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Magnavox Odyssey
The first video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey in 1966. This console did not have a CPU and had to use switches to turn on and off different parts of the console, making the console play different games. But this idea was changed with a cartridge idea as it was simpler to use, looked nicer and it served the same function as the switches -
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First & Second Generation
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Odyssey 100
In 1975 pong was released by Atari and became very popular, so Odyssey released a console that only played Pong and Hockey. -
Fairchild Video Entertainment System (VES)
A company called Fairchild made a console called the Fairchild Video Entertainment System (VES) in 1976. This console used cartridges just like the Odyssey but instead of using programmable switches to run games, the VES used a microprocessor so the cartridges only needs a ROM chip to play a games. This means the console can release new games without worrying about upgrading hardware. -
Atari 2600
RCA and Atari then both released the same type of Technology in their own consoles -
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Third Generation
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Nintendo Famicom (NES)
This supported a higher resolution, had a wider colour palette and tiled backgrounds. This console was one of the most popular consoles made back in that time. It was released in japan in 1983 but it wasn’t released into the US until 1985 because of the recent crash in game sales. -
Sega Master System
The Sega Master System was meant to rival the NES, but it never really took off in the US or Japan and barely made a profit. It did do better in PAL regions such as Europe and South America. -
Atari 7800
Atari had brought out a console around this time called the Atari 7800. This console was meant to be comparable with the NES and it was backwards compatible with 2600 games. -
Atari XEGS
Atari repackaged the 8-bit XE home computer as the XEGS game console. This got them out of debt. -
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Fourth Generation
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NEC TurboGrafx-16
NEC was the first 4th generation console to be on sale with a PC Engine (known as the Turbografx16) when the Hudson Soft company went to them with an advanced graphics chip. Hudson did go to Nintendo first, only to be turned down because the company was still making money off of the NES. -
Sega Genesis (Mega Drive)
Sega created a system Sega System 16 (used in arcades to play hits like Shinobi) and scaled it down into 1 system called the Mega Drive (or Genesis) and released it in 1988 to japan. The Sega Megadrive broke even on sales in Japan, but was no.1 in PAL markets, and in North America. -
Neo Geo
The arcade company, SNK made the high end Neo Geo MVS arcade system which had changeable cartridges like the home consoles. Because of the success of the MVS cabinet, SNK repackaged the NeoGeo and sold it as the Neo Geo AES home console (or just the NeoGeo). The fourth generation graphics chips allowed consoles to remake the type of art that was becoming popular in arcades and on home computers. These games often had nicer background scenery, bigger characters, more colours available, and deepe -
Super Famicom (SNES)
In 1990, Nintendo had released the Super Famicom to japan and then to the US as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) a year later. Its release slowed the sales for the TurboGrafx and the Neo Geo, but was late enough for the Megadrive to sell several million consoles in North America. -
Atari Jaguar
The first fifth-generation console was the Atari Jaguar. Although the console was more powerful than the previous consoles, it wasn’t a threat to Sega or Nintendo. Atari had to cancel the production on a couple of products when they released the Jaguar. This caused the company to fail as there was no profit. Even though this console had a better CPU, Graphics chip and sound chip, the games developed could have easily been made for the SNES and Megadrive -
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Fifth Generation
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Sega Saturn
Sega entered the fifth generation consoles with the Saturn. Sega had some good games for the Saturn, but a lot of bad parts and programs used made it hard for lots of developers. Even though the Saturn was more advanced than any other console; it was too difficult and not reliable to write games for. -
Sony Playstation
Nintendo tried to create a 3D console and failed, thus the Sony's PlayStation was created from this failed console. It became the first console to sell over 100 million units in the gaming market. Sony loved third party developers so much, that they provided them with the files needed to be able to write their own games. This at the time was considered the future of gaming. CD technology at the time won over developers who had been releasing games for Nintendo and Sega's fourth generation conso -
Nintendo 64
Nintendo finally release their fifth generation console with the Nintendo 64, and it came with only two launch games. This was because of Nintendo's failed disc projects with Sony. The Nintendo 64 could handle 3D display better than any console, but the games released didn’t have many cut-scenes, soundtracks, and voice-overs that people was use to because of the PlayStation. They we're able to sell tens of millions of games and console just because of these games. -
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Sixth Generation
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Sega Dreamcast
The Sega dreamcast was Sega’s last console and was released in 1998. This console used a GD-ROM (gigabyte disc rom). This stopped piracy, had more memory for textures and sounds. This was also the first console to have internet connection so you could play some games like phantasy star online. -
PlayStation 2
The PS2 was released in 2000. People went crazy over this console because of the original PlayStation’s popularity. The PS2 was the first console to be able to play DVD’s so it made it have more than 1 function than just playing games on. This went on to be the most sold console of all time to date, with over 155 million consoles sold with data taken from 2011. -
Nintendo GameCube
In 2001, the Nintendo gamecube was released. This console was Nintendo’s first Disc based console, yet it had to compatibility to play all Gameboy, Gameboy colour and Gameboy advance games, letting you be able to play them games on a you TV, a bigger screen. This disc based console had one thing different compared to other consoles, this played games on 8cm discs rather than the standard 12cm discs. -
Microsoft Xbox
The last console to be released was Microsoft’s XBOX. This attracted many pc gamers as it was a windows based system and it would be a reliable console compared to the Microsoft PC’s. this console had an Ethernet port for people to play games with friends over the world with XBOX Live. Although the controller was seen as awkward, it still became so popular it was the 2nd bestselling console of the 6th generation. This may be because of games such as Halo, this game had millions of players online -
Xbox 360
Microsoft started the seventh generation by releasing the Xbox 360 in 2005. The Xbox 360 had a standard DVD reader built in.
One good thing about the Xbox 360 is that it was backwards compatible, meaning it could be used to play original Xbox games. The PS3 couldn’t do this and could only play original PS1 games -
Nintendo Wii
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PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 was released in 2006/2007. All PS3s come with a hard drive and are able to play Blu-ray Disc games and Blu-ray Disc movies as soon as you turn the console on. The PS3 was the first console to take advantage of HDMI outputs on tv and displays, using a 1080p resolution. The hard drive in the PS3 can be replaced by any 2.5" SATA Hard drive so as much memory as you wanted could be placed in and you could do it yourself.
