop will be able to "play" games for the time frame that I am looking at.
Personally I think you will be fine for that time frame if you don't mind lowering graphics quality.
