The 10 Generations of Gaming Consoles

5th Generation (1993-2006)

The fifth generation began in the early/mid 1990's with more advancements in computer technology and game storage. Nintendo was still in lead in the market place until 1994, where it fell victim to a new technology: CD-ROMs, a compact disk that was placement technology for ROM cartridges, however, Nintendo neglected the new technology and kept the more secure ROM cartridges that were harder to copy.

This opened a door for Sony who saw the need for games that appealed to an older market segment. They also wanted to make profit on the Inexpensive CD-ROM technology. This led to Sony's Release of the PlayStation.

7th Generation (2004-)

3rd Generation (1983-2003)

Generation 3 began with the computer systems that could process more movement, use better graphics, and even have better sounds. In the 1990's they were using systems that were only 8 bit processors that could have much more information than its previous generations. As well as in home gaming systems, hand-held systems and games were now more widely available.

In the mid 1980's people realized that home game systems were here to stay and thus began buying games for home rather than taking a pile of quarters to the arcade.

Nintendo soon took over the home gaming market with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) made popular by the game Super Mario Bros, the system and the game soon became the most popular game in history, as it is still being played today.

Nintendo took a huge leap and released the Game Boy in 1989. The Game Boy was an 8-bit system with a black and white screen and came packaged with the changeable ROM cartridge containing the game Tetris.

First Generation (1972-1980)

Generation seven began in early-mid 2000's with new multi-core processors and new user inter faces allowing faster computing for realistic graphics.

The Wii system was introduced by Nintendo in an attempt to reclaim their market share, but many still considered the games to still be only for children. Nintendo then wanted to change the way games are played by using motion-based controllers, allowing play for swing controllers, such as a bat while playing a game of baseball.

In 2006, the PlayStation 3 (PS3) was released just before the Wii, whereas the Xbox 360 was released in 2005.

The Xbox 360 and the PS3 both have online game abilities. Online play allows players to connect to other players via the internet.

6th Generation (1998-2013)

The first generation of video game consoles began in 1972 with the Magnavox Odyssey (began development in 1968 under the code name "The Brown Box")

In 1977, "pong"-style console manufacturers left the market en masse due to the video game crash of 1977 and when microprocessor-based consoles were introduced.

Different consoles of this generation include titles like the Magnavox Odyssey, Home Pong, and the Nintendo Color-TV.

A few examples of games from this generation are: Spacewars!, Pong, and Computer Space.

4th Generation (1987-2003)

9th Generation (2015-)

The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 has launched, which though are also included in the 8th generation, began the 9th console generation.

The Wii U came out last November, which makes it the only console in generation “8.5”. Nintendo isn't trying to compete with Microsoft or Sony, which is why they released their console a whole year before the next-gen consoles.

The 9th generation includes more mobile-type consoles (platforms) such as the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset and Google Glass, which provides minigames.

What else will the 9th generation possible have in store for us?

The sixth generation began in early 2000 with 128-bit games and DVD-ROM technology. The three dimensional games of this generation were able to have realistic movement due to the large storage and fast processing.

The most expected gaming system was the PlayStation 2 (PS2) a 128-bit system with many games from many third-party designers. This system struck envy in the whole world. These systems could also play DVD movies.

In 2001, Nintendo released the Game Cube, this system used similar technology to a DVD called an optical disk drive, though cheaper to produce when they were not the standard size. They considered the Game Cube to be a kids console due to the lack of mature game options. This caused Nintendo to lose market share and for the Game Cube to not become a commercial success.

During this time a new manufacturer stepped into the game. This manufacturer was Microsoft. Microsoft designed and released the Xbox system.

The fourth generation began with high powered systems in the late 80's. This was the beginning of better game graphics and three dimensional games. In 1989, the Sega Genesis was introduced by the Sega company. The Sega Genesis was the first 16-bit console, where the graphics, colors, and character movement were improved upon greatly. Besides the better on-screen look the console was still two dimensional. Then along came 1991, the year Nintendo produced the 16-bit gaming system called the Super Nintendo. Nintendo also advanced in the Game Boy system, where the Game Boy allowed the design and release of more gaming systems to be available on the in-home game market. Backward compatibility is the ability to use old games in newer game systems and the Game Boy was a system that could use backward compatibility.

Systems that allowed 3D emulation weren't actual three dimensional graphics, they were two dimensional graphics that were layered to create this three dimensional effect.

10th Generation

Starting in most likely 2020, the tenth generation is very controversial. Will the 8th and 9th generations be the last of gaming consoles or will we be provided with a 10th generation?

In honor of the 10th generation, it looks like Nintendo will have to come out with a NinTENdo.

Second Generation (1976-1992)

8th Generation (2011-)

The second generation of computer and video games began in 1976 with the release of the Fairchild Channel F and Radofin Electronics' 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System.

The early period saw the launch of several consoles as various companies decided to enter the market; later releases were in direct response to the earlier consoles.

The Atari 2600 was the dominant console for much of the second generation, with other consoles such as Intellivision, the Odyssey², and ColecoVision also enjoying market share.

The second generation included games like Mappy, Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, and Tempest.

This is the current generation of gaming consoles and is the CURRENT generation that WE ARE IN, this generation consists of the Xbox One and the Playstation 4. Generation 8 has released the Alienware console in early 2015. This console allows you to connect to gaming sites like STEAM and streaming websites.

Generation 8 still has more to come, so keep your heads up!

Game Design

The 10 Generations of Gaming Consoles