Wii U: 8th Gen Console?

[Stegersaurus]

The Wii U, set for a fourth quarter 2012 release, is an 8th generation console if Wikipedia is to be believed. However, the part of me that firmly believes that logic should be brought to the internet is having some doubts. The Wii is/was a consumer shotgun. While more powerful than the Gamecube, the limits imposed by the all-in requirements of the motion controls are hard to overlook. The Wii U is designed to have all the power of the PS3 and Xbox 360 and the new innovation of the screen in the controller. I've heard some complaints that a next gen console should be more powerful than the previous generation, but is the Wii U really a member of the eighth generation? The Wii U is honestly more like the current consoles then any genuine successor to the Wii. I mean, if it looks, sounds, moves, act, and receives third party developer support like a duck, isn't it a duck? Instead of the 8th generation, the Wii U feels more like Gen 7.5. Considering that the current generation is likely to last another 5 years or so, ushering in the 8th generation feels a little presumptive.

Anyway, I sincerely hope the Wii U is capable of delivering on its' promises, and that a last minute name change occurs. Simplicity is good, but Nintendo should probably come up with something a bit less sequelly.

(I also secretly hope that Bioware makes the Wii U version of Mass Effect 3 have "the ending that people wanted" just to incite another round of epic fan rage.)

 

[Weaver]

A generation refers to a time period, or the average time period of whatever topic you're discussing. More generally, "All of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively". This can be extended to consoles:

"All of the consoles made, supported and developed at about the same time, regarded collectively". Technical bearings and computational proficiency have nothing to do with the term.

 

[Jazoni89]

A generation refers to a time period, or the average time period of whatever topic you're discussing. More generally, "All of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively". This can be extended to consoles:

"All of the consoles made, supported and developed at about the same time, regarded collectively". Technical bearings and computational proficiency have nothing to do with the term.

Not Quite...

With regards to videogames, Generations also tend to interlap with each other, as technology progresses. For example the Amiga home computer is considered a fifth generation gaming platform (along with the SNES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Neo-Geo, and PC Engine) when in fact it was released in the middle of the forth generation (also know as the 8-bit generation) in 1985. The same with the Dreamcast which was released in the 32 and 64 bit fifth generation (along with the N64, Psone, Saturn, 3DO, and Jaguar), but is considered to be the first platform in the sixth generation (alongside the Ps2, Xbox, and Gamecube).

The 3DO, and Jaguar (the latter technically speaking 64-bit) were also released in the prime of the forth generation (the 16-bit generation), and were released just a mere two years since the release of the 16-bit Super Nintendo.

So yeah, technology does have a part in generations, as well as the time frame which the consoles were released.

It's confusing, but that's how the generations have been conceived since the first gaming platforms, and with the inclusion of the term bits to judge a Console's (or Home Computer's) power.