The Eighth Generation and Beyond

This chapter reviews the modern arcade with games like Terminator Salvation and Star Wars: Battle Pod , followed by coverage of modern game consoles such as the Nintendo Wii U, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Portable/handheld coverage includes the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, and Nintendo Switch. Key console game titles (such as Super Mario 3D World , Rayman Legends , Super Smash Bros. for Wii U , Bayonetta 2 , Mario Kart 8 , The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt , Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain , Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End , Persona 5 , and Horizon: Zero Dawn ) are highlighted, as well as console tech specs, launch titles, key people (like Carl Ledbetter, Don Mattrick, Jason Camberis, John Taylor, Mark Cerny, Mike Ybarra, Satoru Iwata, Shuhei Yoshida, Tatsumi Kimishima, and Tetsu Sumii), marketing, advertisement, accessories like the Kinect 2.0, console comparisons, and head-to-head game recommendations for comparing video game systems. Updated systems like Xbox One S, PS4 Pro, Xbox One X, ROG Xbox Ally X, and Nintendo Switch 2 are also discussed. Encapsulating the rich history, technology, and business-related events of this generation, this chapter concludes with a modern console game system market summary, activity on Twitch, Ustream and YouTube, seventh-generation breakthroughs, trends, and a quiz.