8th Generation Console Wars

The 7th generation is still in effect with all three major competitors Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony Playstation 3, & Nintendo Wii still in production for at least three to four more years with the 6th generation meeting it's final retirement of Sony Playstation 2 on January 4, 2013. The 8th generation is ready to take the stage over the aging 7th generation.

The 8th generation is not only just between Nintendo, Sony, & Microsoft but Valve, Boxer8, & Nvidia will join the ranks for 8th generation console wars. The 8th generation features a leap in controls such as touchscreen controls(example is Wii U Gamepad) & more crisp graphics. Though four have been revealed as of now, there will be six consoles in this console war. Nvidia's Project Shield is however a handheld console physically but is as practical as a gaming PC.

Here's a list of consoles in order of release or predicted release dates:

Nintendo
Wii U
Released on November 18(NA), November 30(AUS, EU), & December 8(JP) 2012. Looking at the Wii U I was amazed at how awesome it was for it's advanced graphics, feasibility, enhanced gameplay with the touchscreen Wii U Gamepad, & overall design. Comparing Wii U to Xbox 360, Wii, & Playstation 3, Wii U outmatches all three in everything with the exception of storage capacity, losing to Playstation 3 & some versions of Xbox 360. While the Wii U is more competitive than Playstation 3 & Xbox 360 & certainly it's own predecessor the Wii, Wii U will certainly have heavier competition, facing a more powerful Playstation 4, Xbox 720, Project Shield, & Steambox while at the same time beating Ouya. Wii U can be compared in similarities as the Sega Dreamcast of it's time. Both Wii U & Dreamcast ports of games had better graphics than their previous generation counterparts. This is not to say that Wii U will face an early retirement like Dreamcast did. Wii U is just as capable & even more so than Xbox 360 & Playstation 3 of rendering state of art graphics, being easy for developing hardcore games like the ones played on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, & Microsoft Windows, & easier features such as downloading updates & scrolling through Nintendo eShop. The Wii U is backwards compatable with Wii optical discs but has it's own Wii menu right inside the Wii U menu. Wii games can only play Wii peripherals such as Wii remote, classic controller, balance board, etc. However, depending on games playing Wii U is compatable with ALL Wii peripherals. Pro Controller is an Xbox 360 style controller for the Wii U & though it is used less in games than Wii remote, it still is made for the type of games usually played on Xbox 360 style systems like Call of Duty Black Ops II. A major improvement from the Wii to Wii U is that the latter can render the same or better versions of the games ported to it than Xbox 360 & Playstation 3. For example, Call of Duty Black Ops II, Assassins Creed III, Sonic & All Stars Racing, Need For Speed Most Wanted 2012, FIFA 13 to name some examples. These are not just some watered down versions that they would be like if they were for the Wii but even better ones with a crisp difference in graphics, enhanced gameplay, & a fresh start for anyone who is into state of art technology in gaming like I am. However, I expect Wii U will tremble behind competitors in technology but the Wii U will remain special in it's own ways while being something the Wii wasn't. I heard Watch Dogs & Assassin Creed's IV will have Wii U ports. More features include Nintendo TVii, Miiverse, Wii U Chat, internet browser, Nintendo eShop, & Miimaker.

Boxer8
Ouya
To be released June 2013 on retail. Ouya is a digital download Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system console as small as a shrunken Nintendo Gamecube. Ouya is one of those lesser known consoles but is as important as Wii U. Ouya will be the smallest or second smallest console in 8th generation but will be as competitive as competitors thanks to it's connection with OnLive gaming service. Ouya does have it's own software & has less GB than Wii U. However, Ouya can play the same kind of games played on an Xbox 360 thanks to OnLive which plays games like Saints Row The Third, Crazy Taxi, Driver San Francisco, Sleeping Dogs, etc. Over 300 OnLive titles to choose from! What disappoints me is how Ouya is not being treated with the same type of recognition as Wii U such as not having a slot in the 8th generation comparison table on Wikipedia. It does however have a link to it on the bottom of the page with 8th generation consoles bar catagory. Ouya requires some free to play elements in games such as demos, rentals(like OnLive), DLC, or other. Ouya will cost a cheap $99.

Sony
Playstation 4
Playstation 4 is said to be the most advanced console revealed to date. Memory is said to be 8GB GDDR5, the highest possible of any computer, mostly found in gaming PCs such as Alienware. Raedon AMD graphics will be included here & graphics for this system are said to be the most advanced to date. The controller is Dualshock 4, which features a touchscreen & a share button to record game footage from your controller. This makes the PS4 have more advanced features than Xbox Live for 360. Over dozen titles have been announced for this system with more to come. The titles I'm eying right now for PS4 are Driveclub & Watch Dogs. More display & control features include Playstation Apps allowing for tablets/smartphones to be played as second screens, Playstation Vita for Sony's Remote Play, Playstation Move, & Playstation 4 Eye camera which has more advanced camera angle views & is between Kinect & Move functionalities. It's like having Kinect but with convienent button functionalities not found in Kinect games. Gaikai will be used as a claud streaming service for this console as well as sometime later on being able to stream Playstation, Playstation 2, & Playstation 3 titles. Loading times are virtually non existent thanks to technology which loads the momentarily unnecessary content while you play what is necessarily in front of you. I have never heard of that before. Unsure how Playstation 4 will rank but I do know that it has already defeated Nintendo Wii U & Ouya but has yet to beat Xbox 720, Steambox, & Project Shield.

Microsoft
Xbox 720
Yet to be revealed, possibly on April 26. This will be Microsoft's third generation in the Xbox series, making this the third currently longest running home console manufacturer to date, just behind Nintendo & Sony(even considering fact that 7th generation was just between these three). Playstation 4 is ready to outmatch Xbox 360 but Microsoft has opportunity to make Xbox 720 better than Playstation 4. Examples include specs of 8GB of RAM which is what PS4 has, DDR5, built in Kinect, illumiroom, USB 3.0, HDMI, three times more processing power than Xbox 360, etc. Xbox 720 will be on competition with Playstation 4. I've been reading Xbox 720 has been searched more than PS4 overall but will Xbox 720 become the master of 8th generation gaming? What else is better is for the controller of this to be revealed. Xbox 720 will be revealed April 26 in my opinion & will be released same time as Playstation 4. Nobody wants to be behind here & Sony & Microsoft are behind Nintendo for now.

Nvidia
Project Shield
Revealed January 7, 2013 as a handheld/home console. Well, Project Shield has the physical appearence of a portable Android attached to an Xbox 360 controller while being as capable as a gaming PC. Nvidia graphics & PC capabilities, this will blow 3DS & Vita to shame. Project Shield can stream Steam & Google Play games onto it from PC or android devices or simply download these from their services directly to the device. I'm unsure whether some Steam/Google Play games will have their own ports to distinguish between certain PC games as there's a difference between Grand Theft Auto III vs. Grand Theft Auto IV in sense of achievements & control structures. However, Shield runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system. It has a flip over touchscreen & an HDMI port to play on a TV screen plus easy Wi-Fi connections. Project Shield is like having as handheld that acts like a gaming PC but is the size of a handheld.

Valve
Steambox
Valve is not afraid of Nintendo, Sony, & Microsoft. Valve will soon enough start testing & revealing it's PC style Steambox console. It will act like a gaming pc, be lighter than a Wii U, & will be ready for testing in 3-4 months. This PC console will be convienent like a home console but perform like a gaming PC. Valve's Steambox will compete mainly with Wii U, Playstation 4, Xbox 720, Ouya, & Project Shield. Media format here will most likely be digital downloads & use the Steam software. For example, you might have to have a Steam account & download games from Steam in order to play them on Steambox. It's Linux based & Microsoft Windows is optional. Xi3 will be making the Pistons for Steambox. Microsoft is saying Steambox is not a home console but I say Steambox is beyond traditional home consoles while at the same time feeling like a home console but acting like a PC. Steambox will have many things Xbox 720, Playstation 4, & Wii U wont such as ability of modding content like you can on PC. PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV you can somewhat easily mod content for this game but requires some programs first. Gaming PCs are the most advanced of gaming lines compared to home consoles like Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, & even Wii U. Though PS4 will be more advanced than most gaming PCs available, PCs are steps ahead of current home consoles available now. If Valve's Steambox becomes a market success, it predicts itself to be the top of the chain, infantizing Nintendo, Sony, & Microsoft for their inferiority compared to Valve's PC superiorness! Though Valve has no worries from competition of Nintendo, Sony, & Microsoft, Valve does worry about competition from Apple. Since Microsoft makes it's own PC software, making a future Xbox like a PC with Windows on it should be considered. Plus, Google has it's own PC software dubbed Chrome, citing Google Chromebook.