History of Video Games Systems

The Magnavox Odyssey and Pong

The Odyssey was invented by Ralph Baer and released in 1972. Atari's Pong made the system slightly popular, but over the next few years, Magnavox tried to capitalize on the Pong craze and the new gaming industry by attempting to release Pong for its own systems. That plan backfired because other manufacturers released consoles that played Pong replicas and other Pong-like games.

The VES, the 1977 Video Game Crash, and the Resurgence

The Fairchild Video Entertainment System actually used ROM cartridges. This seemed to work well and the RCA Studio and the Atari 2600 game systems were released in 1978. Profits quickly decreased for the console systems and this forced more of the dedicated system manufactures, RCA, and Fairchild to desert the market. Sadly, 1977 was the first video game crash, even though Atari and Magnavox continued to operate.

The Magnavox Odyssey 2 was released in 1978, but it wasn't until 1980 when Atari ported Space Invaders to the Atari 2600 that the industry started to get back on its feet. Consumers loved to become addicted to shooting aliens and the 2600 outsold any other system currently out.

The Intellivision, Atari 5200 and Colecovision

Mattel's Intellivision was tested in limited release first, then launched nationwide in 1980. It had a good set of launch games, but soon the system phased out because its promise of eventually becoming a home computer wasn't happening.

With the threat of newer and better consoles, Atari released the Atari 5200 in 1982. This system was suppose to have better graphics capabilities and support deeper and richer games.

The Colecovision tore into Atari's sales when it released its system bundled with the port Donkey Kong. Even though the actual system wasn't as powerful as the 5200, the Colecovision sold many more consoles.

The Big Boy, the NES

In 1985, Nintendo released the NES (the Famicom to Japan) to the United States. This was the most advanced system to date with better graphics and longer games. Nintendo bundled the system with Super Mario Bros. The game featuring an Italian plumber was Nintendo's hit, which was the main reason the system sold so well in the beginning.

The Master Drive was Sega's system to compete with the NES, but because of the quick popularity, the system never flourished. Two other lesser known consoles were also released around this time, but didn't catch. These were the Turbo-Graphx 16 and the Neo Geo. Both had their few popular games like Bonk!

Genesis, 3DO, SNES and the Jaguar

Sega pumped out the Genesis in 1989 and gained much of the market share from Nintendo. The graphics were slightly better (as evident in Vectorman) and developers quickly saw a need for Genesis games and put them out as fast as they could.

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) came out two years after the Genesis and had a small uphill battle to journey before regaining some of their lost market share. Nintendo continued to release their popular character games like Donkey Kong, Mario, and Yoshi in order to keep those core gamers.

Panasonic's 3DO and the Atari Jaguar (released 1993 and 1994) were CD-ROM based systems that cost significantly more than the NES or Genesis. Both next generation consoles were hard to program for and developer support soon faded.

The Fifth Generation in the History of Video Games Systems

The Sony Playstation was an advanced CD-ROM console released in 1995 that touted games like Soul Blade and Ridge Racer Revolution. One major note on the Playstation was that Sony originally developed a CD-ROM peripheral for the SNES, but Nintendo pulled support for it and Sony decided to go on their own.

Sega released the Saturn in 1996 and also included a CD-ROM. Sega attempted to improve graphics with a two-chip architecture, but because it was difficult to make games for, the system soon failed.

Nintendo needed to pop into the next generation market and they did with the Nintendo 64 in 1996. The system still used cartridges, but the games weren't subject to long loading times and piracy.

Into the New Millenium

On 9/9/99, Sega released the Dreamcast. Considered way ahead of its time, the Dreamcast was the first console to offer online play (either dial-up or broadband) and 128-bit graphics. Sega stopped making the console in 2001 and went solely to developing and publishing games.

The Playstation 2 was released in 2001 and played DVDs. For the next few years, Sony kept at the top of the market. That is, until Nintendo's Gamecube and Microsoft's first console that implanted them in the history of video games systems, the Xbox, was released in 2001 also. The Gamecube used smaller discs and the actual system was pretty compact, like the Dreamcast. The Xbox was the first console to use a built-in hard drive to save games and with Xbox Live, it was the first console to have a dedicated online console gaming community.

Who Knew the Seventh Generation Would be Here so Soon?

PlayStation 3

Sony released the PS3 in November 2006 and included a Blu-Ray disc player. Graphics have surpassed the Xbox 360 and Wii, but the PS3 is having a hard time getting a decent gaming following.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 employs an HD-DVD that can be purchased separately and is capable of 1080p High-Def output. There are many versions of the console available, like the Arcade and Premium edition.

The Nintendo Wii is an entirely different gaming system that has become the most popular console in sales and in the history of video games systems... even overtaking the 360. The Wii uses motion sensor technology in their controllers in order for gamers to realistically play games like Tennis and Baseball.