This year saw the launch of an unprecedented number of games consoles. Leading the next generation were the high-profile arrivals of PlayStation 4 (£349) and Xbox One (£429), Sony and Microsoft's latest volleys in the ongoing war for sitting-room domination. Away from the big boys there were many other smaller, yet intriguing, alternatives. Ouya (£99) is a budget-priced Android console about the size of a Rubik's cube that lets you buy games from the Google Play store. The even cheaper GameStick, (£79) does the same with a slightly inferior controller and a console the size of a USB thumb drive. The crown prince of Android consoles, though, is Nvidia's Shield (£299), which lets you stream games from a compatible PC or use it as a handheld with its own built-in screen. This year also saw Nintendo abandon 3D in favour of something cheaper and more robust: the child-friendly 2DS, £99. At the avant garde end of things, Oculus Rift offered gamers the chance to don its virtual reality headset and look like a baddie from Red Dwarf.