Video Game Consoles

From Wikislippy

Current revision as of 15:31, 18 August 2008

[edit] First Generation

The first generation of video game consoles lasted from 1972 until 1977.

• Magnavox Odyssey
• Magnavox Odyssey 100
• Magnavox Odyssey 200
• Atari/Sears Telegames Pong
• Coleco Telstar

[edit] Second Generation

The second generation (sometimes referred to as the early 8 bit era) began in 1976 and ended in 1984.

• Atari 2600
• Intellivision
• Odyssey 2
• ColecoVision

[edit] Third Generation

The third generation (the latter half of which is sometimes known as the 8 bit era) began in 1983 with the Japanese release of the Famicom. The third gen ended in 1992.

• Nintendo Entertaiment System (Famicom)
• PV-1000
• Super Cassette Vision
• Supergame VG 3000
• Sega Master System
• Atari 7800

[edit] Fourth Generation

The fourth generation (more commonly referred to as the 16 bit era) began on October 30, 1987 and ended in 1996.

• Nippon Electric Company
• Sega Mega Drive (Sega Genesis)
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)

[edit] Fifth Generation

The fifth-generation era (more commonly known as the 32 bit era and occasionally the 64 bit era and the 3D era) refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at the close of the 20th century. The fifth generation lasted approximately from 1993 to 2002. The consoles were:

• Amiga CD-32
• Sega Saturn
• Atari Jaguar
• Sony PlayStation
• Nintendo 64
• 3DO Interactive Multiplayer

The best selling comsole ended up being the CD-32. However, the comany was sued and was not heard from sence.

[edit] Sixth Generation

The sixth-generation era (sometimes referred to as the 128-bit era) refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at the turn of the 21st century. Platforms of the sixth generation include:

• Sega Dreamcast
• Sony PlayStation 2
• Microsoft Xbox
• Nintendo GameCube

This era began on November 27, 1998 with the release of the Dreamcast, and it was joined by the PlayStation 2 in March 2000. The Dreamcast was discontinued in March 2001 and that same year saw the launch of the Nintendo GameCube in September and Xbox in November. This era ended in late 2006 (though the Xbox was replaced in 2005) with the launch of the seventh generation video game consoles

[edit] Seventh Generation

In the history of video games, the seventh generation, which is also the current generation, primarily focuses on the consoles released since 2004 by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony. They are...

• Microsoft Xbox 360
• Sony PlayStation 3
• Nintendo Wii

For home consoles, the seventh generation began on November 22, 2005 with the release of Microsoft's ]]Xbox 360 and continued with the release of Sony's PlayStation 3 on November 11, 2006 and Nintendo's Wii on November 19, 2006. Each new console introduced a new type of breakthrough technology. For example, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 offered high-definition graphics, while the Wii focused on integrating controllers with movement sensors instead of using joysticks[2] (the PlayStation 3 also attempted motion sensitivity, and failed). All three consoles have wireless controllers.