For the next Christmas season, Sony will release the PlayStation 4—a videogame system that’s widely expected to push the boundaries of the industry. Microsoft, while it hasn’t announced anything formally, is expected to release the successor to the Xbox 360 in the same time frame.
Along with Nintendo, which began selling the Wii U last year, the two new consoles will officially launch the eighth console generation among record keepers—but they won’t be alone.