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. It was released worldwide on November 15, 2013. Microsoft announced the Xbox One on May 21, 2013. It had its first regional release on November 22, 2013. 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. Because of this, some analysts incorrectly believed the eight generation would be the last generation of home consoles. Other microconsoles such as the NVIDIA Shield, Steam Box, Ouya and GameStick are attempting to compete in this market. 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 unclear if it is a late entry to the eighth generation or the beginning of a ninth generation of home consoles.
Systems
Comparison
| 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 (some countries, September 2, 2014, for others)
AU: November 22, 2013
BR: November 22, 2013
JP: September 4, 2014
CN: September 29, 2014
|
| Launch prices |
Basic Model
- US$299.99
- £/€, set by individual retailers
- A$348.00
- ¥26,250
Deluxe/Premium Model
- US$349.99
- £/€, set by individual retailers
- A$428.00
- ¥31,500
|
US$399.99, €399.99, £349.99 |
US$499/€499/£429/JP¥49,980/CN¥3,699 |
| Units shipped |
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 |
| Media |
Wii U Optical Disc @ 22.5MB/s
25 GB (single layer) |
Blu-ray, DVD |
Blu-ray, DVD |
| CPU |
Tri-Core IBM PowerPC "Espresso" |
Octa-Core AMD "Jaguar" |
Octa-Core AMD |
| GPU |
AMD Radeon "Latte" GPGPU @ 550 MHz |
Custom AMD Radeon, architecture and performance similar to a Radeon 7870 @ 800 MHz |
Custom AMD Radeon, architecture and performance similar to a Radeon 7790 @ 800 MHz |
| Memory |
2 GB DDR3 RAM
(1 GB available for games / 1 GB available for system)
|
8 GB GDDR5 RAM
(7 GB available for games / 1 GB available for system)
|
8 GB DDR3 RAM
(5 GB available for games / 3 GB available for system)
|
| Storage |
8 GB (Basic), 32 GB (Deluxe/Premium) internal flash memory
Supports up to 32 GB SDHC memory cards (for Wii mode) Up to 2 TB USB hard disk drive for e-Shop games & save storage |
HDD with unconfirmed capacity |
500 GB HDD |
| Video |
- 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 576i, 480i; standard 4:3 and 16:9 anamorphic widescreen†
- Analog AV port supporting:
- Composite video
- S-Video (NTSC consoles only)
- RGB SCART (PAL consoles only)
- YPBPR
- D-Terminal (Japan only)
- Component video
- HDMI
† Resolutions other than 576i and 480i available via HDMI and YPBPR only.
|
- 4K, 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 576i, 480i; standard 4:3 and 16:9 anamorphic widescreen†
- Analog AV port supporting:
- Composite video
- S-Video (NTSC consoles only)
- RGB SCART (PAL consoles only)
- HDMI
† Resolutions other than 576i and 480i available via HDMI only.
|
- 4K, 1080p, 1080i and 720p
- HDMI in / HDMI out
|
| Integrated 3DTV support |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Second screen |
Off-TV Play |
Remote Play |
SmartGlass |
| Audio |
- Analog stereo via the Analog AV port.
- Six-channel PCM linear output via HDMI
|
0TBA |
TBA |
| Peripheral abilities |
|
|
|
| Controller |
|
|
|
| Online services |
| Nintendo Network |
|
Accounts
- Nintendo Network ID (up to 12 per system)
- User Account Profile (up to 12 per system)
- Personal Mii (one linked per account)
- Friend List (up to 100 friends)
- Origin support (EA-published titles only)
- Uplay support (Ubisoft-published titles only)
Social network
- Miiverse
Games
- Online multiplayer (upwards of 8-12 players)
- Online leaderboards
- Accomplishments System
- Voice/video chat (requires at least one Wii U GamePad)
Cloud storage
- TBD
Communication
- Wii U Chat (video calls/voice chat)
- Friend List (up to 100 friends)
- Block List
- Player History (online players met)
- Notifications
- SpotPass
- Cross Platform with Nintendo 3DS
Online Shop
- Nintendo eShop
Entertainment
Internet Navigation
Loyalty Programs
- Club Nintendo (discontinued - 2015)
- Nintendo Network Premium
- My Nintendo ( launched 31 March, 2016)
Other Utilities
- Parental controls
- eManuals
- Nintendo Customer Service (video game console warranty and help/repair support)
- Nintendo Online Store (physical products only)
System Update
- Wii U System Update
|
| Miiverse |
- Personal Profile (up to 400 characters)
- Communities:
- Game/App communities
- News communities
- Developer's Room communities
- Private communities
- Share:
- Comments & Drawings
- Activity Feed (most recent post of any followed users)
- Accomplishments
- Tags (records/challenges)
- In-game screenshots
- YouTube videos
- News Feed
- Friend List (up to 100 friends)
- Follow (Profile can follow up to 1000 users)
- Instant messaging
- Notifications
|
N/A |
| Nintendo eShop |
|
Games/Apps
- Downloadable content
- Demos (playable up to 30 times)
- Game screenshots/videos/
- Software rantings (1 to 5 stars; various categories)
- Software updates/patches
- Virtual Console
Entertainment
|
|
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 |
Nintendo optical discs
Downloadable only
|
Optical disc/download
Not compatible with PlayStation 3 titles due to hardware incompatibility; other systems unannounced
Gaikai cloud streaming (not at launch)
|
Compatible with some Xbox 360 titles |
Handheld consoles
Handheld comparison
| Name |
Nintendo 3DS / 3DS XL |
PlayStation Vita |
| Logo |
 |
 |
| Manufacturer |
Nintendo |
Sony |
| Console |
 |
 |
| Release dates |
Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS XL
|
All versions
|
| Launch prices |
Nintendo 3DS
- ¥25,000
- US$249.99
- £/€, set by individual retailers
- A$349.95
Nintendo 3DS XL
- ¥18,900
- US$199.99
- £/€, set by individual retailers
- A$249.9
|
Wi-Fi
- ¥24,980
- $249
- €249
- £229.99
Wi-Fi+3G
- ¥29,980
- $299
- €299
- £279.99
|
| 2013 prices |
Nintendo 3DS
- $169.99
- €169.99
- ¥15,000
- A$249.99 (as of 12 August 2011)
Nintendo 3DS XL
Same as launch prices
|
Wi-Fi
Same as launch prices
Wi-Fi+3G
Same as launch prices
|
| Units shipped |
Worldwide: 31.09 million (as of 31 March 2013) |
Worldwide: 2.2 million (as of 30 June 2012) |
| Best-selling game |
Super Mario 3D Land, 8.29 million units (as of 31 March 2013) |
N/A |
| Display |
Top:
- Autostereoscopic (3D) LCD 800 × 240 px (400 × 240 px per eye)
-
- 3.53 in (90 mm) (Nintendo 3DS)
- 4.88 in (124 mm) (Nintendo 3DS XL)
Bottom:
- 2D LCD Touchscreen 320 × 240 px QVGA
-
- 3.02 in (77 mm) (Nintendo 3DS)
- 4.18 in (106 mm) (Nintendo 3DS XL)
|
5 in (130 mm) OLED 960 × 544 px |
| 3D enabled |
Yes |
No |
| CPU |
Dual-core ARM11 MPCore |
Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore |
| GPU |
Digital Media Professionals PICA200 |
PowerVR SGX543MP4+ |
| Memory |
128 MB FCRAM, 6 MB VRAM |
512 MB RAM, 128 MB VRAM |
| Camera |
One front-facing and a set of two rear-facing 3D 0.3 MP (VGA) camera sensors |
Front and rear 0.3 MP (VGA) camera sensors |
| Storage |
2 GB (1.5 GB usable) NAND flash internal storage
Supports up to 128GB SDXC cards, and up to 32GB SDHC cards
-
-
- 2 GB SD card included (Nintendo 3DS)
- 4 GB SDHC card included (Nintendo 3DS XL)
|
No internal storage
4 GB to 32 GB of proprietary removable memory sticks |
| Media |
Nintendo 3DS Game Card (1–8 GB)
Nintendo DS Game Card (8–512 MB) |
PlayStation Vita Game Card (2–4 GB) |
| User interface |
- Circle Pad (2× with add-on)
- D-pad
- Autostereoscopic 15:9(5:3) screen with 3D depth slider (top screen)
- Resistive 4:3 touchscreen (bottom screen)
- 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope
- Volume slider
- 3D depth slider
- Wireless communications switch
- Front 2D camera and rear 3D camera set
- Microphone
- 12 × buttons
(X, Y, A, B, L, R (ZL and ZR with add-on), START, SELECT, HOME, POWER)
|
- 2 × analog sticks
- D-pad
- Capacitive OLED 16:9 touchscreen
- Rear touchpad
- Sixaxis motion sensing
- Three-axis electronic compass
- Front & rear 2D cameras
- Microphone
- 12 × buttons
( ,  ,  ,  , L, R, Start, Select, Home, Volume ±, Power)
|
| Battery |
Nintendo 3DS
- 1300 mAh lithium-ion battery
- 3DS Mode: 3–5 hours
- DS Mode: 5–8 hours
Nintendo 3DS XL
- 1750 mAh lithium-ion battery
- 3DS Mode: 3.5–6.5 hours
- DS Mode: 6–10 hours
(determined by screen brightness, Wi-Fi, sound volume, and 3D effect)
|
All versions
- 2200 mAh lithium-ion battery
- Gameplay: 3–5 hours
- Video playback: 5 hours
- Music: 9 hours
(determined by screen brightness, Wi-Fi, sound volume, and whether 3G is active)
|
| Connectivity |
|
|
| Stylus |
Nintendo 3DS
- Extendable up to 100 mm (3.9 in) long
Nintendo 3DS XL
- 96 mm (3.8 in) long
|
N/A |
| Weight |
Nintendo 3DS
- 235 grams (8.3 oz)
Nintendo 3DS XL
- 336 grams (11.9 oz)
|
Wi-Fi model
- 260 grams (9.2 oz)
Wi-Fi+3G model
- 279 grams (9.8 oz)
|
| Dimensions |
Nintendo 3DS
- 134 mm (5.3 in) W
- 74 mm (2.9 in) D
- 22 mm (0.87 in) H
Nintendo 3DS XL
- 156 mm (6.1 in) W
- 93 mm (3.7 in) D
- 22 mm (0.87 in)
|
All versions
- 182 mm (7.2 in) W
- 83.6 mm (3.29 in) D
- 18.6 mm (0.73 in) H
|
| Online services |
| Nintendo Network |
Accounts
- Universal Friend Code System (Friend Card)
- Personal Mii (one linked per account)
- Friend List (up to 100 friends)
Social network
- Miiverse
Games
Communication
- Swapnote (Nintendo Letter Box in PAL region)
- Friend List (up to 100 friends)
- StreetPass Mii Plaza (local & online players met)
- 3DS Download Play
- Notifications
- StreetPass & SpotPass
- Cross Platform with Wii U
Online Shop
- Nintendo eShop
Entertainment
- Nintendo Video
- Netflix (North America only)
- Hulu Plus (United States only)
- Recochoku (Japan only)
- e-Reader
Internet Navigation
Loyalty Programs
- Club Nintendo
- Nintendo Network Premium
Other Utilities
- Parental controls
- eManuals
- Nintendo Customer Service (video game console warranty and help/repair support)
- Nintendo Online Store (physical products only)
System Update
- Nintendo 3DS System Update
|
| Miiverse |
- Personal Profile
- Comunities:
- Game/App communities
- News communities
- Developer's Room communities
- Private communities (online matchmaking)
- Share:
- Comments
- Drawings
- Accomplishments
- Tags (records/challenges)
- In-game screenshots
- YouTube videos
- News Feed
- Friend List (up to 100 friends)
- Instant messaging
- Notifications
|
| Nintendo eShop |
|
Games/Apps
- Downloadable content
- Demos (playable up to 30 times)
- Game screenshots/videos/
- Software rantings (1 to 5 stars; various categories)
- Software updates/patches
- Virtual Console
Entertainment
- Nintendo TV (Official Nintendo Magazine)
- Short Films
- Nintendo eShop News
- Nintendo Direct
|
|
| Sony Entertainment Network |
|
|
|
| Preloaded applications |
- Health & Safety Information
- Nintendo 3DS / DS Game Card
- Nintendo 3DS Camera (Photo + Video Recording and Editing)
- Nintendo 3DS Sound
- Nintendo eShop
- Mii Maker
- StreetPass Mii Plaza
- AR Games
- Face Raiders
- Activity Log
- Nintendo Zone
- Nintendo Video
- Swapnote (Nintendo Letter Box in PAL region)
- Eurosport (PAL region only)
- Netflix (w/ paid subscription)
- Hulu Plus (w/ paid subscription)
- DS Download Play
- 3DS Download Play
- System Settings
- Game Notes
- Friend List
- Notifications
- Internet Browser
|
- Trophies
- PlayStation Store
- Friends
- Party
- Group Messaging
- Notifications
- Music
- Videos
- Photos
- Internet Browser
- Email
- Maps
- Settings
- Content Manager
- Remote Play
- Cross-Controller
- Welcome Park
- near
|
| Regional lockout |
Yes |
No |
| List of games |
List of Nintendo 3DS games |
List of PlayStation Vita games |
| Backward compatibility |
Nintendo Game Cards
Downloadable only
|
Downloadable only
|
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: Videoconsolas de octava generación para niños
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