The History Of Video Game Consoles
It might be very difficult for the youngsters of today to fathom a world without video game consoles. Today, they seem to be an integral part of entertainment world and games. But, at one time, there did exist a world without any video games, as the history of video game consoles shows.
It was only in the 1970’s did the first video game consoles appear and became popular only in the 1975. This was just the beginning, of course. Video games history reveals how several generations of innovative electronic entertainment were to replace the earlier crude games and make way for today's ultra realistic, fast-paced console games.
First Generation: 1972–1977
The mid-1960s military wanted some sort of tool or device to develop the reflexes of military personnel. This need seeded the idea for video games and the concept of a "television gaming apparatus “came up.
In the mid-1960s military wanted some sort of device that would develop the reflexes of military personnel. In 1966, Ralph Baer, an employee of defense contractor Sanders Associates, manufactured a device included both a chase game and a video tennis game.
The world's first home video game system- Odyssey, was launched by 1972. However, this pioneering game system was not a lasting success. During this time, Atari company released an electronic arcade game called PONG, which became an instant success. Atari's smashing success led to several companies released PONG "clones". Fairchild Camera and Instrument leveraged became the pioneer for the first programmable home video game system.
Second Generation : 1977–1982
The age of the programmable video game having been initiated, the customers now desired higher-resolution graphics, better game play, and more variety of games. Atari's Video Computer System also known as the Atari 2600, was to deliver these games. Bally Professional Arcade, Magnavox Odyssey2, Mattel Intellivision, Vectrex soon followed with even better games with advance features and achieved widespread support. This is also known as the “Golden Age”
Third Generation: 1982–1984
Also known as the "dark ages," history of video game consoles saw a drop in the sale of video games due to the lack of any advancement in technology and too many manufacturers. During this period many game developers went out of business. Colecovision and Atari 5200 were the only prominent video game consoles.
Fourth Generation: 1985–1989
This period experienced a rebirth in video game industry. Game units driven by two technological innovations: lower-cost memory chips and higher-power 8-bit microprocessors enabled game designers to produce and take home video game consoles to a quality of higher level. Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari 7800 and Sega Master System were the few big names. Nintendo GameBoy holds the honor of being the all-time best-selling video game system in the world.
Fifth Generation: 1989–1995
This period in video games history saw the video game consoles featuring 16-bit processors and more detailed graphics. A large variety of more imaginative games was another successful feature. This generation was dominated by Nintendo and Sega.
Sixth Generation: 1995–1998
High-powered microprocessors and dedicated graphics processors are the hall marks of this generation. Extremely realistic graphics and game play of these video game consoles outperformed the much expensive personal computer systems of those days. Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation , Nintendo 64 backed with a massive advertising became household names.
Next Generation: 1998–Present
The present generation of video game consoles, continues to raise the level of graphics, performance, and game play. Sony and Nintendo along with a significant newcomer: Microsoft, continue to be the major players. Sega Dreamcast, Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube are some of the dominant video game system in the current market today.
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