In 2017, anime is being stretched in several directions. With a glut of new live-action anime adaptations, it's being stretched into reality. With the airing of Naruto's 720th (and final) episode, it's stretching into the future. With behemoth streaming channels hoarding licensing deals, it's stretching into the mainstream. And by moving into the mainstream while continuing to embrace so many of the same tired tropes, it's stretching its audience, too.

In a year when PC gaming became more multifaceted and complicated than ever, it also popularised a genre -- battle royale -- with one of the simplest premises imaginable.

For all the video game industry's noisy hype about groundbreaking technology, it's still rare that a device comes along and actually breaks new ground. In just nine months, the Nintendo Switch has done just that. The world of games feels different now than it did one year ago.

Nintendo might have gotten more buzz in 2017, but Sony's PlayStation 4 just had a quietly excellent year. In fact, it was arguably the system's best run since it came out.

The state of the Nintendo 3DS in 2017 is "still alive," which often raises the question: When's Nintendo going to kill this thing?

The Wii U spent 2016 on life support, relying on a slow trickle of exclusives to keep owners from pulling the plug completely. As Nintendo prepares to release the Switch in March, the Wii U readies its dying breath.

In truth, 2016 was not "The Year of VR." It was the year of the start of VR. Multiple major tech companies released impressive VR systems that were clearly the first of their kind; flawed and fascinating, destined to be improved upon and replaced. The age of immersive technology is upon us, but its future remains uncertain.

Unlike the other gaming platforms we've been evaluating here at the end of the year, the PC's been around for decades. Recently, the PC's long legacy of openness and customisation has come into conflict with a mainstream that's finally -- finally -- realised just how big of a deal PC gaming actually is.

The Wii U had a tough 2015. Nintendo can boast that they have released some of the most excellent exclusives of the year, yes, but with their next console looming in the horizon, it's hard not to feel like 2015 was a transitional period.

It must be frustrating for the people who work on the Xbox One, to have turned one of the worst-pitched gaming consoles ever into a machine that's in several ways better than its competition. Lately, Microsoft has done so many things well. They have improved their box in so many ways. Surely they ask: Will you not love the Xbox One, already?

The PlayStation 4 is an unexciting video game console, all things considered. It's a box that you put under your TV, and it plays video games. Slowly but surely, it's getting better at doing that. The games it plays are also getting better and more numerous. Slowly, but surely.

Though it launched with a whimper, the 3DS has long since roared to life. Even after a soft 2015, Nintendo's DS successor remains great: If you like Nintendo games, there's really no reason not to have a 3DS these days.