Gaming consoles appeal to different audiences, from children to full grown adults. However, these products did not just come out of the blue to begin making waves in the gaming sector. They have a timeline that traces every aspect of their development. In this post, we will be walking you through that timeline in a brief but comprehensive way.
How We Got Here: The Development of Gaming Consoles
The 1900s witnessed the creation of the exquisite gaming experience we enjoy today. Here is a walk though the process from its birth to the golden age and, finally, the present day.
The Birth of Video Game Consoles
Generally speaking, the years 1972–1978 was when the first wave of commercial video game consoles hit. Back then, there were a lot of businesses fighting for dominance in the industry. Some of the famous game consoles of the time were the Coleco Telstar system, the Atari Pong, and the Magnavox Odyssey.
For the Magnavox Odyssey, gamers could choose from eleven different games, such as football, cat and mouse, hockey, tennis, and more. However, the Odyssey Console’s technicality necessitated the user inserting a game before being able to power up the device.
The fourth year of manufacturing saw reasonable sales for the Magnavox Odyssey, but they weren’t up to standards. This disappointment from the Odyssey stemmed from the users being confused about its operations. No one could really tell whether the console was universal or if it only worked with Magnavox TVs. Competitors saw this coming and began disclosing which TV brands were compatible with their own consoles.
In 1975, Atari released Pong for their video game platform. Many of its unique characteristics made it stand out from the crowd. Atari Pong’s use of a single chip allowed for the creation of a game system that included visual scoring and sound effects. It became one of the most well-known creations in the history of consoles.
In 1976, Coleco entered the video game system with the release of the Telstar brand. Their brilliant launch coincided with the rise in popularity of Atari collections. Hockey, tennis, and handball were all part of this series. Many players thought it was great.
Following that, until 1978, Coleco released fourteen more systems under the Telstar brand. However, only two of Coleco’s fourteen new consoles—Telstar Combat and Telstar Marksman—were commercially successful.
A Golden Age for Gaming Consoles
The gaming industry saw a boom in the early 1980s. This was the beginning of the golden era of video game consoles. During this time, the cartridge video game technology became widely used. Popular games like Pacman, Mario Bros., Final Fantasy, etc. were produced.
Sega and Nintendo were primarily in charge of the gaming industry back then. After releasing the SG-1000 in 1983, Sega went on to produce the Sega Master System in 1986, which was a smashing success. Also, among systems developed during the time, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) from 1983 was the most popular. It came out only a few years before the Sega Master System.
Shortly, other brands, like Sega and NES, began releasing new systems, but they couldn’t compete with Sega’s dominance. The rivalry between the two firms persisted, though, as each company introduced new gaming systems. While Nintendo debuted the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1990, Sega debuted the MegaDrive/Genesis in 1989. Nonetheless, after the success of the MegaDrive/Genesis, Sega developed the Master System II in the same year.
Gaming Consoles Today
In between the time lapses were gaming controllers and the birth of mobile gaming. Gamers found more fun things to do, like making a fastest payout online casino nz and placing bets on such platforms’ games.
However, in the late 2020, the PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X/S became major outbreaks. Unlike their forerunners, these consoles have superior storage space and processing capability, allowing for more sophisticated functionality. Additionally, they have better controllers and generally better visual processors, which may result in resolutions of up to 8K in certain cases.
The Future for Gaming Consoles
What will happen to video game consoles in the future has been the subject of much discussion and speculation. The future of gaming consoles is uncertain; some predict greater advances, while others predict their demise at the hands of virtual reality.
However, we shouldn’t let our hopes down, as these are simply speculations. Video game consoles aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, though new features like streaming, virtual reality, and augmented reality are on the horizon.
Conclusion
Many people love what gaming consoles have become today. Exclusive titles can now be streamed on PS Now for Sony. Microsoft is also likely to follow suit with Xbox Game Pass in the near future. We hope to keep seeing more from the major players in the industry: Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo.
My first console with Pong. Sweet memories.
1900s generally means early 20th century and not the later part. But this is a nice departure from the AI generated casino articles.