Millions of people play video games on a daily basis or at least a few times a week. They play those games on their computer, on their mobile phones, or on video game systems. Video game systems are most notably called game consoles. These consoles have been changed, updated, revamped, and improved over the past two decades. Some of the most popular video game systems include PlayStation (entire series), Xbox (entire series), Nintendo (entire series), and Sega Genesis. Below we will provide a brief history of these video game systems and what they offer to the player.
PlayStation – This gaming system is produced by Sony and features PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable in its list of consoles and portable systems. The first console, the PlayStation, was released in 1994. It had two ports for two separate controllers, and a circular opening in the middle of the console where the CD would be placed inside. Games were released on CD and any PlayStation game could be played on PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. PlayStation 2 was released in North America in 2000 and PlayStation 3 was released in North America in November 2006. PlayStation Portable was released in March 2005 in North America.
Xbox: This gaming system was Microsoft’s first foray into the game console market. It was released in 2001 and discontinued in 2006. Xbox allows gamers to play their video games online against millions of other gamers around the world. The successor to this system, Xbox 360, was released in November 2005. The release of Xbox 360 was one of the main reasons why Xbox production and sale in the video game market was discontinued. There are several Xbox 360 limited editions available to buy, including Halo 3, The Simpsons, and Resident Evil 5.
Nintendo: Nintendo has released quite a few different video game consoles in its gaming history. Their first console released in North America (1985) was the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and was accompanied by the Super Mario Bros. video game. In fact, Nintendo is the longest-running video game console manufacturer to date. In 1989, Nintendo released the Game Boy, a portable system. The company has also released the Super NES (selling over 49 million consoles), Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, and Wii. The Wii is Nintendo’s most recent console release.
Sega Genesis: The Sega Genesis launched in North American markets in 1989 with 14 million consoles sold in the United States and more than 29 million worldwide. The Sega Genesis competed fiercely with the Nintendo NES and ultimately lost the battle. The Sega Genesis was the most successful console in Sega’s history and its consoles and games are still popular in some parts of the world today. In fact, some of the older games have been re-released for newer consoles and offered as downloads on the Internet.