Carolann Fifield

Professor Stromko

SGD111-N01

02 September 2020

The Long History of Video Game Consoles

Video game consoles have been being made for nearly 50 years now. In 1972, the first

console was released and changed the gaming industry from there on out. Games could be played

in your own home and soon that became the norm. People's favorite games from the arcade were

now on their tv to be played and enjoyed at any time. Many companies were either formed or

already on-going companies jumped on the bandwagon and began to put out their games and

video gaming consoles.

November 22, 1972, Magnavox Odyssey was released. It was based on Ralph Baer’s

invention, the “Brown Box” prototype. The Magnavox Odyssey was an exciting moment for

people, it had games like Table Tennis, Cat & Mouse, Football, and 9 other games. The

Odysseys Ping Pong game quickly inspired the game Pong, created by Atari for arcades and later

for their consoles. In 1975, a Home Pong was made but only stayed in stores for 2 years. This

was due to Atari releasing the Atari 2600 in 1977. The Atari 2600 came out with several popular

games that were once in arcades. This included Space Invaders (1978), Pacman (1980), and

Donkey Kong (1981). In 1978, Magnavox came out with their Magnavox Odyssey 2. This

console featured new controllers and even a keyboard on it. Some of their top games included

Space Monsters (1980), Quest for the Rings (1981), and Pickaxe Pete (1982). Magnavox

Odyssey 2 and the Atari 2600 were both competitors to each other.
 Nintendo, originally a playing card company, also began to put out their gaming

consoles. Going back to 1977, Nintendo produced the Color TV-Game. The Color TV-Game had

games like Pong and a racing game, but it was only released in Japan. Nintendo would soon

release their hand-held console, Game and Watch. The Game and Watch consoles each only had

one game and a clock on it, hence the name. Then, in just a few years, they released another new

console in 1983, the Nintendo Entertainment System. Around the same time, Atari released their

new system, the Atari 5200 in 1982, and the company SEGA took a step into the gaming console

pool by releasing the SG-1000 in 1983. The Nintendo Entertainment System had controllers and

took cartridges. It featured games such as Super Mario Bros. (1985), The Legend of Zelda

(1986), and both Super Mario Bros. 2 & 3 (1988). The Atari 5200 had a new controller but did

not feature as many games as the 2600. It did feature games such as Pacman (1980), Frogger

(1981), and Dig Dug (1982). SEGA’s SG-1000 had a similar look to the Atari 5200, especially

the controller. The SG-1000 included Galaga (1981), Lode Runner (1983), and Girl’s Garden

(1984). Although these all came out in similar times, Nintendo and SEGA did not become

competitors until the ’90s.

In 1986, Atari released their console the Atari 7800. Close to the same time, SEGA

released its next console, the Master System in 1985 which was to compete with Nintendo's

Entertainment System. Atari 7800 had another new controller and a larger library of games. It

had games like Centipede (1981), Rampage (1986), and Desert Falcon (1987). The Master

System included a new controller. It had games such as Alien Syndrome (1986), Altered Beast

(1988), and Sonic: The Hedgehog (1991) and various other games. And then, in 1989, the Game

Boy was released by Nintendo. The Game Boy was the first portable handheld gaming system

and was the 3rd bestselling video game console in history. It got many new people into gaming
and helped influence the future of more handheld video game consoles. With the Game Boy

came the games Super Mario Land (1989), Dr. Mario (1990), and Kirby's Dream Land (1992). It

was here that SEGA began to challenge Nintendo. SEGA released their SEGA Game Gear in

1990, another handheld portable gaming console. Game Gear had games like Sonic: The

Hedgehog (1991), Sonic Chaos (1993), and Columns (1989). SEGA and Nintendo were in their

console and game war. Mario became the face of Nintendo and Sonic the face of SEGA to drive

in more buyers. Sonic was originally to look dark and more goth-like, but the creators decided he

needed to look friendly to appeal to their American buyers.

A month after the Game Gear, Nintendo released their Super Nintendo Entertainment

System. This console featured a new controller and a slimmer console with better graphics. It

had games such as Super Mario Kart (1992), Star Fox (1993), and Doom (1993). Doom was a

big hit. Doom was the original first-person shooter (FPS) game and introduced player vs. player

without having to be in the same room. Doom also helped bring to light that video games were

not just for children. The game featured lots of blood, violence, and other graphics that appealed

to some adults and got them more into video games as well. A year after Doom was released,

many game makers came together to create a rating system for video games. Games like Doom

and Mortal Combat showed to be violent and graphic and not appropriate for small children. The

rating system helped lower the hate the press was giving towards video games and helped

parents know what games were appropriate for their kids and age groups.

In 1993, Atari released their last gaming console, the Atari Jaguar. Due to all the

competition in the video game console industry, Atari gave out after Jaguar. Although, some

games you could get with the Jaguar were Wolfenstein 3D (1992) Rayman (1995), and Super

Burnout (1995). In 1994 SEGA released its SEGA Saturn and then in 1996, Nintendo released
the Nintendo 64. SEGA Saturn had a bigger controller and system but had better graphics. It

included games like Sonic 3D Blast (1996), Night into Dream (1996), and Burning Rangers

(1998). The Nintendo 64 had a new controller that featured the control stick. It had games such

as Super Mario 64 (1996), Mario kart 64 (1996), and Donkey Kong 64 (1999). 2 years later, in

1998, SEGA released their last gaming console, the Dreamcast. SEGA realized they could not

beat this console war going on between several companies and decided to focus on making

games, not consoles. The Dreamcast had games like Sonic Adventure (1998), Power Stone

(1998), and Sonic Adventure 2 (2001).

Stepping back in 1994, the company Sony came into the light of making game consoles.

Their first console, the PlayStation featured games like Metal Gear Solid (1998), Spyro The

Dragon (1998), and Final Fantasy VIII (1999). Next, in 2000, Sony released the PlayStation 2

which had better graphics and more space. This console had the games Grand Theft Auto: Vice

City (2002), Persona 3 (2006), and God of War (2007). The PlayStation 2 was the console that

made SEGA step back and realize they could no longer compete in the game console industry.

Between the PS1 and PS2, Nintendo released their next Game Boy, the Game Boy Color.

Like the original Game Boy, the Game Boy color was handheld and portable but, this time it had

color to it. The Game Boy Color had games such as Pokémon Yellow (1998), Pokémon Crystal

(2000), and Toy Story Racer (2001). Next was the Gameboy advanced, released in 2001. The

shape was changed where the controls were set on the sides of the screen. The game cartridges

were also made smaller. In 2003, they released the Game Boy Advanced SP. The SP was like the

normal Game Boy where the screen was above the controls, but the SP could flip open like a flip

phone. The normal Advanced and the SP had the games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (2002),

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003), and Pokémon Emerald (2004).
 A few months after the release of the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo also released its

gaming console the GameCube. The GameCube was the first of Nintendo's consoles to use discs

instead of cartridges. It had the games Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001), Super Mario Sunshine

(2002), and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006). Then, still in 2001, Microsoft joined

in on making gaming consoles. They released the console called the Xbox. The Xbox had games

such as Fable (2004), Halo 2 (2004), and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006). In the early 2000s,

PlayStation and Xbox were known to be competitors and many fans of both systems would argue

over which was better. In 2004, both Sony and Nintendo released a new handheld, portable

console. Sony released the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and Nintendo released the Nintendo Duel

Screen (DS). The PSP, like the Game Boy Advance, had a large screen in the middle and the

controls on the side but took tiny discs instead of a cartridge. The PSP had games like Daxter

(2006), Persona 3 (2006), and Crash of The Titans (2007). The Nintendo DS, as stated in its

name, had two screens. And like the Advance SP, it could flip open like a flip phone. The DS

also featured the screens in the middle and the controls on the side. The DS had the games Mario

Kart DS (2005), New Super Mario Bros. (2006), and Animal Crossing: Wild World (2005).

In the next year, 2005, Xbox released their next console, the Xbox 360. In the 360,

graphics and storage were increased, and the controller was changed. The 360 had the games

Minecraft (2009), Halo 3 (2007), and Fall Out 3 (2008). Back in 2002, Xbox released Xbox

Live. Although many consoles already could play with others online, Xbox Live featured being

able to contact another player outside of the game. In 2006, both Nintendo and Sony introduced

yet another gaming console in the same year. Nintendo released the Wii and Sony released the

PlayStation 3. The Wii could take bigger discs than the GameCube. The game discs were the size

of CDs but could not play any other disc besides its own. The Wii had Super Mario Galaxy
(2007), Wii Sports (2006), and Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008). The PlayStation 3 had much

better graphics and fluid motions than the PS2. The PS3 featured the games Minecraft (2009),

The Last of Us (2013), and Grand Theft Auto Online (2013).

In 2011, both Sony and Nintendo released another handheld, portable console. Nintendo

released the Nintendo 3DS and Sony released the PlayStation Vita. The Nintendo 3DS, as stated

in the name, could make the top screen appear 3D with a small switch. Unlike the other DS, it

also featured a circle-pad to be used above the D-pad. Games that featured on the 3DS were

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2012), Super Mario 3D Land (2011), and New Super Mario Bros. 2

(2012). Sony's PlayStation Vita had better graphics and was a bit slimmer. It had games such as

Persona 4 (2008), Mortal Kombate (2011), and Tearaway (2013).

In 2012, Nintendo released the Wii U. The Wii U not only could be used on the tv but

also a handheld console. You could switch from the tv right to the console. The handheld

controller was like a new screen to show different views to enhance the gaming experience for

the player. Games you could get on the Wii U included Splatoon (2015), Super Mario Maker

(2015), and Mario Party 10 (2015). In 2013, both Sony and Microsoft released their latest

consoles. Sony had the PlayStation 4 which featured a new controller and better graphics. The

games it had were Red Dead Redemption (2018), Spiderman (2018), and Resident Evil 2 (2019).

Microsoft released the Xbox One. Compared to the Xbox 360, the Xbox One featured better

graphics, a new controller, and more space to run off.

The most recent game console released by Nintendo was the Nintendo Switch and Switch

Lite. In 2017 the Switch was released and in 2019 the Switch Lite released to the public as well.

The Switch was like the Wii U. It could go from being on the TV or the handheld console, but

the Switch was portable and could be played anywhere. The controllers can be removed from the
side of the consoles screen and be used by two people unless more controllers are bought, and

even more players can play on the same screen. The Lite is very much like the normal Switch but

you cannot remove the controllers and it does not hook up to the tv anymore. That feature right

there sort of takes away the whole idea of the Switch but besides that, it has all the other features

of a Switch. It is smaller and more comfortable for players as well. Both the Switch and Switch

Lite could play games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017), Mario Kart 8

Deluxe (2017), and Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020).

The history of video game consoles is all over the place. Many companies were created to

make games and consoles, or some companies jumped in on the idea and created their consoles

as well. The biggest and most well-known companies were Atari, SEGA, Nintendo, PlayStation,

and Xbox. Both Atari and SEGA gave up in creating consoles after some time when they

realized they could not compete against the companies Nintendo and PlayStation. Each Console

faced competitors and had popular games. Fans have always argued over which is better, but

each console has its own uniqueness to it, something that made it memorable. The end of gaming

consoles is not among us just yet either. More by big companies are making their ways to be

released soon. Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox are not done just yet.
 Sources:

“History of Video Game Consoles.” Preceden, www.preceden.com/timelines/191578-history-of-