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A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or electronic device that

manipulates the video display signal of a display device (a television, monitor, etc.) to
display a game. The term "video game console" is used to distinguish a machine designed
for consumers to buy and use solely for playing video games from a personal computer,
which has many other functions, or arcade machines, which are designed for businesses
that buy and then charge others to play.

[edit] Use of the term


The "video" in "video game console" traditionally refers to a raster display device.[1]
However, with the popular use of the term "video game" the term now implies all display
types and formats. The term "console" is used in the user manuals of several early video
game systems. Its use, however, is not synonymous with "video game system" or the
same as its modern usage. It refers to a specific part of the video game system. The Atari
2600, NES, and other consoles from those decades were called "video game systems" at
the time.[2][3]

The first company to use the term "console" to officially refer to its video game system
was Fairchild with the Video Entertainment System (VES) in 1976.[4] Since then,
definition has widened to include entire systems, as well as to describe alternate
platforms such as handheld game consoles, TV games, and multimedia devices.[5]

[edit] Elements of a video game console


Controllers: Video controllers allow the user to input information and interact with
onscreen objects.

Power supply: a power supply converts 100-240 volt AC utility power into direct current
(DC) at the voltages needed by the electronics.

Console/Core Unit: The core unit in a video game console is the hub where the
television, video game controllers, and game program connect. It usually contains a CPU,
RAM, and an audiovisual coprocessor.

Game Media: Most video game consoles have their programs stored on external media.

Memory Card: Some video game consoles, like the Nintendo GameCube and the Xbox
have memory cards to save, load, and delete files.

[edit] History
Further information: History of computer and video games

[edit] First generation


Main article: History of video game consoles (first generation)

Although the first computer games appeared in the 50s[3], they used vector displays, not
video. It was not until 1972 that Magnavox released the first home video game console,
the Magnavox Odyssey, invented by Ralph H. Baer. The Odyssey was initially only
moderately successful, and it was not until Atari's arcade game Pong popularized video
games, that the public began to take more notice of the emerging industry. By the autumn
of 1975 Magnavox, bowing to the popularity of Pong, cancelled the Odyssey and
released a scaled down console that only played Pong and hockey, the Odyssey 100. A
second "higher end" console, the Odyssey 200, was released with the 100 and added
onscreen scoring, up to 4 players, and a third game - Smash. Almost simultaneously
released with Atari's own home Pong console through Sears, these consoles jump-started
the consumer market. As with the arcade market, the home market was soon flooded by
dedicated consoles that played simple pong and pong-derived games.

[edit] Second generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (second generation)

Atari 2600

Fairchild released the Fairchild Video Entertainment System (VES) in 1976. While there
had been previous game consoles that used cartridges, either the cartridges had no
information and served the same function as flipping switches (the Odyssey) or the
console itself was empty and the cartridge contained all of the game components. The
VES, however, contained a programmable microprocessor so its cartridges only needed a
single ROM chip to store microprocessor instructions.

RCA and Atari soon released their own cartridge-based consoles.

[edit] Video game crash of 1977

In 1977, manufacturers of older obsolete consoles sold their systems at a loss to clear
stock, creating a glut in the market and causing Fairchild and RCA to abandon their game
consoles. Only Atari and Magnavox stayed in the home console market.
History of…
Video games

Console, handheld, and personal computer games


First generation (1972–1977)
[edit] Rebirth of the home console Second generation (1976–1984)
Video game crash of 1983
market Third generation (1983–1992)
Fourth generation (1987–1996)
Fifth generation (1993–2002)
The VCS continued to be sold at a profit Sixth generation (1998–2006)
after the 1977 crash, and both Bally (with Seventh generation (2004–)
their Home Library Computer in 1977) and Arcade games
Magnavox (with the Odyssey 2 in 1978) Golden Age of Arcade Games
brought their own programmable cartridge-
based consoles to the market. However it wasn't until Atari released a conversion of the
arcade hit Space Invaders in 1980 that the home console industry was completely
revived. Many consumers bought an Atari just for Space Invaders. Space Invaders'
unprecedented success started the trend of console manufacturers trying to get exclusive
rights to arcade titles, and the trend of advertisements for game consoles claiming to
bring the arcade experience home.

Throughout the early 1980s, other companies released video game consoles of their own.
Many of the video game systems were technically superior to the Atari 2600, and
marketed as improvements over the Atari 2600. However, Atari dominated the console
market throughout the early 1980s.

[edit] Video game crash of 1983

Main article: Video game crash of 1983

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial for the Atari 2600 is often blamed for the video game crash of
1983.

In 1983, the video game business suffered a much more severe crash. A flood of consoles,
glut of low quality video games by smaller companies (especially for the 2600), industry
leader Atari hyping games such as E.T. that were poorly received, and a growing number
of home computer users caused consumers and retailers to lose faith and interest in video
game consoles. Most video game companies filed for bankruptcy, or moved into other
industries, abandoning their game consoles. Mattel Electronics sold the rights for their
Intellivision system to the INTV Corporation, who continued to produce Intellivision
consoles and develop new games for the Intellivision until 1991. All other North
American game consoles were discontinued by 1984.

[edit] Third generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (third generation)


The Robotic Operating Buddy that came packaged with the NES

In 1983, Nintendo released the Famicom in Japan. Like the ColecoVision, the Famicom
supported high-resolution sprites and tiled backgrounds, but with more colors. This
allowed Famicom games to be longer and have more detailed graphics. Nintendo brought
their Famicom over to the US in the form of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
in 1985. In the US, video games were seen as a fad that had already passed. To
distinguish its product from older video game consoles, Nintendo used a front-loading
cartridge port similar to a VCR on the NES, packaged the NES with a Super Mario
Brothers game and a light gun (the Zapper), and originally advertised it as a toy. The
plastic "robot" (R.O.B.)was also sold as an individual purchase item and in some cases
packaged with the NES system.

Nintendo also built a lockout chip into the NES. This kept third parties from producing
their own cartridges and forced all developers to go through Nintendo to get NES games
published. This allowed Nintendo to do things like prevent developers from releasing
low-quality games or games not suitable for children and limit developers to five titles a
year.

Like Space Invaders for the 2600, Nintendo found its breakout hit game in Super Mario
Bros. Nintendo's success revived the video game industry and new consoles were soon
introduced in the following years to compete with the NES.

Sega's Master System was intended to compete with the NES, but never gained any
significant market share in the US and was barely profitable. It fared notably better in
PAL territories, especially Brazil.

[edit] Fourth generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (fourth generation)

Sega regained market share by releasing their next-generation console, the Sega Mega
Drive, which was released in Japan on October 29, 1988, in the US in August 1989
(renamed as the Sega Genesis) and in Europe in 1990, two years before Nintendo could
release the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).

Sega extended the Mega Drive with the Mega CD/Sega CD, to provide increased storage
space for multimedia-based games that were then in vogue amongst the development
community. Later, Sega released the 32X, which added some of the polygon-processing
functionality common in fifth-generation machines. However, the peripheral was a
commercial failure due to lack of software support, with developers more keen to
concentrate on more powerful machines, with a wider user base, such as the Saturn that
followed shortly after.

Other consoles included in the fourth generation are NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and SNK
Playmore's Neo Geo.

[edit] Fifth generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (fifth generation)

Going from left to right, top to bottom: Iron Soldier (Atari Jaguar), Gex (3DO), Star Fox
(SNES), Donkey Kong Country 3 (SNES), Virtua Racing (Genesis), Vectorman
(Genesis).

The first fifth generation consoles were the Atari Jaguar and the 3DO. Both of these
systems were much more powerful than the SNES or Genesis (known as Mega Drive
outside North America); they were better at rendering polygons, could display more
onscreen colors, and the 3DO used CDs that contained far more information than
cartridges and were cheaper to produce. Neither of these consoles were serious threats to
Sega or Nintendo, though. The 3DO cost more than the SNES and Genesis combined,
and the Jaguar was extremely difficult to program for, leading to a lack of games that
used its extra power. Both consoles would be discontinued in 1996.

Nintendo released games like Donkey Kong Country that could display a wide range of
tones (something common in fifth generation games) by limiting the number of hues
onscreen, and games like Star Fox that used an extra chip inside of the cartridge to
display polygon graphics. Sega followed suit, releasing Vectorman and Virtua Racing
(the latter of which used the Sega Virtua Processor.)

It was not until Sony's PlayStation, Sega's Saturn, and the Nintendo 64 were released that
fifth generation consoles started to become popular. The Saturn and PlayStation used
CDs to store games, while the N64 still used cartridges. All three cost far less than the
3DO, and were easier to program than the Jaguar. The Saturn also had 2D sprite handling
power on par with the Neo-Geo.

• Atari's Jaguar was released to combat the dominance that Nintendo and Sega were
fighting for. Atari's hope was that by designing a more powerful console, they
would be able to leapfrog all of the released systems of the day and give gamers a
technologically superior system. The Jaguar eventually faded away due to a
number of reasons. For example, it was difficult to program for the Jaguar, thus
making it too problematic to have good third party support. Another of the
Jaguar's pitfalls was the dominance of the previously popular systems. In 1995,
the releases of the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn brought the end for the
Jaguar. The failure of the Jaguar put Atari into a poor financial situation and
forced it to reverse merge with JTS Inc., a short-lived maker of hard disk drives,
to form JTS Corporation. The merger effectively ended the company, which
existed as a small department for minor support of the Jaguar and the selling off
of Atari's intellectual properties.
• The 3DO was released in North America in October 1993. Although released to
much fanfare, like the Jaguar, it faded out of the market with little popularity. The
system was technically superior to all the consoles released at the time, but due to
the oversaturated market and the hefty US$699.95 price tag, the system did not
adopt well into the market. One unique aspect of the 3DO is that the rights to
manufacturing the console itself were licensed to different manufacturers by the
3DO company, which only produced the specifications. These companies, in turn,
released their own different styles of the same console.
• Sony's PlayStation was released in Japan on December 3, 1994. The PlayStation
was the eventual result of a breakdown of a business partnership plan between
Sony and Nintendo to create a CD add-on for the SNES. Nintendo changed the
deal and went to Philips; however, with the project nearing completion, Sony took
what they had and marketed it off as a Sony-branded console. The PlayStation
spawned a whole lineup of consoles from generation to generation and has earned
Sony great respect as a video game company, becoming the first video game
system to sell over 100 million consoles. Sony released a redesigned, smaller
version of the PlayStation entitled the 'PSone' released July 7, 2000.
• The Sega Saturn was the first independent Sega system to use a CD-ROM based
media standard and used a special dual chip processor. The difficulty to program
for the two chips in parallel was a factor in the console's demise. The Saturn was a
mild success, but was overshadowed by Sony's dominance of the market. The
Saturn was discontinued in 1998 with the release of Sega's last console, the Sega
Dreamcast.
• The Nintendo 64 was Nintendo's answer to the growing dominance of the
PlayStation. It was a 64-bit console, the only one generally recognized in that
class despite the 64 bit Atari Jaguar, which had actually been released earlier.
Unlike the other companies' consoles of the generation, the N64 had continued to
use ROM cartridges, which many saw as a hindrance to gameplay, as cartridges
have much less memory space and are also more expensive than optical media;
however, Nintendo's answer to this was that unlike CDs, cartridges cannot be
damaged by a simple scratch to the surface, nor are load times much of an issue.
Nevertheless, it is also possible that Nintendo did this for fear of then growing
software piracy issues facing other consoles, such as the PlayStation.

[edit] Sixth generation


Main article: History of video game consoles (sixth generation)

This generation saw a move towards PC-like architectures in gaming consoles, as well as
a shift towards using DVDs for game media. This brought games that were both longer
and more visually appealing. Furthermore, this generation also saw experimentation with
online console gaming and implementing both flash and hard drive storage for game data.

• Sega's Dreamcast was Sega's last video game console, and was the first of the
generation's consoles to be discontinued. Sega implemented a special type of
optical media called the GD-ROM. These discs were created in order to prevent
software piracy, which had been more easily done with consoles of the previous
generation; however, this format was soon cracked as well. The Dreamcast has
been seen as far ahead of its time in technology and features[citation needed] (including
online play), however it was discontinued in 2001, and Sega transitioned to
software developing/publishing only.
• Sony's PlayStation 2 was the follow-up to their highly successful PlayStation, and
was also the first home game console to be able to play DVDs. As was done with
the original PlayStation in 2000, Sony redesigned the console in 2004 into a
smaller version. As of September 20, 2007, 120 million PlayStation 2 units have
been shipped.[6]
• The Nintendo GameCube was Nintendo's fourth home video game console and
the first console by the company to use optical media instead of cartridges. The
Nintendo GameCube did not play standard 12 cm DVDs, instead employing
smaller 8 cm optical discs.
• Microsoft's Xbox was the company's first video game console. The first console
to employ a hard drive right out of the box to save games, the Xbox blurred the
line between PC and console gaming, as it had similar hardware specifications to
a low-end desktop computer at the time of its release. Though criticized for its
bulky size, which was easily twice that of the competition, as well as for the
awkwardness of the original controller that shipped with it, it eventually gained
popularity due in part to the success of the Halo franchise.

[edit] Seventh generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (seventh generation)

The features introduced in this generation include using newer high-definition discs, like
Blu-Ray, utilized by the Playstation 3, and HD-DVD, which has been embraced by Xbox
360 and Microsoft. Another new technology is to use the motion of the controller as input
(as demonstrated by the Wii and, to a limited extent, the PS3), and understanding where
the controller is pointing on the screen (as implemented on the Wii). Backwards
compatibility has also become more popular with the seventh generation of home
consoles, with all of the consoles employing some physical backwards compatibility,
along with virtual backwards compatibility.
• Microsoft's Xbox 360 was released on November 22, 2005. An HD-DVD drive is
available as an accessory. The Xbox 360 was the first console with the ability to
use wireless controllers out of the box. The Xbox Live service is the hallmark of
the system, and the console can connect to the service via the Internet through a
built-in ethernet port or a wireless accessory. The Xbox 360 is available in four
versions, an "Arcade" version for $279, a "Premium" Version for $349, an "Elite"
edition for $449, and a Halo 3 limited edition, $399. The biggest difference
between these versions was the addition of a 20 GB hard drive in the "Premium"
edition, along with a standard wireless controller, a 120 GB hard drive and HDMI
in the 'Elite' edition, and the use of HDMI with a 20 GB hard drive. The Xbox 360
is capable of out putting full 1080p with its HDMI port, and with a 2006 update, it
is able to output 1080p over component cables as well.[7]
• Nintendo's Wii was released in North America on November 19, 2006, and in
Japan on December 2, 2006, Australia on December 7, 2006, and in Europe on
December 8, 2006. It is bundled with Wii Sports in all regions except for Japan.
The Wii retails for approximately $250. Unlike the other systems of this
generation, the Wii does not have an internal hard drive, but instead uses 512 MB
of internal Flash memory and includes support for removable SD card storage. It
also has a maximum graphics output of 480p, making it the only seventh
generation console not utilizing High Definition. Along with its low price point,
the Wii is renowned for the following aspects:
o Features a completely redesigned controller which resembles a TV remote.
The system utilizes a "sensor bar" that detects where on the television
screen the controller is pointing, and the controller also detects motion and
orientation.
o The Wii is the first Nintendo console to be backwards compatible with
previous Nintendo consoles. It can play all GameCube games and supports
up to four GameCube controllers and two memory cards, and the Virtual
Console allows players to play games from older systems, including those
of former competitors.
• Sony's PlayStation 3 was released, in Japan on November 11, 2006, in North
America on November 17, 2006 and in Europe on March 23, 2007. All
PlayStation 3s come with a hard drive and are ready to play Blu-ray Disc and
games out of the box. The Playstation 3 was the first video game console to
support HDMI out of the box, utilizing full 1080p. Controllers connect to the
console through Bluetooth (up to 7) and have tilt-sensing capabilities. Four
versions of the PS3 currently exist; a 20 GB HDD version for US$399
(discontinued in North America), a 60 GB HDD version for €599.99/US$499
(formerly US$599) (Discontinued in North America), a new 40 GB HDD version
for €399.99/US$399 and a new 80 GB HDD version which retails for US$499.

The Wii surpassed the Xbox 360 in number of lifetime sales on August 23, 2007 despite
the Xbox 360's one year head start and became the world's fastest selling console,
breaking the record held by the PlayStation 2.[8]

[edit] Bits
Each new generation of console hardware made use of the rapid development of
processing technology. Newer machines could output a greater range of colors, more
sprites, and introduced graphical technologies such as scaling, and vector graphics. One
way this increase in processing power was conveyed to consumers was through the
measurement of "bits". The TurboGrafx-16, Sega Genesis, and SNES were among the
first consoles to advertise the fact that they contained 16-bit processors. This fourth
generation of console hardware was often referred to as the 16-bit era, and the previous
generation as the 8-bit.

The bit-value of a console referred to the word length of a console's processor (although
the value was sometimes misused, for example the TurboGrafx 16 had only an 8-bit CPU,
and the Genesis/Mega Drive had a 32-bit CPU, but both had a 16-bit dedicated graphics
processor). As the graphical performance of console hardware is dependent on many
factors, using bits was a crude way to gauge a console's overall ability, but served better
to distinguish between generations.

[edit] Timeline
Note: This is an abridged timeline of video game consoles in North America.

Note: This is an abridged timeline of video game consoles in Japan.

Note: This is an abridged timeline of video game consoles in Europe.

Note some consoles are omitted from the timelines due to a lack of known dates; see the
list of video game consoles.

[edit] Media
[edit] Cartridges

Standard game cartridges for several popular consoles. From front to back: Game Boy
Color, Sega Genesis, and Atari 2600.
Game cartridges consist of a printed circuit board housed inside of a plastic casing, with a
connector allowing the device to interface with the console. The circuit board can contain
a wide variety of components. All cartridge games contain at the minimum, read only
memory with the software written on it. Many cartridges also carry components that
increase the original console's power, such as extra RAM or a coprocessor. Components
can also be added to extend the original hardware's functionality[9] (such as gyroscopes,
rumble packs, tilt-sensors, light sensors, etc.); this is more common on handheld consoles
where the user does not interact with the game through a separate video game
controller.[10]

Cartridges were the first external media to be used with home consoles and remained the
most common until 1995 due to continued improvements in capacity.[11] Nevertheless, the
relatively high manufacturing costs saw them completely replaced by optical media for
home consoles by the early 21st century. Although, they are still in use in some handheld
video game consoles.

Due to the aforementioned capabilities of cartridges such as more memory and


coprocessors, those factors make it harder to reverse engineer consoles to be used on
emulators.

[edit] Cards

Further information: Smart Card

Several consoles such as the Sega Master System and the TurboGrafx-16 have used
different types of smart cards as an external medium. These cards function similar to
simple cartridges. Information is stored on a chip that is housed in plastic. Cards are more
compact and simpler than cartridges, though. This makes them cheaper to produce and
smaller, but limits what can be done with them. Cards cannot hold extra components, and
common cartridge techniques like bank switching (a technique used create very large
games) were impossible to miniaturize into a card in the late 1980s.[12][13]

Compact Discs reduced much of the need for cards. Optical Discs can hold more
information than cards, and are cheaper to produce. Many modern systems use writable
memory cards for storage, but the Nintendo DS is the only modern system to use cards
for game distribution. Nintendo has long used cartridges with their Game Boy line of
hand held consoles because of their durability, small size and low battery consumption.
Nintendo switched to cards for the DS, because advances in memory technology made
putting extra memory on the cartridge unnecessary. [14]

[edit] Magnetic media


Two common forms of magnetic media. From front to back: Cassette and 3½-inch floppy
disk.

Home computers have long used magnetic storage devices. Both tape drives and floppy
disk drives were common on early microcomputers. Their popularity is in large part
because a tape drive or disk drive can write to any material it can read. However,
magnetic media is volatile and can be more easily damaged than game cartridges or
optical discs.[15]

Among the first consoles to use magnetic media were the Bally Astrocade and APF-
M1000, both of which could use cassette tapes through expansions. In Bally's case, this
allowed the console to see new game development even after Bally dropped support for
it. While magnetic media remained limited in use as a primary form of distribution, two
popular subsequent consoles also had expansions available to allow them to use this
format. The Starpath Supercharger can load Atari 2600 games from audio cassettes;
Starpath used it to cheaply distribute their own games from 1982 to 1984 and today it is
used by many programmers to test, distribute, and play homebrew software. The
Famicom Disk System was released by Nintendo in 1985 for the Japanese market.
Nintendo sold the disks cheaply and sold vending machines where customers could have
new games written to their disks up to 500 times.[16]

[edit] Optical media

The most widely used forms of optical media are DVDs and compact discs. Shown is a
CD-ROM (left) and a game in Nintendo's proprietary optical disc format.

In the mid-1990s, various manufacturers shifted to optical media, specifically CD-ROM,


for games. Although they were slower at loading game data than the cartridges available
at that time, they were significantly cheaper to manufacture and had a larger capacity than
the existing cartridge technology. By the early 21st century, all of the major home
consoles used optical media, usually DVD-ROM or similar disks, which are widely
replacing CD-ROM for data storage. The PlayStation 3 system uses even higher-capacity
Blu-ray optical discs.

[edit] Internet distribution

All three seventh generation of consoles (the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360) offer
some kind of Internet games distribution service, allowing users to download games for a
fee onto some form of non-volatile storage, typically a hard disk or flash memory.
Recently the console manufacturers have been taking full advantage of internet
distribution with arcade games, television shows and film trailers being available.

• Microsoft's Xbox Live service includes the Xbox Live Arcade & Xbox Live
Marketplace, featuring digital distribution of classic and original titles. These
include arcade classics, original titles, and games originally released on other
consoles. The Xbox Live Marketplace also includes many different hit movies
and trailers in high definition, and is accessible with a free Xbox Live Silver
Membership.
• Sony's online game distribution is known as the Playstation Network (PSN). It
offers free online gaming, downloadable content such as classic PlayStation
games, high definition game and movie trailers, and original games such as flOw
and Everyday Shooter as well as some games that also release on blu-ray disk
such as Warhawk and Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. A networking service, dubbed
PlayStation Home, is due for release in Spring 2008. They have also announced a
video service for some time in the future.
• Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, NES/Famicom, TurboGrafx-16,
SNES/Super Famicom, and Neo Geo games are currently being emulated on the
Nintendo Wii console through Nintendo's Virtual Console service. Nintendo also
plans to have original content available for download in the future through their
WiiWare service.

[edit] Use of the term


The "video" in "video game console" traditionally refers to a raster display device.[1]
However, with the popular use of the term "video game" the term now implies all display
types and formats. The term "console" is used in the user manuals of several early video
game systems. Its use, however, is not synonymous with "video game system" or the
same as its modern usage. It refers to a specific part of the video game system. The Atari
2600, NES, and other consoles from those decades were called "video game systems" at
the time.[2][3]

The first company to use the term "console" to officially refer to its video game system
was Fairchild with the Video Entertainment System (VES) in 1976.[4] Since then,
definition has widened to include entire systems, as well as to describe alternate
platforms such as handheld game consoles, TV games, and multimedia devices.[5]
[edit] Elements of a video game console
Controllers: Video controllers allow the user to input information and interact with
onscreen objects.

Power supply: a power supply converts 100-240 volt AC utility power into direct current
(DC) at the voltages needed by the electronics.

Console/Core Unit: The core unit in a video game console is the hub where the
television, video game controllers, and game program connect. It usually contains a CPU,
RAM, and an audiovisual coprocessor.

Game Media: Most video game consoles have their programs stored on external media.

Memory Card: Some video game consoles, like the Nintendo GameCube and the Xbox
have memory cards to save, load, and delete files.

[edit] History
Further information: History of computer and video games

[edit] First generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (first generation)

Although the first computer games appeared in the 50s[3], they used vector displays, not
video. It was not until 1972 that Magnavox released the first home video game console,
the Magnavox Odyssey, invented by Ralph H. Baer. The Odyssey was initially only
moderately successful, and it was not until Atari's arcade game Pong popularized video
games, that the public began to take more notice of the emerging industry. By the autumn
of 1975 Magnavox, bowing to the popularity of Pong, cancelled the Odyssey and
released a scaled down console that only played Pong and hockey, the Odyssey 100. A
second "higher end" console, the Odyssey 200, was released with the 100 and added
onscreen scoring, up to 4 players, and a third game - Smash. Almost simultaneously
released with Atari's own home Pong console through Sears, these consoles jump-started
the consumer market. As with the arcade market, the home market was soon flooded by
dedicated consoles that played simple pong and pong-derived games.

[edit] Second generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (second generation)


Atari 2600

Fairchild released the Fairchild Video Entertainment System (VES) in 1976. While there
had been previous game consoles that used cartridges, either the cartridges had no
information and served the same function as flipping switches (the Odyssey) or the
console itself was empty and the cartridge contained all of the game components. The
VES, however, contained a programmable microprocessor so its cartridges only needed a
single ROM chip to store microprocessor instructions.

RCA and Atari soon released their own cartridge-based consoles.

[edit] Video game crash of 1977 History of…


Video games
In 1977, manufacturers of older obsolete
consoles sold their systems at a loss to clear
Console, handheld, and personal computer games
stock, creating a glut in the market and
First generation (1972–1977)
causing Fairchild and RCA to abandon their Second generation (1976–1984)
game consoles. Only Atari and Magnavox Video game crash of 1983
Third generation (1983–1992)
stayed in the home console market. Fourth generation (1987–1996)
Fifth generation (1993–2002)
[edit] Rebirth of the home console Sixth generation (1998–2006)
Seventh generation (2004–)
market
Arcade games
Golden Age of Arcade Games
The VCS continued to be sold at a profit
after the 1977 crash, and both Bally (with
their Home Library Computer in 1977) and Magnavox (with the Odyssey 2 in 1978)
brought their own programmable cartridge-based consoles to the market. However it
wasn't until Atari released a conversion of the arcade hit Space Invaders in 1980 that the
home console industry was completely revived. Many consumers bought an Atari just for
Space Invaders. Space Invaders' unprecedented success started the trend of console
manufacturers trying to get exclusive rights to arcade titles, and the trend of
advertisements for game consoles claiming to bring the arcade experience home.

Throughout the early 1980s, other companies released video game consoles of their own.
Many of the video game systems were technically superior to the Atari 2600, and
marketed as improvements over the Atari 2600. However, Atari dominated the console
market throughout the early 1980s.

[edit] Video game crash of 1983


Main article: Video game crash of 1983

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial for the Atari 2600 is often blamed for the video game crash of
1983.

In 1983, the video game business suffered a much more severe crash. A flood of consoles,
glut of low quality video games by smaller companies (especially for the 2600), industry
leader Atari hyping games such as E.T. that were poorly received, and a growing number
of home computer users caused consumers and retailers to lose faith and interest in video
game consoles. Most video game companies filed for bankruptcy, or moved into other
industries, abandoning their game consoles. Mattel Electronics sold the rights for their
Intellivision system to the INTV Corporation, who continued to produce Intellivision
consoles and develop new games for the Intellivision until 1991. All other North
American game consoles were discontinued by 1984.

[edit] Third generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (third generation)

The Robotic Operating Buddy that came packaged with the NES

In 1983, Nintendo released the Famicom in Japan. Like the ColecoVision, the Famicom
supported high-resolution sprites and tiled backgrounds, but with more colors. This
allowed Famicom games to be longer and have more detailed graphics. Nintendo brought
their Famicom over to the US in the form of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
in 1985. In the US, video games were seen as a fad that had already passed. To
distinguish its product from older video game consoles, Nintendo used a front-loading
cartridge port similar to a VCR on the NES, packaged the NES with a Super Mario
Brothers game and a light gun (the Zapper), and originally advertised it as a toy. The
plastic "robot" (R.O.B.)was also sold as an individual purchase item and in some cases
packaged with the NES system.
Nintendo also built a lockout chip into the NES. This kept third parties from producing
their own cartridges and forced all developers to go through Nintendo to get NES games
published. This allowed Nintendo to do things like prevent developers from releasing
low-quality games or games not suitable for children and limit developers to five titles a
year.

Like Space Invaders for the 2600, Nintendo found its breakout hit game in Super Mario
Bros. Nintendo's success revived the video game industry and new consoles were soon
introduced in the following years to compete with the NES.

Sega's Master System was intended to compete with the NES, but never gained any
significant market share in the US and was barely profitable. It fared notably better in
PAL territories, especially Brazil.

[edit] Fourth generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (fourth generation)

Sega regained market share by releasing their next-generation console, the Sega Mega
Drive, which was released in Japan on October 29, 1988, in the US in August 1989
(renamed as the Sega Genesis) and in Europe in 1990, two years before Nintendo could
release the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).

Sega extended the Mega Drive with the Mega CD/Sega CD, to provide increased storage
space for multimedia-based games that were then in vogue amongst the development
community. Later, Sega released the 32X, which added some of the polygon-processing
functionality common in fifth-generation machines. However, the peripheral was a
commercial failure due to lack of software support, with developers more keen to
concentrate on more powerful machines, with a wider user base, such as the Saturn that
followed shortly after.

Other consoles included in the fourth generation are NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and SNK
Playmore's Neo Geo.

[edit] Fifth generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (fifth generation)

Going from left to right, top to bottom: Iron Soldier (Atari Jaguar), Gex (3DO), Star Fox
(SNES), Donkey Kong Country 3 (SNES), Virtua Racing (Genesis), Vectorman
(Genesis).

The first fifth generation consoles were the Atari Jaguar and the 3DO. Both of these
systems were much more powerful than the SNES or Genesis (known as Mega Drive
outside North America); they were better at rendering polygons, could display more
onscreen colors, and the 3DO used CDs that contained far more information than
cartridges and were cheaper to produce. Neither of these consoles were serious threats to
Sega or Nintendo, though. The 3DO cost more than the SNES and Genesis combined,
and the Jaguar was extremely difficult to program for, leading to a lack of games that
used its extra power. Both consoles would be discontinued in 1996.

Nintendo released games like Donkey Kong Country that could display a wide range of
tones (something common in fifth generation games) by limiting the number of hues
onscreen, and games like Star Fox that used an extra chip inside of the cartridge to
display polygon graphics. Sega followed suit, releasing Vectorman and Virtua Racing
(the latter of which used the Sega Virtua Processor.)

It was not until Sony's PlayStation, Sega's Saturn, and the Nintendo 64 were released that
fifth generation consoles started to become popular. The Saturn and PlayStation used
CDs to store games, while the N64 still used cartridges. All three cost far less than the
3DO, and were easier to program than the Jaguar. The Saturn also had 2D sprite handling
power on par with the Neo-Geo.

• Atari's Jaguar was released to combat the dominance that Nintendo and Sega were
fighting for. Atari's hope was that by designing a more powerful console, they
would be able to leapfrog all of the released systems of the day and give gamers a
technologically superior system. The Jaguar eventually faded away due to a
number of reasons. For example, it was difficult to program for the Jaguar, thus
making it too problematic to have good third party support. Another of the
Jaguar's pitfalls was the dominance of the previously popular systems. In 1995,
the releases of the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn brought the end for the
Jaguar. The failure of the Jaguar put Atari into a poor financial situation and
forced it to reverse merge with JTS Inc., a short-lived maker of hard disk drives,
to form JTS Corporation. The merger effectively ended the company, which
existed as a small department for minor support of the Jaguar and the selling off
of Atari's intellectual properties.
• The 3DO was released in North America in October 1993. Although released to
much fanfare, like the Jaguar, it faded out of the market with little popularity. The
system was technically superior to all the consoles released at the time, but due to
the oversaturated market and the hefty US$699.95 price tag, the system did not
adopt well into the market. One unique aspect of the 3DO is that the rights to
manufacturing the console itself were licensed to different manufacturers by the
3DO company, which only produced the specifications. These companies, in turn,
released their own different styles of the same console.
• Sony's PlayStation was released in Japan on December 3, 1994. The PlayStation
was the eventual result of a breakdown of a business partnership plan between
Sony and Nintendo to create a CD add-on for the SNES. Nintendo changed the
deal and went to Philips; however, with the project nearing completion, Sony took
what they had and marketed it off as a Sony-branded console. The PlayStation
spawned a whole lineup of consoles from generation to generation and has earned
Sony great respect as a video game company, becoming the first video game
system to sell over 100 million consoles. Sony released a redesigned, smaller
version of the PlayStation entitled the 'PSone' released July 7, 2000.
• The Sega Saturn was the first independent Sega system to use a CD-ROM based
media standard and used a special dual chip processor. The difficulty to program
for the two chips in parallel was a factor in the console's demise. The Saturn was a
mild success, but was overshadowed by Sony's dominance of the market. The
Saturn was discontinued in 1998 with the release of Sega's last console, the Sega
Dreamcast.
• The Nintendo 64 was Nintendo's answer to the growing dominance of the
PlayStation. It was a 64-bit console, the only one generally recognized in that
class despite the 64 bit Atari Jaguar, which had actually been released earlier.
Unlike the other companies' consoles of the generation, the N64 had continued to
use ROM cartridges, which many saw as a hindrance to gameplay, as cartridges
have much less memory space and are also more expensive than optical media;
however, Nintendo's answer to this was that unlike CDs, cartridges cannot be
damaged by a simple scratch to the surface, nor are load times much of an issue.
Nevertheless, it is also possible that Nintendo did this for fear of then growing
software piracy issues facing other consoles, such as the PlayStation.

[edit] Sixth generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (sixth generation)

This generation saw a move towards PC-like architectures in gaming consoles, as well as
a shift towards using DVDs for game media. This brought games that were both longer
and more visually appealing. Furthermore, this generation also saw experimentation with
online console gaming and implementing both flash and hard drive storage for game data.

• Sega's Dreamcast was Sega's last video game console, and was the first of the
generation's consoles to be discontinued. Sega implemented a special type of
optical media called the GD-ROM. These discs were created in order to prevent
software piracy, which had been more easily done with consoles of the previous
generation; however, this format was soon cracked as well. The Dreamcast has
been seen as far ahead of its time in technology and features[citation needed] (including
online play), however it was discontinued in 2001, and Sega transitioned to
software developing/publishing only.
• Sony's PlayStation 2 was the follow-up to their highly successful PlayStation, and
was also the first home game console to be able to play DVDs. As was done with
the original PlayStation in 2000, Sony redesigned the console in 2004 into a
smaller version. As of September 20, 2007, 120 million PlayStation 2 units have
been shipped.[6]
• The Nintendo GameCube was Nintendo's fourth home video game console and
the first console by the company to use optical media instead of cartridges. The
Nintendo GameCube did not play standard 12 cm DVDs, instead employing
smaller 8 cm optical discs.
• Microsoft's Xbox was the company's first video game console. The first console
to employ a hard drive right out of the box to save games, the Xbox blurred the
line between PC and console gaming, as it had similar hardware specifications to
a low-end desktop computer at the time of its release. Though criticized for its
bulky size, which was easily twice that of the competition, as well as for the
awkwardness of the original controller that shipped with it, it eventually gained
popularity due in part to the success of the Halo franchise.

[edit] Seventh generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (seventh generation)

The features introduced in this generation include using newer high-definition discs, like
Blu-Ray, utilized by the Playstation 3, and HD-DVD, which has been embraced by Xbox
360 and Microsoft. Another new technology is to use the motion of the controller as input
(as demonstrated by the Wii and, to a limited extent, the PS3), and understanding where
the controller is pointing on the screen (as implemented on the Wii). Backwards
compatibility has also become more popular with the seventh generation of home
consoles, with all of the consoles employing some physical backwards compatibility,
along with virtual backwards compatibility.

• Microsoft's Xbox 360 was released on November 22, 2005. An HD-DVD drive is
available as an accessory. The Xbox 360 was the first console with the ability to
use wireless controllers out of the box. The Xbox Live service is the hallmark of
the system, and the console can connect to the service via the Internet through a
built-in ethernet port or a wireless accessory. The Xbox 360 is available in four
versions, an "Arcade" version for $279, a "Premium" Version for $349, an "Elite"
edition for $449, and a Halo 3 limited edition, $399. The biggest difference
between these versions was the addition of a 20 GB hard drive in the "Premium"
edition, along with a standard wireless controller, a 120 GB hard drive and HDMI
in the 'Elite' edition, and the use of HDMI with a 20 GB hard drive. The Xbox 360
is capable of out putting full 1080p with its HDMI port, and with a 2006 update, it
is able to output 1080p over component cables as well.[7]
• Nintendo's Wii was released in North America on November 19, 2006, and in
Japan on December 2, 2006, Australia on December 7, 2006, and in Europe on
December 8, 2006. It is bundled with Wii Sports in all regions except for Japan.
The Wii retails for approximately $250. Unlike the other systems of this
generation, the Wii does not have an internal hard drive, but instead uses 512 MB
of internal Flash memory and includes support for removable SD card storage. It
also has a maximum graphics output of 480p, making it the only seventh
generation console not utilizing High Definition. Along with its low price point,
the Wii is renowned for the following aspects:
o Features a completely redesigned controller which resembles a TV remote.
The system utilizes a "sensor bar" that detects where on the television
screen the controller is pointing, and the controller also detects motion and
orientation.
o The Wii is the first Nintendo console to be backwards compatible with
previous Nintendo consoles. It can play all GameCube games and supports
up to four GameCube controllers and two memory cards, and the Virtual
Console allows players to play games from older systems, including those
of former competitors.
• Sony's PlayStation 3 was released, in Japan on November 11, 2006, in North
America on November 17, 2006 and in Europe on March 23, 2007. All
PlayStation 3s come with a hard drive and are ready to play Blu-ray Disc and
games out of the box. The Playstation 3 was the first video game console to
support HDMI out of the box, utilizing full 1080p. Controllers connect to the
console through Bluetooth (up to 7) and have tilt-sensing capabilities. Four
versions of the PS3 currently exist; a 20 GB HDD version for US$399
(discontinued in North America), a 60 GB HDD version for €599.99/US$499
(formerly US$599) (Discontinued in North America), a new 40 GB HDD version
for €399.99/US$399 and a new 80 GB HDD version which retails for US$499.

The Wii surpassed the Xbox 360 in number of lifetime sales on August 23, 2007 despite
the Xbox 360's one year head start and became the world's fastest selling console,
breaking the record held by the PlayStation 2.[8]

[edit] Bits
Each new generation of console hardware made use of the rapid development of
processing technology. Newer machines could output a greater range of colors, more
sprites, and introduced graphical technologies such as scaling, and vector graphics. One
way this increase in processing power was conveyed to consumers was through the
measurement of "bits". The TurboGrafx-16, Sega Genesis, and SNES were among the
first consoles to advertise the fact that they contained 16-bit processors. This fourth
generation of console hardware was often referred to as the 16-bit era, and the previous
generation as the 8-bit.

The bit-value of a console referred to the word length of a console's processor (although
the value was sometimes misused, for example the TurboGrafx 16 had only an 8-bit CPU,
and the Genesis/Mega Drive had a 32-bit CPU, but both had a 16-bit dedicated graphics
processor). As the graphical performance of console hardware is dependent on many
factors, using bits was a crude way to gauge a console's overall ability, but served better
to distinguish between generations.

[edit] Timeline
Note: This is an abridged timeline of video game consoles in North America.

Note: This is an abridged timeline of video game consoles in Japan.


Note: This is an abridged timeline of video game consoles in Europe.

Note some consoles are omitted from the timelines due to a lack of known dates; see the
list of video game consoles.

[edit] Media
[edit] Cartridges

Standard game cartridges for several popular consoles. From front to back: Game Boy
Color, Sega Genesis, and Atari 2600.

Game cartridges consist of a printed circuit board housed inside of a plastic casing, with a
connector allowing the device to interface with the console. The circuit board can contain
a wide variety of components. All cartridge games contain at the minimum, read only
memory with the software written on it. Many cartridges also carry components that
increase the original console's power, such as extra RAM or a coprocessor. Components
can also be added to extend the original hardware's functionality[9] (such as gyroscopes,
rumble packs, tilt-sensors, light sensors, etc.); this is more common on handheld consoles
where the user does not interact with the game through a separate video game
controller.[10]

Cartridges were the first external media to be used with home consoles and remained the
most common until 1995 due to continued improvements in capacity.[11] Nevertheless, the
relatively high manufacturing costs saw them completely replaced by optical media for
home consoles by the early 21st century. Although, they are still in use in some handheld
video game consoles.

Due to the aforementioned capabilities of cartridges such as more memory and


coprocessors, those factors make it harder to reverse engineer consoles to be used on
emulators.

[edit] Cards

Further information: Smart Card


Several consoles such as the Sega Master System and the TurboGrafx-16 have used
different types of smart cards as an external medium. These cards function similar to
simple cartridges. Information is stored on a chip that is housed in plastic. Cards are more
compact and simpler than cartridges, though. This makes them cheaper to produce and
smaller, but limits what can be done with them. Cards cannot hold extra components, and
common cartridge techniques like bank switching (a technique used create very large
games) were impossible to miniaturize into a card in the late 1980s.[12][13]

Compact Discs reduced much of the need for cards. Optical Discs can hold more
information than cards, and are cheaper to produce. Many modern systems use writable
memory cards for storage, but the Nintendo DS is the only modern system to use cards
for game distribution. Nintendo has long used cartridges with their Game Boy line of
hand held consoles because of their durability, small size and low battery consumption.
Nintendo switched to cards for the DS, because advances in memory technology made
putting extra memory on the cartridge unnecessary. [14]

[edit] Magnetic media

Two common forms of magnetic media. From front to back: Cassette and 3½-inch floppy
disk.

Home computers have long used magnetic storage devices. Both tape drives and floppy
disk drives were common on early microcomputers. Their popularity is in large part
because a tape drive or disk drive can write to any material it can read. However,
magnetic media is volatile and can be more easily damaged than game cartridges or
optical discs.[15]

Among the first consoles to use magnetic media were the Bally Astrocade and APF-
M1000, both of which could use cassette tapes through expansions. In Bally's case, this
allowed the console to see new game development even after Bally dropped support for
it. While magnetic media remained limited in use as a primary form of distribution, two
popular subsequent consoles also had expansions available to allow them to use this
format. The Starpath Supercharger can load Atari 2600 games from audio cassettes;
Starpath used it to cheaply distribute their own games from 1982 to 1984 and today it is
used by many programmers to test, distribute, and play homebrew software. The
Famicom Disk System was released by Nintendo in 1985 for the Japanese market.
Nintendo sold the disks cheaply and sold vending machines where customers could have
new games written to their disks up to 500 times.[16]
[edit] Optical media

The most widely used forms of optical media are DVDs and compact discs. Shown is a
CD-ROM (left) and a game in Nintendo's proprietary optical disc format.

In the mid-1990s, various manufacturers shifted to optical media, specifically CD-ROM,


for games. Although they were slower at loading game data than the cartridges available
at that time, they were significantly cheaper to manufacture and had a larger capacity than
the existing cartridge technology. By the early 21st century, all of the major home
consoles used optical media, usually DVD-ROM or similar disks, which are widely
replacing CD-ROM for data storage. The PlayStation 3 system uses even higher-capacity
Blu-ray optical discs.

[edit] Internet distribution

All three seventh generation of consoles (the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360) offer
some kind of Internet games distribution service, allowing users to download games for a
fee onto some form of non-volatile storage, typically a hard disk or flash memory.
Recently the console manufacturers have been taking full advantage of internet
distribution with arcade games, television shows and film trailers being available.

• Microsoft's Xbox Live service includes the Xbox Live Arcade & Xbox Live
Marketplace, featuring digital distribution of classic and original titles. These
include arcade classics, original titles, and games originally released on other
consoles. The Xbox Live Marketplace also includes many different hit movies
and trailers in high definition, and is accessible with a free Xbox Live Silver
Membership.
• Sony's online game distribution is known as the Playstation Network (PSN). It
offers free online gaming, downloadable content such as classic PlayStation
games, high definition game and movie trailers, and original games such as flOw
and Everyday Shooter as well as some games that also release on blu-ray disk
such as Warhawk and Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. A networking service, dubbed
PlayStation Home, is due for release in Spring 2008. They have also announced a
video service for some time in the future.
• Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, NES/Famicom, TurboGrafx-16,
SNES/Super Famicom, and Neo Geo games are currently being emulated on the
Nintendo Wii console through Nintendo's Virtual Console service. Nintendo also
plans to have original content available for download in the future through their
WiiWare service.

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