History MediaNotes / TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames

** ''Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan''

This generation also saw the introduction of microconsoles, these being low-cost devices based off the Android mobile operating system. The most well-known of these was the UsefulNotes/{{Ouya}}, which was a Kickstarter-backed project that never found an sizable niche and closed down operations after just two years. Some microconsoles, like the nVidia Shield, were not only able to play smaller games installed locally, but also stream more resource-intensive games hosted on a networked PC or over the cloud. Cloud gaming will come to play a major role in the next generation, but it got its start here, with better internet bandwith opening up the possibility for media streaming devices like Amazon [=FireTV=] and Chromecast to become the stage for new cloud gaming services that could rival Microsoft and Sony. In a totally unexpected, but bizarre fashion
fashion, the famous Japanese adult game developer Nutaku dived into the microconsole scene. Basically, their console has a library of nothing but [[HGame adult games]]. By far, this is the first {{Hentai}} console. It sold out quickly.

This generation also saw the introduction of microconsoles, these being low-cost devices based off the Android mobile operating system. The most well-known of these was the UsefulNotes/{{Ouya}}, which was a Kickstarter-backed project that never found an sizable niche and closed down operations after just two years. Some microconsoles, like the nVidia Shield, were not only able to play smaller games installed locally, but also stream more resource-intensive games hosted on a networked PC or over the cloud. Cloud gaming will come to play a major role in the next generation, but it got its start here, with better internet bandwith opening up the possibility for media streaming devices like Amazon [=FireTV=] and Chromecast to become the stage for new cloud gaming services that could rival Microsoft and Sony.

** ''VideoGame/TouhouGouyokuIbunSuibotsuShitaChinshuuJigoku''

** ''VideoGame/BarettofiriaTachiNoYamishijoOneHundredthBlackMarket''

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}''

** ''VideoGame/Bayonetta3''

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX''

* ''VisualNovel/DeathMark''

** ''[[ VideoGame/MonsterHunter3Tri MonsterHunter3Ultimate]]''

** ''Videoame/MonsterHunterStories''

** ''Monster Hunter Generations''

** ''Monster Hunter Stories''

* [[/index]]''VideoGame/Oddworld'':[[index]]

The UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars resumed quietly not with home consoles, but with the newest dedicated handhelds: the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS and UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita. Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s new handheld debuted near the start of 2011, retained the dual-screen format but adding [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDMovie glasses-free 3D]] to mix, jumping onboard the resurgence of the 3D gimmick that occurred at the start of TheNewTens. After a rough start, though the 3DS wouldn't see the heights of Nintendo DS before it (nor that of Nintendo's other handhelds), the system still held its ground throughout its nine-year lifespan against the growing [[MobilePhoneGame smartphone gaming market]] to sell 76 million units. Meanwhile, Creator/{{Sony}} continued its mission to give gamers console-quality graphics on-the-go with the Vita. While the 3DS was still successful despite not living up to the success of its predecessor, the Vita couldn't say the same when placed against the ''UsefulNotes/{{PSP}}''. While it found some success in Japan, the system was a flop internationally, selling an estimated 18 million units before being discontinued. Sony would quickly declare that they'd never release another dedicated handheld ever again. The discontinuation of the 3DS in late 2020, shortly afterwards the end of the eighth generation as a whole, saw the end of this generation coincide with the end of the dedicated handheld market, unless one counts the handheld-only "Lite" variant of the Nintendo Switch as a dedicated handheld.

The UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars resumed quietly not with home consoles, but with the newest dedicated handhelds: the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS and UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita. Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s new handheld debuted near the start of 2011, retained the dual-screen format but adding [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDMovie glasses-free 3D]] to mix, jumping onboard the resurgence of the 3D gimmick that occurred at the start of TheNewTens. After a rough start, though the 3DS wouldn't see the heights of Nintendo DS before it (nor that of Nintendo's other handhelds), the system still held its ground throughout its nine-year lifespan against the growing [[MobilePhoneGame smartphone gaming market]] to sell 76 million units. Meanwhile, Creator/{{Sony}} continued its mission to give gamers console-quality graphics on-the-go with the Vita. While the 3DS was still successful despite not living up to the success of its predecessor, the Vita couldn't say the same when placed against the ''UsefulNotes/{{PSP}}''. While it found some success in Japan, the system was a flop internationally, selling an estimated 18 million units before being discontinued. Sony would quickly declare that they'd never release another dedicated handheld ever again. As of the end of the 2020, following the discontinuation of the 3DS and shortly afterwards the end of the eighth generation as a whole, the dedicated handheld market reached a natural conclusion, unless one counts the handheld-only "Lite" variant of the Nintendo Switch as a dedicated handheld.

This generation also saw the rise of microconsoles, these being low-cost devices based off the Android mobile operating system. The most well-known of these was the UsefulNotes/{{Ouya}}, which was a Kickstarter-backed project that never found an sizable niche and closed down operations after just two years. Some microconsoles, like the nVidia Sheild, were not only able to play smaller games installed locally, but also stream more resource-intensive games hosted on a networked PC or over the cloud. Cloud gaming will come to play a major role in the next generation, but it got its start here, with better internet bandwith opening up the possibility for media streaming devices like Amazon [=FireTV=] and Chromecast to become the stage for new cloud gaming services that could rival Microsoft and Sony.

** ''Monster Hunter 4''

** ''Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate''

The UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars resumed quietly not with home consoles, but with the newest dedicated handhelds: the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS and UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita. Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s new handheld debuted near the start of 2011, retained the dual-screen format but adding [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDMovie glasses-free 3D]] to mix, jumping onboard the resurgence of the 3D gimmick that occurred at the start of TheNewTens. After a rough start, though the 3DS wouldn't see the heights of Nintendo DS before it (nor that of Nintendo's other handhelds), the system still held its ground throughout its nine-year lifespan against the growing [[MobilePhoneGame smartphone gaming market]] to sell 76 million units. Meanwhile, Creator/{{Sony}} continued its mission to give gamers console-quality graphics on-the-go with the Vita. While the 3DS was still successful despite not living up to the success of its predecessor, the Vita couldn't say the same when placed against the ''UsefulNotes/{{PSP}}''. While it found some success in Japan, the system was a flop internationally, selling an estimated 18 million units before being discontinued. Sony would quickly declare that they'd never release another dedicated handheld ever again. As of the end of the 2020, following the discontinuation of the 3DS and shortly afterwards the end of the eighth generation as a whole, the dedicated handheld market reached a natural conclusion.

[[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]] unveiled their entry, the UsefulNotes/XboxOne, a few months after Sony unveiled the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, and they both released November 2013. The Xbox One had as much of a troubled reveal as Sony did with the UsefulNotes/{{PS3}} prior, if not worse. The console's first controversial feature was that it came bundled with a Kinect that would always be on and that the Xbox One couldn't function without. However, the real controversy exploded when Microsoft revealed but also had a used game DRM policy wherein games could only be installed on different Xbox systems a finite number of times before the disc ceased functioning, and required the console to check in with Microsoft servers every twenty-four hours (with some content requiring a 1-hour check in) or else it ''wouldn't function at all''. The explosive negative response prompted Microsoft to retract these policies just a few weeks after announcing them, but not before Sony managed to get in a few jabs about how their new console wouldn't feature any of that stuff. The pre-launch DRM policies and the heavy focus on the device as a multimedia hub over its use as a game console hurt the system's early reception, as did its lack of exclusive games in comparison to Sony and Nintendo. Microsoft would stop releasing sales figures after the first year, and while the One would not do anywhere as badly as the Wii U, it is estimated that it only sold half of what the [=PS4=] managed to do by the end of this generation.

** ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead''