In the history of video games, the sixth-generation era refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld gaming devices available at the turn of the 21st century, starting on November 27, 1998. Platforms in the sixth generation include consoles from four companies: the Sega Dreamcast (DC), Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2), Nintendo GameCube (GC), and Microsoft Xbox. This era began on November 27, 1998, with the Japanese release of the Dreamcast, which was joined by the PlayStation 2 on March 4, 2000, and the GameCube and Xbox on November 15, 2001. In April 2001, the Dreamcast was the first to be discontinued. The GameCube was next, in 2007, the Xbox on March 2, 2009, and the PlayStation 2 on January 4, 2013. Meanwhile, the seventh generation of consoles started on November 22, 2005 with the launch of the Xbox 360.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing video game set in the Star Wars universe. Developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts, the game was released for the Xbox on July 19, 2003, and for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003. The game was later ported to Mac OS X, iOS, and Android by Aspyr, and it is playable on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One via their respective backward compatibility features.
Perfect Dark Zero is a first-person shooter video game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was exclusively released as a launch title for the Xbox 360 video game console in 2005. The game is part of the Perfect Dark series and a prequel to the original Perfect Dark. The story of the game follows Joanna Dark, a bounty hunter working with her father and a computer hacker, as she joins the Carrington Institute agency to prevent a rival corporation from gaining possession of an ancient artefact which endows individuals with superhuman powers.
I Am Alive is a survival video game developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and published by Ubisoft. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting and focuses on facing the permanent insecurity of a dystopian, decaying and hazardous world, and humanity's darkest inclinations towards brutality and materialism. Originally under development by Darkworks from 2003 until 2008, Ubisoft Shanghai completed the title. It was released for Xbox 360 on March 7, 2012, for PlayStation 3 on April 3, 2012 in North America and April 4, 2012 in the PAL region and also for Microsoft Windows on September 6, 2012.
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information announced later that month at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo.
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 Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2006 and Nintendo's Wii on November 19, 2006, the following year. 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.
Viking: Battle for Asgard is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It was announced on August 21, 2007 by Sega Europe and released in North America on March 25 and Europe on March 28, 2008. The game is based on Norse mythology, where the war between the gods has sparked further conflict in the mortal realm of Midgard, where Freya's champion Skarin must lead Viking forces against that of the Goddess Hel.
Umbra is a graphics software technology company founded 2007 in Helsinki, Finland. Umbra specializes in occlusion culling, visibility solution technology and provides middleware for video games running on Windows, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, handheld consoles, iOS, Wii U and other platforms.
The Xbox is a home video game console and the first installment in the Xbox series of video game consoles manufactured by Microsoft. It was released as Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market on November 15, 2001, in North America, followed by Australia, Europe and Japan in 2002. It is classified as a sixth-generation console, competing with Sony's PlayStation 2 and Nintendo's GameCube. It was also the first major console produced by an American company since the release of the Atari Jaguar in 1993.
Shadows of the Damned is an action video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. The game follows the story of Garcia Hotspur, a Mexican demon hunter who goes to the City of the Damned to battle its evils in order to save his true love. The game is the result of collaboration between Goichi Suda and Shinji Mikami, and combined the styles of the two designers, namely the "punk rock" edge of the former and the "psychological action thriller" of the latter.
Dark Souls is a 2011 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Namco Bandai Games. A spiritual successor to FromSoftware's Demon's Souls, the game is the second installment in the Souls series. Dark Souls takes place in the fictional kingdom of Lordran, where players assume the role of a cursed undead character who begins a pilgrimage to discover the fate of their kind. A port for Microsoft Windows was released in August 2012, which featured additional content not seen in the original PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. In October 2012, the new content was made downloadable for consoles under the subtitle Artorias of the Abyss.
The eighth generation of video game consoles primarily includes the home video game consoles of the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, and the Xbox One family in 2013; the handheld game consoles of the Nintendo 3DS in 2011, and the PlayStation Vita in 2011; as well as the hybrid game console, the Nintendo Switch in 2017, which plays as a handheld but can be docked and played like a home console. Additional microconsoles, including several retro gaming consoles featuring emulated games from past console generations, have also been released during this period.
Lollipop Chainsaw is a comedy horror action hack and slash video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. It features Juliet Starling, a cheerleader zombie hunter fighting zombies in a fictional California high school. A collaboration between game designer Suda51 and filmmaker James Gunn, the game was published by Kadokawa Games in Japan and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in all other territories and was released on June 12, 2012 in North America, June 14, 2012 in Japan and June 15, 2012 in Europe.
The Pinball Arcade is a pinball video game developed by FarSight Studios. The game is a simulated collection of real pinball tables licensed by Gottlieb, Alvin G. and Company, and Stern Pinball, a company which also owns the rights of machines from Data East and Sega Pinball. Williams and Bally games are no longer available since June 30, 2018, as FarSight had lost the license to WMS properties, which has since passed to Zen Studios.
Wizarbox was a video game developer based in Sèvres, France southwest of Paris. They are notable for their graphic adventure games developed by industry veterans, such as the So Blonde series by Steve Ince and Gray Matter by Jane Jensen . The company declared bankruptcy in December 2012 and was placed in receivership by a French court. Interaction-Games later acquired Wizarbox.
Rayman Legends is a platform video game developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and published by Ubisoft. It is the fifth main title in the Rayman series and the direct sequel to the 2011 game Rayman Origins. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PlayStation Vita platforms in August and September 2013. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were released in February 2014. A Nintendo Switch port, titled Rayman Legends Definitive Edition was released in North America, Europe and Australia on September 12, 2017.
Edge of Twilight is a multi-platform, multi-genre series of steampunk titles, all taking place in the same world, a world which is made up of two realms: day and night. The series itself will not be a particular genre, but instead focus on fleshing out a complete world as the series progresses.
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox Live, and the development arm by the name of Xbox Game Studios. The brand was first introduced in the United States in November 2001, with the launch of the original Xbox console.
The Xbox One is a line of home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Australia, and South America in November 2013, and in Japan, China, and other European countries in September 2014. It is the first Xbox game console to be released in China, specifically in the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone. Microsoft marketed the device as an "all-in-one entertainment system", hence the name 'Xbox One'. An eighth-generation console, it mainly competed against Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Wii U and later the Switch.
In video games with online gaming functionality, cross-platform play, crossplay, or cross-play describes the ability of players using different video game hardware to play with each other simultaneously. It is commonly applied to the ability for players using a game on a specific video game console to play alongside a player on a different hardware platform such as another console or a computer. A related concept is cross-save, where the player's progress in a game is stored in separate servers, and can be continued in the game but on a different hardware platform.
