In the
history of video games, the
eighth generation includes consoles released since by
Nintendo,
Microsoft, and
Sony Computer Entertainment. For home consoles, the eighth generation began on November 18, 2012 with the release of the
Wii U, and continued with the release of the
PlayStation 4 on November 15, 2013, and
Xbox One on November 22, 2013. These
video game consoles follow the
seventh generation: Sony's
PlayStation 3, Nintendo's
Wii and Microsoft's
Xbox 360. For
video game handhelds, the generation began in February 2011 with the release of the
Nintendo 3DS, successor to the
Nintendo DS, in
Japan, followed by a
North American and
European release in March.
Nintendo released the
New Nintendo 3DS XL in North America on February 13, 2015. The successor of the
PlayStation Portable, the
PlayStation Vita, was released in Japan in December 2011, and in Western markets in February 2012.