8th generation of gaming consoles were officially kickstarted when in 2012, Nintendo launched Wii U in Japan. Playstation 4 and Xbox One followed in late 2013, launched by Sony & Microsoft respectively. These consoles are currently the most sought after gaming consoles in the market & the never ending debate of which is the best still goes on. But seldom people know that there are a few more gaming consoles out there which are competing with the current generation and we are about to shed some light on them.
5. Leaptv by Leapfrog(60$)
This one was made on the same lines as Nintendo’s Wii in 2014 but never quite caught on. The device is sold at toy stores and as per manufacturer it provides 3 amazing ways to play and learn: body motion, classic controller and pointer play. Certainly a device aimed at little kids specifically.
You can get one here
4. Retron 5(128$)
This console was targeted to an audience who want to indulge in the nostalgia of playing retro games but in HD(high definition). These consoles were developed by Hyperkin and the first in the series was made in 2010-2011. The earliest edition only played Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games. This was followed by the RetroN 3, which also played Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and Sega Genesis games. As of 2014 Retron5 can be connected through HDMI but does not play BBC Micro, Amiga and the Atari games.
You can get one here
3. Nintendo WiiU(300$)
Now up to the serious consoles. As of March 2015 Nintendo had shipped 10.3million units of the device. It has a 1.24 GHz Tri-Core IBM PowerPC “Espresso”.The console was largely praised for its gamepad controller but many users complained about its low battery life. The best thing about the console is its backward compatibility. Graphics have been largely improved but still remain a step behind the like of PS4 and Xbox one.
You can get one here
2. Xbox One(500$)
Xbox One packs quite a punch even though PS4 users might disagree. Xbox One is powered by an AMD “Jaguar” Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) with two quad-core modules totaling eight x86-64 cores clocked at 1.75 GHz. Xbox one does support 4k resolution, but the most impressive feature of the system is to react accordingly to it internal temperature. The console self-adjusts while regulating its temperature.
You can get one here
1. Sony Play Station 4(400$)
This has to be the most successful console so far of the eight generation. Up till March 2015, it had sold nearly 30million units, more than twice the nearest competitor. Various analysis of graphics and frame rate show subtle differences in favour of PS4 as compared to Xbox One. There also a 100$ price difference which you can expect to increase over the course of the holiday season as various deals are offered. It even offers a streaming game service which of it own known as Playstation Now. Currently PS4 sits comfortably on it’s throne of the best 8th gen console others have some work to do.
You can get one here
