Video game controller

History of Electronic Games

  • Magnavox Odyssey is Released

    One of the first consoles ever released, it had no processor or memory but id did generate the "PONG Madness era"
  • Period: to

    History of Electronic Games

  • Magnavox Odyssey 100 Released

    Magnavox Odyssey 100 Released
    (Date Unknown) Magnavox;s second entry into the new land of consoles. It had 2 games only: Hockey and Tennis. With tennis inspiring the creation of PONG.
  • Odyssey 200 is Released

    Odyssey 200 is Released
    (Date Unknown) The next version in Magnavox's console still had Hockey and Tennis on it, but included a third game called Smash. The Odyssey 200, like it's predecessors, used six "C" batteries to power up and stay on.
  • Universal Lab Research releases the Video Action

    Universal Lab Research releases the Video Action
    (Date Unknown) The Video Action was released due to financial problems at the HQ due to overloads of stock. Company then decided to sell it. It was used to play PONG.
  • Telstar is Released

    Telstar is Released
    (Date Unknown) One million of Coleco's Telstar were sold during it's high point. The console played Hockey, Handball, and Tennis. First console to use the AY-3-8500 chip.
  • Night Driver is Released

    Night Driver is Released
    (Date Unknown) Atari published this arcade style game that gained extreme popularity in the 70's. It was then later ported to the Atari 2600 console.
  • Space Invaders Released

    Space Invaders Released
    (Date Unkown) Published by Midway Games, this arcade style game was a single player game in which you needed to shoot the incoming space alien ships.
  • ColecoVision is Released

    ColecoVision is Released
    (Date Unknown) Coleco's succesor to the Telstar, this console used ROM cartridges for games and memory storage and also had a built in Donkey Kong game cartidge in every product.
  • Video Game Crash of 1983-1985

    Video Game Crash of 1983-1985
    This 3 year period occured when there was an abundance of video game consoles and home computers. Many of these consoles played very similar games which then led to the bankruptcy of multiple companies.
  • End of Video Game Crash

    End of Video Game Crash
    This was the end of the depression for the economy of video games.
  • Final Fantasy I is Released

    Final Fantasy I is Released
    Square's first entry into the Final Fantasy league became a huge hit. The game evolved into multiple sequels which, to my knowledge, is till going on today.
  • GameBoy is Released

    GameBoy is Released
    The GameBoy was released by Nintendo and was discontinued in 2003. It does have, though, newer versions currently. It has sold 118.9 Million units worldwide and one of the most well known handheld consoles of all time. It had a built in game of Tetris.
  • Sega Saturn is Released

    Sega Saturn is Released
    This console used a 2-hand controller that was hooked up to the system. It was released by SEGA and used 2 CPU's which hurt it's sales because not many games were able to be played on it since game developers were used to single CPU consoles. It later competed with the PS1 and N64.
  • Playstation is Released

    Playstation is Released
    Sony's first entry into the game world of consoles. The Playstation series still uses the conventional controller design from this first one which is a dualshock version. It used CD-ROM for game discs.
  • Nintendo 64 is Released

    Nintendo 64 is Released
    Even with PS1's CD-ROM drive, the N64 still used the old ROM cartridges for its games. One of the most famous games was played on the N64, Super Mario 64. It had a limited texture cache which inturn limited graphic dimensions and reduced color depth.
  • Playstation 2

    Playstation 2
    After much success with the first playstation, Sony unveiledand released the Playstation 2 with was fully functioning with online multiplayer. Unlike the later Xbox, the PS2 had a free subscription that lasted forever which was needed to play online.The PS2 used a wireless dualshock controller, a CD-ROM drive for games, and featured the EyeToy with enabled motion control through a camera.
  • Xbox is Released

    Xbox is Released
    This was Microsoft's first entry in the gaming console world...and it was extremely huge hit for the games it could play such as Halo and Dead or Alive. The Xbox did have a paying subscription needed to play multiplayer. In the sixth generation, the Xbox competed with the PS2, N64, and Sega's Dreamcast. The Xbox was the first console to ever use Dolby Sound Technology for their audio. The Xbox also runs off a modified version of Windows 2000 Kernel.
  • GameCube

    GameCube
    With pressure from the console community due to lower sales from the N64, Nintendo released the GameCube to curve the situation. The GameCube uses the Gekko processor from IBM as it's running source. Memory was stored on small gray memory squares that you could just plug into the GameCube.
  • Xbox 360 is Released

    Xbox 360 is Released
    Microsoft's successor, Xbox 360, may very well be any companies most profitable console ever made. This new version featured everything wireless, and a new and refreshed interfaced to fit with the modern times. It supported HDMI and 1080p TV quality but you still needed a paid subscription to play online multiplayer. It had portable hard drives you could just plug in, and you could download games straight from the disc onto the hard drive. Also featured Netflix and Pizza Hut on the mains screen.
  • Playstation 3 is Released

    Playstation 3 is Released
    Due to Xbox's 1 year jump start on their console, Sony's PS3 had trouble catching up to the Xbox 360 sales wise and game wise due to the fact that only the Xbox had the Halo series, and always Xbox got Call of Duty DLC first. The PS3 was still free-to-play online still, so that helped. The console had Bluetooth, HDMI, and the NVIDIA RSX Reality Synthesizer GPU.
  • Wii is Released

    Wii is Released
    Nintendo released the Wii with much anticipation but wasn't able to sell as much as the Xbox and PS3 due to lack of games. It was, however, what made motion controll revolutionary since that was all the Wii was about...motion control with the controller. It helped influence motion control products for the Xbox and Playstation series.
  • PS Vita is Released

    PS Vita is Released
    Sony developed the PS Vita after market domination from Nintendo's current DS series. The Vita shares a couple things from the traditional Playstation console such as the button layout. The PS Vita utilizes the Playstation Network which is also what the PS3 uses for the online store. It has 3G for calling, and WiFi for the internet and chatting.
  • Wii U

    Wii U
    Nintendo released a handheld console version of the regular Wii to compete with the PS handheld series after sales dropped from Nintendo's DS series. It has 8 GB of internal storage and 2 GB of RAM. It had mixed reviews due to multiple bugs and problems. It used the Nintendo Network and had an Internet Browser for convienence.
  • Playstation 4 gets Released

    Playstation 4 gets Released
    Sony will release the PS4 later this year which will be the newest console generation in years. It has been highly acclaimed for its betetr hardware than the Xbox 1, no-DRM, and no privacy violations whatsoever. It will sell $100 cheaper than the Xbox 1 and it has a somewhat new controller type of dualshock. This console however does need a paid subscription for multiplayer..but it is also $10 cheaper for it than the Xbox 1 multiplayer.
  • Xbox 1 gets Released

    Xbox 1 gets Released
    Later this year, Microsoft will release the newest geenration of consoles, the Xbox 1. It comes with a Kinect 1080p camera motion control that will be always hooked up to the console and turned on, last I heard. It will be able to support twice as many people in game lobbies than the Xbox 360 due to hardware upgrades and more. Still requires a paid subscription. It has been criticized for it's privacy features and the mandatory kinect.