Unit 1 History of the Game Console Time Line

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1 Unit 1 History of the Game Console Time Line
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2 1947 Cathode ray tube GAD Cathode ray tube amusement device
It records and controls the quality of an electronic signal. The strength of the electronic signals produced by the amusement device can be controlled by control knobs which influences the trajectory of the CRT's light beam. The device is purely mechanical and does not use any memory device, computer, or programming. GAD

3 1949 The first Computer Game
Called EDSAC, at Cambridge University. Had a library of short programs called subroutines stored on punched paper tapes. Technology: vacuum tubes Memory: 1K words, 17 bits, mercury delay line Speed: 714 operations per second GAD

4 1951 SEGA In 1951, SEGA distributed coin-operated amusement-type games such as jukeboxes and slot machines. Within a few years Service Games began importing these machines to American military bases throughout Japan. GAD

5 First Generation GAD

6 1972 Magnavox Odyssey GAD World's first game console
Predating the Atari Pong home consoles by several years. designed by Ralph Baer prototype known as the "Brown Box“ is now at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC 340,000 units sold GAD

7 1972 Pong GAD A coin-op arcade game by Atari Inc.
Pong was based on table tennis, and named after the sound generated when the ball is hit. Pong was the first video game to achieve widespread popularity in both arcade and home console versions, and launched the initial boom in the video game industry. Pong's popularity led to a successful patent infringement lawsuit from the makers of an earlier video game, the Magnavox Odyssey. GAD

8 1974 Gran Track 10 GAD A single-player racing arcade by Atari
The player raced against the game clock, accumulating as many points as possible. Early diode-based ROM was used to store the sprites for the car, score and game timer, and the race track. The game's controls, steering wheel, four-position gear shifter, and accelerator and brake foot pedals were also all firsts for arcade games GAD

9 1974 Maze Wars One of the first FPS game.
Players wander around a maze, moving backward or forward, turning right or left in 90-degree increments, and peeking through doorways. Used simple tile-based movement. Other players are eyeballs which can be shot or harmed. Players gain points for shooting other players, and lose them for being shot. GAD

10 1976 Coleco Telstar GAD By Coleco
Originally a Pong clone based on General Instrument's AY chip. The chip played several Pong variants on a domestic television receiver, and became available to any manufacturer. The circuit was intended to be battery powered and a minimum number of external components were required to complete the system. GAD

11 1976 APF TV Fun Another early Pong clone manufactured by APF Electronics Inc. in the United Kingdom. It featured 4 built in games, a speaker, and 2 controller knobs. Could not add more games. It could be powered by either the included AC adapter or by using 6 C size batteries. First entry of APF into the video game market, APF was formerly a calculator and other small electronics developer. While the TV Fun had only limited success. 4 games were Tennis, Hockey, Single Handball, and Squash. GAD

12 Second Generation Early 8-bit home consoles (1976-1983)
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13 Second Generation Early 8-bit home consoles (1976-1983)
The earliest console, the Magnavox Odyssey, had used removable cartridges that were glorified jumpers to activate the games already wired in to the console. By the mid-1970's cartridges moved to CPU based consoles. Games now consisting of microprocessor based code, had games burned onto ROM chips that were mounted inside plastic cartridge casings that could be plugged into slots on the console. Rather than being confined to a small selection of games included in the box, consumers could now amass libraries of game cartridges. GAD

14 1976 Fairchild Channel F GAD
The world's second cartridge-based video game console, after the Magnavox Odyssey (although it was the first programmable cartridge system as the Odyssey cartridges only contained jumpers and not ROM information). By Fairchild Semiconductor price of $ At this point it was known as the Video Entertainment System, or VES, but when Atari released their VCS the next year, Fairchild quickly renamed it. GAD

15 1977 Atari 2600 Video game console credited with popularizing the use of a microprocessor and cartridges containing games. Originally known as the Atari VCS—for Video Computer System—the machine's name was changed to "Atari 2600" in 1982, after the release of the more advanced Atari 5200. It was wildly successful, and during the 1980s. The 2600 was typically bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a cartridge game - initially Combat and subsequently Pac-Man. GAD

16 1975-77 Magnavox Odyssey GAD Played programmable ROM cartridges.
Allowed each game to be a completely unique experience, with its own background and foreground graphics, gameplay, scoring, and music. Odyssey² included a full keyboard, which was to be used for educational games, selecting options, or programming. One of the strongest points of the system was its excellent speech synthesis unit. The Odyssey² may be best remembered for its fusion of board and video games: The Master Strategy Series. The first game released was the instant classic Quest for the Rings!, with gameplay somewhat similar to Dungeons & Dragons. GAD

17 1977 Chuck E Cheese’s First type of family entertainment centers aimed at young children. Is a sit-down pizza restaurant, with arcade games, amusement rides, an animatronics show, climbing equipment, tubes, and slides. Help change the image of video games. GAD

18 1978 Space Invaders Created in Japan, and was later licensed by the Midway in the US. Shooting game where the players defeat waves of aliens with a laser cannon to earn as many points as possible. So successful it caused a temporary shortage of 100-yen coins in Japan and grossed $2 billion worldwide by 1982. Pixelated enemy alien has become a pop culture icon, often used as a symbol representing video games as a whole. GAD

19 1979 Intellivision GAD By Mattel Electronics.
Test marketed in California, with four games available, and nationwide in 1980 with a price tag of $299 and a pack-in game: Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack. Though not the first system to challenge Atari, it was the first to pose a serious threat to Atari's dominance. A series of ads were produced attacking the Atari 2600's lesser capabilities with side-by-side game comparisons. By 1982 over two million Intellivision consoles had been sold, earning Mattel a $100,000,000 profit. GAD

20 1979 Asteroids Most popular and influential games selling 70,000 by Atari. Used a vector display and a 2D view that wraps around in both screen axes. Player controls a spaceship in an asteroid field which is periodically traversed by flying saucers. Object of the game is to shoot and destroy asteroids and saucers while not colliding or being hit by the saucers' counter-fire. GAD

21 1980 Pac Man by Namco is considered among the most famous arcade games of all time. Became a social phenomenon that sold related merchandise and inspired, an animated television series and a top-ten hit single. Was appealing to both genders. Generated more than $2.5 billion in quarters by the 1990s. Highest brand awareness of any video game character. GAD

22 1981 Donkey Kong GAD By Nintendo - platform game genre.
Players moved the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles who must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady, from a giant ape named Donkey Kong. The hero and ape later became two of Nintendo's most popular characters. Nintendo licensed the game to Coleco who developed home console versions. Dominated the video game market in the 1980s and early 1990s. GAD

23 1981 Frogger By Konami, and licensed for worldwide distribution by Sega/Gremlin. Player directs frogs to their homes by crossing a busy road and navigate a river full of hazards. Skillful players obtain bonuses. The game is regarded as a classic and was noted for its novel gameplay and theme. Example of a game using more than one CPU, as it used two Z80 processors. By 2005, Frogger had sold 20 million copies worldwide, including 5 million in the United States. GAD

24 1981 Galaga GAD Fixed shooter game by Namco in Japan and Midway in US.
The player controls a space ship at the bottom of the screen. In beginning the playing area is empty, but over time, enemy aliens fly in formation and come down at the player's ship to either shoot or collide with it. The player fires upon the enemies, and once all enemies are vanquished, the player moves onto the next stage. GAD

25 1982 Tron, Q-Bert, Pole Position
Q*bert is an isometric platform game with puzzle elements where the player controls the titular protagonist from a third-person perspective. Tron is about a computer programmer transported inside the software world of a mainframe computer, where he interacts with various programs in his attempt to get back out. Pole Position arcade racing game released by Atari, Inc. in the US. Most popular coin-op arcade game of Had a steering wheel and a gear shifter for low and high gears. The environmental/cockpit cabinet featured both an accelerator and brake pedal. GAD

26 1984 Tetris A tile-matching game originally designed and programmed in the Soviet Union. Name is from the Greek numerical prefix tetra- (all of the game's pieces contain four segments) First entertainment software exported from the USSR to the U.S. and published for Commodore 64 and IBM PC. Electronic Gaming Monthly's 100th issue had Tetris in first place as "Greatest Game of All Time". It has sold more than 70 million copies. In January 2010, it was announced that Tetris has sold more than 100 million copies for cell phones alone since 2005. GAD

27 Video Game Crash of 1984 The delay of Atari's 7800 consoles left them with little to captivate consumers hungry for the next big thing. A flood of consoles on the US market gave consumers too many choices. Many poor game titles and too many games based on the movie ET The Extraterrestrial. Introduction of personal computers like the Commodore 64, whose theme “Why buy your child a video game and distract them from school when you can buy them a home computer that will prepare them for college?” Millions of consumers shifted their intention to buy choices from game consoles to low-end computers that retailed for similar prices. The crash lasted 2 years. The market was revitalized due to the success of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) with its landmark title Super Mario Bros. GAD

28 Third Generation GAD

29 1983 Mario Brothers GAD By Nintendo in 1983.
In this game, Mario a Italian-American plumber and his brother Luigi, must defeat creatures from the sewers below New York. The gameplay focuses on Mario's extermination of pests in the sewers by flipping them on their backs and kicking them away. The original versions of Mario Bros., the arcade version and the Nintendo Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) version, were received positively. GAD

30 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System
8-bit video game console released by Nintendo. In most of Asia, it was released as the Family Computer. The most successful gaming console of its time -sold over 60 million NES units worldwide. Nintendo helped revitalize the US video game industry following the video game crash of 1984, and set the standard for consoles and controller layout. First console to play and openly court third-party game developers. The slogan for the NES in North America is "Now You're Playing With Power!" GAD

31 1986 Sega Master System 8-bit cartridge-based video game console that was manufactured by Sega. In the European market, this console launched Sega onto a competitive level comparable to Nintendo, due to its wider availability, but failed to put a dent in the North American and Japanese markets. The Master System was released as a direct competitor to the NES/Famicom. The system ultimately failed to topple its Nintendo competitor, but enjoyed over a decade of life in secondary markets. GAD

32 1986 The Legend of Zelda A high fantasy action-adventure video game series created in Japan and published by Nintendo. One of Nintendo's most important franchises, it consists of a mixture of action, adventure, and puzzle solving. Link, a playable character and the protagonist must rescue Princess Zelda. The protagonist in each game is usually not the same incarnation of Link, but a few exceptions do exist. As of December 2011, The Legend of Zelda franchise has sold million copies since the release of the first game, GAD

33 1987 Final Fantasy GAD Developed and owned by Square Enix.
The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video games (RPGs), but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise. The series is very successful; with more than 100 million units sold. Well known for its innovation, visuals, and music, such as the inclusion of full motion videos, photo-realistic character models, and orchestrated music by Nobuo Uematsu. GAD

34 1986 Atari 7800 By Atari. Designed to replace the unsuccessful Atari 5200, and re-establish Atari's market supremacy against Nintendo and Sega. With this system, Atari addressed all the shortcomings of the Atari 5200: it had simple digital joysticks; it was almost fully backward-compatible with the Atari 2600; and it was affordable (it was originally priced at $140. The system was designed to be upgraded to a full-fledged home computer GAD

35 Handhelds are Introduced 1989 - 1990
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36 1989 Nintendo’s Game Boy GAD
A handheld game console by Nintendo, for $89.95. The first successful handheld console, and was the predecessor of all other iterations of the Game Boy line. The Game Boy was originally bundled with the puzzle game Tetris, since Nintendo thought that an addictive puzzle game would get consumers' attention. GAD

37 1989 Atari Lynx The Lynx holds the distinction of being the world's first handheld electronic game with a color LCD display. By Atari Notable for its forward-looking features, advanced graphics, and ambidextrous layout. The Lynx was released in the same year as Nintendo's (monochromatic) Game Boy. However, the Lynx failed to achieve the critical mass required to attract quality third party developers, and was eventually abandoned. GAD

38 1989 Sega Game Gear A handheld game console which was Sega's response to Nintendo's Game Boy. The third commercially available color handheld console, after the Atari Lynx and the Turbo Express. Work began on the console in 1989 under the codename "Project Mercury", as per Sega's policy at the time of codenaming their systems after planets. The price was $ Sega dropped support for the Game Gear in early 1997. GAD

39 1990 TurboExpress Most advanced handheld of its time and could play all TurboGrafx-16's games which were on a small, credit-card sized media called HuCards. in. screen, the same as the original Game Boy, and could display 64 sprites at once, 16 per scanline, in 482 colors from a palette of 512. Had 8 kilobytes of RAM. Sold for $ The optional TurboVision TV tuner included RCA audio/video input, allowing you to use TurboExpress as a video monitor. The TurboLink allowed two-player play. Falcon, a flight simulator, included a "head-to-head" dogfight only accessed via TurboLink. GAD

40 1991 Sonic the HedgeHog GAD A platform video game developed by Sega.
Commercially successful, increasing the popularity of Sega's 16-bit console and establishing Sonic the Hedgehog as the company's mascot character. Its success led to the development of subsequent games in Sega's flagship Sonic the Hedgehog series, as well as the creation of a media franchise of spin-off products featuring the character. GAD

41 Fourth Generation GAD

42 Fourth Generation 1992 - 1996 GAD
The 16-bit era was the fourth generation of video game consoles. Starting in 1987 with the Japanese launch of the PC Engine, this era was dominated by commercial rivalry between Nintendo and Sega with their machines, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Mega Drive (named the Sega Genesis in North America due to trademark issues). The machines introduced in this generation retained the majority market share until 1996. GAD

43 1988-90 Sega Genesis GAD By Sega.
It was sold under the name Sega Genesis in North America, as Sega was unable to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name in that region. The Sega Genesis was the first 16-bit console to achieve notable market share in Europe and North America. It was the direct competitor of the Super Famicom (SNES), although the Sega Mega Drive was released two years earlier. GAD

44 Super Nintendo Nintendo's 2nd console, following the (NES). Advanced graphics and sound capabilities that compensated for its slow CPU, compared with other consoles at the time. Additionally, the system's support for numerous enhancement chips (which shipped as part of certain game cartridges) helped to keep it competitive in the marketplace. Global success, the best-selling console of the 16-bit era despite its late start and the fierce competition it faced in North America from Sega's Genesis console. Remains popular well into the 32-bit era. GAD

45 1993 NEC TurboGrafx 16 A collaborative effort between Japanese software maker Hudson Soft and NEC. Hudson wanted financial backing for a game console, and NEC wanted to get into the lucrative game market. A small video game console, due to an efficient three-chip architecture and its use of HuCards exclusively. It was the first console to have an optional CD module, allowing the standard benefits of the CD medium: more storage, cheaper media costs, and redbook audio which gave it a very wide variety of software. GAD

46 Fifth Generation GAD

47 Fifth Generation Featured both 32-bit and 64-bit consoles. The market was dominated by three consoles, the Sega Saturn (1994), the Sony PlayStation (1994) and the Nintendo 64 (1996). The 3DO and Atari Jaguar were also part of this era, but not as significant. This era also introduced Nintendo's Game Boy Color. Bit ratings for consoles largely fell by the wayside during this era, with the notable exception of the Nintendo 64. Performance depended on other factors than bits, such as processor clock speed, bandwidth, and memory size. PCs now were powerful enough to emulate the 8 and 16bit systems of the previous 5 or more years, and the internet made it possible to store and download tape and ROM images of older games, eventually leading to 7th generation consoles (such as Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable. GAD

48 1994 Sony PlayStation GAD A 32-bit video game console by Sony.
The original PlayStation was the first of a series of consoles and hand-held game devices, which included successor consoles and upgrades including the Net Yaroze, PSOne , PocketStation, PlayStation 2, PS2, PlayStation Portable, DVR and DVD recorder based on the PS2, and PlayStation 3. By March 2005, the PlayStation/PS one had shipped a total of million units, becoming the first home console to ever reach the 100 million mark. GAD

49 Sega Saturn A powerful machine for the time, but its design, with two CPUs and 6 other processors, made harnessing power difficult. Many of the ancillary chips in the system were "off of the shelf". This increased the complexity of the design since less custom hardware was used. The original design may have called for a single central processor, but a second processor added later to increase performance. Biggest disadvantage -both processors shared the same bus and had problems accessing the main system RAM at the same time. From 1995–1997 the Saturn became the "other" system, running a distant third behind the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation. GAD

50 Nintendo 64 N64, was Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit processor It was released with two launch games (Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64). The N64's suggested retail price was $199 at its launch and it was marketed with the slogan: "Get N, or get Out!" GAD

51 Sixth Generation - 128-bit era 1998 - 2004
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52 2000 Sega Dreamcast Sega's final video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. Designed to supersede the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. Released 16 months before the PlayStation 2 (PS2), and 3 years before the Nintendo GameCube and the Xbox. Dreamcast was hailed as ahead of its time, and is still held in high regard for pioneering online console gaming. It failed to gather momentum before the release of the PlayStation 2, and Sega decided to discontinue it The company will continue to sell Dreamcast to gamers and collectors. Also Sega and third party companies plan to make and sell commercial games into 2008. GAD

53 2000 Sony PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 “PS2” is Sony's second video game console, the successor to the successful PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. Its development was announced in March 1999, and it was released after a year in Japan. Released more than a year after the Sega Dreamcast and a year before its main competitors Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube. As of September 19, 2007, 120 million PS2 units have been sold worldwide. GAD

54 2001-2 Nintendo GameCube GAD Nintendo's 4th home game console.
The most compact and least expensive, next to the Dreamcast, of the 6th gen. Successor to the Nintendo 64 and the predecessor of the Wii. The Nintendo GameCube, named Dolphin, is shaped roughly like a cube. Uses a proprietary storage medium, the Nintendo GameCube Game Disc, and have a capacity of approximately 1.5 gigabytes. Discs are not read differently from a standard DVD, but are encrypted and unreadable by most DVD drives. GAD

55 Microsoft Xbox Microsoft's first game console - competed directly with PlayStation 2, and the Nintendo GameCube. Predecessor to Microsoft's Xbox 360 First product that ventured into the console arena, after having collaborated with Sega in porting Windows CE to the Sega Dreamcast console. Notable launch titles for the console included Halo: Combat Evolved, Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding, Dead or Alive 3, Project Gotham Racing, and Oddworl: Munch' Oddysee. GAD

56 Seventh Generation ? GAD

57 Seventh Generation ? Started on November 21, 2004 with Nintendo DS. Home consoles came on November 22, 2005 with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360 and a year later with Sony's PlayStation 3 on November 17, 2006 and Nintendo's Wii on November 19, 2006. September 13, 2007, the NPD and Enterbrain reported that the Wii is currently leading in sales, with more than 9 million units sold across the globe. GAD

58 2005 Xbox 360 By Microsoft, developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, and SiS. Xbox Live service allows players to compete online and download arcade games and content such as demos, trailers, TV shows, music videos, or rented movies. Successor to Xbox, and competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii. 1st console to provide near-simultaneous launch across the three major regions, and to provide wireless controller support at launch. Sold out completely at release and, as of September 12, 2007, has sold 8.9 million units worldwide. GAD

59 2006 PlayStation 3 “3rd home game console by Sony and the successor to the PlayStation 2. Competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii. In sales and market share, it is currently in third place. Storage media is the Blu-ray Disc, though it also supports DVDs, CDs, and SACDs. Can output high-definition video for both video games and movies in up to 1080p resolution. Initially available in 2 configurations, 20 GB and the 60 GB model. However, the 20 GB model was discontinued due to a lack of consumer demand and lower profit margins. GAD

60 2005-7 Nintendo's Wii GAD 5th home game console by Nintendo.
Direct successor to the GameCube. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Has a wireless controller, Wii Remote, can be used as a handheld pointing device and detect acceleration in three dimensions. WiiConnect24, enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode. Released in During the week of September 12, 2007, the Financial Times declared that the Wii is the current sales leader of generation. GAD