PlayStation 2
Sony
Discontinued: Still going…
Sold based on the strengths of the original PlayStation, backwards-compatibility and built-in DVD player, the PS2 has pushed more than 127 million units worldwide as of last year – making it the highest-selling console of all time.

As the most popular console of the last generation, the PS2 secured exclusive rights to giant franchise sequels, including: Final Fantasy X, Grand Theft Auto III, Metal Gear Solid 2, SOCOM and Gran Turismo 3.

Not without faults, Sony made a weak effort to take gaming online. Still, the PS2 surpassed the Dreamcast and was one of the major players to drive a stake through Sega’s heart.

PSone
Sony
Discontinued: 2006
This newer, slimmer PS1 was released a few months before the PS2 hit shelves and still managed to outsell all other consoles that year, including its big brother.

The only differences were the size (duh), the slightly different interface and the extra protection against modding the console.

Also, it was easier to run the games, so we didn’t have to play the PSone upside down anymore.

Xbox
Microsoft
Discontinued: 2007
Microsoft’s first entry in the console market was met with equal parts doubt and cautious optimism. Many worried the Xbox would play nothing but PC ports and were scared that it was a glorified Windows console.

After many delays, the Xbox released against Nintendo’s GameCube and not only improved upon online play (sorry Dreamcast), but came with a built-in hard drive.

This eliminated the need for memory cards and let gamers to rip music and play custom soundtracks. The list of console exclusives was small, but included gems like Knights of the Old Republic and Ninja Gaiden. Oh, and if you’ve ever heard of Halo or Halo 2, then you’ll understand how the term ‘multiplayer’ is synonymous with Xbox.

GameCube
Nintendo
Discontinued: 2007
Released against the Xbox, the GameCube was Nintendo’s attempt to recapture the market lost by their last console, the N64. Sadly, it didn’t work. Nintendo trailed in third during last generation’s console war in terms of sales. This was partly attributed to Nintendo’s focus on family-friendly games, poor online support (their eventual modem didn’t do much) and very little third-party support.

Even with spectacular first-party releases like Super Mario Sunshine, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Smash Bros. Melee and third-party (then exclusive) Resident Evil 4, the GC was not the major contender everyone wished it could be.

GameBoy Advance
Nintendo
Discontinued: 2007
Described as a portable SNES (but with better hardware), the GBA was insanely popular and technologically superior to the GameBoy Color in everything from battery life to color palette.

Since its release, the GBA (and GBA SP) have sold just over 81 million copies and proved that sprite-based games could still stand against the 3D powerhouse consoles available at the time. Was also popular due to the amount of old school love including the Super Mario Advance series, Metroid Fusion, Castlevania and many Mega Mans.

Swan Crystal
Bandai (Japan)
Discontinued: Shortly thereafter
The Swan Crystal was practically the same as its predecessor, the WonderSwan Color. The major difference was that the LCD used in the Crystal is the same type found in many flat-paneled TVs and therefore provided sharper contrast ratios.

In plain speak, the screen was more vibrant and looked better. It was backwards compatible with the previous two Swans and could be played for 15 hours on one AA battery. The GBA’s dominance would scare it into submission.

GameBoy
Advance SP
Nintendo
Discontinued: 2007
Slightly more than half the size of the original GBA, this version folded in half like earlier Game & Watch units or – as we’ll see later – the DS.

Interestingly, Nintendo opted to omit a headphone jack. So you either had to buy specific headphones or a special jack. Two years after its release, a newer model of the SP featured a backlit screen – perfect for nighttime playing.

Also, the latest iterations of Pokemon – Ruby and Sapphire – hit Japan one month after the SP went on sale, bolstering sales.

N-Gage
Nokia
Discontinued: The phone service continues
Although Nokia is immensely successful as a network communications brand (its the 5th most valuable global brand according to BusinessWeek), their venture into the gaming market has proved disastrous.

Ugly for both a phone and a handheld, the N-Gage cost twice as much as the GBA SP and was three times as much of a joke. The most basic function of inserting a game was a chore: you had to pop off the phone’s plastic cover and the battery compartment just to slide the game card in.

Somehow it managed to nab known franchises like Sonic, Tomb Raider and Tony Hawk. It still sucked, though.

Zodiac
Tapwave
Discontinued: 2005
Designed to run off an updated version of the Palm OS, the Zodiac received all kinds of awards from tech magazines for merging PDAs with gaming. However, due to pressure from its direct competitor, the DS, Tapwave decided to stop developing for it.

PlayStation Portable
PSP-1000
Sony
Discontinued: Still going strong
With Nintendo eating up the handheld market, it made sense for Sony to try and take back territory. It had the console market by the balls, so why shouldn’t it have a handheld?

Enter the PSP – complete with wide widescreen, analog nubbin for 3D gameplay and multimedia capabilities never before seen on a handheld (stuff like internet, cross media bar, mp3 player, connectivity with other Sony products). The PSP also had the distinction of playing an optical disc – the UMD – which played not only games, but movies.

But even with stellar hits like Metal Gear Portable Ops, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Daxter, Crisis Core and a hell of a lot more, the PSP trails the Nintendo DS in sales even now. As of December 2007, it’s behind by about 34 million.

PStwo
Sony
Discontinued: Not yet
Released just before the launch of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the redesigned slimline PS2 was just that: smaller, thinner and quieter than the comparatively gargantuan original design.

However, due to its new size, the PStwo lacks the expansion bay and thus, doesn’t support the internal hard drive used to play specific games like Final Fantasy XI. Also, there was no internal power source, hence the AC power brick that comes with the system. But even so, it was still way more attractive to display in homes.

And in 2007, an even slimmer PS2 slim was released with a smaller motherboard.

DS
Dual Screen
Nintendo
Discontinued: Probably never
Originally announced as the third pillar of Nintendo’s console line (has since replaced the GameBoy), the DS looks amazingly similar to the original Game & Watch’s. With two screens – the bottom of which is a touch pad that utilizes a stylus – the DS competes with the PSP in terms of innovation, not hardware.

Since its release, the DS has been marketed to a broader audience – which is one reason why it’s sold over 70 million units (including the DS Lite). The DS is also compatible with GBA games, contains Wi-Fi service and is even known to have a large homebrew audience by playing SD cards that house emulated games.

N-Gage QD
Nokia
Discontinued: Service still exists
Nokia’s second attempt at conquering the portable market corrected design flaws of the original, including the cartridge slot and earpiece issues.

It’s still a joke.

XaviXPORT
SSD
Discontinued: Still sold in stores
The console uses cartridges and special wireless controllers. The controllers are shaped like sports equipment (such as baseball bats or tennis racquets) that use motion sensors. With no third party game publisher support the library of games is fairly limited.

Xbox 360
Microsoft
Discontinued: No way, Jose
As the first console and forerunner of the “next-generation” of hardware, the 360 launched with a much-improved Xbox Live online service and high-definition support (although games are encoded on regular DVDs).

The 360 is also known for launching with different retail options – Elite, Core, Premium and Arcade – and some of the highest failure rates we’ve ever seen in a console. Microsoft’s “red ring of death” problem was so bad that the company took a pretax charge of $1 billion to up everyone’s warranty to three years.

Even with all those returns and refurbishes, the 360 is amazingly popular and coupled with some of the best games on the market today, including Halo 3, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Ninja Gaiden II and Project Gotham Racing 4.

GameBoy Micro
Nintendo
Discontinued: Still out there
As the GBA’s second redesign, the GBM was released for people who loved extremely small things. The Micro omitted compatibility with the original GameBoy and GB Color, but added the headphone jack back in the design. Since release, it’s sold about 2 1/2 million copies, but failed to meet expectations when going up against the newer, more powerful DS.

Gizmondo
Tiger Telematics
Discontinued: Might get a new release
This shitty handheld game came with GPS, mp3 player, prepaid text messages and in-system ads (booooo!). However, Gizmondo’s most interesting story deals with greed, the mafia and car wrecks. Apparently a number of Gizmondo employees, including noted criminal Stefan Eriksson, were dealing with the Swedish mob while extorting cash from the company. It’s a convoluted story, but we’ll let Next Gen finish this sordid tale…

“In February 2006 Stefan Eriksson, former executive at Gizmondo, taught his Ferrari Enzo how to fly on a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway, slicing the million-dollar car neatly in half, and creating the world’s first performance art re-enactment of the rise and fall of a videogame company.

Of course, it wasn’t really Eriksson’s fault. As he told it, a mysterious German named Dietrich was driving the doomed sportscar when it crashed. Eriksson was just innocently sitting in the passenger seat of a flying Ferrari when it collided with a pole and blood flew off his lip and onto the driver-side airbag.”

Wii
Nintendo
Discontinued: Are you kidding?
Originally codenamed “Revolution,” the Wii is known for the Wii Remote – that remote-control looking doohickey that you swing around to play games.

The sleek white console (possibly taking a cue from Apple) is notorious for reaching people who don’t normally play games and is populated mostly by third-party “casual” releases. This may account for the console having sold close to 25 million units worldwide, but you wouldn’t know it considering you can’t find the damn thing anywhere.

Even though online play is proving to be dismal when compared to the 360 and PS3, the Wii store enables gamers to download older games from systems like the Genesis, NES, SNES, N64 and Turbo-Grafx. Amazing first-party games like Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Twilight Princess and Smash Bros. Brawl are among the finest in its library.

DS Lite
Nintendo
Discontinued: Yeah, right
The redesigned DS is slimmer, has a brighter screen and the stylus storage is on the side of the system. Also, the power button is now a slider and the battery holds a longer charge. It’s sold about 52 million units worldwide and when combined with the original, that adds up to about 70 million. You just might have one of these.

PlayStation 3
Sony
Discontinued: Give it about ten more years
Announced at the ridiculous price point of $500/$600 before dropping to a much more affordable range, the PS3 was built to be essentially future-proof with its incredible graphical prowess and built-in Blu-ray player.

Even with all that muscle tech behind it, the PS3 lags in sales with an estimated 13 million units sold worldwide. This can be attributed to pompous marketing, a higher-than-competitive price point, lack of killer-apps (for now) and console ports that take longer to develop for. Not to mention a lawsuit that initially kept rumble from its controllers. Still, it’s one hell of a machine and seems to be hitting its stride with its Home service and hit games like Uncharted, Ratchet & Clank Future, Resistance and Metal Gear Solid 4.

PSP-2000
Sony
Discontinued: Nope
1/3 lighter and 19% slimmer, the new PSP accounted for a surge of sales. Even with a slimmer battery, a more efficient use keeps the runtime the same as the previous version. With a number of slight design and hardware changes, this newer model has met a fair bit of praise, including more tactile feedback in the buttons.

PSP-3000
Sony
Discontinued: No
Sony’s latest update improved screen that’s brighter with no glare and a built-in mic. Scan-line issues are a problem with 2D games and Sony isn’t fixing them.

DSi
Nintendo (Japan)
Discontinued: No
The DSi removes the GBA cartridge slot and adds an SD card slot, the screens are a bit larger in size yet resolution remains the same a previous DS models, there’s now a camera installed on the front and back and overall it’s a bit wider and thinner than the DS Lite. Currently the DSi is only available in Japan.

PSP go
Sony
Available 10/1/2009
Newly restyled and now sporting a 3.8 inch LCD, 16GB internal hard drive, and built-in Bluetooth support. Other than the lack of UMD drive the PSP go functions just as its predecessors, play games, watch movies, videos, music, web browser & Skype.

The PSP go System is due this fall (October 1st, 2009) at a MSRP of $249.99.

[source ]]> http://videogame2play.com/platform/console/video-game-consoles-of-the-2000s/ /feed 8 http://videogame2play.com/platform/console/video-game-consoles-of-the-1990s/ http://videogame2play.com/platform/console/video-game-consoles-of-the-1990s/ #comments Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:48:12 +0000 aDub http://videogame2play.com/?p=1816

TurboGrafx-CD
NEC
Discontinued in: ~1999
The TurboGrafx-16 and its many  additions (like this CD) never took off in the US or Europe, but the Japanese market was much more attentive to NEC’s multimedia plight. There are so many revisions and changes to this basic idea – CD-ROM games – that it’s no wonder the console failed to find a large audience. The variants also make it tough to pinpoint exactly when this console went belly up.

Turbo Express
NEC
Discontinued in: ~1999
A handheld Turbografx-16 that had a state-of-the-art (at the time) backlit LCD screen and played the entire library of Hu-Card games and featured a TV Tuner. Despite its technical advantages, the Turbo Express didn’t sell well perhaps due to NEC initially pricing it at $399.99, then reducing it to $249.99 then raising it back up to $299.99 and then by 1992 it was lowered to $199.99. 6AA batteries lasted about as long as Sega’s Nomad but worse than the GameGear and GameBoy.

Game Gear
Sega
Discontinued in: 1997
Essentially a portable Master System, Game Gear tried to fend off Game Boy but ultimately faded into nothingness. Partly to blame for its demise were the six AA batteries needed for power that it guzzled like a stretch Hummer with stadium lighting. Strangely enough, it saw a brief resurgence post-2000 through Majesco. The re-issued unit allegedly had a better screen and higher-quality speakers.

Master System II
Sega
Discontinued in: 1992
A small re-issue of the original Master System, with no card slot or, oddly enough, reset button. Apparently included Alex Kidd in Miracle World as a pack-in game already programmed into the console. It didn’t reignite interest in the Master System, so Sega wisely put its efforts behind the Genesis and Mega Drive platforms.

Super Famicom
Nintendo
Discontinued in: 2000
Designed by Masayuki Uemura, the designer of the original Famicom, the Super Famicom was released in Japan on 11/21/1990 for ¥25,000. Only two games were initially available at launch Super Mario World and F-Zero. While technically slower than the Mega Drive, its many other advantages (better sound quality and graphics) helped propel it to an eventual victory for its generation.

Super NES
Nintendo
Discontinued in: 1999
The US release of the Super Famicom was released at the end of summer ‘91 for $199.99 and a launch lineup that added Pilotwings, SimCity, and Gradius III.

Overcoming it’s relatively late start and fierce competition it faced from the Genesis console the Super Nintendo became the most successful console of the 16-bit generation, with more than 23.35 million sold.

Turbo Duo
NEC
Discontinued in: ~1999
Yet another CD/game card hybrid from NEC, and therefore another system that’s hard to say when it died. The graphics looked like NES, but the audio was far beyond anything carts could accomplish (thanks to vast CD storage).

Didn’t matter though, and that’s why you’ll be playing its best games (Ys, Lords of Thunder) on the Virtual Console.

Lynx II
Atari
Discontinued in: 1994
The second version of Atari’s ill-fated handheld. It should have been obvious there was no stopping Game Boy, even with a new look and some mumbling about better specs. Doesn’t matter anyway, as barely anyone played either version of the damn thing. Kung Food, really?

Mega CD
Sega
Discontinued in: ~1995
The development of the Mega CD was confidential; game developers were not made aware of what exactly they were working on until the add-on was finally revealed at the Tokyo Toy Show in Japan and was awarded Best New Peripheral of 1992 by Electronic Gaming Monthly. In April 1993 the Mega CD was introduced to European and Australian markets.

CD-i
Philips
Discontinued in: 1998
The expensive Compact Disc Interactive didn’t take the world by storm with it Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace ports, large selection of interactive information and educational titles, and surprisingly great version of Tetris.
Philips did release a few Nintendo licensed games for the console, Hotel Mario and three Legend of Zelda games Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and Zelda’s Adventure.

Nintendo and Philips had established an agreement to co-develop a CD-ROM enhancement for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (after Nintendo and Sony scrapped a previous deal on an earlier add-on for the SNES, which would eventually result in the creation of the PlayStation), and Philips was contractually allowed to continue using Nintendo characters after the deal fell through.

FM Towns Marty
Fujitsu
Discontinued in: 1999?
Another Japan-only machine that made little impact. It was backwards compatible with previous FM Towns machines, which might have been good news for a few distraught children who couldn’t find a Super NES. It is, however, the first 32-bit console and sported a CD and hard drive, so eat it everyone else!

Sega CD
Sega
Discontinued in: ~1995
Released in the US a year after Japan’s Mega CD the Sega CD was meant to enhance the Genesis beyond the SNES. The marketing ploy “Welcome to the Next Level” drove the idea home, though anyone who actually played the thing knew the truth – most of the games were low quality FMV with frustratingly bad gameplay or Genesis ports with a new soundtrack. There were some gems though, Lunar, Sonic CD, Ground Zero Texas, Snatcher, Rise of the Dragon and Dark Wizard.

Intellivision
Mattel Electronics
Discontinued: 1991
Known as the first console to pose a serious threat to Atari’s 2600, the Intellivision sold 175,000 consoles in its first year and started a TV smear campaign against its rival. Interestingly, Mattel rolled out a voice synthesis peripheral in 1982 called the Intellivoice, which made speech integral to gameplay. Intellivision was also known as the first 16-bit console, even though you’d never recognize it as such.

Game & Watch
Nintendo (Japan)
Discontinued: 1991
These LCD electronic games came in different models  - all of which have resembled an iteration of the Game Boy or DS at one point. The Game & Watch pioneered left-handed directional control with the d-pad, seen on every console and handheld in the modern age. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, who’d later create the GameBoy.

VIC-20
Commodore
Discontinued: 1985
As the first microcomputer to sell a million units, the VIC-20 was designed to be way more economical than the PET – a PC Commodore released three years prior. The VIC-20 played games on cartridge and tape and was  the first computer to be sold at a K-Mart. Hell, William Shatner was even  the spokesman at one point. The VIC-20 also held the distinction of introducing many software developers to basic programming skills.

IBM PC 5150
IBM
Discontinued: 1987
Even though the IBM PC appeared in 1975, the price was deemed way too high to compete with cheaper alternatives. The newest model was the first computer to be legally reverse engineered by other manufacturers to create PC or IBM clones – hence that old term “IBM compatible.” Yeah, rivals were able steal the BIOS through backdoor shenanigans.

Sinclair ZX81
Sinclair (UK)
Discontinued: 1983
An upgrade to the ZX80, the newer Sinclair model used ordinary audio cassettes for saving and loading programs. This model was known for various oddities, including no sound capability and strangely giving the square root of .25 as 1.359. Sinclair eventually replaced this model with the more popular Spectrum.

Cassette Vision
Epoch (Japan)
Discontinued: 1984
Ignore the console name, because this thing played cartridges. And did you know the CV was the first ever programmable console to be made in
Japan? The graphics were a little iffy for its time (following the Atari 2600) and controls were located directly on the console (two knobs per player!). Not incredibly successful, but did manage to spawn two spinoff consoles.

Philips
Videopac
G7200
Philips (UK)
Discontinued: Mid 80s
Because Philips was the parent company to Magnavox, Philips released the Odyssey 2 in foreign countries under its own name. This console is the exact same as the O2, except it came with a built-in B&W monitor. Fancy and rare.

Atari 5200
Super System
Atari
Discontinued: 1984
Created as a powerful successor to the 2600, the 5200 competed with the Intellivision and ColecoVision once it hit the market. Unfortunately, Atari spent more attention on the oversaturated (and far more popular) 2600 rather than their new console. Also, Atari underestimated the value of backwards compatibility – at least until they released an adapter the following year. Generally considered a failure, the newer controller also featured a pause button  which has since been  seen everywhere in the world of gaming.

Coleco
ColecoVision
Coleco
Discontinued: 1984
Was this a Pong system? Hell no, Coleco came packaged with arcade-hit Donkey Kong, which certainly helped boost its popularity. The ColecoVision was powerful enough to display arcade-quality graphics and even contained the ability to play Atari 2600 games – a nice jab indeed. The detachable controllers included a keypad, smaller buttons and a tiny joystick. Even including the crash of ‘83, the CV sold around six million units.

Coleco
Gemini
Coleco
Discontinued: 1984
Taking their nefarious ways a step further, Coleco built and sold this 2600 clone. The consoles were pretty much the same, except in controller design (the joystick and paddles were switched around). Atari made some noise (as well they should’ve),  but  a judge ruled that because Coleco used off-the-shelf materials for their specific design, they weren’t infringing on any Atari patents.

Commodore 64
Commodore
Discontinued: 1994
The C64 entered the home PC market with 8-bits and a higher color resolution and better sound abilities than the Apple II and IBM PC – its direct competitors. Its success helped muscle Texas Instruments out of the PC market just in time for the industry crash. Even when the Master System and NES appeared on the scene quite a few years later, the C64 exhibited a healthy challenge. And nowadays, you can download some of the games on the Wii Virtual Console.

Arcadia 2001
Emmerson
Discontinued: Soon thereafter
Designed to wage war against the 2600, it was released just as the Atari 5200 and ColecoVision came out. The Arcadia 2001 was created to be portable, so if you were one of several people who owned a portable TV in 1982, then you were golden. It died quickly amongst its more recognizable and way more powerful competitors.

ZX Spectrum
Sinclair (UK)
Discontinued: 1990
Aptly titled Spectrum (color graphics), the latest ZX model led to a boom in the UK videogame market and had a positive impact on the companies producing software for it. Many enthusiasts made illegal copies of games through tape duplication, leading to increasingly complex prevention techniques. The rubber keyboard was surprisingly comfortable. And it has a rainbow on it!

Intellivision II
Mattel Electronics
Discontinued: About the same year
A redesigned (and smaller) model of the Intellivision was ordered after the first installment started losing ground to the ColecoVision and the 5200. This version contained detachable controllers and a sleeker case. Because the Intellivision had way more games than the ColecoVision before 2600 compatibility, Mattel designed a “System Changer,” which was an adapter that played 2600 games.

Adam Family Computer
Coleco
Discontinued: 1985
This stunningly lousy system by Coleco elicited an electromagnetic charge upon boot-up, ultimately erasing any media left inside (e.g. games). With an exceptionally high price in 1983 ($725), poor sales and the fact that the computer came packaged with a magnet bomb, the system was kind of a failure and  Coleco filed for bankruptcy in 1988. They should’ve made more Pong systems.

Aquarius
Mattel Electronics
Discontinued: 1989
It’s a great sign that once the Aquarius was released, the Aquarius II was announced. Internally dubbed “the system of the 70s,” the Aquarius was a weak PC compared to the TI-99/4A and Commodore’s VIC-20. It used cassette tapes as a secondary storage unit and was on the tip of no one’s tongue.

Apple IIe
Apple
Discontinued: 1993
The “e” stands for “enhanced”. No, really. It does. The third model in Apple’s insanely popular II series and the longest-lived in computer in Apple’s history, the IIe added a full ASCII character set and keyboard. Also, the ever popular Delete and Tab keys were introduced. Low production costs coupled with an attractive feature set caused a number of these things to be snatched up at retail.

Nintendo
Famicom
Nintendo (Japan)
Discontinued: 1995
After a disastrous release including a product recall, the Nintendo Family Computer better known as the Famicom bounced back and became the best-selling console in Japan. This is mostly due to the success of  console-specific games like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda (as opposed to the multi-platform  Pac-Man of times past) and to a new business model of software licensing agreements with third-party developers. Even greater success would be found in America’s launch of the system.

SG-1000
Sega (Japan)
Discontinued: 1984
The SG-1000 marked Sega’s first entry into the console market. It was quietly released and sold moderately. Basically,  the SG-1000 was a  test ground for the Master System.

Philips
Videopac
+G7400
Philips (UK)
Discontinued: 1983
While the G7400 was the UK equivalent of the Magnavox Odyssey 2, the +G7400 was released only in Europe with very limited quantities. RAM and ROM were bumped to 16 KB, meaning specific high-res games could be played in addition to normal G700 games. It kinda looks like a typewriter.

Sony MSX
Sony (Japan)
Discontinued: 1995
Sony’s MSX was a Microsoft of Japan-led attempt to create some unified standards among hardware developers. The console was a success overseas, selling about five million units and was even the major Japanese platform to develop for  (until the Famicom was released). Back in those days, Konami and Hudson Soft originally developed for the MSX. In fact, the first-ever Metal Gear was developed specifically for the MSX2, a revision of the hardware.

Apple
Macintosh
Apple
Discontinued: 1987 with the Mac II
The original Mac was the first commercially successful computer ever to feature not only a mouse, but a graphical user interface (desktop) and not a command-based one. In fact, the bundled software – MacWrite and MacPaint – were designed to show off its GUI. Its ease of use led many to complain that it was nothing more than a toy, a common argument heard today. Also known for that 1984-esque commercial that aired only once during the  Super Bowl.

SG-1000 II
Sega (Japan)
Discontinued: 1986
Pretty much identical to the original SG-1000, numero dos merely redesigned the console and switched where the keyboard port was. Yup.

Super
Cassette Vision
Epoch (UK)
Discontinued: A short time later
As if Epoch didn’t get the hint, they released the Super CV a short time after their original baby didn’t catch on. This time the hardware was improved just slightly. It sold very little in Europe. Besides the Cassette Vision Jr., they didn’t release another console again. Shame.

Amstrad
CPC 464/CPC664
Amstrad (UK)
Discontinued: The whole line was discontinued by 1990
Amstrad build these PCs as direct competitors to the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. The CPC 454 was packaged with its own monitor (still pretty rare at the time) and a built-in cassette deck. The 664 contained a built-in floppy disk drive instead of the tape deck. However, later in ‘85, they replaced their hardware yet again. The strategy here is: if one computer don’t get ‘em, a few dozen more might.

Nintendo
Entertainment
System
Nintendo
Discontinued: 1993ish
North America’s Famicom counterpart, the NES ruled the console roost up until its successor, the SNES, came along in 1991. Debut franchise series on this system include Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Mega Man, Castlevania, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. The incredible sales in North America, combined with Japanese popularity helped cement the NES as one of the highest-selling consoles of all time (estimated 62 million units sold) and evolved Nintendo into a serious gaming publisher whose popularity still exists today.

Atari ST
Atari
Discontinued: 1993
Atari’s commercially popular PC was based on Motorola hardware and was the first computer to come with a fully bit-mapped graphical interface. Even though the ST competed with the Apple Mac and Commodore Amiga, the ST was cheaper and ideal for business use.

Commodore
Amiga
Commodore
Discontinued: 1987
Cheaper than the Apple Mac and IBM PC, the Amiga was especially popular with professions relating to video production. As a 16-bit (and later 32-bit) machine, the Amiga was popular enough to warrant a new design every year or so. The company stopped producing Amigas in 1996.

Intv System III
INTV Corp.
Discontinued: 1987
Intellivison changed their name to INTV Corp and released the INTV System III (or Intellivision III). Priced at $60, it went on to reach $6 million in sales worldwide. New games like Super Pro Football and Pole Position went head to head against Sega’s Master System and the NES.

SG-1000
Mark III
Sega (Japan)
Discontinued: 1992
Released as a direct competitor to the Famicom/NES, the Mark III was backwards-compatible with the other SG-1000s and used “Sega Cards” (additional slot for games) along with its cartridge system. Video hardware and an increased amount of RAM did wonders for the system as it made minor waves when it was renamed the Master System a few short months later.

Sinclair
ZX Spectrum +
Sinclair (UK)
Discontinued: 1985
Same as the original Spectrum, but included a new reset button and injection-molded keyboard.

Amstrad
CPC 6128
Amstrad
Discontinued: 1990
Replaced the CPC 664 released only just a few months beforehand. Came with the new built-in floppy drive and 128KB of memory. Hot diggity damn!

Atari
2600 Junior
Atari
Discontinued: 1992
Right before the Atari 7800 launched, Atari made a push to revitalize interest in their (at that point) technologically inferior 2600. Hence the Jr. edition. Retailed for $50 and wasn’t that great compared to Nintendo or Sega’s worst efforts.

Sega
Master System
Sega
Discontinued: 1990
Known as the SG-1000 Mark III in Japan, the Master System was a direct threat to Nintendo’s entertainment system, but it didn’t really matter since the NES held 95% of the North American gaming market. No matter – after dismal sales Sega bounced back with a vengeance.

Atari
7800
Atari
Discontinued: 1992
Because the 5200 was so abysmal, the 7800 was created to reestablish market dominance (that didn’t happen). But the 7800 fixed everything wrong with the 5200 – simple joysticks, fully backwards compatible and was completely affordable at $140. However, the number of titles developed specifically for the 7800 were the lowest of any Atari console up until that point. Profitable due to low investments, yet nowhere near as popular as the NES.

Famicom
Disk System
Nintendo (Japan)
Discontinued: 1992
A system designed to use floppy disks for data storage; you hooked it up to the Famicom and enabled temporary program storage for larger games and save states. The Legend of Zelda, Metroid and Kid Icarus were some of the first games released to utilize this feature, even though they were subsequently ported as cartridges. Never made it to the States.

Sharp
Twin Famicom
Sharp (Japan)
Discontinued: 1992
Sharp released a combined console of both Famicom and the disk system under a licensed agreement. La-dee-da.

Sinclair
ZX Spectrum +2
Amstrad (UK)
Discontinued: 1990
After Amstrad bought the Sinclair range, they released the Spectrum +2 under their Sinclair banner. This new console was pretty much the same as the last one, except it had dual joystick ports and a built-in cassette recorder. That’s it.

Atari XE
Atari
Discontinued: Relatively quickly
Now that Nintendo was raking in cash, Atari was throwing out computers and game consoles left and right trying to snag some of that market. The XE was a repackaged 65XE (part of their home computer line) and came bundled with a keyboard, joystick and light gun. Too bad they couldn’t really market the damn thing and didn’t end up selling very many units.

Commodore
Amiga A500
Commodore
Discontinued: 1991
Commodore’s best-selling model in the Amiga line, the A500 was the first low-end Amiga PC. The A500 was extremely popular for its use as a gaming machine and not as another boring computer.

Sinclair
ZX Spectrum +3
Amstrad (UK)
Discontinued: 1990
Looking remarkably similar to the +2, the +3 had a black case and featured a built-in floppy disk drive. Also, a bunch of small hardware changes were made that enabled you to do slightly better things. Like most hardware upgrades.

PC Engine
NEC (Japan)
Discontinued in: 1999
NEC’s popular-in-Japan console that actually fended off the Famicom but was a non-issue in the US and Europe. Technically superior and later enhanced by a CD-ROM drive, the PC Engine hit US shelves as the TurboGrafx-16. It used game cards (called HuCards) instead of carts, and ended up being remodeled and tinkered with so many times that we’re kind of glad it never took off over here. At least the TurboDuo had some quality games…

Mega Drive
Sega
Discontinued in: 1998
Sega’s first big success actually flailed for a while in Japan before soaring to great popularity elsewhere after Sonic the Hedgehog dethroned Mario. Far and away Sega’s most popular console, it was known in the US as the  Genesis, presumably due to a trademark dispute with Mega Drive Systems, Inc. Fascinating!

Genesis
Sega
Discontinued in: 1998
The US Mega Drive. At one point it was so successful it actually had Nintendo on the defense with a constant 50/50 handle on the market. This was achieved via savvy marketing (Genesis Does What Nintendon’t), near arcade perfect games (Altered Beast, Space Harrier) and deals with celebrities (Michael Jackson, Joe Montana, Buster Douglass). It all made Sega seem like the cool console and Nintendo the kiddie system.

This is where the term “console war” really got going – people would get in actual fights (including some then-children GR editors) over this stuff. It wasn’t until Sega went batshit insane with the near-simultaneous releases of Sega CD, 32X and Saturn that it started to lose control of the market, eventually ceding to the SNES.

Turbografx-16
NEC
Discontinued in: 1999
Debuted just 2 weeks after the Sega Genesis launch in the United States, the TurboGrafx-16 shared identical hardware as the PC-Engine, 8-bit CPU with a 16-bit GPU as well as the same custom video encoder chip, in fact you could play Japanese HuCards with only a slight modification to the console.

The TurboGrafx-16 enjoyed moderate success is large markets like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, but NEC failed to market the console to less populated areas of the country which contributed to lackluster sales overall. Third-party support wasn’t that good, with most developers choosing to wait until the system became more popular, which made it more difficult to gain marketshare with only a handful of developers making games for it. This also helps explain why most of the TurboGrafx-16 TurboChips were designed by first party Hudson Soft.

Lynx
Atari
Discontinued in: 1994
Interesting, this one. Lynx came out roughly the same time as the Game Boy, had a color screen and superior visuals, yet failed miserably, with less than a million units sold to date. Goes to show that all the hardware in the world can’t make up for lack of games, something both Game Boy and Game Gear had in abundance. Cat names would eventually spell the end of Atari, as both Lynx and Jaguar are little more than humorous footnotes, even with fairly active homebrew audiences.

Game Boy
Nintendo
Discontinued in: 1999
You’re looking at one of the most successful, popular and long-lived gaming machines of all time. In addition to the backwards-compatible Game Boy Color, it’s sold nearly 120 million units since its 1989 release, with several colors and limited-edition variants spicing thing up in between. Yes, it had fugly, blurry green graphics that looked kinda crappy even then, but its battery life and software support were so impressive you couldn’t not own one. This little machine also supported multiplayer via link cable, spawned the very first Pokemon game in 1996 and was initially bundled with Tetris – perhaps the smartest move Nintendo has ever made.

SuperGrafx
NEC (Japan)
Discontinued in: 1990
The first of many, many bizarre revisions to the PC Engien/Turbografx-16, the SuperGrafxit had a duplicate set of video chips (and an extra chip to coordinate the two), four times as much RAM, twice as much video RAM, and a 2nd layer/plane of scrolling. Unfortunately all of this was built around an 8-bit main processor that simply couldn’t keep up and ultimately the SuperGrafx only had seven games developed specifically for it (it also played older PC Engine and CD games) never made it outside of Japan and quickly faded away. Bring on the TurboDuo!

[source]

Magnavox
Odyssey
As the first home console ever, the Odyssey ran on batteries and games came on removable circuit cards, not cartridges. The Odyssey tragically lacked sound capability, but that was later rectified. Also looks uncannily like a defibrillator.

Atari Pong
While the Odyssey used separate electronic components for its chip system, the Atari Pong used in integrated circuit on one chip – or in simple speak: it was the most complex chip for home use at the time. Pong’s differences went above and beyond the Odyssey – beeps and boops for sound, digital onscreen scoring and eight levels of spin on the ball. Technology!

Sears
Tele-Games
Pong
Videogames hadn’t yet caught on with major retailers, but after the Consumer Electronics Show in ‘75, Atari got a hold of the sporting goods buyer for Sears. Thinking they could turn a mighty profit that Christmas, Sears offered to help produce enough units to meet a healthy demand. Thusly, they became the exclusive retailer of Pong.

Magnavox
Odyssey 100
Ralph Baer – the creator of the Odyssey – wanted to improve on his original design and signed a contract with Texas Instruments (they make killer graphing calculators). The O100 didn’t use cartridges, but it did have action sounds and a switch to go between two games – Tennis and Hockey.

Magnavox
Odyssey 200
But wait! That’s not all. Magnavox released a slightly improved version – this time adding a third game, Smash – complete with onscreen scoring. Also, this baby enabled 2-4 players to join in on the ruckus. Eat your heart out, N64.

Fairchild
Channel F
Using a chip invented by the man who founded Intel, the F was the world’s first cartridge-based console. Even with simple color graphics, they were leagues better than any of the Pong systems at the time. Only 26 cartridges were released and the console looked like a glorified answering machine.

Atari
Super Pong
Super Pong was essentially the same damn thing as regular Pong, only with slight modifications. It played four games. One of them was Pong. There you go.

Coleco
Telstar
Keeping with the theme of including wood paneling on home consoles, Coleco released the Telstar, which only played Tennis. However, because it went for $50, it was attractive to families. Coleco sold over a million Telstars that year – mainly because the company placed the first orders from microchip maker, General Instruments. Their competitors only received a fraction of their orders that year.

Coleco
Telstar Classic
Tasting way better than Pepsi and RC Cola, the Telstar Classic added a wood grain finish (what the hell?) and enabled three games to be played: tennis, hockey and handball.

Magnavox
Odyssey 300
The first system to use a single game chip containing the entire magic of one Pong system. Curiously, it used only one knob per side. Also: it was yellow and contained the three games of the O200.

Magnavox
Odyssey 400
The O400 was the exact same as the O200 (three knobs and all), yet this time it included onscreen scoring. And if you somehow lost track of superfluous aspects of the game like who won, a helpful “W” displayed on the victor’s side.

Magnavox
Odyssey 500
For all intents and purposes, the 500 was incredibly similar to the 400, except for the stunning inclusion of color graphics. At this time, the four games (Soccer was the newest) were the sharpest they’ve ever been. This was the last three-digit Odyssey entry.

Atari
Stunt Cycle
Based on the arcade game and popularized by the Evil Knievel daredevil craze, Atari released a home version of Stunt Cycle that worked remarkably well. The point of the game was to leap over an ever-increasing amount of buses as a motocross rider. The controllers resembled a motorcycle’s handlebars and were used for the bike’s throttle.

RCA Studio II
Already obsolete by the time it hit stores in January 1977; the Studio II’s games were in black and white and made simple beeping sounds from a single speaker located inside the console. The Studio II retailed at $149.95 with five games built into the system as well as two key pads that controlled the games. The Studio II was the second console to support removable cartridges and RCA produced a total of nine games for the Studio II before exiting the video game market in 1979.

Atari VCS
Atari 2600
By the time it was released in October 1977, Atari had already spent about US$100 million on the development on the Atari Video Computer System, also known as the Atari 2600. Ready on store shelves for the holidays the 2600 sold for US$199.95 and that included two controllers, a built in game Combat! as well as many innovative features such as, switches for color/B&W graphics, handicap play and game select, it also cycled through color schemes to help avoid images being burned into your TV. While not the first console to feature removable game cartridges, it was the most successful, boasting over 900 titles in it’s library of games. Unfortunately a number of third-party developers crapped out worthless third-party games like a horrible port of Pac-Man and ET, thus leading to a waning public interest, which then helped crash the entire industry in 1983.

Coleco
Telstar Arcade
The last of the Coleco Pong consoles, the Telstar Arcade utilized cartridges even though only four were ever released. Besides tennis variants, the Arcade had a racing game and a shooter. We only know that from looking at the Frankenstein-esque console. If that abomination could talk, it would probably whisper “Shoot me.”

Nintendo
Color TV-Game 6
Only a few hundred of these units were ever produced of Nintendo’s first shot at a dedicated game console that was only released in Japan. The TV Game 6 contained six variations of Pong, with the players controlling their paddles with dials that were attached directly to the machine. Nintendo was never heard from again.

Apple II
Home Computer
This little number was the first mass produced computer from Apple and was one of the first popular computers for home use – due in fact to the agreeable price range. Popular with schools and businesses alike, the Apple II had simple spreadsheets and word processor applications. Its popularity helped bolster the computer game market. Chances are that if you’re at least in your early twenties, you’ve used this hardware. Apple went on to make some mp3 players and faded away from the spotlight.

Coleco
Telstar Ranger
Another release in the Telstar line, Ranger included four Pong variants and had two light gun games. Guys had enough Pong yet? Us neither.

Coleco
Telstar Alpha
Not much different here. Four Pong variants, complete with a black and white plastic case. Also: fixed dials on the console itself. Yup.

Coleco
Combat!
Thankfully no Pong was seen here, but rather up to four players controlled variants of the game, Tank. Four joysticks were included on the console itself and the only color it came in was pea soup military green.

Magnavox
Odyssey 2000
You thought you were done with Pong. Think again – Magnavox released three Odyssey consoles in 1977.  Three. The O2000 is notable for being similar to the O300 (the one with only one playable knob) and for  not having the color graphics introduced in the O400.

Magnavox
Odyssey 3000
The O3000 contained the same games and was exactly like the 2000 except for a brand new case design (gasp!) and detachable controllers. This system also played Pong and three other games.

Magnavox
Odyssey 4000
The last Pong system released by Magnavox contained eight games (!) that were in color (!!). The O4000 sported a sleek, white design that’s more attractive than the plastic or wood paneled systems that came before it – reminiscent of today’s Wii or any Mac product. Too bad the market had been bombarded by roughly a trillion Pong consoles by this point.

Coleco
Telstar Gemini
With a package claiming “6 Video Games in Color,” how could you go wrong? The six on display were four pinball variants and two light gun shooters. The console contained the buttons directly on it, foregoing a traditional controller. But hey, at least there wasn’t Pong.

Atari
Video Pinball
Now that Pong had its time in the sun, digital Pinball was the new craze. Atari released a dedicated console to capitalize on this popularity, which included two extra game variants – Basketball and Breakout. The console included bumpers on the side to play Pinball with, while the other games were controlled with the dial mounted prominently on the wooden finish. Yup, they were still making wooden consoles.

Mattel Electronics
Handheld Games
Predating the DS and thousands of colors by close to 30 years, were these simple handheld games featuring LED displays similar to that of a calculator or digital watch. Auto Race and Electronic Football were the first two Mattel handhelds and required players to navigate either a car or quarterback through obstacles. Newer 3D versions of these genres retain the same essential gameplay.

Magnavox
Odyssey 2
As a subsidiary of Philips (who released this console abroad as the Philips Odyssey 2), Magnavox’s new design finally enabled users to play cartridges, rather than Pong games booted from the console’s memory. The O2 included a full keyboard for edutainment games and a standard joystick complete with a big-ass red button on each. The console sold relatively well, pushing over a million units by 1983.

Bally
Professional
Videocade
Developed by Midway, the gaming division of Bally at the time, the Videocade or Astrocade as it was known in the early 80s was notable for its graphical prowess. Midway had wanted a video display chip in their successive systems, from arcade to consoles and ended up producing one of the most powerful 8-bit systems. Utilized cartridges and came with a 24-key keyboard.

Coleco
Telstar Colortron
Coleco kept pumping out the same damn thing – this time, the Colortron contained four Pong variants in glorious Technicolor. Colortron comes complete with various beepy sounds and fixed dials on the console.

Coleco
Telstar Marksman
Bundled with six color games, the first four were of course variants on Pong, while the other two were light gun shooters. The light gun featured an attachable stock and barrel, similar to the late Sega Menacer. Your parents may have been duped into buying this.

APF M1000
One of the earliest 8-bit cartridge consoles, the M1000 could only be used on a color TV and came with non-detachable joysticks. A number of games came out for this boringly-titled system, and chances are you’ve never heard of Rocket Patrol.

Philips
Videopac G7000
Literally the same exact thing as the Magnavox Odyssey 2. Philips – parent company to Magnavox – released it as such in Europe.

Nintendo
Color TV-
Game 15
Selling over a million units in Japan, the TV-Game 15 enabled easier play now that the controllers were on cables, rather than both players having to crowd the console. Also, fifteen different versions of Light Tennis (read: Pong) were included in the package. Not to be confused with…

Nintendo
Color TV-
Racing 112
The same year in Japan, Nintendo put out a bird’s-eye-view racing game with the console itself doubling as a steering wheel and gearshift. Trust us, the TV-Racing 112 was way less goofy than the Wii wheel. Also, the system came with two smaller controllers if you ever wanted some low-def multiplayer.

Atari 400/800
Home Computer
The Atari 400 and 800 series were introduced to compete with other home computers, which at the time included the Apple II and Commodore PET. The 400 and 800 stood for how much RAM each system contained (4KB and 8KB respectively), but by the time both were released the prices of RAM had dropped so much that they all included 8KB. Despite the feature-rich 800, the more affordable 400 outsold its big brother. Atari would continue to introduce a billion new home computers each year.

Milton Bradley
Microvision
Developed by prominent board game kingpin, Milton Bradley, the Microvision was a handheld, cartridge-based system. Very few games were ever developed for it and hardly any third-parties gave a shit about it. The Microvision was also accident prone as it was susceptible to problems including the LCD screen to spontaneously leak, a jumpy motherboard and being able to easily break the keypad. This console didn’t deserve to live.

TI-99/4
Home Computer
Texas Instruments released the TI-99/4 Home Computer at a price of $1,150 in the late seventies, it featured a calculator-style keyboard, which lacked the ability to type lowercase text. No matter, the TI-99/4 holds the distinction of being the first 16-bit PC. The TI-99 line popularized “plug and play” support for peripherals (what happens when you plug new devices into your computer). It was redesigned in 1981 and sold at half the price.

Nintendo
Color TV-
Block Busters
Featuring a similar design to the Color TV Game 6, this design featured one dial for use on included game, Breakout. This system holds the honor of being one of Shigeru Miyamoto’s first videogaming projects after joining up with Nintendo a few years prior. Undeniably, he would have a great effect on Nintendo. But that’s a story for another day.

[source]

We have too, which is why we approached Ubisoft about breaking down the making of Rainbow Six Vegas. They were kind enough to explain the timelines behind the scenes and each of the major steps behind the game’s development.

CONCEPTION [ 11 MONTHS ]

• Ubisoft gives a core design team composed of five people (producer, senior producer, creative director, art director, and lead programmer) a mandate outlining the project’s objectives and the target audience.
• Since this is Ubisoft Montreal’s first next-gen title, the team is given more time than is usually allotted for conception.
• The creative team brainstorms to outline the game’s plot, location, and player experience.
• The technical minds decide which engine and tools will be used to create the game.
• The team then comes together to build cheap prototypes to test core gameplay ideas like the new cover mechanic and multiplayer.
• Once the concept and prototype are ready, the team presents them to management in hopes of receiving a green light.

STORY DEVELOPMENT

• One of the big differences between how a story is created in games as opposed to film and literature is the amount of people involved in the process.
• Crafting the story is largely a team effort; while the creative director is responsible for the overall vision, the screenwriter, art director, and level designers are all involved in the process.
• The team brainstorms to draft a general synopsis, then writes the dialogue and fills in the minor details right down to each level objective.

RESEARCH

• Because popular casinos weren’t interested in being targeted by terrorists in a video game, Ubisoft Montreal was faced with the unique challenge of recreating Vegas without destinations that make the city famous.
• The producers sent a team to Vegas for two weeks to capture the essence of Sin City so they could use it to create a believable Vegas doppelganger.

PREPRODUCTION [ 8 MONTHS ]

• The team now brings in a larger production team to build what’s called a “vertical slice” of the game.
• One single-player and multiplayer level are created and polished so they are nearly final.
• The goal is to ensure that the engine and tools are mature enough to incorporate all the ideas brainstormed during conception.
• This test level gives the producers a general idea of how to schedule production, and confirms that the idea will work before Ubisoft commits more money and staff to the project.

PRODUCTION [ 10 MONTHS ]

• As Rainbow Six Vegas enters the production stage, the development team now ramps up to maximum capacity, nearly 150 people.
• The team has answered all of its questions about the game, and now it’s all about execution. Levels are built, code is refined, and art is sculpted.
• The producers have defined the scope and number of question marks facing the game, but must remain flexible to overcome the unforeseen challenges.
• The first major milestone is the alpha stage, where a rough build of the entire game comes together.
• This allows the team to begin the six month process of play testing, during which quality assurance and quality control teams will comb over the game to balance the game mechanics and make sure objectives are clear to players.
• The team continues to fine tune the graphics, audio, and game engine until it reaches the beta stage, which is a complete build with finalized art and audio.
• Now that the game has reached beta, programmers optimize the framerate while the play testers continue to hunt down the remaining bugs.

MARKETING

• One of the major decisions discussed in the first conception meeting is how the game will differentiate itself from the hundreds of titles on the shelves during the holiday.
• Ubisoft decided to keep quiet about Rainbow Six Vegas until it had something that would blow people away.
• That something was the gameplay demonstration unveiled during E3 2006.
• The game had a great buzz around it after the unveiling, so the team decided to create a demo for the public so players could experience Rainbow Six Vegas firsthand before it was released.
• This was a major production challenge because the team needed to pull some people away from the main production schedule to finalize the demo level.
• In the end, Ubisoft believed the exposure paid off.

SUBMISSION & RELEASE [ 3 MONTHS ]

• Once the game finishes beta it goes ‘gold.’ At this stage it is sent to Microsoft and Sony for final approval.
• Each company has its own teams of testers to make sure the title meets quality expectations for the console.
• Once the game is approved, Ubisoft can begin manufacturing discs and shipping to retail.
• The development team can then take a well-earned vacation before starting its next big project.

[source]

The following 13 part retrospective is narrated by Geoff Keighley who guides us from Final Fantasy’s earliest titles to the most recent.
Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 6:

Part 7:

Part 8:

Part 9:

Part 10:

Part 11:

Part 12:

Part 13:

Lowood is the curator of the History of Science and Technology Collections for Stanford University. More relevant to gamers, though, is the fact that Lowood recently got together with another game researcher, a blogger and two highly respected developers to come up with a list of games they feel should go in a museum.

“The video game canon is a list of 10 games that are important for history and all of game culture,” he said when the five-person panel sat down with MTV News at the Game Developers Conference earlier this month in San Francisco. “The reason we wanted to put a canon together was to jump-start efforts to preserve the history of digital gaming.”

Last July, the Library of Congress put out a call for suggestions on how the institution could preserve digital content, including “interactive games.” The Library collects important cultural and literary works from throughout the world, but so far hasn’t archived games. “I believe that was the first time a major American cultural institution said, ‘Games belong on that list,’ ” Lowood said. He decided to make a list, a suggested starting point of what should be saved.

A few months ago he roped in game designers Warren Spector (“Deux Ex”) and Steve Meretzky (“Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”) along with fellow academic Matteo Bittanti and gaming blogger Christopher Grant of Joystiq.com. Their mission, at first just by e-mail, was to submit two games apiece for the proposed museum list. Then they argued. Then they presented at GDC.

The list:

“Civilization” (series)

“Doom”

“Sensible World of Soccer”

“SimCity” (series)

“Spacewar!”

“Star Raiders”

“Super Mario Bros. 3″

“Tetris”

“Warcraft” (series)

“Zork”

Those 10 games weren’t the first ones the group selected. At least one major argument ensued when Bittanti initially nominated the “Call of Duty” series. “I was attacked by everybody,” he told MTV News. “Not too many people consider ‘Call of Duty’ a masterpiece.” He does, referring to the second game as a masterpiece of “merging cinema and games.” He argued that including the game would also touch on the close historical ties between the games industry and the military. The four others didn’t care; he was talked out of it. “Doom” would be the first-person-shooter on the list.

Grant was the one who officially backed “Doom” as one of his two choices. He too had considered a different first-person shooter. “My next game that I would have added that would have been hard to leave out was ‘Half-Life 2,’ he said. “I wanted to get a game that had been made more recently. The latest game on our list is from 1994.”

Meretzky was sympathetic. “I was actually pushing to have ‘Half-Life’ on there instead of ‘Doom’ because I thought it was a better example of the first-person-shooter genre.”

Spector didn’t care. “I would have resisted having a game that recent on the list if only because we don’t have the perspective to know what is going to have lasting value and what is going to change things.” He said “Grand Theft Auto” would surely make a future list, but games that recent need more time to settle in proper historical context.

The group debated whether recent games should go in. They pondered which versions of a game would go into a museum. If “SimCity” gets preserved, then which version? If “Doom” is preserved, then should the game’s most popular mods be as well? Should special credence be paid to what was first or is it more important, since these are games, after all, to preserve what was most fun?

“This is the real question,” Bittanti said. “Do you select a game that was groundbreaking because it was the first of a genre or do you pick a game like ‘Call of Duty’ or ‘Half Life 2′ which perfected the genre?”

Grant settled that debate for himself when he went about picking which Mario game to nominate.

“We were looking for originators, so I didn’t want to jump to Super Nintendo, and I didn’t want to jump to the 3-D games,” he said. “I wanted to stick to the original Mario series on NES. ‘Mario 2′ automatically kind of gets booted — sorry, ‘Mario 2.’ So it’s between ‘Mario’ 1 and 3. When it gets down to games you want to play, ‘Super Mario Brothers 3′ added more levels, more creativity, more power-ups, better graphics.” Plus “SMB3″ was marketed more extravagantly — it was featured in a movie, for one thing — than many games of its time, making it a precursor for the blockbuster treatment many more recent games get. So he picked that game, the one with Mario sporting a raccoon tail.

The group of five all emphasized the major impetus of this exercise: Games need saving. Digital entertainment doesn’t have the lasting power of books. A novel printed a decade ago may be dusty; its pages may be crumbling. But it’s not hard to preserve. A game made for an early 1980s video game console doesn’t get made anymore.

“I felt a little guilty talking about ‘Tetris’ because it is so accessible and it is so easy to play, easy to find, and so not in need of preservation,” said Spector. “But ‘Star Raiders,’ I can’t play it.” The game was released in 1979 on the long-defunct Atari computer. “Someone asked me, ‘Well, what was it like to play?’ I honestly have vague memories of it. I have memories of emotions it evoked. The fact that we can’t play that game anymore speaks to the importance of preserving our history and starting to do that right now before it’s all gone.”

[via Stephen Totilo at MTVnews]

Tecmo Bowl sucks, I got Joe Montana. You’re still playing Mario, Dude! Ask your Mom if you can come over. I’ll let you play on a real video game system. My Genesis has 16-bit graphics, what’s yours again? 8-bit, that’s funny. Oh the good old days of harassing Nintendo players. Being the first kid to own a Sega Genesis on my block was the biggest thrill of my adolescent life. Until Mark “My Parents are so Rich” Bradley brought in his Neo Geo instruction manual, everyone was my friend. But that’s another story for another time. It was a time when wearing British Knights and Air Jordans was as important as having a Triple Fat Goose and a Starter hat to be in the upper echelon of public middle school society. It was the pinnacle of Sega’s Pax Romana. Sadly, like a VH1 “Behind the Music” episode, the downward spiral soon began.

After being released in Japan back in 1985, the Sega Master System was brought to the United States with no great success. Almost every one I talk to fails to remember it at all. “What’s this?” I remember asking when I opened a present from my Father. Being rather disappointed that all my friends had the NES with “Rob the Robot” and I got stuck with some crappy black brick, I barely played it. While everyone else was getting it on with Super Mario Brothers, Excite Bike, and Legend of Zelda, I was sulking in the shadows with the likes of Rambo and Alex Kidd. Let’s just say, as a venture console here, it was a flop. Third party games were flocking to the NES while Sega was producing only their own games.

With mediocre sales in Japan and U.S. markets, Nintendo was looking down its nose at Sega. European sales of the Master System, strange as that sounds, brought Sega enough money to give birth to the greatest of its consoles, the Genesis. I literally shredded the box opening it when it released in1989. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely open the packaging. In minutes I was punching and kicking my way through Altered Beast in search of those magic blue floating orb thingies filled with super steroids. After gaining 50 lbs of muscle and some mystical glow around my fists and feet with the first two juice injections, I found the third one and got taken to an awe-inspiring cut scene of my guy morphing into a werewolf (Hooowwwlll). That’s when I knew Nintendo’s days were numbered. Genesis games were averaging $50 at Toys’R'Us. I begged and pleaded to get Styrder, which was the most expensive game out at $69.99, and finally got it and Streets of Rage for Christmas that year. Phantasy Star, Sonic the Hedgehog, Pat Riley’s Basketball, Shinobi 3, Truxton, Shining Force, I could go on and on about all the awesome games that came out. Sega became number one here in the U.S with a battle cry of “Genesis does! Genesis does! You can’t do this on Nintendo,” and the “Sega!” Yell. Come on, who doesn’t remember those commercials? They were great. I was a little daunted about my Genesis’ console supremacy when the Turbo Grafix 16 came out, but laughed when I saw how rushed and full of bugs it was. I continued in my reverie until Nintendo struck back with the Super NES in 1991. It came with a six button controller and was the first system to bring Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat to home gaming. Not to be outdone, Sega ported the games and made a redesigned controller housing six buttons, but this did little to bring back Sega’s dominance.

While everyone was playing their new Super Nintendo, I was thinking of what Sega was going to unleash next. Boy was I disappointed in the end, but I’ll get back to that ballyhoo later. I’m going to rewind, then fast-forward a little here. See, there was this thing called the “Gameboy,” and Nintendo was making a killing with it. There was no such thing as mobile gaming on your cell phone back in the late 80’s early 90’s. Cell phones then were owned by rich people who wore power suits and rode around in limos. So, if you didn’t have a “Gameboy,” you had Tiger handheld games if you wanted mobile games. Well, that and thumb wrestling. Sega thought since they were dominating the home gaming industry, and 99% of people already have thumbs, then they should try and dominate mobile handheld games too. In 1991, Sega unveils its own hand held. Sound the trumpets; here comes the “Game Gear.” Good idea, but if you weren’t near a wall socket with the AC adapter or just happen to be carrying a pound of AA batteries with you, you were sucking. They said it had a three-hour power capacity with new batteries, but I think it was more like 20 minutes. Energizer must have had stock in that thing, I swear. There weren’t many new or innovative games for it either. Most of them were just Genesis games formatted into 8-bit graphics. Basically, crappier looking games you’ve already played, on a battery-devouring black brick. I don’t know who devised the design, but it seems the black brick thing is here to stay. I was not impressed when I got this, but it was in color. That’s right color… oooh… ahhh. Next, we fast-forward four years to the Nomad. Of course Sega didn’t learn their lesson with the Game Gear. Instead of crappy looking 8-bit versions of Genesis games, they made a hand held that you could play all your Genesis games on. All right sweet, I can play my Genesis games on the bus…what the…man this thing eats more batteries than the Game Gear. I guess Duracell found out about Energizer’s stock in the Game Gear and wanted to get in on the action too. I didn’t own one, but my friend Kevin did. I’ll give you one guess on what it looked like. That’s right a black brick. How’d you guess?

Now, I am going to bring up the dumbest, bass-ackward, WTF time period for Sega or any video game company for that matter. I’m sure at the time it must have sounded like a great idea, but why would any company make itself a competitor? I guess when you’ve been backed into a corner you’ll do anything to fight your way out. They’d try one thing and when it didn’t get results right away they brought out something new. After the huge loss of revenue at the hands of the SNES, Sega tried to return to its powerhouse sales – and failed horribly . Let’s begin in 1992 shall we?

Genius idea #1: Sega CD. As the name implies, the games were on CD; hurray! Who’s laughing now Turbo Grafix 16? It was an add-on, or should I say large black brick looking tray thing, that the Genesis sat on top of and slid over to connect them via a side port. It costs a wallet-raping $299.99. The Sega CD had its own games. About the only one I liked was Lethal Enforcers, but it was really expensive too. You had to buy the gun(s) to really play the game. The Sega CD had a very limited run of games because Sega was really stingy with its development tools. With so few games and a huge price tag it flopped horribly, driving profit further into the red.

Genius idea #2: The 32X. It was another add-on that plugged into the cartridge slot of the Genesis, doubled the bit rate, and cost a measly $159.99. It had its own games with their own special cartridges. It did have a few cool games like Afterburner, Doom, and my personal favorite Space Harrier. Initially the Sega CD and 32X were supposed to be compatible, but that fell through. So, those of us who picked tobacco, mowed lawns, and bucked hay in the middle of summer to earn money so our parents would buy us this got screwed. The result of such a poor idea and implementation was mass revenue loss.

Genius idea #3: Enter the Dragon of the Sega Saturn. For only $399.99 you could own the newest installment of Sega consoles. If gamers and parents weren’t already confused and unsure in 1995, they were after Sega released the Saturn. “Which system does my kid own?” I heard in many game stores from parents not in the know. I never bought a Saturn because I was about to finish high school and go off to the Navy. Other than getting to play Panzer Dragoon at a friend’s, I didn’t get a lot of exposure with the system. The biggest problem besides all the different consoles Sega manufactured was an upstart in the gaming industry called Sony. That and the fact Sega still hadn’t learned to make it easier for developers to make games. Sony’s debut of the Playstation that year was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Sony quickly grabbed Sega’s reeling gamers who felt betrayed and used by the company. I was one of those gamers who cut my losses and turned my back on a franchise I had loved for years.

After almost four years of nothing, Sega announced the Dreamcast woud go on sale on 9/9/99. A lot of gamers felt the same as I after the CD/ 32X/ Saturn fiasco: “Why should we show you any brand loyalty after everything you put us through?” . Undaunted, with the backing of Microsoft and with their super-hyped “Next-Gen” system as a bayonet, Sega rallied for one last charge into the trenches of the console war. They had great first year release games like Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi, House of the Dead 2, Power Stone, and Sega Bass Fishing. With that, Sega seemed on the rebound sporting the best controller ever made to date (It is the best and I don’t care what anyone else says on the matter), an innovative memory card which you could play mini games on, and online play forecasted in the “then” near future. My faith returned to the Sega name after a short stint with my new Dreamcast. I brought my Dreamcast and game collection with me when my ship was being deployed to the adulation of the rest of the crew. Not since Golden Eye for the N64 had there been gaming marathons onboard. Young, old, enlisted, and officers alike waited their turn to take on the current champ of Soul Calibur or in some 4-way Power Stone. I remember getting woken up many times by people asking to borrow it so they could try their luck at fishing or owning some zombies. When the PS2 dropped in 2000, I laughed at the release games and left EB Games without one. I did eventually buy one, but I used it as a DVD player for the longest time. In 2001, good games did start coming out for the PS2 and Sega was once again cast from the forefront. After two years of production Sega pulled the plug on the Dreamcast and sold off many of its franchises.

Sega started as a small business from which spawned a gaming giant. As with all great Empires, they eventually rot, crumble, and fall from their own ever-grasping hand. After the Genesis they tried to go in too many directions at once and spread their resources too thin. They knew they would have major competition from other game developers, but I bet when they started, they never imagined they would be their own worst enemy. If Sega had used the CD unit as a springboard until perfecting the Saturn, things might have gone differently. Alas, you can’t re-fight Sunday’s battle on Monday, for which I’m sure the then CEOs are still kicking themselves. I still have fond memories of my childhood and younger adult life playing some of the greatest games ever made. Sega had numerous wonderful ideas, but none ever came to profitable fruition. [via 2old2play]