History of video game consoles (eighth generation) Facts for Kids

The eighth generation of video game consoles started in 2012. This new era of gaming began with the release of the Wii U. Later, the PlayStation 4 was announced in February 2013 and came out worldwide in November 2013. Microsoft then revealed the Xbox One in May 2013, releasing it in November 2013.

For smaller, portable gaming devices called handheld game consoles, this generation began earlier, in February 2011, with the Nintendo 3DS. The PlayStation Vita followed, launching in Japan in December 2011 and in Western countries in February 2012.

Many people in the video game world thought that these new home consoles would have to compete with games on smartphones, tablets, and Smart TVs. Because of this, some experts wrongly believed this generation might be the last for home consoles. Other smaller consoles, sometimes called microconsoles, like the NVIDIA Shield and Ouya, also tried to join this market. Nintendo stopped making the Wii U on January 31, 2017, before releasing the Nintendo Switch on March 3, 2017. The Switch is special because it can be both a home console and a portable device. It's still debated if the Switch is part of the eighth generation or if it started a brand new ninth generation.

Home Consoles
- Comparing the Main Consoles
Handheld Consoles
- Comparing Portable Gaming Devices
Images for kids
See also

Home Consoles

Comparing the Main Consoles

Let's look at the main home consoles from this generation: the Wii U, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Name	Wii U	PlayStation 4	Xbox One
Logo
Manufacturer	Nintendo	Sony	Microsoft
Console
Release dates	November 18, 2012	November 15, 2013	NA: November 22, 2013 EU: November 22, 2013 AU: November 22, 2013 BR: November 22, 2013 JP: September 4, 2014 CN: September 29, 2014
Launch prices	Basic Model US$299.99 A$348.00 ¥26,250 Deluxe/Premium Model US$349.99 A$428.00 ¥31,500	US$399.99, €399.99, £349.99	US$499/€499/£429/JP¥49,980/CN¥3,699
Units sold	Worldwide: 13.56 million (as of 16 December 2016)	N/A	N/A
Best-selling game	Mario Kart 8, 8.26 million units (as of 31 December 2016)	N/A	N/A
Game Discs	Wii U Optical Disc	Blu-ray, DVD	Blu-ray, DVD
Memory	2 GB DDR3 RAM	8 GB GDDR5 RAM	8 GB DDR3 RAM
Storage	8 GB (Basic), 32 GB (Deluxe/Premium) internal memory Supports USB hard drives	HDD with unconfirmed capacity	500 GB HDD
Integrated 3DTV support	Yes	Yes	Yes
Second screen	Off-TV Play	Remote Play	SmartGlass
Main Controller	Wii U GamePad	DualShock 4	Wireless controller
Online services	Nintendo Network	PlayStation Network	Xbox Live
Regional lockout	Yes	0TBA	0TBA
Games can be shared/resold without a fee	Yes	Yes	Yes
Requires an Internet connection	No	No	No
List of games	List of Wii U games	List of PlayStation 4 games	List of Xbox One games
Backward compatibility	Can play Wii games and some older downloadable games.	Can stream some older PlayStation games.	Can play some Xbox 360 games.

Handheld Consoles

Comparing Portable Gaming Devices

Here's a look at the two main handheld consoles of this generation: the Nintendo 3DS and the PlayStation Vita.

Name	Nintendo 3DS / 3DS XL	PlayStation Vita
Logo
Manufacturer	Nintendo	Sony
Console
Release dates	Nintendo 3DS Japan: February 26, 2011 Europe: March 25, 2011 North America: March 27, 2011 Australia: March 31, 2011 Nintendo 3DS XL Japan: July 28, 2012 Europe: July 28, 2012 North America: August 19, 2012 Australia: August 23, 2012	All versions Japan: December 17, 2011 Europe: February 22, 2012 North America: February 22, 2012 Australia: February 23, 2012
Launch prices	Nintendo 3DS ¥25,000 US$249.99 A$349.95 Nintendo 3DS XL ¥18,900 US$199.99 A$249.9	Wi-Fi ¥24,980 $249 €249 £229.99 Wi-Fi+3G ¥29,980 $299 €299 £279.99
Units sold	Worldwide: 31.09 million (as of March 31, 2013)	Worldwide: 2.2 million (as of June 30, 2012)
Best-selling game	Super Mario 3D Land, 8.29 million units (as of March 31, 2013)	N/A
Display	Top Screen: 3D LCD (no glasses needed) Bottom Screen: 2D LCD Touchscreen	5-inch OLED touchscreen
3D enabled	Yes	No
Memory	128 MB FCRAM	512 MB RAM
Camera	One front camera and two rear 3D cameras (0.3 MP)	Front and rear cameras (0.3 MP)
Storage	2 GB internal storage Supports SDXC cards	No internal storage Uses special memory sticks (4 GB to 32 GB)
Game Cards	Nintendo 3DS Game Card Nintendo DS Game Card	PlayStation Vita Game Card
Online services	Nintendo Network	Sony Entertainment Network
Regional lockout	Yes	No
List of games	List of Nintendo 3DS games	List of PlayStation Vita games
Backward compatibility	Can play Nintendo DS and DSi games, plus some older downloadable games.	Can play downloadable PlayStation and PlayStation Portable games.