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Magnavox Odyssey
The Magnavox Odyssey is the first commercial home video game console. It was developed by a small team led by Ralph H. Baer at Sanders Associates and released by Magnavox in the United States in September 1972 and overseas the following year.It is capable of displaying three square dots on the screen in monochrome black and white, with differing behavior for the dots depending on the game played, and with no sound capabilities. Players place plastic overlays on the screen to create visuals. -
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First Generation
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Pong
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games. It is a table tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. The game was originally manufactured by Atari, which released it in 1972. Allan Alcorn created Pong as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell. -
Color TV-Game
Color TV-Game is a series of five home dedicated consoles, created by Nintendo and released in Japan only. Nintendo sold three million units of the first four models: one million units of each of the first two models, Color TV-Game 6 and 15.Half a million units of each of the next two models, Block Breaker and Racing 112.The Color TV-Game series has the highest sales figures of the first generation of video game consoles. The systems could run off of C batteries. -
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Second Generation
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Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a home video game console by Atari, Inc. Released on September 11, 1977, it is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and ROM cartridges containing game code, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F video game console in 1976. This format contrasts with the older model of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware, which could only play the games that were physically built into the unit. -
Vectrex
The Vectrex is a vector display-based home video game console that was developed by Western Technologies/Smith Engineering. It was licensed and distributed first by General Consumer Electronics, and then by Milton Bradley Company after its purchase of GCE. It was released in November 1982 at a retail price of $199 as Milton Bradley took over international marketing the price dropped to $150, then reduced again to $100 shortly before the video game crash of 1983 and finally retailed at $49. -
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Third Generation
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Nintendo Entertainment System(NES)
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit home video game console that was developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was initially released in Japan as the Family Computer on July 15, 1983, and was later released in New York city in 1985, and throughout the U.S as well as in Europe during 1986 and 1987, and Australia in 1987. -
SEGA Master System
The Master System is a third-generation home video game console that was manufactured by Sega. It was originally released in 1985 as the Sega Mark III in Japan. After being redesigned prior to its North American launch, the console was renamed Master System and released in 1986 in North America, 1987 in Europe, and 1989 in Brazil. The Master System was also released in Japan in 1987 with additional features over the overseas models. -
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Fourth Generation
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Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive in regions outside of North America, is a 16-bit home video game console developed and sold by Sega. The Genesis was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released the console as the Mega Drive in Japan in 1988, followed by North America as the Genesis in 1989. -
Game Boy
Nintendo released the Game Boy on April 21, 1989. The design team headed by Gunpei Yokoi had also been responsible for the Game & Watch system, as well as the Nintendo Entertainment System games Metroid and Kid Icarus. The Game Boy came under scrutiny by some industry critics, saying that the monochrome screen was too small, and the processing power was inadequate. -
Sega Game Gear
The Game Gear is the third color handheld console, after the Lynx and the TurboExpress; produced by Sega. Released in Japan in 1990 and in North America and Europe in 1991, it is based on the Master System, which gave Sega the ability to quickly create Game Gear games from its large library of games for the Master System. While never reaching the level of success enjoyed by Nintendo, the Game Gear proved to be a fairly durable competitor, lasting longer than any other Game Boy rivals. -
Super Nintendo Entertainment System(Super NES)
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Australasia (Oceania), and 1993 in South America. In Japan, the system is called the Super Famicom, or SFC for short. -
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Fifth Generation
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PlayStation(PS1)
The PlayStation is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The console was released on 3 December 1994 in Japan, 9 September 1995 in North America, 29 September 1995 in Europe, and for 15 November 1995 in Australia. The console was the first of the PlayStation lineup of home video game consoles. -
Game Boy Pocket
The Game Boy Pocket is a redesigned version of the original Game Boy having the same features. It was released in 1996. Notably, this variation is smaller and lighter. It comes in seven different colors; red, yellow, green, black, clear, silver, blue, and pink. It has space for two AAA batteries, which provide approximately 10 hours of game play. The screen was changed to a true black-and-white display, rather than the "pea soup" monochromatic display of the original Game Boy. -
Nintendo 64(N64)
The Nintendo 64 is Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit central processing unit, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America and Brazil, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France. -
Game Boy Color
The Game Boy Color is Nintendo's successor to the Game Boy and was released on October 21, 1998, in Japan and in November of the same year in the United States. It features a color screen, and is slightly bigger than the Game Boy Pocket. The processor is twice as fast as a Game Boy's and has twice as much memory. It also had an infrared communications port for wireless linking which did not appear in later versions of the Game Boy, such as the Game Boy Advance. -
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Sixth Generation
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PlayStation 2(PS2)
The PlayStation 2 is a home video game console that was developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to the PlayStation, and is the second installment in the PlayStation lineup of consoles. It was released on March 4, 2000 in Japan, October 26, 2000 in North America, November 24, 2000 in Europe, and November 17, 2000 in Australia. It competed with Sega's Dreamcast, Microsoft's Xbox, and Nintendo's GameCube in the sixth generation of video game consoles. -
Game Boy Advanced
In 2001, Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance, which added two shoulder buttons, a larger screen, and more computing power than the Game Boy Color. -
GameCube
The GameCube is a home video game console released by Nintendo in Japan and North America in 2001 and Europe and Australia in 2002. The sixth-generation console is the successor to the Nintendo 64 and competed with Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox. -
Nintendo DS
The Nintendo DS was released in November 2004. Among its new features were the incorporation of two screens, a touchscreen, wireless connectivity, and a microphone port. As with the Game Boy Advance SP, the DS features a clamshell design, with the two screens aligned vertically on either side of the hinge. -
Playstation Portable
The PlayStation Portable is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. Development of the console was first announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on May 11, 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004.The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004,in North America on March 24, 2005, and in the PAL region on September 1, 2005. -
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Seventh Generation
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PlayStation 3(PS3)
The PlayStation 3 is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to PlayStation 2, and is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November 17, 2006, in North America, and March 23, 2007, in Europe and Australia. The PlayStation 3 mainly competes against consoles such as Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. -
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii competed with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others. As of the first quarter of 2012, the Wii leads its generation over PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in worldwide sales,with more than 101 million units sold in December 2009. -
PSP Go
The PSP Go is a version of the PlayStation Portable handheld game console manufactured by Sony. It was released on October 1, 2009, in American and European territories, and on November 1 in Japan. Although its design is significantly different from other PSPs, it is not intended to replace the PSP 3000, which Sony continued to. On April 20, 2011, the manufacturer announced that the PSP Go would be discontinued so that they may concentrate on the PlayStation Vita. -
Nintendo 3DS
The Nintendo 3DS is the successor to Nintendo's DS handheld. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic three-dimensional effects without requirement of active shutter or passive polarized glasses, which are required by most current 3D televisions to display the 3D effect. The 3DS was released in Japan on February 26, 2011; in Europe on March 25, 2011; in North America on March 27, 2011, and in Australia on March 31, 2011. -
Playstation Vita
The PlayStation Vita is the successor to Sony's PlayStation Portable Handheld series. It was released in Japan on December 17, 2011 and in Europe, Australia, North and South America on February 22, 2012. The device is fully backwards-compatible with PlayStation Portable games digitally released on the PlayStation Network via the PlayStation Store. However, PSone Classics and PS2 titles were not compatible at the time of the primary public release in Japan. -
Wii U
The Wii U is the first Nintendo console to support HD graphics. The system's primary controller is the Wii U GamePad, which features an embedded touchscreen, and combines directional buttons, analog sticks, and action buttons. The screen can be used either as a supplement to the main display, or in supported games, to play the game directly on the GamePad independently of the television. -
PlayStation 4
Moving away from the more complex Cell microarchitecture of its predecessor, the console features an AMD Accelerated Processing Uni built upon the x86-64 architecture, which can theoretically peak at 1.84 teraflops. The ability to stream gameplay online or to friends, with them controlling gameplay remotely. The console also supports HDR10 high-dynamic-range color and playback of 4K multimedia. -
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Eighth Generation
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Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console that can either be used in a handheld form, or inserted into a docking station attached to a television to play on a bigger screen. The Switch features two detachable wireless controllers, called Joy-Cons, which can be used individually or attached to a grip to provide a traditional gamepad form.
