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Magnavox Odyssey released
Often regarded as the first game console, the Odyssey was a very simple machine that had games that consisted of white dots and lines. -
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1st Generation of Consoles
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PONG was released and put in arcades
PONG is probably one of, if not the most recognized game in the world and is often credited as the first video game even though that isn't true. -
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2nd Generation of Consoles
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Atari 2600 puts Atari on the map for console gaming
With games such as Breakout and Adventure the Atari 2600 signified the beginning of Atari's success. -
Space Invaders becomes popular in the US
This is the event credited to starting the golden age of video games -
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The Golden Age of Video Games
This time period started with the release of Space Invaders and ended with the slowly increasing disappearance of coin-operated arcade games. The exact time period is disputed, so i used the most commonly accepted times. -
Donkey Kong sweeps the nation and starts the Mario franchise.
The release of this classic arcade game signifies the birth of the Mario franchise for Nintendo -
The coin-operated arcade machines lose popularity
This is the event credited with ending the golden age of video games and credited as the start of the video game crash -
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The Video Game Crash
The market for video games was so bad at this point that some companies gave up or went bankrupt but those who made it through profited in the long run. -
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3rd Generation of Consoles
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The Nintendo Entertainment System is released
Marking the rise in Nintendo's early monopoly, the NES sold over 1.1 million units and demolished the competition. This is also credited with helping the video game market recover after the crash. -
Atari 7800 fails commercially
This event signifies the fall of Atari -
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Console War 1 (Third/Fourth Generation)
With Nintendo, Sega, and Atari all releasing new consoles for the third generation, lots of competition arose and many consumers chose favorites. The war started with the release of The Legend of Zelda and ended around 1996 -
Sega's Second major console, The Master System, is released
This is considered a failure because only 125,000 consoles were sold but Sega continued to develop consoles -
Nintendo Game Boy proves hand-held gaming possible
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Sega Genesis is released and is very well received
Sega's third major console greatly outdoes the previous console and sells over 4 million units. -
Super NES is released and has conflict with the Genesis
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4th Generation of Consoles
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5th Generation of Consoles
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Sega Saturn fails horribly
Sega's fourth major console completely flopped and eventually doomed the company -
Sony's PlayStation blows competition out of the water
The companies first console sells over 3 times the amount of units than the Nintendo 64 does. -
Nintendo 64 is overshadowed by newcomer Sony
The Nintendo 64 was released and was a commercial success but it was majorly overshadowed by the Playstation -
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6th Generation of Consoles
AKA "128-bit era" -
Sega Dreamcast ultimately dooms company
Sega's last console was by no means bad, it was just overshadowed by all of the other competitors which made the company become a third party developer rather than a console creator. -
Sony continues to provide amazing consoles with the PlayStation 2
Sony stays strong with their second console and proves they will continue strong -
Microsoft joins the console game with the Xbox
This event is credited as the cause of the second console war. -
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Console War 2 (Ongoing)
The release of the Xbox by Microsoft starts the war, and the main competitors today are Sony and Microsoft, with Nintendo still somewhat relevant, but not to the degree of the others. -
The Nintendo GameCube proves that Nintendo can develop more good 3D games
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7th Generation of Consoles
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Microsoft proves their strength with the release of the Xbox 360
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Sony releases their third console, the PlayStation 3
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Nintendo explores the use of motion controls with the Wii
The use of motion controls was mostly a success, but not every way that they are used worked well. -
Period: to
8th Generation of Consoles
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Nintendo takes a step in the wrong direction with the release of the Wii U
This new experimental model was overall a commercial failure that Nintendo seems to have learned from. -
The PlayStation 4 releases and starts the most intense portion of the Second Console War
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The Xbox 1 is released and fuels the Second Console War
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The Nintendo Switch is released and proves to be Nintendo's best console so far
There is a debate about what generation of console that this falls under, but the consensus is that it is a 9th generation console -
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9th Console Generation
