User:Kai445/History of video game consoles (eighth generation)

In the history of video games, the eighth generation is a term to describe the next iteration of video game consoles that are expected to follow the current seventh generation: Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, and Nintendo's Wii. It also describes handheld game units released in the similar timeframe. The Nintendo 3DS was released on March 27, 2011 and Sony's PlayStation Vita was released on February 22, 2012 in North America.

Nintendo has announced its home console successor, the Wii U, to be released in 2012. Several journalists have classified the system as the first eighth generation home console. The second console to be announced was the Ouya, to be released March 2013. The successors to the PS3 and Xbox 360 are expected in 2013, they have been reportedly codenamed Orbis and Durango, respectively. It is anticipated that the eighth generation of video game consoles will face stiff competition from the smartphone, tablet, and Smart TV gaming markets.

Transition
Though prior console generations have normally occurred in five-six year cycles, the transition from seventh to eighth generation units has lasted more than six years. The transition is also unusual in that the prior generation's best-selling unit, the Wii, is the first to be replaced in the eighth generation. Both Microsoft and Sony have stated they have begun looking at their next iteration of consoles, but consider themselves only halfway through a ten-year lifecycle for their current seventh-generation offerings. Sony and Microsoft representatives have stated that the addition of motion controllers and camera-based controllers like Kinect and PlayStation Move have extended these systems' lifetimes. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has stated that his company will be releasing the Wii U due to declining sales of seventh generation home consoles and that "the market is now waiting for a new proposal for home consoles". Sony considered making its next console a digital download only machine, but decided against it due to concerns about the inconsistency of internet speeds available globally.

Ouya
Ouya was announced on July 3, 2012 to various online media outlets, and began garnering more mainstream coverage after the July 10, 2012 launch of their Kickstarter funding project. The console is currently slated for release in March 2013.

Wii U
In November 2010, Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aime stated that the release of the next generation of Nintendo would be determined by the continued success of the Wii. Nintendo announced their successor to the Wii, the Wii U, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 on June 7, 2011. It will be released in time of the holiday season of 2012.

The Wii U's main controller is called the Wii U GamePad and features an embedded touchscreen that can work as an auxiliary interactive screen, in a fashion similar to the Nintendo DS/3DS, or even as the main screen itself, enabling games to be played without the need of an extra screen connected to the console. It will also be compatible with its predecessor's standard controller, the Wii Remote Plus, along with all of its peripherals and the Wii Balance Board.

Nintendo 3DS
The Nintendo 3DS is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Nintendo DS. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software. Announcing the device in March 2010, Nintendo officially unveiled it at E3 2010, with the company inviting attendees to use demonstration units. The console succeeds the Nintendo DS series of handheld systems, which primarily competes with Sony's PlayStation Portable. It competes with Sony's handheld, the PlayStation Vita.

The Nintendo 3DS was released in Japan on February 26, 2011; in Europe on March 25, 2011; in North America on March 27, 2011; and in Australia on March 31, 2011. On July 28, 2011, Nintendo announced a major price drop starting August 12. In addition, as of September 2011 consumers who bought the system at its original price have access to ten Nintendo Entertainment System games before they are available to the general public, after which the games may be updated to the versions publicly released on the Nintendo eShop. In December 2011, ten Game Boy Advance games were made available to consumers who bought the system at its original price at no charge, with Nintendo stating it currently has no plans to release to the general public.

On June 21, 2012, Nintendo announced a new, bigger model of the 3DS called the Nintendo 3DS XL. It will have 90% larger screens than the current 3DS and slightly longer battery life. It is set to be released on the July 28, 2012 in Europe and the August 19, 2012 in North America.

PlayStation Vita
PlayStation Vita is a handheld game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to the PlayStation Portable as part of the PlayStation brand of gaming devices. It was released in Japan and parts of Asia on December 17, 2011 and was released in Europe and North America on February 22, 2012.

The handheld includes two analog sticks, a 5 in OLED multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, and supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and optional 3G. Internally, the Vita features a 4 core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor and a 4 core SGX543MP4+ graphics processing unit, as well as LiveArea software as its main user interface, which succeeds the XrossMediaBar.

The device is fully backward-compatible with PlayStation Portable games digitally released on the PlayStation Network via the PlayStation Store. However, PS One Classics/TurboGrafx-16 titles were not compatible at launch. The Vita's dual analog sticks will be supported on selected PSP games. The graphics for PSP releases will be up-scaled, with a smoothing filter to reduce pixelation.