JEDDALYN E.

LAUBAN Master of Business Administration- Business Organization and Development The history of video games goes as far back as the 1940s, when in 1947 Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. and Estle Ray Mann filed a United States patent request for an invention they described as a "cathode ray tube amusement device." Video gaming would not reach mainstream popularity until the 1970s and 80s, when arcade and computer games and the first gaming consoles were introduced to the general public. Since then, video gaming has become a popular form of entertainment and a part of modern culture in the developed world. There are considered to be currently seven generations of video game consoles, with the fourteenth being ongoing and the most recent.

First Generation Consoles (19721977) The first generation of video game consoles lasted from 1972, with the release of the Magnavox Odyssey which was developed by Ralph Baer, until 1977, when "pong"-style console

manufacturers left the market en masse due to the introduction and success of microprocessorbased consoles. The Odyssey used cartridges that mainly consisted of jumpers that enabled/disabled various switches inside the unit, altering the circuit logic (as opposed to later video game systems that used programmable cartridges). This provided the ability to play several different games using the same system, along with plastic sheet overlays taped to the television that added color, play-fields, and various graphics to 'interact' with using the electronic images generated by the system. A major marketing push, featuring TV ads starring Frank Sinatra, helped Magnavox sell about 100,000 Odysseys that first year. Being able to produce a product that does not existing yet in the market is one of the main competencies of the company, for this time, only few were considered as their competitors. Also the characteristics of these video games, it will fitted the potential market which was it provide

the ability to play several different games using the same system and other features generated by the system. Another is the advertisement, the company features a TV commercial starring a well-known Hollywood star which really helped a lot for Magnavox to sell huge numbers of the Odysseys.

Second Generation Consoles (19771983) In the history of computer and video games, the second generation (sometimes referred to as the early 8 bit era) began in 1976 with the release of the Fairchild Channel F and Radofin 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System. The early portion of this generation saw the release of several consoles as various companies decided to enter the market, and an occurrence of a later portion whose releases were in direct reaction to the earlier consoles. The Atari 2600 was the dominant console for much of the second generation, with other consoles such as the Intellivision, Odyssey 2, and ColecoVision also enjoying market share. On the second generation, video games evolved and developed a new system using microprocessors. Programs were burned onto ROM chips that were mounted inside plastic cartridge casings that could be plugged into slots on the console. When the cartridges were plugged in, the general-purpose microprocessors in the consoles read the cartridge memory and executed whatever program was stored there. So rather than being confined to a small selection of games included in the game system, consumers could now collect libraries of game cartridges.

Third Generation Consoles (19831995) (8-bit) In the history of computer and video games, the third generation began on July 15, 1983, with the Japanese release of both the Nintendo Family Computer (later known as the Nintendo Entertainment System in the rest of the world) and Sega SG-1000. This generation marked the

end of the North American video game crash of 1983, a shift in the dominance of home video games from the United States to Japan, and the transition from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling graphics, which would prove to be a pivotal leap in game design. Although the previous generation of consoles had also used 8-bit processors, it was at the end of this generation that home consoles were first labeled by their "bits". This also came into fashion as 16-bit systems like the Mega Drive/Genesis were marketed to differentiate between the generations of consoles. In the United States, this generation in gaming was primarily dominated by the NES/Famicom. The end of the 3rd generation of video games comes as 8-bit consoles become obsolete in graphics and processing power compared to 16-bit consoles. This generation was a time of marked innovation in video gaming. It was a time of transition and give rise to several genres of video games. Handheld gaming began to become more popular throughout the years.

Fourth Generation Consoles (19891999) (16-bit) In the history of computer and video games, the fourth generation (more commonly referred to as the 16 bit era) began on October 30, 1987 with the Japanese release of Nippon Electric Company's (NEC) PC Engine (known as the TurboGrafx-16 in North America). Although NEC released the first fourth generation console, this era was dominated by the rivalry between Nintendo and Sega's consoles: the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (the Super Famicom in Japan) and the Mega Drive (named the Sega Genesis in North America due to trademark issues). Nintendo was able to capitalize on its previous success in the third generation and won a dominant market share in the fourth generation as well. Sega was also successful in this generation and began a new franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog, to compete with Nintendo's Mario series of games. Several other companies released consoles in this generation, but, with the exception of the Neo Geo from SNK, none of them were widely successful. Nevertheless,

several other companies started to take notice of the maturing video game industry and began making plans to release consoles of their own in the future. During the fourth generation, home video game industry introduced a new generation of game units driven by two technological innovations: lower- cost memory chips and higher- power 8-bit microprocessors. These developments enable games designers to produce home video games consoles that could successfully compete at a quality level equal to the arcade video gaming machines.

Fifth Generation Consoles (19932006) (32 and 64-bit) The fifth-generation era (also known as the 32 bit era and occasionally, after the release of the Nintendo 64, the 64 bit era and more rarely the 3D era) refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at stores. The fifth generation lasted approximately from 1993 to 2006 and was dominated by three consoles, the Sega Saturn (1994), the Sony PlayStation (1994), and the Nintendo 64 (1996). Demographics in console sales varied widely, but these three consoles, especially the PlayStation, defined the system wars of this era. The FM Towns Marty, Amiga CD32, 3DO, NEC PC-FX, Sega 32X, and Atari Jaguar were also part of this era, but their sales were poor and they failed to make a significant impact on the market, though the Amiga CD32 sold well during the seven months that it was supported. This era also saw three updated versions of Nintendo's Game Boy: Game Boy Light (Japan only), Game Boy Pocket, and Game Boy Color. The fifth generation is most noted for the rise of fully 3D games. While there were games prior that had used three dimensional environments, it was in this era that many game designers began to move traditionally 2D and pseudo-3D genres into full 3D. The 3D environments were widely marketed and steered the industry's focus away from side-scrolling and rail-style titles, as well as opening doors to more complex games and genres. 3D became the main focus in this era as well as a slow decline of cartridges in favor of CDs.

The fifth generation also saw the rise of emulation. During this period, commonly available personal computers became powerful enough to emulate the 8 and 16-bit systems of the previous generation. Also, the development of the Internet made it possible to store and download tape and ROM images of older games, eventually leading 7th generation consoles to make many older games available for purchase or download.

Sixth Generation Consoles (19982011) The sixth-generation era (sometimes referred to as the 128-bit era; see "Bits and system power" below) refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at the turn of the 21st century. Platforms of the sixth generation include the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox. This era began on November 27, 1998 with the release of the Dreamcast, and it was joined by the PlayStation 2 in March 2000. The Dreamcast was discontinued in North America in November 2001 and in Europe in late 2002. The Xbox was discontinued in 2005. The GameCube was discontinued in 2007. By the end of 2011, only the PlayStation 2 remained in production and continues to sell steadily. During the sixth generation era, the handheld game console market expanded with the introduction of new devices from many different manufacturers. A major new addition to the market was the trend for corporations to include a large number of "non-gaming" features into their handheld consoles, including cell phones, MP3 players, portable movie players, and PDAlike features.

Seventh Generation Consoles (2004present) The generation opened early for handheld consoles, as Nintendo introduced their Nintendo DS and Sony premiered the PlayStation Portable (PSP) within a month of each other in 2004. While the PSP boasted superior graphics and power, following a trend established since the mid

1980s, Nintendo gambled on a lower-power design but featuring a novel control interface. The DS's two screens, one of which was touch-sensitive, proved extremely popular with consumers, especially young children and middle-aged gamers, who were drawn to the device by Nintendo's Nintendogs and Brain Age series, respectively. While the PSP attracted a significant portion of veteran gamers, the DS allowed Nintendo to continue its dominance in handheld gaming. Nintendo updated their line with the Nintendo DS Lite in 2006, the Nintendo DSi in 2008 (Japan) and 2009 (Americas and Europe), and the Nintendo DSi XL while Sony updated the PSP in 2007 and again with the smaller PSP Go in 2009. Nokia withdrew their N-Gage platform in 2005 but reintroduced the brand as a game-oriented service for high-end smart phones on April 3, 2008. On the seventh generation, almost all the companies manufacturing video games had undergone innovations with their products. With the use of the rapid development of the technology such as the Internet, video games companies were able to continuously improve and developed their products.