Playstation 3, Wii U | featured news

Sony has announced its next-generation gaming console - the PlayStation 4 - at an event in New York. Its new hardware is designed to offer superior graphics as well as new social features including the sharing of recorded gameplay clips. It will succeed the PlayStation 3, which went on sale in 2006 and has sold about 75 million units. The PS4 will eventually compete against Microsoft's still-to-be-unveiled Xbox 360 successor and Nintendo's Wii U.

Few people saw the Wii coming. In the weeks before Nintendo’s video game console hit stores on November 19 2006, critics called it underpowered, gimmicky, and a potential flop. But six years later the family-friendly, motion-sensitive Wii is the undisputed leader of its console generation, with nearly 100 million units sold worldwide –about thirty million more than either of its competitors, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3.