The history of the development of game consoles. The complete history of game consoles Created for the first console

A game console is an electronic system that was created exclusively for one area of ​​\u200b\u200bapplication, the specialization of such a system is video games. This definition is now known even to people who are far from both electronics and the gaming industry. Game consoles have firmly occupied their niche among electronic devices. How did the first set-top boxes appear and evolve to modern consoles?

Initially, the difference between game consoles and personal computers was the lack of an information output device, that is, a monitor. It was assumed that a household TV would serve as a monitor. Also, a distinctive feature of the first set-top boxes was the lack of support for standard PC-specific peripherals: mouse, keyboard, modem...

Modern instances of consoles have much more opportunities, their functionality is no longer limited to games, they are able to give the user a lot more. It is these consoles (SONY PLAYSTATION, XBOX, NINTENDO) that can be purchased at the tusamarket.ru online store. TusaMarket is the TOP models and brands of the world in one place.

Soviet set-top boxes were produced in 1980-1990 and carried the Elektronika brand. Such production was located at the factories of both Russia and Belarus.

The first sign of the gaming industry of the USSR in 1978 was the device "Electronics Exi Video 01". In fact, it was a Soviet version of pong-type prefixes. Only 5 games were available for her, which was very good for that time.

Later, the model was developed into "Electronics Exi Video 02", the release of which was also launched at the Exciton plant in Pavlovsky Posad, it already had 7 games in black and white graphics in its arsenal and was distinguished by the presence of a photogun.

The demand for these set-top boxes was huge, the number of devices produced was small, which immediately placed the set-top boxes in the category of the so-called "deficit".

With the end of the existence of the Union, set-top boxes of foreign manufacturers entered the country's market. The first such console was the 8-bit Dendy from Nintendo, the undoubted advantage of which was an acceptable price.

What was the first game console, how and where did it appear?

Here are the main stages in the development of gaming systems:

1. Start of production of the first representatives of serial household consoles. (1972-80)
Magnavox Odyssey (1972)

- became the first console, the release of which was mass-produced, presented to the public on May 24 in 1972, and this year, and already in August it went on sale. The prototype of this device, known as the "Brown Box", is kept at the National Museum of the Smithsonian University.

Pong (1975)

- a prefix from the manufacturer Atari, received several modifications, also known under the brand name Sears Tele-Games, was produced from 1975 to 1977.

Coleco Telstar (1976)

- the Coleco consoles, which were released in 1976, were essentially twins of the Pong console from Atari. Their characteristic feature was that they were delivered partially disassembled and the user himself picked up the product before launch. I needed to install the front panel and controllers myself.

2. The next stage in the evolution of consoles, it is marked by the appearance of 2nd generation consoles: the first 8-bit devices with the ability to replace game cartridges.
Fairchild Channel F (1976)

- the second console in history, which used a cartridge to change games. But, unlike the pioneer, Magnavox Odyssey, in which the cartridge was, in fact, a set of jumpers that included a game recorded on the console, here the cartridge was a full-fledged ROM with a game program recorded on it. The microprocessor for this console was created by Robert Noyce, who later founded Intel.

RCA Studio II (1976)

- the set-top box created by RCA was distinguished by the absence of external joysticks. To interact with the user, built-in keyboards of 10 buttons, 2 in number, are used.

Atari 2600 (1977)

- the first commercially successful console with games recorded on a replaceable cartridge. The kit came with a game, in the early versions of Combat, in the later Pac-Man, and 2 joysticks, there was also a complete set with paddle controllers instead of joysticks.

Bally Astrocade (1977)

- differed not only in its wide graphical capabilities, but also in the complexity of their use. For this set-top box, the ZGRASS extension was released, which turned the set-top box into a full-fledged computer.

Magnavox Odyssey2 (1978)

- For Europe, it was supplied under the Philips Videopac G7000 brand, a distinctive feature was the presence of a keyboard that had several options for using it, for example, not only for setting options in games, but also in educational games and even programming. One of the breakthrough moments was the presence of a separately supplied speech synthesis module.

Intellivision (1980)

- the competitive advantage of this console was also to be a full-fledged external keyboard, which would make a full-fledged computer for the home out of the set-top box, and would allow, as the advertisement promised, "calculate taxes on it." The prefix had advanced graphics and a set of good games, but the release of the keyboard was never arranged by Mattel.

Vectrex (1982)

- this is the only set-top box that had a built-in monitor, which was vector. The monitor screen is black and white, but for each game, colored films (overlay) were produced, which were superimposed on the screen and created the appearance of a color image, and also served as protection against the flicker characteristic of this type of monitors.

Arcadia 2001 (1982)

- the graphical capabilities of the console are similar to Odyssey2 and Intellivision, the features include a rod screwed into the direction controller, which turned it into a joystick. This idea was later borrowed by Sega.

Atari 5200 (1982)

- was the successor to the popular Atari 2600 model, but for a number of reasons it was not widely used. The release of the console came at a time when home computers such as the Apple II were gaining popularity. This, coupled with unsuccessful design, predetermined the fate of the model.

Colecovision (1982)

- many games have been adapted for the console, which before it could only be played on slot machines, the graphics in games are as close as possible to the same slot machines, a large number of extensions that increase the capabilities of the console. The No1 expansion module made the console compatible with Atari 2600 games, making the console's game selection the largest in the world.

The No2 expansion module boasted a steering wheel, accelerator pedal and Turbo game included. It could also be used with other games.

Expansion module No3, in addition to the keyboard, included a device for recording and storing information on cassettes. With this extension, the ColecoVision set-top box became a full-fledged household computer.

This is only a small part of the history of the development of consoles, its earliest stage.

Do you like to play computer or mobile games and find this pastime fun and exciting? Fine! Let's get acquainted with another interesting entertainment - game consoles for TV.

They are different, each gadget is endowed with its own functions and capabilities, so before buying a game console, you should decide on important criteria.

First of all, a game console is an electronic device that connects to your TV or computer monitor and turns the big screen into a chic virtual playground. Control is via joysticks, steering wheels, gamepads, pistols or other manipulators.

Each game console is a separate console, which has its own hardware and software characteristics. Different devices are able to execute commands in different ways, transmit different effects and create their own control tools needed to visualize certain conditions in the game.

This is a kind of highly specialized computer, with its own processor, hard drive and memory, which allows the operator to play games with high quality. There are modern models of set-top boxes with multifunctional content: such devices allow you not only to play, but also to watch videos, listen to music and even access the global network.

However, a gaming gadget differs significantly from a traditional computer, primarily in that it is a closed system that cannot be upgraded, supplemented or expanded functionality. You buy a device with a certain set of skills and a recommended level of gaming load.

To date, there are eight generations of gaming systems that were released in different years:

• I - 1972 - 1980;
• II - 1976 - 1983;
• III - 1983 - 1992;
• IV –1987 – 1996;
• V - 1993 - 2006;
• VI - 1998 - 2004;
• VII - 2005 - 2012;
• VIII - 2012 - to the present day.

If you are choosing a game console for an adult user who prefers to play games with high graphics and speed of events, then it is better not to save money and buy new generation products: PlayStation, Xbox. And if the prefix is ​​​​needed for children as an educational or training program, then the choice can be made in favor of budget models of past generations: SEGA or DENDY Junior.

Basic options for connecting to a TV

As mentioned above, game devices work in conjunction with a TV or monitor. Therefore, it is important to find out what type of connection your TV or PC unit supports. Of course, in our age of technology, devices can communicate wirelessly with each other via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, but this only applies to certain models.

Cable connection can be divided into 4 types:

• HDMI;
• scart.

An HDMI-type cable is the most sought-after option today, capable of delivering the highest color reproduction quality, making the image realistically similar, and pleasantly enhancing the impression of depth. To connect the set-top box to the TV, you just need to find the appropriate sockets. The HDMI cable has the same ends, so you can't mix them up.

The connection of the gaming gadget must be carried out with the devices turned off. Then, after starting the TV, he will be able to independently determine the new device and transfer control of the set-top box to the television remote control.

The second connection method is via an AV cable, this is one of the varieties of tulips. AV transmission is also of high quality and image clarity. Externally, the component cord has 5 inputs for connecting to a TV and 1 plug on the side of the set-top box. Connection is made according to the colors of the plug to the input sockets of the corresponding color.

Another alternative method of connecting the set-top box is via an RCA connector or a composite cable. This is another variety of tulips, in which RCA plugs also have their own color differences and are inserted into the same color RCA jacks. The image with this connection will be of lower quality (576p).

Well, the oldest option is a SCART connection, almost the same composite connection, but with a connector containing 21 pins (pin). This socket is found on older TVs, which are also used for game consoles. PAL-version gadgets are equipped with a tulip-scart adapter. The quality of color reproduction and clarity will be the same as in RCA.

The very procedure of connecting the game console to the TV will take you no more than 5 minutes. The instructions for each gadget have complete information with pictures on how to do this, so there will be no questions.

Immerse yourself in the exciting and exciting world of virtual reality - what could be better after a busy day at work? Excellent graphics, amazing effects, intriguing plots and realism of the events taking place - all this conquers and beckons non-stop.

And in order for the sensations from the game to be expected, it is worth taking seriously the issue of choosing such a technique. There is only one rule that works here: the more expensive the game console costs, the more efficiently it can reproduce complex game effects. Of course, much depends on the generation of the receiving screen (LCD, plasma, LED), so the approach must be rational.

But not all users need stunning graphics. For example, if a prefix is ​​bought for children aged 3-6 who will learn letters, numbers, colors or shapes with it, then inexpensive prefixes with minimal technical characteristics are perfect for them. But a teenager who prefers hard games will not forgive you for excessive savings.

There are three main hardware characteristics of game consoles:

• hard disk capacity;
• processor parameters;
• the amount of RAM.

Winchester or hard drive - this is the place where information about the game is placed. The larger the volume of this device, the more heavy products the prefix will pull. They are from 500 GB to 1 TB.

If you do not have enough hard drive capacity to download video or game content, you can always connect an additional external drive.

The game processor is responsible for the speed of the processed information. The most advanced console models are built on the basis of AMD processors, which are the most adapted and meet the system requirements specifically for gaming scenes.

Random access memory (RAM) is also responsible for the performance of the set-top box and the speed of processing software tasks. The more RAM, the faster the system works and the more resource-intensive products it can play.

Users want to spend quality leisure time, and manufacturers are trying to create more productive and powerful products. How to choose the right game consoles for your TV to have fun in the long run? And is it possible to buy such a gadget inexpensively? Let's get acquainted with the most popular models and their parameters.

Top best game consoles

• Sony;
• Nintendo;
• Microsoft;
• Nvidia.

The Sony Playstation manufacturer accounts for almost 60% of all consoles sold. The latest models of TM devices from Sony, Microsoft and Nvidia have long gone beyond the usual gaming device, they perfectly implement the functions of using video and audio content and working on the Internet. There are no such features in TM Nintendo consoles.

Below we provide a brief overview of the best TV game consoles for 2018.

Sony Playstation 4

Playstation is a name that is widely known, and not only among gamers. Playstation 4 is the best gaming console for the latest generation of TVs. It fixed all the shortcomings of the previous series, improved hardware acceleration and became more concise external design.

When designing the new system, Sony worked with software developer Bungie, who made major contributions to the console's controller for improved game shooting. The technology in the PlayStation 4 is similar to the hardware that runs on today's personal computers, making game development easier and cheaper.

Keep in mind that licensed PS 4 games can be purchased separately. They have their cost - and this is one of the disadvantages of such a choice.

• the CPU consists of two 4-core Jaguar modules with 8 x86-64 cores;
• the GPU has 18 chips and is capable of delivering peak computing performance of 1.84 trillion operations per second;
• 500 GB hard drive;
• RAM – 8 GB GDDR5 clocked at 2.75 GHz (5500 MT/s) with a maximum bandwidth of 176 GB/s. (16 times more than PS3).

PS 4 has its own audio module that allows you to support in-game chat and other game audio streams. The device can read Blu-ray discs, has Wi-Fi and Ethernet connection, Bluetooth and two USB 3.0 ports. Video is output via HDMI TV, audio is S/PDIF. The device does not have an analog audio/video output.

Microsoft Xbox One

Xbox One is an excellent eighth generation line of home video game consoles developed by the Microsoft brand. In the new model, the manufacturer returned to the x86 architecture.

Microsoft's Xbox One has put a heavy emphasis on cloud computing, as well as social networking features and the ability to share gameplay videos or screenshots directly to streaming services like Twitch.

• AMD "Jaguar" CPU with two 4-core modules, clocked at 1.75 GHz;
• the GPU has 12 compute units that have a total of 768 cores, running at 853 MHz and delivering an estimated peak power of 1.31 trillion operations per second;
• the operating system uses 138 GB of hard drive space, with the rest used to store games.
• RAM – 8GB DDR3 RAM with 68.3GB/s memory bandwidth.

Xbox One is capable of playing 1080p and 720p videos. 4K format can be played from streaming resources, but games in this format are not displayed, but are scaled up to 1080p. The set-top box has an internal control function that regulates the temperature of the device by changing the fan speed.

Nintendo Wii U

Wii U is the first game console from TM Nintendo that can render HD graphics. She was released in 2012. Great for kids, this home console features a built-in touchscreen, action buttons, and easy-to-use joysticks. All family members can play at the same time, it is interesting and useful to launch it at children's holidays.

The hardware display can be used as an addition to the TV set, or as a standalone device for supported games.

• the central processor from IBM is a 3-core Power PC-750 unit, which has 3 MB of internal memory, the chip clock frequency is 1.24 GHz;
• graphics processor developed by AMD, based on the Radeon R600-700 architecture and operates at a frequency of 550 MHz;
• Built-in console memory - 8 GB, it is also possible to increase the space using additional drives: up to 32 GB via SD cards and up to 2 TB via external USB drives;
• RAM - 2 GB DDR3, maximum bandwidth - 12.8 GB / s (20 times more than in the previous Wii model);

The Wii U has Bluetooth 4.0 wireless connectivity, 4 USB 2.0 ports and an SD/SDHC memory card slot. Video output is available via HDMI 1.4 (1080p, 1080i, 720p, 576i, 480p and 480i), RGB SCART component connectors or S-Video, SCART composite video output.

Sony Playstation Vita

PlayStation Vita Wi-Fi (PS Vita or Vita) is a compact game console developed by Sony that was introduced to the world in 2011. This PDA model includes a 5-inch touchscreen display, two joysticks, push-button input, as well as support for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and optional 3G transmission.

• central processor - 4-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore;
• GPU – 4-core SGX543MP;
• 512 MB RAM and 128 MB VRAM;
• PS Vita is not compatible with standard SD cards, instead data is stored on PS Vita's own memory cards, which are available in 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 GB sizes.

The PlayStation Vita is a modern TV set-top box that can store 500 apps and games at one time. All games developed for the PlayStation 4, with the exception of applications that require the use of special peripherals, can be played on the Vita.

The internal battery of the device will be able to support 3-5 hours of continuous play, depending on the processing power of the selected products. There is built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, as well as two 0.3-megapixel cameras that are equipped with facial recognition and subject head detection capabilities.

If you are an active gamer and like to while away the minutes of waiting in the virtual world, then portable console models that fit comfortably in the palm of one hand are more suitable for you.

Nvidia Shield Portable

The Nvidia Shield game console is also an eighth generation product. This is the first device to feature Nvidia's powerful Tegra 4 processor. Reviewers praised the performance of the device, but there were also criticisms, mostly about the cost and the lack of decent gaming offerings.

Externally, the device has a stylish folding design: a 5-inch touch screen with a resolution of 1280 × 720, two analog joysticks and a D-pad with control buttons. It supports all games adapted for Android. Connecting to a TV is via HDMI, so the picture quality will be played at the highest level. There is also an important feature for steamers to upload streaming video of their walkthroughs.

• central processor ARM Cortex-A15 with a clock frequency of 1.9 GHz;
• graphics processor 4-core NVIDIA Tegra 4;
• 2 GB of storage in SHIELD and 16 GB of internal memory;
• works with MicroSD cards up to 64 GB on the NTFS file system.

The Nvidia Shield Portable model has an active cooling system, which uses electricity very economically, does not make noise or vibrate. There is support for Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, Miracast.

Conclusion

All gamers are divided into two large camps: those who like to play on PC and those who prefer game consoles. Each option has its strengths and weaknesses. Here everyone is free to choose for himself.

But in order to decide which group of gamers you will join, you need to get acquainted with the stunning and clear alternate world graphics that gaming devices for TVs are capable of organizing.

A separate large screen, a specialized manipulator and amazing sound quality will give you an unforgettable journey into a vast fantasy world where you can forget about the real one and live the life of your virtual hero, enjoying his emotions and achievements!

Each of us had game consoles in childhood, and someone still has them. There were no computers then and the gaming industry was just beginning to develop. In this post, I want to tell you about the history of game consoles, which companies started their production at that time and which game consoles are being produced at the moment.

Game console(more correctly, a game console, from the English video game console) is a specialized electronic device designed and created for video games. The most commonly used output device is a television or, more rarely, a computer monitor - which is why such devices are called set-top boxes, since they are attached to an independent display device. Portable (handheld) game systems have their own built-in display device (they are not attached to anything), so calling them game consoles is somewhat incorrect.

First generation of consoles:

Magnavox Odyssey (1972)

Magnavox Odyssey- the world's first home game console. Released in May 1972, thus predating Atari's Pong system by three years.

The history of the Magnavox Odyssey began in the summer of 1966, when Ralph Baer began working on a TV set-top box that could be used to play at home. In September, he already had a plan of action and a flowchart for a game for two people. In parallel, he was developing accessories for the console (for example, in 1967 he created a prototype light gun).
Baer received the first patent for a video game on January 15, 1968, and in October of the same year presented a workable device that could already be used to play ping-pong, volleyball and football. In January 1969, the "Brown Box" prototype was presented to TV companies. After lengthy negotiations, an agreement was signed with Magnavox.
Since March 1972, the Magnavox Odyssey has been sold in stores for $99.95. About 350 thousand consoles were sold from 1972 to 1975, in 1975 the production of Odyssey was curtailed and the model was replaced by the Odyssey 100, a simple Pong-shaped console.
In addition, the Odyssey was sold by Nintendo (who did not yet have their own developments in this area) in Japan in 1975.

Pong (1975)

Pong- a series of game consoles manufactured by Atari, produced from 1975 to 1977. The consoles were sold under the brands Atari and Sears Tele-Games.

In 1973, Atari engineer Harold Lee suggested creating a home version of the Pong slot machine. The development of the set-top box, codenamed Darlene, began in early 1974 by three designers: Harold Lee, Alan Alcorn and Bob Brown, and at the end of the year the console was created. However, due to falling demand for the Magnavox Odyssey, sellers were reluctant to distribute the Atari prefix. Eventually a contract was signed with Sears to supply 150,000 consoles by Christmas 1975 to be sold under the Tele-Games brand, owned by Sears. Sales were strong (customers queued for hours at some stores), and in 1976 Atari entered the market under its own brand. For two years (1976-1977), Atari creates and releases several modifications of the set-top box, both under its own brand and under the Sears brand. In addition, the company begins to produce other types of consoles - racing and pinball. All of these gaming systems were discontinued at the end of 1977 when Atari introduced its second generation console, the Atari 2600.

Coleco Telstar (1976)

Telstar- a series of game consoles manufactured by Coleco, the basis was clones of the Atari Pong console. The first modification of Telstar was released in 1976.

In 1975, two engineers from the Scottish branch of General Instruments developed a game chip. This chip had several advantages: firstly, it was a practically finished product (very few additional components were required to create a full-fledged game console), and secondly, it allowed running six games with several difficulty levels.
Ralph Baer, ​​creator of the world's first Magnavox Odyssey game console, became aware of this development; he also knew that Coleco president Arnold Greenberg was looking for new ideas and design solutions. Baer told Greenberg about the chip, and soon Coleco was buying the AY-3-8500 and using it in their set-top boxes, called Telstar.
The prefix quickly became popular; Coleco created and released 15 console modifications, 11 of them based on the AY-3-8500 chip (and its versions 8510 and 8512). The differences between them were only in the number of games and difficulty levels, the configuration of the console, as well as in the way the image was displayed, which could be color or black and white.
Ultimately, the unoriginality of a very large lineup, as well as a gradual decline in interest in Pong-type game consoles, almost led Coleco to bankruptcy in 1980.

Second generation:

Fairchild Channel F (1976)

Fairchild Channel F- the world's second game console with interchangeable games on cartridges and the first console with a cartridge containing the program. The first set-top box to use cartridges was the Magnavox Odyssey, but its cartridge only consisted of a set of jumpers. The set-top box was released by Fairchild Semiconductor in August 1976 under the name Video Entertainment System (VES), with a retail price of US$169.95. The following year, after Atari released the VCS, the console was renamed.

The set-top box is built on the Fairchild F8 microprocessor, created by Robert Noyce before he left Fairchild to found his own company, Intel. The F8 processor was quite complex compared to typical integrated circuits of the time, and had more I/O than other chips of the time. Due to the unavailability of cases with the required number of pins at that time, the F8 was released in the form of two separate microcircuits, which together constituted a full-fledged central processing unit of the device. The graphics were quite simple, but in color, which was a step up from the Pong prefix of the same time. The sound was played through the internal speaker, not through the TV.
The game controller looked like a joystick without a base: the body had to be held in the hand, a triangular “hat” towered above it, which was moved with the second hand. The controller could be used as a joystick or paddle, the “hat” could be pressed like a trigger or pushed up. There was a special compartment in the body of the device to store the controllers when moving the set-top box - this made sense since the controller wire was too thin and was notorious for being vulnerable.
Despite its initial popularity, only 26 cartridges were produced for the console (but some cartridges contained more than one game), which were typically sold for $19.95. These were large yellow cartridges, usually with a full color sticker. The console contained two built-in games: a clone of Pong and Hockey (“hockey”). Hockey was a more complex form of Pong, the reflective racket could change into a diagonal and move back and forth.
The biggest impact of the Channel F's introduction to the market was that it pushed Atari to release and improve its next generation console, which was then in development (it was codenamed "Stella"). Atari's new machine also used cartridges, and after they saw the Channel F, they knew they needed to release a new console before the market was flooded with cartridge-based consoles. With shrinking profits from the now less popular Pong systems, Atari had to sell out to Warner Communications in order to get the cash it needed. When the Atari VCS game system (named to take away the popularity of the VES) was released a year later, it already provided significantly better picture and sound quality.

RCA Studio II (1977)

RCA Studio II is a game console developed by RCA and released in January 1977. The console's graphics were black and white and resembled those of earlier Pong-type systems. The console did not have a joystick or similar game controller, instead two 10-button keyboards were built into the body of the console.
Among the features of the console were the presence of five built-in games and the power supply of the console through a cable for connecting to the antenna jack of the TV (power and television signal were separated in a separate device at the end of the cord). This method of connection was rare and subsequently not seen until the release of the Atari 5200 game console.
The console was not a commercial success. At the time of its release, it was already obsolete compared to the earlier Fairchild Channel F. Ten months later, the even more advanced Atari 2600 console also entered the market. The RCA Studio II was discontinued in 1979.
The device and technical characteristics of the console are similar to the COSMAC VIP microcomputer, released by the same manufacturer in the same year.

Atari 2600 (1977)

Atari VCS, later called Atari 2600 appeared at Christmas 1977 and became the dominant video game console of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It became the first successful console with games on cartridges. In the 1980s in the United States, the word "Atari" was perceived as a synonym for "Atari 2600". The model usually came with two joysticks or two paddle controllers and one game - first it was Combat and then Pac-Man.

In 1975, Atari acquires the research company Cyan Engineering, with the aim of developing next-generation gaming systems. For some time, work was underway to create a prototype, known as "Stella" (that was the name of the bike of one of the engineers). Unlike previous generations of systems that contained multiple games programmed as a set of logic gates, the Stella core was a true central processing unit, which used MOS Technology 6502 in a cheaper version known as 6507. It was connected to a memory and I / O chip MOS Technology 6532 as well as video and audio chip TIA (Television Interface Adapter) of our own design. In addition to these three chips, the first version of the machine contained one more - a standard CMOS buffer chip. Thus, the number of chips was very small and the construction cost remained relatively low. In later versions of the console, the buffer chip was removed. At first, the use of a cartridge was not intended, but after seeing the semblance of a cartridge on another system, the engineers realized that they could put games on the cartridge only by adding a connector socket and packaging for it.
In August 1976, Fairchild Semiconductor released its microprocessor-based Video Entertainment System. Stella isn't ready for production yet, but it's becoming clear that it needs to be released before the 'me too' product line comes along - as happened after the release of PONG. Atari simply doesn't have enough money to quickly complete the development of the system as PONG sales are already fading. As a result, Nolan Bushnell goes to Warner Communications and sells the company to them for $28 million with the promise that Stella will be released as quickly as possible.
A key contributor to the console's success was the hiring of Jay Miner, a chip designer who managed to simplify the circuitry so that the TIA fit on a single chip. Once this was done and the system was tested, it was ready for release. At the time of its release in 1977, the development costs of the console amounted to about $100 million.

Magnavox Odyssey² (1978)

Magnavox Odyssey² is a video game console released in 1978. Known in Europe as the Philips Videopac G7000, in Brazil as the Philips Odyssey, in the US as the Magnavox Odyssey² and Philips Odyssey², among several other names.
In the early 1970s, Magnavox was an innovator in the home video game industry. They got off to a great start, introducing the Odyssey game console to the market, followed by several models with some technological improvements. In 1978, Magnavox (by which time it had already become a subsidiary of North American Philips) released the Odyssey², its second gaming console, which belongs to the second generation of gaming systems.
In the first Odyssey model, the cartridge was essentially a card with a jumper circuit that included one of the games built into the console, of which there were 10 in the European / Asian version and 12 in the American version of the console. The Odyssey², following the Fairchild Channel F and Atari 2600, used programmable ROM cartridges. With this improvement, each new game offered a truly new experience, new graphics, gameplay, sound, and new game rules. The potential of the console became much greater: each new game was now sold separately, the player could now make his own collection of games that suits his own interests. Unlike many systems of the time, the Odyssey² had a full alphanumeric membrane keyboard that was intended to be used for option selection, learning games, and programming.
The Odyssey² used the joystick design that became standard in the 1970s and early 1980s: the console originally came with a medium-sized silver controller with a square base and an 8-way controller knob; this joystick was connected to the console via a connector. Later versions came with a similar black controller that was already hard-wired to the console. At the top of the base of the controller was a single action button, silver in the original version and red in the black model.
One of the strongest points of the console was the speech synthesis module, which was released as an additional module for speech / music / sound effects.

Intellivision (1980)

Intellivision is a video game console launched by Mattel in 1979. The development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the release of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The name "Intellivision" is made up of the words "intelligent television" - "intelligent television".

The creation of Intellivision began, as with many other game consoles of the 80s, under the influence of high sales of the Atari VCS. Mattel intended to throw the king off the throne with the help of graphics that were quite advanced for those times, good games (mostly sports) and the main "option" - an additional keyboard that turned a children's toy into a full-fledged home computer.
It cannot be said that the idea was a complete failure. The first batch of 200 thousand copies was sold out in a very short time, and the keyboard mentioned above, which Mattel promised to release a little later, played a significant role in this. However, those who expected to "calculate taxes on Intellivision" (quote from the commercial) were disappointed, since the expected 90-key keyboard did not see the light of day. The production of keyboards was discontinued after a short period of trial sales due to frequent breakdowns and inconvenience in use. Instead, a device called Intellivoice was released in 1982. Being connected to the console, this module gave some games voice guidance, which was quite a unique thing at that time. At the same time, the second revision of the console itself, not too imaginatively called Intellivision II, hit the store shelves. It differed from the original version in a modified case design and a lower price (the purpose of the alteration was actually to reduce the cost of production). Another curious feature was the presence of special instructions in the ROM of the system that did not allow the use of cartridges from Coleco.
A year later, at the Consumer Electronics Show, the Intellivision III prototype was presented to the general public. The new console had a built-in voice module, unlimited color palette, 6-channel sound, large memory capacity and compatibility with all games of the original Intellivision. Later, the announced system was renamed the Entertainment Computer System, and a printer, a keyboard (finally) and an adapter that allowed running Atari 2600 games were added to the list of promised features.
But this ambitious plan, just a few months after the presentation, fell victim to the "gaming crash of 1983", as a result of which such giants as Atari and Coleco left the market. Mattel followed suit, selling all rights to its set-top box to INTV, organized by its (Mattel) former employees. The latter released another modification of the console, calling it the Super Pro System, which it sold successfully until 1990, having managed during this time, among other things, to release 35 new games for it.

Vectrex (1982)

Vectrex- An 8-bit game console developed by General Consumer Electric (GCE), later bought by the Milton Bradley Company. Vectrex is unique in that it is the only gaming system to use a vector graphics monitor; no other system, either before or since, has used a similar configuration. Vectrex has been sold to consumers since 1982 for $199; sales of the device ceased in 1984, during a downturn in the game console market.
Unlike most other game consoles that connect to a consumer TV to transmit a bitmap image (i.e. game consoles), the Vectrex had its own built-in monitor that displayed vector graphics. The monitor was monochrome, but overlaid with a translucent colored film, different for each game, which gave the illusion of color, and also reduced the flickering effect inherent in vector monitors.
One game was built into the system - "Mine Storm" (some semblance of the classic arcade game Asteroids), other games were supplied on cartridges.

Long before the progressive part of mankind began to dream of the Macintosh, there was Vectrex - a vector gaming system, according to the principle of all in one. Vector graphics were used in arcades as far back as 1980, starting with Cinemetronics Space Wars in 1978. Probably the most famous game using vector graphics was Asteroids on the Atari. In 1981, Mike Purvis and John Ross of Western Technologies/Smith Engineering attempted to use fairly cheap cathode ray tube screens to create a home gaming system using vector graphics. Jay Smith, the head of this company, ordered the continuation of the project, which was later called Mini Arcade. In the spring of 1981, the Kenner toy company became interested in the Mini Arcade, and plans were already underway to release it with a 5 inch screen and a black and white tube. However, in July, it was decided not to do this. In September of that year, General Consumer Electronis (GCE) decided to lease the Mini Arcade project, and after GCE President Greg Krakuer saw the concept design and early games, he immediately knew it was a goldmine. A few more modifications were carried out, for example, the screen size was increased to 9 inches. The system was named "Home Arcade". Prototype work began in 1981 with the goal of building the hardware and 12 games by June 1982. John Ross took over the hardware, while Harry Kahr and John Hall began building the software (the project's codename was Execution). In January 1982, a number of other changes took place.
The Vectrex was supposed to use the MOS 6502 processor, but it was found to be too slow. And it was replaced by the Motorola 6809. Also, John Hall finished one of the 12 games (later called Mine Storm). Most of these games were similar (some just exact copies) of the arcade games of the time. WT/SE entered into an agreement with the famous developer of arcade machines - Cinematronics, which gave access to all their games. The full source code became available to Vectrex programmers, and Cinematronics decided to make full versions of their arcade hits on Vecrex. After 2 months, when the Vecrex prototype was already developed, the development moved to the S100 computer, containing 2 drives - one for the operating system CPM and the other for data. In April, Scramble, Mine Storm (clone of Asteroids), Bezerk, Rip Off and Star Trek were completed. The work immediately moved to other Vectrex games, one of which was Cosmic Chasm (later it was ported to the arcade - perhaps the only case when a console game was ported to an arcade machine). Soon the decision to use colored layers was ripe. The idea of ​​using layers was also borrowed from the arcade (in which layers were used for different purposes). The early 70s machines were black and white. If you wanted color, then you had to stick a cellophane film on the screen, as was the case in Breakout on Atari or in the famous Space Invaders. Also, layers were used to smooth out some graphics defects.
For these reasons, it was decided to use layers in the Vectex system, and Miva Philoseta began their development. His first work is a layer in Bedlam. However, there were some annoying blunders, all because for some reason Miwa decided to make the layer after the game was developed. These bugs scared other developers away at first, but soon after Miwa showed off their full potential, layers became an integral part of the game. Soon Leni Carlson figured out how to add music and sound to many original games. Vecrex's ascent to the top of fame continued, Walter Nakano and Colin Vovles, together, gave a unique look to Vecrex'y 2 years before the arrival of Macintosh computers, this look was unique. The next task was to develop a controller. It was decided to make it look like an arcade. It had 4 buttons and a joystick handle at the top. Two joysticks could be connected to Vecrex'y, which allowed two people to play at once.
In June of the same year, GCE Home Arcade and its 12 games were fully completed and ready to be shown at the summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, and there was great interest in it.
In the summer of 1982, even before the launch, it turned out that another company had already given their project the name Home Arcade, so they had to change the name to Vectron. GCE did not like this name and it was changed first to Vector-X and then to Vectrex. Subsequently, the name Vectrex was assigned to this console.
Like all consoles of the time, Mine Storm games were sold on a single cartridge, the Vectrex was no exception. True, Vectrex had one game (Mine Storm) already built in. There was a funny bug in it that allowed you to get to a stage that even the game developers did not know about. The bug was subsequently fixed and a new version of the game was released on a single cartridge.
Vectrex hit US stores in November 1982 just before Christmas. A box with a console that included one built-in game - Mine Storm and one joystick cost $199. The price was not small, even for Americans, but the demand for the system was huge.

Arcadia 2001 (1982)

Arcadia 2001 is a second generation 8-bit video game console released by Emerson Radio Corporation in 1982.
The name of the console is not related to the Arcadia Corporation of the same name, which released the Starpath Supercharger expansion device for the Atari 2600. Emerson sued Arcadia Corporation for trademark infringement, forcing it to change its name to Starpath. Emerson licensed Arcadia 2001 to various companies around the world, resulting in over 30 versions of the console.
The original version of the console was initially uncompetitive at the time of its introduction in the US. Almost at the same time, the more advanced Atari 5200 and ColecoVision consoles entered the market. In addition, Atari had exclusive rights to many popular games, which made their appearance at Arcadia 2001 almost impossible.

Atari 5200 (1982)

Atari 5200 SuperSystem or simply Atari 5200 is an Atari video game console launched in 1982 as a replacement for the widely acclaimed Atari 2600. The 5200 was designed to compete with Mattel Intellivision, but shortly after the console's release, it turned out to be more competitive with ColecoVision. Some flaws in the design had a strong impact on the usability of the system, which is why the model as a whole can be considered unsuccessful.
The Atari 5200 is largely based on the Atari 400/800 8-bit computers, and the internals are almost identical to them. However, due to a number of problems, the set-top box did not retain software compatibility.
The 5200 severely lacked compatibility with the 2600, although a 2600 game adapter was later released in 1983, allowing older games to be played with the newer console's more reliable game controllers. Another problem was the lack of attention that Atari paid to the new console - most of the resources were given to the Atari 2600.

Coleco Vision (1982)

ColecoVision Coleco Industries second generation video game console released in August 1982. ColecoVision offered arcade-level graphics and gameplay, the ability to use games from other gaming systems (primarily the Atari 2600), and system scalability. The system was released simultaneously with 12 games for it, and 10 games were planned for release during 1982. During the period from 1982 to 1985, about 170 games (on cartridges) were released.

Externally, the console was a 14x8x2 inch rectangular plastic case that housed the console's electronics. The cartridge slot cover was on the top right side of the case. An external power supply and an antenna cord were connected to the connectors on the back of the console. Game controllers were placed in a special recess in the case, in the upper left part.
The design of the ColecoVision game controller was similar to that of Mattel's Intellivision (released in 1979), but had a short 1.5" joystick handle instead of a spinning dial. The joystick was at the top of the controller, above the rectangular numeric keypad. Two side buttons and a keyboard provided additional control options such as jumping, shooting, or typing a sequence of numbers. There was also a very thin slot for inserting plastic overlays containing a description of the purpose of the buttons for a particular game. The console package included two such game controllers.
Coleco entered into a licensing agreement with Nintendo that each ColecoVision included a version of the Donkey Kong game. The transfer of this game from the slot machine to ColecoVision was done perfectly, the graphics and sound effects were very similar to the original.
Most of the other games released for ColecoVision were also transfers of arcade games (many of which were not very popular at the time).
Outside the US, ColecoVision was distributed by CBS Electronics under the name CBS ColecoVision.

Third generation:

Nintendo Entertainment System (1983)

Nintendo Entertainment System(NES in the USA, Famicom (FAMIly COMputer - family computer) in Japan, Dendy (an unofficial clone in the post-Soviet space) is an eight-bit game console popular in the second half of the 1980s and early 1990s. The PAL version uses the Ricoh processor RP2C07 with a clock frequency of 1.66 MHz (1,662,607 Hz), and in the NTSC version, the RP2C02 processor with a clock frequency of 1,789,773 Hz.The maximum resolution is 256 × 240, a palette of 52 colors, of which 26 are simultaneously displayed on the screen. Supports 5-channel audio.
The console first appeared in the Japanese market in 1983 under the name Famicom, and then, renamed the NES, was released in Europe and the United States in 1985. The novelty turned out to be extremely successful, and managed to conquer almost the entire American and Japanese market. The console came with a large package of games, among which the Super Mario Bros. family of games became the most famous and best-selling. Mario became the mascot of the Nintendo Corporation. In total, according to official figures, more than 60 million consoles and more than 500 million games were sold. Since the release of the console took place shortly after the crisis of the gaming industry, many critics attribute it to the revival of the gaming market and the opening of the third generation of video consoles, as successful hardware characteristics and a rich library of games aroused interest from both consumers and developers who turned their backs on the gaming industry after collapse.
Since the early 1990s, the popularity of the NES began to decline steadily due to the emergence of more advanced sixteen-bit consoles, primarily the Sega Mega Drive and the next generation of consoles from Nintendo itself - the SNES / Super Famicom. Nevertheless, the release of the console continued until 2003.
Since 1993, the NES has appeared in Russia as a hardware clone called Dendy, illegally produced in China, distributed by Steepler. The console was officially discontinued in 1995. However, the NES game library is available to users of most modern computer systems using emulators. You can also play NES games on the Wii Virtual Console.

Atari 7800 (1984)

Atari 7800- a game console released by Atari in June 1986 (a trial release took place two years earlier). The 7800 was designed to replace the failed Atari 5200 and to restore Atari's dominance in the video game console market it shared with Nintendo and Sega. In this system, Atari eliminated all the shortcomings of the Atari 5200: instead of analog joysticks, it had simple digital joysticks, it was almost completely compatible with the Atari 2600, and it was even cheaper - the starting price was $140.
The 7800 was the first Atari gaming system developed by an outside company (General Computer Corporation; after that, the Atari Lynx and Atari Jaguar were developed outside the company). The system was designed to be upgraded to a full-fledged home computer - a keyboard was designed, which also had an expansion port (it was a SIO port from the 8-bit Atari family) for connecting peripherals such as a floppy drive or printer.

SEGA Master System (1986)

SEGA Master System- 8-bit game console released by SEGA in 1986 in the United States, and in 1987 in Europe and Japan.
*console history in development*

Fourth generation:

PC Engine (1987)

PC Engine- game console released by NEC in Japan on October 30, 1987, in North America at the end of August 1989 under the name TurboGraphx-16. There was no official PAL version of the set-top box, but it was available as a gray import in the UK and continental Europe in 1990 under the Turbografx name.
The PC Engine was an 8-bit set-top box with a 16-bit graphics processor capable of displaying 482 colors simultaneously.
The PC Engine at that time was a new generation system. The carriers were HuCard cartridges. Thanks to the graphics, the console dominated the Japanese market during that period. NEC was the first company to release games on CD, which could be played using an additional device - Turbografx CD.

Sega Mega Drive (1988)

Sega Mega Drive- 16-bit game console released by SEGA in 1988 in Japan, and in 1990 in Europe and other countries. In North America, the console was released under the Genesis name, as Sega was unable to trademark the Mega Drive there.

In Japan, the console was released on October 29, 1988. It was originally planned that Atari would distribute the new console in the United States, but the parties could not reach a mutually beneficial agreement, as a result of which SEGA decided to distribute the consoles on its own. The first batches of consoles were delivered to New York and Los Angeles on August 14, 1989, deliveries to other cities came a little later.
In Europe, sales began only on November 30, 1990. By that time, the previous console released by Sega, the Sega Master System, had taken a solid market share, thanks to which the Sega Mega Drive quickly gained popularity. In addition, immediately after the appearance of a new set-top box in European markets, a powerful advertising campaign was launched. At this time, many games were released for the new platform, many were ported from slot machines - Altered Beast, Golden Ax, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, but many independent projects were also created. Sonic the Hedgehog has sold record-breaking sales in North America, Brazil, Japan, and a number of European countries.
Initially, the Sega Mega Drive competed only with the NES console released by Nintendo. By that time, the NES was technically very outdated and could hardly oppose the new set-top box. The only advantage of the NES was its low price, which made the console accessible to most potential users. Thanks to this, the console sold well in Japan until the end of the nineties.
The Super Famicom (also known as the Super NES), released in early 1990, was billed as the most powerful 16-bit console ever. But in some ways the Super Famicom outperformed the Sega MD, while in others it fell far behind. A striking example of this is the Super Famicom processor, which was more than twice as weak as the Sega MD. Nevertheless, Nintendo was beginning to take over the market. Thanks to the support of many development companies (including Electronic Arts), Sega MD has long and successfully competed with the new creation of Nintendo.
The fate of the console was a foregone conclusion after a series of extremely unsuccessful marketing moves. In particular, additional devices, such as the Sega Mega CD (CD reader), required considerable production costs, which in the end did not justify themselves, having suffered considerable losses, Sega engineers began developing a new 32-bit console - the Sega Saturn . Despite the fact that in the mid-nineties Sega actually stopped supporting the Mega Drive, games for it were released until 1998, and in Brazil it occupied about 75% of the market, even after the release of 32-bit consoles such as Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn and Panasonic 3DO.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1990)

Super Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as the Super Nintendo, Super NES, and SNES, is a 16-bit game console released by Nintendo in the United States, Brazil, Europe, and Australia. In Japan, it is known as Super Famicom (Super Family Computer). In South Korea, it was called Super Cowboy and distributed by Hyundai Electronics.
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System became Nintendo's second home console, following the NES (released as the Famicom in Japan). The system gained great popularity in much of Asia, but nevertheless failed to match the popularity of its predecessor in Southeast Asia and North America due to a lot of competition from the Sega Mega Drive. Despite its late start, the SNES became the best-selling console of the 16-bit era, but not until Sega exited the 16-bit market to focus on the 32-bit market.

When the original NES/Famicom was at the height of its popularity, other companies were developing their own game consoles. In 1987 and 1988 respectively, NEC and Sega released their consoles: the PC Engine (known in the States as the TurboGrafx 16) and the Mega Drive/Genesis (one of the first 16-bit home consoles). While the NES may have continued to dominate the video game market, it was technically obsolete by then. At first, Nintendo executives expressed no interest in developing the new system, but the growing market for the Sega Mega Drive and NEC PC Engine consoles forced Nintendo to change its mind.
Masayuki Uemura, who had been in charge of Famicom development a few years earlier, was put in charge of Super Famicom development. It was released in Japan on November 12, 1990 for ¥25,000. The instant sale of 300,000 units in a few hours attracted the attention of the yakuza, which led to the decision to deliver the consoles at night to avoid robbery. In Japan, the Super Famicom became much more popular than its main rival, the Mega Drive, and Nintendo retained control of 85% of the Japanese console market. This was partly due to the fact that third-party Famicom game developers stayed with it, including Capcom, Konami, Tecmo, Square Co., Ltd., Koei, and Enix.
Nine months later, in August 1991 (early sources give the date as August 13, but an exact date is impossible due to uncoordinated North American video game vendors at the time), Nintendo released the Super Famicom in the US. For the American market, the case was redesigned, and the system itself was called the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Retailing for $199, the North American bundle included Super Mario World. The SNES was released in England and Ireland in April 1992 for £150, followed by a German release a few weeks later. The PAL versions of the console look identical to the Japanese Super Famicom, except for the logos.
Nintendo's victory in the Japanese market was not repeated in America and Europe. By the time the SNES was launched in these countries, the Sega Mega Drive had already won a large share of the market, mainly due to the lower price of the console and games, as well as Sega's aggressive marketing, and the big popularity of the console itself. In addition, many players expected backward compatibility of new consoles with older games (as was the case with the Atari 2600 and Atari 7800), but the SNES did not have support for NES games.
The rivalry between Nintendo and Sega has sparked the most uncompromising console war in video game history. Nintendo never managed to get the lead in the PAL region, and didn't try to do so in the US until 1994, when Sega pulled out of the 16-bit console market.
Super Nintendo appeared in Russia in 1995, and was distributed through the same dealer network that also sold Dendy. Along with licensed cartridges, pirated ones were also sold, which did not differ in price.
In 1996, the era of 16-bit consoles ended, and with the advent of a new generation of consoles, including the Nintendo 64, the popularity of the SNES began to decline. In October 1997, Nintendo released an updated version of the console, the SNES-2, in the United States for $99 (which included Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island). As with the NES-2, the new model was smaller and lighter than its predecessor, but lacked the S-Video and RGB outputs. At the same time, Super Famicom Jr. was released for the Japanese market with similar changes.
Nintendo of America ceased production of the SNES in 1999. In Japan, the Super Famicom continued to be produced until September 2003 (new games were released until 2000). In recent years, many SNES games have been ported to the Game Boy Advance handheld game console, which has a similarly capable video system. Some critics refer to the SNES era as the "golden age of video games", pointing to the large number of popular games developed for the system.
In 2005, it was announced that Super NES games would be available on the new Nintendo Wii console through the Virtual Console service. For now, all SNES games developed by Nintendo for the US market are expected to be available. There is no official information about the possible availability of games from third-party developers and games released for the Japanese and European markets.

Neo-Geo (1991)

Neo Geo is a game console (originally a slot machine) created by the Japanese company SNK in 1991. Unlike the slot machine, the console version did not gain popularity due to the high price. Later, a version with a CD drive was released, but it also did not gain popularity due to long game downloads. The release was discontinued in December 1997.
The games released for this console offered users fairly high-quality 2D graphics and high-quality sound.
The set-top box used a Motorola 68000 central processor with a frequency of 12 MHz (or its clones), as well as a Zilog Z80 coprocessor with a frequency of 4 MHz. Sound processor: 15-channel Yamaha YM2610.
Main memory (RAM) - 64 Kb, video memory 68 Kb, sound memory - 2 Kb. Screen resolution - 320x224.

Fifth generation:

Amiga CD32

Amiga CD32- 32-bit game console based on CD-ROM. Often referred to as the first home 32-bit gaming system, but this is not entirely true (see FM Towns Marty). Its launch took place at the Science Museum in London (UK) on July 16, 1993. Sales in Europe began in September 1993. The CD32 was based on the Commodore AGA chipset, and its characteristics were similar to those of the Amiga 1200 computer. It was possible to add a keyboard, disk drive, and mouse to the CD32, which turned it into a personal computer. An MPEG video decoding module was also available for Video CD playback.

Atari Jaguar

Atari Jaguar- a game console released in November 1993 by Atari as an alleged competitor to the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis and SNES [source not specified 112 days]. At one time, it was a powerful platform for the next (fifth in a row) generation of television game consoles. It went on sale for $249.99. It was advertised as "the first 64-bit system," which was a clever publicity stunt.

However, a limited number of games were released for the console, most of which were of poor quality, which negatively affected sales of the console. The reasons for the failure also include an unsuccessfully chosen media (cartridge) and pricing policy. The introduction of the PlayStation in late 1995, using an incomparably larger storage medium (CD), having a decent starter set of video games, and selling at the same time at a price of only $ 300, doomed the Atari Jaguar to failure. Between the end of 1993 and the end of 1995, only 125,000 copies were sold. Although the manufacturer attempted to attract consumer interest in the console by hastily releasing an Atari Jaguar CD adapter, a Memory Track game state device, and a JagLink dual console gamer, these actions failed to increase sales. Having suffered serious losses, Atari was forced to leave the game console market.

Despite the economic failure, the console later achieved cult status among video game fans, mainly due to a decent base of amateur games written for it by the players themselves.

Sega Saturn

Sega Saturn(Jap. セガサターン Sega Sata:n?) is a 32-bit game console. It was released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 1995 in the US, and July 8, 1995 in Europe. 170,000 copies were sold on its first day of launch in Japan. But only 5,000 copies were sold on the weekend in the US. The most popular console was in France.

PlayStation

Sony PlayStation(Japanese: プレイステーション) is a game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment under the direction of Ken Kutaragi and first released in the mid-1990s. The PlayStation is a 32-bit system that was the first in a series of widely distributed gaming systems. The PlayStation was released in Japan on December 3, 1994, in the US on September 9, 1995, and in Europe on September 29, 1995. The console proved to be very popular, providing Sony with a breakthrough in the gaming industry, where Nintendo and Sega. To date, over 100 million PlayStations have been sold worldwide.
The first concept ideas for the PlayStation date back to 1986. Nintendo has been trying to use discs since the NES (Famicom Disk System), but there were problems with the media. The recording made on a magnetic disk was easily erased, in addition, there was a danger of piracy. So when the CDROM/XA specification appeared (an extension of the CD-ROM standard that allows both compressed audio and arbitrary binary data to be written to a disc), Nintendo became interested in it. CDROM/XA was developed by Sony and Philips. Nintendo approached Sony to develop an add-on tentatively called "SNES-CD". A contract was signed and work began. The choice of Sony as a partner was made because of previous deals: Ken Kutaragi, the man who would later be called the "father of the PlayStation", was the one who persuaded Nintendo to use the Sony SPC700 processor as a sound synthesizer for the SNES, making an impressive demonstration of the possibilities chip.

Sony also planned to develop its own Nintendo-compatible game console, one that could play games from both Super Nintendo cartridges and CDs in a format that Sony would develop. This format was to be the format used for SNES-CDs, which would give Sony some control over the video game market, despite Nintendo's dominance.

In 1989, the SNES-CD was to be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). However, when Hiroshi Yamauchi read the 1988 contract between Sony and Nintendo, he realized that the agreement gave Sony full control over any product released in the SNESCD-ROM format. Yamauchi was furious: considering the contract completely unacceptable, he secretly canceled all plans to release a joint product. On the opening day of CES, at 9 a.m., instead of announcing a collaboration with Sony, Nintendo director Howard Lincoln took the podium and announced that his company was starting a partnership with Philips and throwing away all the developments made jointly with Sony. Before that, Lincoln and Minoru Arakawa secretly visited Philips headquarters in Europe and formed an alliance on completely different terms, giving Nintendo full control over all licenses.

The morning announcement at CES was a shock not only to the organizers of the exhibition (the previous evening Sony optimistically presented a project called "Play Station"), but also to many members of the Japanese business community, who viewed the rejection as a severe betrayal: one Japanese company humiliates another Japanese company in favor of a European company - for Japanese businessmen it looked unthinkable.
After the collapse of the alliance, Sony decided to stop development, but in the end the company decided to use what was gained at the moment and create a complete, completely independent console. This led to Nintendo suing Sony for breach of contract and attempting to obtain an injunction through the US Federal Court on the grounds that Nintendo had the rights to its name. The federal judge who heard the case ordered a judicial arrest on the new console. Thus, in October 1991, the publication of the first reincarnation of the Sony PlayStation was stopped.

By the end of 1992, Sony and Nintendo had come to an agreement whereby the "Sony Play Station" would still be able to play ported games from the SNES, but Nintendo would own the rights and receive a share of the profits from the games, and the SNES would still use the sound chip from Sony. However, at that time, Sony already realized that SNES technology would soon be a thing of the past, and the next generation of consoles was just around the corner. In early 1993, Sony began work on refining the "Play Station" concept into the next generation of hardware and software; during this process, the SNES cartridge port was discarded, the space between the words of the name was removed - the time of the birth of the PlayStation was approaching.

Nintendo 64

Nintendo 64(Ultra 64, N64) - 64-bit game console. Developed by the Japanese company Nintendo together with Silicon Graphics. It was released in 1996 (June 23 in Japan and September 29 in the US) and was the answer to the consoles of competitors Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn. The clock frequency of the central processor is 93.75 MHz, the graphics one is 62.5 MHz. Equipped with 4.5 MB of RAM. The maximum resolution was 640×480 at 24-bit color depth. Thanks to the participation of Silicon Graphics, this console has a lot of innovations related to three-dimensional graphics: texture smoothing, MIP-mapping, etc. A cartridge up to 64 MB was chosen as a game medium.

Together with the console, Nintendo released the first 3D platform game Super Mario 64, which showed off its innovations in all its glory. This gave the initial impetus. However, at first there were very few games for the Nintendo 64: not everyone was given programming features for it, in addition, many were frightened off by the outdated media format (both main competitors had already switched to CDs, which had a large capacity and were more convenient and cheaper). Nintendo itself was not ready to fully provide its console with game projects. But by 1998, the situation improved, and the N64 took second place in the game console market after the PlayStation (the Saturn project could already be considered a failure at that time).

Sixth generation of game consoles:

PlayStation 2

PlayStation 2(PS2) (Japanese プレイステーション2 Pureisute:shōn Tsu:?) is the second game console released by Sony, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor of the PlayStation 3. Development was announced in March 1999, the sale of the console in Japan began on March 4, 2000 in North America on October 26, 2000 and in Europe on November 24, 2000.

The PS2 is the sixth generation video game console that has become the fastest selling and arguably the most popular video game console in the history of computer gaming. For 2008 in the world
sold over 140 million PS2 units.
The "father" of the PlayStation is called Ken Kutaragi, who was at the head of the group engaged in the development and release to the market first of the PlayStation (in 1994), and then the PlayStation 2.

In the first year of release, Sony faced serious problems associated with low production volumes of the set-top box in factories, and with constant shortages of the set-top box in the retail network. The developers constantly complained about the difficulties in obtaining documentation and support, and also that the system is very difficult to program [source not specified 123 days]. By the end of 2000, only a few million people were able to purchase the console. A popular way to quickly get a set-top box has been to purchase it on online auction sites such as eBay. The console's successful launch was fueled by the strength of the Sony brand, as well as backward compatibility with the previous model, which sold 900,000 consoles in the first week of sales in Japan alone.

One of the most notable features of the campaign was the "PS9" commercial, which depicted events in such a way that the release of the PS2 was the next step towards the final, 9th version of the console. The same video was used in the advertising campaign for the PlayStation Portable.

Many analysts predicted a three-way rivalry between the PS2 and its rivals, the Microsoft Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube (the latter being the cheapest of the three and having an open game market [source unspecified 123 days]). However, the release of several blockbuster games during the 2001 Christmas season gave the PS2 a strong boost, enough for it to break away from the competition.

While Sony didn't put much emphasis on online gaming in its early years, that changed with the release of the Xbox, which originally had this feature. Sony adapted to this in late 2002 by releasing several popular games (such as SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs) with online multiplayer support. Sony was heavily advertised and its online model was supported by Electronic Arts. Sony, like Nintendo, was late thinking about supporting online games. While both firms have gone down the path of using a decentralized model for such games, where it is the responsibility of the developer to provide game servers, Sony's attempt to provide this capability has been one of the keys to the PS2's sales success.

In September 2004, before the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (the best-selling game of the 2004 New Year's season), Sony introduced a new, smaller version of the console. In preparation for the launch of the new model (SCPH-70000), in the summer of 2004, Sony stopped production of the old one (SCPH-5000x) in order to empty the current stocks in the warehouses of the set-top box's distribution channels. Later, in some cities, this led to a delay in sales of the new model. For example, this happened in the UK, due to the fact that a Russian oil tanker got stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking a ship from China with a cargo of PS2 consoles destined for the UK; during one week in November, the console sold 6,000 units in that country, up from 70,000 sales the previous week. Supply shortages were also felt in North America on Christmas Eve.

Xbox

Xbox is a video game console designed and manufactured by Microsoft. First went on sale November 15, 2001. This is Microsoft's first independent entry into the game console market after a joint project with SEGA to develop a version of the Windows CE operating system for the Dreamcast game console. The Microsoft Xbox directly competed with the Sony PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube. The successor to the Xbox was the Xbox 360.

Nintendo GameCube

Nintendo GameCube[Nintendo Game Cube] (Japanese: ゲームキューブ; originally called Dolphin during development; official abbreviation GCN) is Nintendo's fourth video game console, belonging to the sixth generation of gaming systems. The GameCube itself was the smallest and cheapest gaming console in its sixth generation. The GameCube was released on September 14, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America for $199.95; May 3, 2002 in Europe; and May 17, 2002 in Australia.

The GameCube was first mentioned in issue #145 of Nintendo Power magazine. Luigi's Mansion was the first game (Issue #150).

The GameCube is the successor to the Nintendo 64 and the predecessor of the Wii, which retains backward compatibility with games, game controllers, and GameCube memory cards.

This gaming platform has several exclusive projects such as the remake of the first Resident Evil with completely overhauled graphics, animations and voice acting. After the modifications, the game has found a much better, in comparison with the original, modified engine. Another exclusive is Resident Evil Zero, which begins the day before the storyline of the first Resident Evil. This list also includes Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, a heavily remastered version of the Metal Gear Solid game.

The media used were specially designed for the console discs based on the Mini-DVD format with a diameter of eight centimeters.

dreamcast

dreamcast SEGA's fifth and final game console and successor to the Sega Saturn. As an attempt to win over the market during the sixth generation of gaming systems, the Dreamcast was designed to compete with the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. The console was released fifteen months before the release of the PlayStation 2 and three years before the GameCube with the Xbox. However, it failed to gain enough popularity before the release of the PlayStation 2, and Sega decided to close the project and leave the game console market.

The seventh generation of game consoles:

Xbox 360

Xbox 360- the seventh generation game console from Microsoft. [source not specified 125 days] Developed in collaboration with IBM, ATI and SiS. [source not specified 125 days] The Xbox Live service allows you to play online, download a variety of content such as demos, trailers , music, TV shows, etc. [source not specified 125 days] Positioned as the main competitor of the Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. There are three editions of the console available: Arcade, Pro, and Elite (Core and Premium versions are discontinued, replaced by Arcade and Pro, respectively). [source not specified 125 days]

On November 22, 2005, the official launch took place in the United States. Over 400,000 Xbox 360 sets were sold in the US in the first two weeks from the start of sales. By the end of 2005, launches of the system in Europe and Japan followed. The release in Japan turned out to be a failure - only 420 thousand consoles were sold in a year and a half.

The name Xbox 360 was not immediately chosen by Microsoft. Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox Next, and NextBox variants were discussed. The Xbox 2 variant was abandoned due to the name of the main competitor - the PlayStation 3.

Wii

Nintendo Wii(Nintendo Ui) is a game console (MFA: [ˈwiː], pronounced as the English pronoun we (we)) of the 7th generation, the 5th home console from Nintendo and the successor to the Nintendo GameCube. Until April 27, 2006, when the console's official name was announced, it was codenamed Revolution. As a 7th generation gaming system, it is a direct competitor to the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony Play Station 3. Although Nintendo does not position its Wii as a rival to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, it is considered to be the seventh generation in terms of release time (the period between the releases of the Xbox 360 and PS3), as well as innovative game controllers. Nintendo claims that its console is aimed at a wider audience than both competitors. A distinctive feature of the console is the wireless Wii Remote controller, which reacts to the player's movements.

PlayStation 3

Sony PLAYSTATION 3, PS3(Japanese プレイステーション 3 Pureisute: sen Suri:?) is a seventh-generation game console, the third (formally), but the fourth, taking into account the PSP (PS1, PS2, PSP and, then, PS3) in the PlayStation family of game systems. With the PS3, you can play games, watch movies, listen to music, send email, and surf the web. PS3 has also supported most PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games since its launch.

The main competitors of the console are Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii. The PS3 was released in Japan on November 11, 2006, on November 17 the console appeared in North America (including Mexico in the first quarter of 2007), and in March 2007 in Europe. Initially, there were two system configurations, the main difference of which was the amount of hard disk: 20 GB in the cheaper version and 60 GB in the complete set. The 20 GB model was relatively popular in Japan, but was discontinued in North America on April 11, 2007 due to low demand. On July 9, 2007, Sony announced that the 80 GB model would be available in North America in August 2007. Also on October 5, 2007, a version with a 40 GB hard drive appeared, which did not support games from the Sony PlayStation 2 and without a built-in card reader. On August 20, 2008, an update to this version appeared with an 80 GB hard drive. It is equipped with a DualShock 3 joystick and, like the previous 40 GB model, has only 2 USB connectors and does not support the PlayStation 2 format.

At the moment [when?] sales of the console with a 60 GB disk in Russia are officially discontinued. Thus, three versions of the console remained on the Russian market - with hard drives of 40, 80 and 160 GB (sales of the latter began on October 31, 2008).

At the Gamescom exhibition in Cologne, which took place from August 20 to 23, 2009, a new version of the console was announced, in the gaming world called PS3 Slim (officially called Playstation 3 120 Gb), which is smaller in size and consumes less energy, is quieter, but does not allow installation of other operating systems (such as Linux). At the same conference, a price reduction for the console was announced. [source not specified 24 days]

The appearance in stores of PS3 Slim caused a huge surge of interest in the Sony console. In Japan, she even managed to break her own record. So, in the first two days of sales of the original PS3 in Japan, 88,000 copies of the console were sold out, while the PS3 Slim sold out in excess of 150,000 units in three days. Similar data comes from the UK - analysts note a 999% increase in sales.

nintendo ds

nintendo ds(abbreviated NDS or DS) - the next generation of handheld game consoles from Nintendo after the Game Boy Advance SP. The console was released in 2004 in Canada, the United States and Japan.

The Nintendo DS features a "clamshell" design with two LCD screens, with the bottom screen being stylus or finger touch-sensitive (stylus recommended), which is used in many games. A special screen coating ensures durability, and the stylus attached to the console is attached to the rear panel. The console has a built-in microphone, which is used in some games to give voice commands or exchange voice messages with other consoles. The Nintendo DS supports the IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) wireless communication standard, which allows you to simultaneously connect 16 consoles located at a distance of up to 10-30 meters from each other. For many games, multiple players only need one game cartridge. The console also has a clock and an alarm clock.

Nintendo DS stereo sound provides a surround sound effect, stereo headphones are supported.

Since January 26, 2006, a new version of the console is available - Nintendo DS Lite, featuring smaller sizes, improved design, and brighter screens.

On October 2, 2008, the Nintendo DSi, the third model of the Nintendo DS family, was announced in Tokyo. The thickness of the device is smaller, the GBA slot has disappeared, 2 cameras, 256 MB of internal flash memory and an SDHC slot have appeared.

PlayStation Portable

PlayStation Portable(official abbreviation for PSP, also known as PSP-1000 and PSP FAT) is a handheld video game console manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. The PlayStation Portable is Sony's third product in the PlayStation line. The PSP was announced at E3 2003, and the first console was shown to the public on May 11, 2004 at a press conference held by Sony as part of E3 2004. The console was first sold in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005.

The PlayStation Portable is the first handheld game console to use the Universal Media Disc (UMD) optical drive as its main storage medium. another PSP.

GP2X

The GP2X is a portable computer using open source software based on Linux, which is a handheld game console and multimedia player. Manufactured by GamePark Holdings (GPH), founded by former Game Park employees. Its predecessor can be considered GP32 which was developed by Game Park.

GP2X can emulate systems such as Game Boy Advance, Mega CD, Neo Geo, Sega Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, Commodore 64, NES, Pc-engine/TurboGrafx 16 and more.

Nintendo DS Lite

Nintendo DS Lite(sometimes shortened to DSLite) is a dual-screen handheld video game console designed and manufactured by Nintendo. It is a lighter, thinner, improved version of the Nintendo DS with a "sleeker" design (which borrows elements from the Game Boy Advance SP) aimed at a wider audience.

As of December 31, 2008, worldwide sales of the Nintendo DS Lite were 75.74 million.

PlayStation Portable Slim and Lite

PlayStation Portable(official abbreviation PSP) is a portable game console manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. At E3 2007, Sony announced a new version of the PSP, which went on sale in September 2007.

A long time ago, to play video games, children and teenagers had to go to game rooms. Now everything has changed - children play their favorite video games on their own, sitting on the couch at home. Where did it all start?

And it all started with engineer Ralph Baer. While designing a television in 1951 in New York, he first thought about interactive television. And already in 1966, Baer creates a simple video game for two players, Chase. To display the image of the game, a regular TV was used. In this simplest game, two dots were chasing each other around the screen.

In 1968, the first prototype of the Brown Box video console was released. It had two controllers, a light gun, and sixteen switches to select which game to play.

Baer tried to negotiate with several manufacturers. As a result, an agreement was reached with Magnavox in 1969. Already in May 1972, the Magnavox Odyssey was released - one of the first game consoles that used cartridges.

In August 1976, Fairchild Semiconductor released the world's first microprocessor-based game console with the ability to use cartridge games, the Fairchild VES.

However, the real "home" game console becomes in 1977, when Atari released the video game console VCS (Video Computer System), later known as the Atari2600. In the same year, Nintendo released its TV Game 6 game console. However, the Atari2600 quickly became the most popular of all the early game consoles.

In 1978, Magnavox launched its Odyssey microprocessor console in the US and Canada. Philips Electronics releases the same set-top box in Europe under the name Philips G7000. Prior to this, Philips also developed the Interton VC 4000 family of more powerful consoles.

In those days (however, as now) arcades were very popular. And Midway releases its first game that could keep score. What was her name? World famous "Space Invaders"!

In 1979, Activision was formed from programmers who left Atari. She became the first third-party video game developer. In the next few years, several new developers appear, following in the footsteps of Activision.

In 1980, a huge number of classic arcade games were created. For example, the well-known video games from Atari 'Asteroids' or from Namco 'Pacman', which can now be easily played on portable game consoles like the Nintendo DS.

In the same year, Mattel releases the Intellivision prefix. It had a unique processor with 10-bit wide instructions and 16-bit registers. However, it was more expensive than the Atari console. In addition, Atari held the exclusive rights to port games from most popular arcade machines. So it remained the leader in the video console market.

In 1982, the market was already saturated with game consoles. Store shelves began to fill with low-quality games from new third-party developers. Personal computers became more and more accessible to the common man. The result was a crisis in December 1982 that continued throughout 1983.

Magnavox and Coleco closed their game divisions and left the market for good. Atari was sold, the rest went bankrupt. Those who remained afloat had to change. Thus, Activision survives and continues development through restructuring. Only the name remains of the original company. For several years, the video game industry became unprofitable. The strongest companies remained afloat - Nintendo, Sega and Atari - the leading competitors in the market.

In 1983, Nintendo releases an "entertainment system" - the NES "Nintendo Entertainment System" known in Japan as the Famicom (from the English family computer - family computer). It is with the release of this console that the revival of the video game industry is associated. By 1985, this console is conquering the American market.

However, despite the dominance of the NES, other popular consoles were present on the market - Sega Master System and Atari 7800. In addition, in 1987, sales of the Sharp X68000 set-top box began in Japan.

At this time, the first role-playing computer games and 2D side-view games such as Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog. And also the first parts of many famous game series are released: Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Quest, Metroid, Mega Man, Metal Gear, Castlevania, Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star and Bomberman.

On October 30, 1987, the 16-bit NEC PC Engine (known as the TurboGrafx-16 in the North American market) was released. Game consoles are becoming popular again. The main competitors are the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Mega Drive consoles. The battle for market share between the two biggest companies in the gaming industry at the time, Nintendo and Sega, was one of the most significant chapters in video game history.

By 1995, Atari could not compete and left the game console market. However, a new competitor is emerging - Sony, whose popularity is growing and breaking into the lead among game console manufacturers. This year, Sony releases the 'Playstation', a 32-bit game console with CDs, Sega releases the 'Saturn', and Nintendo releases the 'Nintendo 64', which were the last game consoles with cartridges.

November 27, 1998, the Sega Dreamcast is released. The first 128-bit game console. However, in March 2001, the production of the Dreamcast was discontinued.

In March 2000, Sony releases the PlayStation 2 and becomes the absolute leader in the game console market, selling over 100 million game consoles. The Playstation 2 was the first game console to have the ability to play the games of its predecessor.

Over the following years, Nintendo released the Gamecube. Nintendo led the way in handheld game consoles with the introduction of the Gameboy Advance, which could play with both Gameboy and Gameboy Color cartridges.

In 2006, a new leader in the gaming console industry is ignited - Microsoft, which released the next generation console, ahead of Sony and Nintendo. 'XBox 360' introduces higher graphics and online multiplayer capability. This console was introduced for Christmas 2005. However, many consoles were returned due to malfunctions.

Sony released the Playstation 3 in November 2006 instead of the stated release date (Spring 2006) due to copyright issues. Sony is said to have invested over $800 million in the development, research and production of this game console.

Well, Nintendo releases its 'Revolution' console, renamed 'Wii', for Christmas 2006. Undoubtedly, the end of 2006 was a turning point in the development of game consoles.

By 2008, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo remain the leaders in the gaming console market. Moreover, in recent years, more and more interest in portable set-top boxes.

It is possible that the future of the gaming industry lies behind their development.

It is also worth noting that Bayer managed the second modification of the TV Game chassis.
The second version of the TV Game chassis worked as a chief engineer at Sanders Associates, and after creating and beta testing the world's first game console, he took it to Herbert Kampman, the head of his company, for judgment. After the presentation, Kampman approved the financing and development of this line of business for the company. And already in 1967, an official draft of the game appeared, for which a light gun was developed and a little later the third ping-pong game. Based on these games, the first official prototype of the Brown Box game console was created. The prefix represented the opportunity to play for two players, use a light gun and switches to choose a game, there were 16 of them in total, mainly there were sports-themed games - football, hockey, volleyball, etc.

brown box

First generation (1972-1977)

In 1969, Bayer, in order to switch to mass production, negotiates with Magnavox, which, in turn, makes adjustments to the console component. After finalizing the console by Magnavox, the console loses the game switches, the switches become software, the console also loses the light gun, thereby the company is trying to reduce the cost of production. In May 1972, a console called the Magnavox Odyssey was born.

During the year of sales, almost 100 thousand Magnavox Odyssey game consoles were sold, and by the time the Magnavox Odyssey series of game consoles appeared, about 350 thousand. The appearance in 1975 of a whole series of Magnavox Odyssey game consoles was due to the task of reducing the cost and simplifying production. Many console models are emerging, with several games ranging from 3 to 24.

In 1975, Atari released its version of the Atari pong game console.

In 1976, the Coleco game console was born. The prefix was called Telstar.

From 1975 to 1976, Philips produced the first set-top box using cartridges - the Philips Tele-Spiel ES-2201. But the cost of the set-top box was excessively high, and its production stopped in 1976 ...

At that time, the game console market was just gaining momentum, and in 1976, the calculator manufacturer, APF Electronics Inc, released its ping-pong-type console - APF TV Fun. But the prefix did not last long - until 1977.

Second generation (1976-1984)

August 1976 - Fairchild Semiconductor releases the world's second console with interchangeable games on cartridges and the first with a cartridge containing the program - Fairchild Channel F. It is worth noting that the console was based on the Fairchild F8 microprocessor, developed by Robert Noyce, in the future Robert left Fairchild Semiconductor and founded his own, calling it Intel.

The leader of the second generation of Atari 2600 consoles went on sale for Christmas 1977.
In 1979, the Atari 2600 became the best-selling set-top box, with about a million consoles sold. After that, Atari buys a license for the Space Invaders arcade, which greatly increases its popularity. The game's release in May 1980 doubled the console's sales to 2 million units a year. Moreover, over the next two years, sales increased at the same pace and in 1982, 8 million consoles were already sold. The decline of the popularity of the Atari 2600 falls on 1983, when the appearance of cheap home computers leads to a crisis in the game console market.

Magnavox OdysseyІ - the release of the console took place in 1978, while Magnavox already belonged to North American Philips. And so in some countries the prefix was called differently - Philips Videopac G7000, Philips Odyssey and Magnavox OdysseyІ. The appearance of the keyboard can be considered an innovation of the console.

Mattel also fought for a buyer in gaming systems from 1978 to 1983. The main weapon in this fight was the Intellivision brand, under this brand the company released 3 different modifications of set-top boxes. But just like the crisis in the game console market, it did not spare such giants as Atari and Coleco, it forced Mattel to sell the company, and its former employees became the company's buyers.

In 1982, the super-popular Atari 2600 was replaced by the Atari 5200, the prefix took a lot from the Atari 400/800 computers, but never gained such popularity as its predecessor.

Also in 1982, Milton Bradley introduced the Vectrex, the only gaming system to use the vector graphics monitor included with the console. To this day, no manufacturer has ever repeated this feat.

The same 1982, the popularity of the Atari 2600 also haunts the Emerson Radio Corporation, and in order to bite off its piece of such a profitable pie, it releases Arcadia 2001. But the idea and implementation turned out to be a failure, because. by that time, new developments from Atari and Coleco, the Atari 5200 and ColecoVision, had already begun to appear.

In general, 1982 was a very prolific year in terms of the emergence of new developments, ColecoVision by Coleco, appeared in the same year. Between 1982 and 1985, 170 games were released for this system.

Sega's first game console, called the SEGA Game 1000, was released in 1983 and lasted about 2 years.

Third generation (1983-1992)

In 1983, Nintendo releases a console called Famicom to the Japanese market, and after 2 years in Europe and the USA it also appears under the name Nintendo Entertainment System or simply NES, unfortunately, this name is little known in our country, but we all know it well under the name Dendy. In total, according to official figures, more than 60 million consoles and more than 500 million games for it were sold. You can also easily purchase copies of it now on radio markets and on the Internet. In the early 90s, due to the advent of 16-bit consoles, its popularity began to fall. But not in Russia, where its Chinese clone called Dendy was sold.

In 1986, Sega also introduced its third-generation 8-bit gaming system, the Sega Master System. This gaming system became popular in Europe and Latin America, but in the US and Japan, she lost the fight for a buyer of Nintendo. In Brazil, the console is still being produced.

In June 1986, Atari makes an attempt to correct its mistakes and releases the Atari 7800 to replace the Atari 5200. The new console has become almost completely compatible with the more than popular Atari 2600 and at the same time was cheaper.

Fourth generation (1987-1996)

On October 30, 1987, Nec unfolds the 4th round of the history of development and competition in the game console market by releasing the PC Engine prefix in Japan, and a little later in North America under the name TurboGrafx-16. It is also worth noting that NEC was the first to release games on CD, but this required the use of an additional device called the Turbografx CD. Unfortunately, such innovations did not allow the company to take a large share of the market from Nintendo and Sega in North America, but it gained popularity and excellent sales in Japan.

On October 29, 1988, Sega releases under the name Sega Mega Drive in the Land of the Rising Sun, a year later sales also began in North America, but already under the name Sega Genesis. Well, players from Europe had to wait until November 30, 1990.
In 1991, Sega released its Sonic branded game.
After a series of unsuccessful moves on the part of the company's management, the popularity of the set-top box in most countries began to fall, and the company took up the development of a 32-bit Sega Saturn system. Games for this console were released until 1998.

Super Nintendo, the third representative of the 16-bit and fourth generation of game consoles, appeared on November 12, 1990 in Japan, and in August 1991, players could buy a console that slightly changed the design in the USA. In Russia, the prefix appeared in 1995. In 1996, the era of 16-bit consoles ended, with the advent of the next fifth generation of consoles, including the Nintendo 64, the popularity of the SNES began to decline. In America, the production of the set-top box ceased in 1999, and in Japan in 2003.

Fifth generation (1993-2002)

From 1993 to 1995, according to the proposed concept of The 3DO Company, the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer game console was released, it entered the masses under the name 3DO. The release was handled by several companies Goldstar, Panasonic and Sanyo. But the console had a very short lifespan, despite its impressive specs, owing to its high price ($699) and many more popular competitors.

In September 1993, the Amiga CD32 was released. The set-top box was also created on the basis of the Amiga 1200 computer, there was also the ability to connect a keyboard and mouse.

November 1993 saw the introduction of the Atari Jaguar. But Atari failed to win over its buyer this time too, only 500,000 copies were sold. And the advent of the Sony Playstation and the setting of a new higher quality bar at the end of 1995 forced Atari to leave the game console market.

170 thousand copies of the Sega Saturn were sold on the first day of sales - November 22, 1994 in Japan. Six months later, and with worse sales results, the prefix appeared in the US and Europe.

On December 3, 1994, the first set-top box of Sony Computer Entertainment appeared - Sony Playstation, despite little experience in the development of set-top boxes, Sony managed to provide the set-top box with very great popularity, more than 100 million copies were sold worldwide. The production of the console lasted 11 years, and this period is one of the longest periods of production in the gaming industry. On March 23, 2006, production was completed, Sony explained this solely by the need to free up space and capacity for the production of the PlayStation 3.

The new 5th generation prefix from Nintendo appeared only in 1996, unlike most competitors at that time, the Nintendo 64 used cartridges with a capacity of up to 64 MB as media. But this did not stop her from taking second place after the Playstation in the struggle for consumers, thereby overtaking the Sega Saturn.