Seventh generation of video game consoles

The seventh generation is the era in the history of computer and video games that began on November 21, 2004 with the release of the Nintendo DS. The console portion of the generation began with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360 on November 22, 2005 and continued a year later with the releases of Sony's PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2006 and Nintendo's Wii on November 19 2006 in North America.

Home systems

Having only just formally begun, it is not yet possible to determine which, if any, of the three major consoles will dominate this generation. The Xbox 360 by Microsoft has gained an early lead in terms of market share, due in large part to its launch which came a year before its rivals. Sales figures in North America and Europe have continued to be strong, despite the launch of the PlayStation 3 and Wii. Like its predecessor, the Xbox 360 has struggled in Japan due to a lack of RPGs and the poor reception of some Japanese developed games, such as Ninety-Nine Nights and Every Party. However, the system's form factor has been more generally appreciated and sales have increased in the region recently, due to the release of the highly anticipated Blue Dragon.

It is more difficult to assess whether the Sony's PlayStation franchise will be successful in this generation. It has a comparatively higher price, the PlayStation 3 has been released roughly a year later than its direct competitor, the Xbox 360, and reliance on very new technology such as the Cell microprocessor and Blu-ray format have caused difficulties in manufacturing and, some envisage, in value-engineering the console to make it cheaper in the future. Nonetheless, despite many initial setbacks and delays, Sony demonstrated the capabilities of the PlayStation 3 at Tokyo Game Show 2006, with 27 playable demos and numerous titles ready for launch. It will ultimately be decided by whether or not players feel that the games are worth the higher price of the console.

Nintendo entered this generation with a new business plan with its Wii console. The plan is firstly to capture a new market of 'non-gamers' (and lapsed gamers) through new game play experiences and new forms of interaction with games. If the new market grows sufficiently large, Nintendo hopes that the new control aspect will render current conventionally controlled consoles obsolete, leading to Nintendo capturing a large portion of the existing market as well. Most commentators have judged the Wii launch to be a success, with sales exceeding expectations in all launch regions.

Worldwide sales standings

Console	Units Sold	Units Shipped
Xbox 360	10.4 million as of January 7 2007	N/A
Wii	3.19 million as of December 31, 2006	N/A
PlayStation 3	1.2 million+ as of January 14, 2007 US 687,300+ as of December 31, 2006 JP 552,993+ as of January 14, 2007	2,485,791+

Not all consoles have been released worldwide. Sales figures subject to change over time.

Comparison

	Xbox 360	PlayStation 3	Wii
Launch Price	USD$299.99 (Core) USD$399.99 (Premium)	USD$499.99 (20 GB) USD$599.99 (60 GB)	USD$249.99 / GBP £179.99 / Euro €249.99
Release Date	November 22 2005 December 2 2005 December 10 2005 Template:Country data World More...	November 11 2006 November 17 2006 Q1 2007 March 232007	November 19 2006 December 2 2006 December 7 2006 December 8 2006
Included accessories and extras	Composite cable with Core, component with Premium Wired controller with Core, wireless with Premium 1 month of Xbox Live Gold Headset (Premium only; excluding Oceania) Ethernet cable (Premium only) 20GB detachable hard drive (Premium only)	Internal hard drive (20 GB or 60 GB included with purchase) Wireless SIXAXIS controller Composite AV cable Ethernet cable USB cable	Composite AV cable Wii Remote controller & Nunchuk add-on Wii Sports game (excluding Japan) Sensor Bar and stand 512 MB internal flash memory Console stand and plate
Accessories (retail)	Wired controller (US$40) Wireless controller (US$50) 64MB Memory Unit (US$30) Xbox Live Vision camera (US$40) Faceplates (US$20) Wireless network adapter (US$100) 20GB detachable hard drive (US$100) HD DVD drive (US$200) More...	Wireless controller (US$50) PlayStation 2 memory card adapter (US$15) Bluetooth remote (US$25) HDMI Cable (US$50)	Composite AV cable (US$20) RGB Scart cable (GBP £20) Component AV cable (US$30) D-Terminal cable (2,500 Yen) Wired LAN adapter (US$25) Wii Remote (US$40) Classic Controller add-on (US$20) Nunchuk controller add-on (US$20)
CPU	3.2 GHz IBM PowerPC tri-core codenamed "Xenon"	Cell Broadband Engine (3.2 GHz POWER-based PPE with seven 3.2 GHz SPEs)	729 MHz PowerPC based IBM "Broadway")
Memory	512 MB GDDR3 @ 700 MHz shared between CPU & GPU	256 MB XDR @ 3.2 GHz, 256 MB GDDR3 @ 700 MHz, GPU can access CPU memory.	24 MB "internal" 1T-SRAM integrated into graphics package, 64 MB "external" GDDR3 SDRAM, 3 MB GPU texture memory
GPU	500 MHz codenamed "Xenos" (ATI custom design)	550 MHz RSX (based on NVIDIA G70 architecture)	243 MHz ATI "Hollywood"
Controller	Xbox 360 Controller (up to 4 wireless or 3 wired)	SIXAXIS Controller (up to 7 via Bluetooth) PSP via Wi-Fi* or USB	Wii Remote (up to 4 via Bluetooth) and other attachments Up to 4 GameCube Controllers or Game Boy Advance Nintendo DS via Wi-Fi
Dimensions	8.3 cm × 30.9 cm × 25.8 cm	9.8 cm × 32.5 cm × 27.4 cm (approx.)	Approx. 5 cm × 11.5 cm × 21 cm
Weight	3.5 kg (7.7 lbs)	5 kg (11 lbs)	1.2 kg (2.7 lbs)
Online service	Xbox Live Live Arcade Points based store Webcam, headset Xbox Live Video	PlayStation Network Arcade Currency based store Internet browser Webcam (including PlayStation 2 EyeToy), headset	Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection WiiConnect24 Virtual Console Opera Browser
Backward compatibility	Selected Xbox games (~30%), additions made with software updates	Most Playstation and Playstation 2 titles (~99%); future firmware updates will provide more compatibility.	Supports all GameCube software and most accessories. Some games from previous systems prior to Nintendo GameCube are available for download via Wii shop. Sega systems are available also.
System software	Xbox 360 Dashboard	Cross Media Bar (XMB)	Wii Channels
System software features	Audio file playback (non-DRM AAC, MP3, WMA) Video file playback (WMV) Image slideshows Connectivity with a Media Center PC for more codec support Keyboard support	Operating Systems can be installed and run via a hypervisor Audio file playback (ATRAC3, AAC, MP3, WAV) Video file playback (MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4) Image editing and slideshows (JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP) Mouse and keyboard support Folding@Home client with visualizations from the RSX	Audio file playback (MP3) Video file playback (Motion JPEG) Image editing and slideshows (JPG)
Consumer programmability	Development on PC with XNA Game Studio ($99/year subscription, and no binary distribution).	Development on console via free Linux platform or PC.	No
Resolutions	HDTV-capable (480i, 576i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p)	HDTV-capable (480i, 576i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p)	EDTV-compatible (480i, 576i, 480p)
Video output	RGB, VGA, Component, S-Video, Composite, SCART	RGB, Component, S-Video, Composite, HDMI	Component, S-Video, Composite, RGB SCART, D-Terminal
Network	100BASE-TX (100 Mbit/s) Ethernet Optional 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi	1000BASE-T Ethernet Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g (built-in*, optional adapter**)	Built-in Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g Optional Ethernet via USB 2.0 Adapter
Audio	5.1 Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby True HD 7.1, DTS HD* 7.1, Dolby Digital Plus. Dolby Digital and DTS for HD DVD drive	5.1 Dolby Digital, 5.1 DTS*, 6.1/7.1 Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD PS3 outputs all of these formats in PCM via HDMI.	Dolby Pro Logic II, Mono speaker in controller.
I/O	2.4 GHz radio Infared for remote 2x Memory Card slots 3x USB 2.0 ports One Ethernet port	Bluetooth 2.0 4x USB 2.0 ports One Ethernet port 1 Memory Stick slot Pro/Duo SD/mini SD Compact Flash	Bluetooth 2x USB 2.0 ports Four controller and two memory card ports (GameCube) 1 SD Card slot Sensor Bar port
Media	12x (65.6–132 Mbit/s) DVD, CD, HD DVD (Add-on, for movie use only)	2x BD-ROM (72 mbit/s), 8x DVD, 24x CD, 2x SACD	Proprietary DVD, Nintendo GameCube Game Disc, DVD-Video playback announced for Japan 2007
Storage	Included* / Optional** detachable SATA non-upgradeable 20 GB hard drive, with 14 GB available to user. Xbox 360 memory cards USB mass storage (AV content)	2.5" upgradeable SATA 20** / 60 GB* hard drive with 14 and 54 GB available to user respectively Memory Stick, SD, & Type I/II CompactFlash (60GB modell) USB mass storage	512MB built-in flash memory SD card GameCube Memory Cards

Handheld game systems

See also: Comparison of handheld gaming consoles

For video game handhelds, the seventh generation began roughly with the release of the Nintendo DS. This handheld was based on a design fundamentally different from the Game Boy and other video game systems. The Nintendo DS offered new modes of input over previous generations: a touch screen and a microphone. Around the same time, Sony released its first handheld, the PlayStation Portable, in Japan. Although released around the same time, the PlayStation Portable was marketed to a different audience from the Nintendo DS. Also in 2005 was the release of the Gizmondo from Tiger Telematics. However, the Gizmondo sold poorly and Tiger Telematics was forced into bankruptcy by February 2006; the Gizmondo was discontinued.

2005 and 2006, respectively, saw the release of the GP2X from Gamepark Holdings and the formal announcement of the XGP from GamePark. Both handhelds follow a completely different market strategy from either the Nintendo DS or the PlayStation Portable. They utilize a Linux-based operating system on an open-source architecture for emphasis on portable software emulation and homebrew games. The GP2X is a 2D handheld that focused on stored media content such as user-uploaded music and videos. The XGP will be a 3D handheld similar to the PlayStation Portable, designed for commercial games. It promises the same open-source Linux architecture, while also supporting Windows CE. The XGP will be a much more advanced handheld than the GP2X, offering the same stored-content features while integrating advanced live-content features such as T-DMB mobile television and Wi-Fi. The release of the XGP may spark renewed controversy over the two GamePark companies that split from the one mother company, GamePark, over disagreements about the successor to the GP32 handheld (which eventually became the two handhelds mentioned). The two handhelds mark South Korea's official entry into the seventh generation handheld market.

Worldwide sales standings

Console	Units Sold	Units Shipped	Release Date
Nintendo DS	35.61 million (inc. 17.33m DS lite sales)	N/A	November 21, 2004
PlayStation Portable	11.21 million in United States and Japan only	22.94 million	December 12, 2004

• 
  Nintendo DS
  2004-2006
• 
  Nintendo DS Lite
  2006–Present
• PlayStation Portable 2005–Present
  PlayStation Portable
  2005–Present
• 
  Tiger Telematics Gizmondo
  2005–2006
• 
  GamePark Holdings GP2X
  2005–Present

Note: First year of release is the first year of the system's worldwide availability.

Remakes

• Atari Flashback 2 (Atari) August 2005
  Atari Flashback 2 (Atari)
  August 2005
• 
  FC Twin Video Game System (unknown)
  November 20, 2006-Present

Other

Game Wave Family Entertainment System (ZAPiT Games), ? ?-Present

HyperScan (Mattel), October 2006-Present

• 
  Evo: Phase One (Envizions Computer Entertainment)
  December 2006

See also

• Xbox 360 launch
• PlayStation 3 launch
• Wii launch