Dela Cruz, Cer Luigi T

2009-54276
ENG 1 WFX
Video Game Consoles through the Years
Video game consoles have always been a part of teenage pop
generation to generation. As technology exponentially improves,
consoles tend to ride the waves of technological advancements
commercially. A walkthrough of the notable gaming consoles
generations will be discussed in this essay.

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Gaming Consoles can be categorized into first, second and third generation. This
categorization is determined by the technology used in the production of such
gaming consoles.
The first generation gaming consoles, though not technologically advanced as its
successors, deserves respect for their pioneering vision of creating entertaining and
commercially available past time video games. Gaming consoles under this
generation used digital electronics and television interactivity capabilities.
It all started with Magnavox Odyssey. This is what most people consider as the first
home video game console. It was designed in 1972 by Ralph Baer. It can be
connected to a television set and translucent plastic overlays can be put on the
television set to simulate color graphics for different games such as Tennis,
Skiing and Roulette. Even though Odyssey is considered as the first video game
console, it was not commercially successful because of Magnavoxs poor marketing
strategies.
Another famous first generation gaming console is the Coleco Telstar Pong of 1976.
Three games are available for this console namely hockey, handball and
tennis. This console has two paddle controllers fixed on console. Other Telstar
branded series after Telstar Pong were also commercially successful though were
not able to surpass Coleco Telstar Pongs commercial success.
The second generation, also called as 8-bit era, is when a multitude of game
console developers entered the commercial scene. Most game console releases
under this generation were in direct reaction to the earlier consoles in the first
generation. The dominant console under this generation is the Atari 2600.
One of the notable console for the second generation is the Microvision since it is
the first hand-held game console having multiple cartridges. Microvision was
designed by an engineer named Jay Smith in 1979. It was made with both Intel 8021
and Texas Instruments TMS1100. This console featured more games like Bowling,
Baseball, Alien Raiders and Star Trek: Phaser Strike. This cartridge-based
system and portability paid off as Smith Engineering Company grossed $8 M in its
first year release.
One of the most popular hand-held video game consoles of the 80s is Nintendos
Game and Watch. This was designed by game designer Gunpei Yokoi. The idea of

making such console began when Mr. Yokoi saw a bored businessman on a train
playing with his LCD calculator. Each Game and Watch features a single video game
and an alarm clock, thus the name Game and Watch. The console uses LR4x/SR4x
"button-cell" batteries, the same type used in most laser pointers or handheld
calculators. Titles for this console vary from Super Mario, Popeye, Mickey
Mouse, and other Nintendo favorites. Commercially, it was a success. Perhaps one
reason behind this is Mr. Game and Watch who is the iconic mascot for the said
console.
The Atari-5200 by Atari Inc. is a cartridge-based gaming console which can be
connected to a television set. It was released on 1982. One of the distinguishing
characteristics of this console is its 360-degree non-centering joystick which offers
more directional controls for the player other than up, down, left and right. The
design of this joystick was inspired by the controllers used in RC planes. Game titles
for this console include Donkey Kong, Bomber Man, and Super Breakout.
Initially, the Atari-5200 was a hit but later on had some negative feedbacks from
their customers regarding their 360 joystick, deeming them as sloppy and has a
non-self centering mechanism.
The last one of the notable second generation gaming consoles is the Segas string
of gaming consoles. One of their first commercially successful ones is the Sega SG1000. It is also a cartridge-based gaming console. It was released on July 15, 1983,
coincidentally the same release date of Nintendos FamCom. Though considered to
be not commercially successful, the Sega SG-1000 is still worth mentioning because
it paved the way for Sega Master Systems success.
The third generation consoles present a more powerful 18-bit circuit processor than
the previous generations 8-bit and that means double the graphics quality.
The Nintendo Entertainment System of 1983, commonly known as FamiCom, has
two hardwired rectangularly shaped controllers and a modem which can connect to
a network which provided content such as financial services. Now this feature is not
common with the gaming console industry. Game titles are also available in
cartridge form. The NES includes with it a NES Light zapper gun which enables
player to point and shoot on the T.V. connected to the NES. This console has been a
mainstay in the gaming industry until the early 90s.
The Sega Master System actually has almost the same specifications as the
Nintendo Entertainment System. This is the reason why Sega had a fairly good
share of the gaming industry dominated by NES at that time.
The fourth generation gaming consoles were not much different to the 3 rd
generation ones. A few tweaks here and there were very common among gaming
console companies. More capitalists started to recognize the rising gaming industry
resulting in more competitive console companies. One example for this situation
would be Segas creation of Sonic to compete with Nintendos Super Mario. At
this generation, hand-held gaming consoles were actually progressing faster than
those connected to T.V. sets. For example Segas Game Gear has stereo sound
capabilities compared to other hand-held devices monaural output. You could

actually watch your favorite T.V. show using the Game Gear when you have a T.V.
tuner peripheral.
The fifth generation is when the T.V. connected gaming consoles were catapulted
into its commercial fame with the Sony Playstation and Apple Bandai Pinpin. Handhelds were not forgotten with Gameboy Light and Gameboy Color. Processing power
and fps(frequency per second) were improved, giving us 3D rendered games
especially on Playstation.
The sixth generation is a mere developmental continuation of the fifth one. Segas
Dreamcast, Xbox, Gamecube and Playstation 2 offered a more realistic feel by
smoothening the graphics and game play of their titles. Now most of us are more
familiar with these game consoles.
The seventh generation is the current generation of gaming consoles. Today we
have Xbox 360, Sony Playstation 3, Wii and Playstation Portable. These consoles
may not even need a CD or DVD to play a game since high memory capacity
enables you to download and store a game, load and continue a game you just
saved. All of these do not only offer high definition gaming experience, they also
offer connectivity and wireless online multiplayer gaming mode through networks
built by their respective companies. Numerous game titles are also available for
these consoles. Some consoles also have internet capabilities which will enable
gamers to download not only game titles but music and other files as well. Handhelds, on the other hand, wouldnt be left behind with Nintendo DS Lite and GP2X
The gaming console industry had come a long way from its oscilloscope-like and
funny looking Odyssey to its current astounding high graphics and detailed game
titles which give a realistic drive to the gamer. Much like the Moores Law regarding
the integrated circuits (IC) development , the gaming industry had been
exponentially improving their technology, making use of high computing
processors, to deliver us the best gaming experience.