History of video game consoles (eighth generation)

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General Golden age of arcade video games History of video games North American video game crash of 1983
Consoles First generation (1972–1977) Second generation (1976–1984) Third generation (1983–1992) Fourth generation (1987–1996) Fifth generation (1993–2006) Sixth generation (1998–2013) Seventh generation (2004–) Eighth generation (2011–)
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The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012. The eighth generation began with the release of Wii U. The PlayStation 4 was announced on February 20, 2013.^[1] It was released worldwide on November 15, 2013. Microsoft announced the Xbox One on May 21, 2013.^[2] It had its first regional release on November 22, 2013.^[3] For handheld game consoles, the generation began in February 2011. The first handheld was the Nintendo 3DS. The PlayStation Vita was released in December 2011 in Japan. It was available for the Western countries in February 2012.

It is believed by the video game media that the eighth generation home consoles compete with the smartphone, tablet, and Smart TV gaming markets.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]} Because of this, some analysts incorrectly believed the eight generation would be the last generation of home consoles.^[10] Other microconsoles such as the NVIDIA Shield, Steam Box, Ouya and GameStick are attempting to compete in this market.^[11][12][13] Nintendo officially discontinued the Wii U on January 31, 2017 in anticipation of the March 3, 2017 worldwide release of the Nintendo Switch. The Switch is a "hybrid" console that acts as both a home console and handheld device, and it is the beginning of a ninth generation of home consoles.

1. ↑ PS4 release date specs confirmed
2. ↑ "Microsoft Confirms Next-Gen Xbox Announcement". IGN. 2013-04-24. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
3. ↑ Bass, Dina; King, Ian (30 November 2012). "Microsoft Said to Plan Next Xbox for 2013 Holiday Season". Bloomberg. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
4. ↑ Cull, James (20 June 2011). "Nvidia Tegra: The Future of Android Gaming". appstorm.net. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
5. ↑ "Mobile Gaming is Dominating the Gaming Industry". Geekaphone. 27 July 2011. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
6. ↑ Alpeyev, Pavel (19 June 2011). "Nintendo May Fail to Replicate Wii Success as IPhone Games Bloom". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
7. ↑ Gallagher, Dan (21 June 2011). "Sony, Nintendo Place Big Bets on Handhelds". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
8. ↑ Agnello, Anthony John (9 February 2012). "Will Smart TVs End the Game Console Business?". InvestorPlace. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
9. ↑ "PlayStation 2 manufacture ends after 12 years". The Guardian. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
10. ↑ "PlayStation 2 manufacture ends after 12 years". The Guardian. January 4, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
11. ↑ Langshaw, Mark; Reynolds, Matthew (January 13, 2013). "Can Android consoles Ouya, Project Shield challenge PlayStation, Xbox?". DigitalSpy.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
12. ↑ Kelly, Tadhg (January 10, 2013). "With Ouya, GameStick, Steam Box and more, will 2013 be the year of the 'microconsole'?". Edge Online. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
13. ↑ Pereira, Chris (January 15, 2013). "Digital and Nontraditional: Breaking Down Ouya, Steam Box, And Other New Wave Systems". 1up.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2013.