Concept

Seventh generation of video game consoles

Summary
The seventh generation of home video game consoles began on November 22, 2005, with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360 home console. This was followed by the release of Sony's PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2006, and Nintendo's Wii on November 19, 2006. Each new console introduced new technologies. The Xbox 360 offered games rendered natively at high-definition video (HD) resolutions, the PlayStation 3 offered HD movie playback via a built-in 3D Blu-ray Disc player, and the Wii focused on integrating controllers with movement sensors as well as joysticks. Some Wii controllers could be moved about to control in-game actions, which enabled players to simulate real-world actions through movement during gameplay. By this generation, video game consoles had become an important part of the global IT infrastructure; it is estimated that video game consoles represented 25% of the world's general-purpose computational power in 2007. Joining Nintendo in releasing motion devices and software, Sony Computer Entertainment released the PlayStation Move in September 2010, which featured motion-sensing gaming similar to that of the Wii. In November 2010, Microsoft released Kinect for use with the Xbox 360. Kinect did not use controllers, instead using cameras to capture the player's body motion and using that to direct gameplay, effectively making the players act as the "controllers". Having sold eight million units in its first 60 days on the market, Kinect claimed the Guinness World Record of being the "fastest selling consumer electronics device". Among handheld consoles, the seventh generation began somewhat earlier than the home consoles. November 2004 saw the introduction of the Nintendo DS, and the PlayStation Portable (PSP) came out in December. The DS features a touch screen and built-in microphone, and supports wireless standards. The PSP became the first handheld video game console to use an optical disc format as its primary storage media. Sony also gave the PSP multimedia capability; connectivity with the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, other PSPs; as well as Internet connectivity.
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