[Competition] Top 25 game consoles (shake old)
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Everyone remembers his first gaming console - the moment when it was brought into the house, and that incredible moment when its first game began. Today we want to bring to your attention the top 25 game consoles, compiled by the resource ign.com. Let's start with the 25th place. And at the end of the publication there will be a small unscheduled game contest!
The Magnavox Odyssey console was released in 1972. This is the world's first gaming console, even ahead of Atari Pong. It, containing digital and analog solutions, can be considered a reference point in the world of home gaming consoles. The Odyssey console could not boast a color image and sound output, but despite this, more than 300,000 copies were sold.
To Odissey, in addition to bulky controllers, it was possible to connect a light gun. This is the first peripheral device of this kind.
Among the games for this console can be noted Baseball, Basketball, Ski, Shooting Gallery.
The Atari Jaguar console was released in 1993. It became something of a last chance company after the failed Atari 7800 and Atari Lynx. The company decided to attract players with magic numbers. While Super NES and Genesis could boast of using 16-bit technologies, the “64-bit interactive multimedia system” was written on the Atari Jaguar. If we put aside marketing tricks, it can be noted that Atari Jaguar was a very powerful piece of hardware at that time, which bypassed Super NES both in terms of features and in working with two-dimensional graphics. This console, however, lived not too long - on the way were monsters like Sony PlayStation and SEGA Saturn. The success of the Jaguar was prevented by the company's not particularly good management moves, the difficulty of developing games for this console, the unsuccessful game Cybermorph that came with it.
Among the notable games for this console are Tempest 2000, Doom, Power Drive Rally, Alien vs Predator.
The Atari 5200 console was released in 1982. It was a response to the release in 1978 by Mattel of the Intellivision prefix. However, shortly after its release, it turned out to be a competitor to the ColecoVision console, released in the same 1982. Atari 5200 compares favorably with its competitors analog joystick, the presence of four ports for connecting controllers, buttons Start, Pause and Reset. This console had a processor with a frequency of 1.79 MHz, 16 KB of memory and could produce video resolution of 320x192 pixels. In those days, given that the Intellivision processor had a frequency of less than 1 MHz, the Atari 5200 looked very decent against the competition.
True, the capabilities of the Atari 5200 were no longer so attractive against the background of the ColecoVision processor with a frequency of 3.58 MHz, which was crazy for those times. The console went down in history, leaving the future generations of game consoles ideas for the design of the case, four ports for controllers and an analog joystick.
Notable games for this console include Pengo, Mountain King, The Dreadnaught Factor, Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns.
The prefix 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was released by Panasonic in 1993. She, at the time of release, looked a worthy competitor to systems such as Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn. She was killed by insufficient support from third-party game developers and the high cost at the start of sales (about $ 700). It was a 32-bit console that supports games distributed on disks. Up to eight controllers could be connected to it, its capabilities could be expanded using memory cards, modems, video cartridges and other additional devices.
Despite its huge price, the console could boast a large library of games and a wide range of peripheral devices. Although she lacked exclusives, it was possible to play at the ports of some of the very popular games at that time. The 3DO console was distinguished by the support of controllers connected to each other and the ability to output surround sound.
Among the notable games for this console are Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Gex, Return Fire, Road Rash.
From the Magnavox Odyssey console, which we have already met in this rating, the home gaming industry began. This first console was rather limited in its possibilities, in particular, this refers to the fact that it only supported the built-in games, and to what huge and inconvenient controllers it had. The new Magnavox console - Odyssey² - was designed to correct these shortcomings. It largely imitates its main competitor - the Atari 2600. This is the use of the one-touch joystick already familiar in those days, and the support for replaceable cartridges. And although the resolution of the picture, which gave Odyssey², was inferior to what was available Atari 2600, it exceeded Atari in many other indicators. For example, this is support for a full keyboard and voice synthesizer.
This prefix can be called not very popular, although around the world about two million copies have been sold.
More than 50 games were created for Odyssey², among them KC Munchkin can be mentioned! - clone Pac-Man, Pickaxe Pete, Smithereens, Quest for the Rings.
The SEGA Master System console came out in 1986. She almost became a hit. Despite its technical superiority to the incredibly popular NES, it lacked something very important: Mario. However, without Mario, and without Sonic the Hedgehog, she lasted five years.
The Master System was a conductor of SEGA arcade hits to player homes. Although she did not give the opportunity to play OutRun and Space Harrier - these games were then available only in the halls of arcade machines, many great games were released for her. However, due to Nintendo's tight policies, very few game publishers have decided to cooperate with SEGA. From the technical features of the console, we can mention the support of the SegaScope 3-D stereo glasses and the Light Phaser light gun.
Among the notable games released for the Master System are Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Phantasy Star, Maze Hunter 3D, Space Harrier 3D, Wonder Boy.
The Neo-Geo console was released by the company SNK, specializing in arcade machines, in 1990. In the late 80s, SNK published games for the NES, but later decided to try its hand at developing its own set-top box, which was designed to bring the spirit of the halls of arcade machines to the home gamers. In those days, the Neo-Geo Multi Video System was created, a system designed for use in gaming halls, and its home version - the Neo-Geo Advanced Entertainment System. The characteristics of these two devices were the same; as a result, Neo-Geo exceeded, in terms of picture and sound, the Super NES and SEGA Genesis consoles. The power of the device was reflected in its price and the price of game cartridges. Namely, the console itself cost more than $ 800, and cartridges cost more than $ 200. As a result, the console quietly disappeared from the market about two years after the release. The situation was not saved by the attempt to release its updated version - NeoGeo CD. It should be noted that the version of the device for arcade halls proved to be very popular.
Notable games for this system include King of Fighter, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown, Magician Lord.
The prefix SEGA Saturn was released in 1995. It belongs to the so-called 5th generation of game consoles. She is a follower of SEGA Genesis (Sega Mega Drive). Demonstration of Sega Saturn, made four months before the date of its official launch, caused a sensation at Electronic Entertainment in 1995.
SEGA was hoping to seize the initiative from Sony, which was going to release a PlayStation then. And although Saturn lost in the competition with consoles from Sony and Nintendo, it left a significant mark in the history of console games. In particular, many excellent projects were created for it.
Notable games for SEGA Saturn include Shining Force III, Virtua Fighter 2, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Nights into Dreams ..., Burning Rangers.
The Atari 7800 console, compact and powerful, was released in 1986. Naturally, there were games designed specifically for it, but it was also compatible with games for the Atari 2600, moreover, it didn’t require something like a special adapter.
Initially, the Atari 7800 was considered a follower of the Atari 5200, it was supposed to be released in 1984, but its release was postponed. It, as a response to the arrival on the American market of Nintendo and SEGA, with the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Master System, was released in 1986. Many of the features of the console, such as the cartridge for storing information about game successes, did not come out.
Launching the 7800 console, Atari focused on low-end gamers. Games for her were sold for less than $ 19.99. Since the system was ready for release back in 1984, the games for it were developments of the past years. The prefix differed in quite good graphic possibilities, but produced not really high-quality sound. In addition, it was difficult for the company to work with third-party game developers, bound by contracts with Nintendo, and the life of Atari itself was not particularly easy and pleasant at that time. As a result, the Atari 7800 was not particularly successful. Perhaps its main strength was the ability to play games for the Atari 2600.
Among the notable games for the Atari 7800 are Pole Position II, Ballblazer, Food Fight, Joust, Dig Dug, Donkey Kong, Xevious. .
The Nintendo GameCube prefix, released in 2001, is often criticized for its almost “toy” appearance and for the lack of some of the technical capabilities that are typical for consoles of that time, for example, because it has no digital output. But this console, despite the frivolous appearance, was a strong player in the home entertainment market and gave birth to many great games. It was not only an expression of Nintendo's departure from gaming systems based on cartridges, but also became the repository of the latest technologies of the time, such as the IBM Gekko processor and the ATI Flipper video accelerator.
The prefix stayed on the market for a very long time, in total about 22 million devices were sold. Of course, this is not the 155 million copies sold on the PlayStation 2, but the figure is still very impressive.
Notable GameCube games include Eternal Darkness, Wind Waker, Viewtiful Joe, Resident Evil 4, Mario Kart: Double Dash !!, Super Monkey Ball, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.
Sony Playstation 3, released in 2006, changed gamers ’perception of online games and gaming opportunities. Gone are the days when games were released exclusively on some information carriers. The launch of the PlayStation Network service allowed to buy new games without getting up from the couch, made it possible to quickly and conveniently download additional materials for games. In addition, thanks to the PS3 in every home in which this device appeared, it also settled Blu-ray disc players.
A huge number of great games have been released for the PlayStation 3 - this includes exclusive projects and games released on different platforms. Among them are Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Killzone 2, Flower, Warhawk, LittleBigPlanet, Grand Theft Auto IV, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Fallout 3, BioShock.
The Intellivision console was released by Mattel in 1979. It was one of the main competitors of the Atari 2600. Until 1980, Intellivision was not particularly popular, as it was released in a limited number of markets and only four games were created for it. It should be noted that Intellivision differs, in comparison with the Atari 2600, much more powerful hardware. This also applies to graphics capabilities, and more advanced controllers. Games for this console came with overlays for the keyboard controller, which simplified the gameplay.
Intellivision has not won the Atari 2600, but this console brought a lot of innovation to the gaming world. In particular, we are talking about the PlayCable system that was ahead of its time, designed to distribute games through cable television channels.
The Intellivision platform is distinguished by a large set of sports games, in particular, licensed MLB, NHL, NFL and NBA.
The TurboGrafx-16 console was released in 1989 by NEC Corporation. It should be noted that in Japan, in 1987, sales of PC Engine consoles regularly surpassed sales of Famicom (Japanese NES). Therefore, NES decided to try its hand in America, to rip Nintendo and SEGA there, and released a prefix there under the name TurboGrafx-16. This NEC failed, the prefix was not very popular. Perhaps the reason is that from a hardware point of view, it was not particularly powerful, perhaps because the bundled game Keith Courage in Alpha Zones was unknown to anyone.
However, not high enough sales of the console does not give reason to say that TurboGrafx-16 is completely devoid of strengths. In particular, many quality games were created for her. In addition, it was the first console to which you could connect a CD drive. It was very expensive, costing $ 399, but it marked the transition from storage media in the form of disk cartridges.
Among the notable game projects for TurboGrafx-16 are Bonk's Adventure, Military Madness, Splatterhouse, Deep Blue.
ColecoVision console released by Coleco in 1982. This company made toys, was engaged in electronic gaming devices, and, looking at the Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision, decided to create its own console.
ColecoVision is famous for its strategy to transfer popular games of those times from the halls with arcade machines to the “home” format. The capabilities of the console allowed to adapt such games, which looked much better than what could be achieved by means of Atari 2600 or Intellivision. Coleco even produced peripherals for its console, like steering wheels and trackballs, which made it possible to better convey the atmosphere of the gaming halls.
Despite the fact that in the early period of ColecoVision's existence, the prefix was popular, not least because of the successful selection of games, this success did not last long, and when it was a hard year for the gaming industry in 1983, ColecoVision went to the bottom.
Notable games for this console, which are overwhelmingly licensed by Coleco from other companies, include Donkey Kong that comes with the device, as well as Zaxxon, Mr. Do !, Turbo, Mouse Trap.
The prefix Microsoft Xbox came out in 2001. It became the device with which Microsoft entered the world of console games. And although the Xbox did not have an outstanding design or an extensive library of games, this console created the basis for many modern gaming standards. We are talking about the game Halo series and Xbox Live service.
Of course, Nintendo 64 fans will be indignant at the fact that the forerunner of first-person shooters on consoles is GoldenEye, but it was Halo who modernized the genre of FPS games. Almost all the games released after Halo used its control scheme and character health system. But the main achievement of Halo can be called the first of its kind 16-user game mode on the network. This game was the first console shooter, which made PC owners jealous of those who played on consoles, it became a milestone symbolizing the profound changes in the gaming industry.
Xbox Live service can be considered the first large-scale and high-quality gaming service, giving access to a variety of games and additional features. In fact, Xbox Live showed the world the future of console games.
There are lots of great Xbox games. Note such as Halo, Halo 2, MechAssault, Jade Empire.
The prefix Nintendo Wii was released in 2006. While the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube consoles were excellent devices, they were inferior to the developments from Microsoft and Sony, and Nintendo could no longer count on their high sales. After a couple of attempts to replicate the success of NES and Super NES, the company decided to offer the market something unusual.
This is a completely new user interface. The changes affected, basically, not the games themselves, but how they could be played on the Nintendo Wii. In particular, it concerns the Remote controller. It has several buttons, but it recognizes movements and can be used as a device that can control the objects displayed on the screen, simply pointing to them. In order for this controller to get a chance to become a standard device, the company has made it the center of a new system. And it worked, attracting millions of gamers to the new platform and forcing Sony and Microsoft to look for similar ways to interact with their consoles.
Among the games for the Nintendo Wii include Wii Sports, Super Mario Galaxy, Pandora's Tower.
The prefix Nintendo 64 was released in 1996 and was the last Nintendo console using game cartridges. Perhaps, this device could quietly become the property of history, as something that did not meet the expectations placed on it, but the N64 brought several important innovations and several cult games to the world of gaming consoles.
The company saw the Nintendo 64 console as an advanced device, equipped with a revolutionary controller and equipped with a carefully selected collection of games. However, despite everything, this console was significantly inferior in popularity to its rival Sony PlayStation. Namely, it sold about 32 million copies of the Nintendo 64 and about 102 million PlayStation.
Notable games for Nintendo 64 include Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Pokemon Stadium, Donkey Kong 64.
SEGA released the Dreamcast console in 1998. This console, despite its relatively short life, was the first system of the sixth generation, which includes the PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox. Although the Dreamcast console, having appeared on sale in 1998, was several years ahead of the above-mentioned consoles of other companies, it did not bring much success to it - the tough competition and the arrival of DVD-carriers in the gaming environment in 2001 drove it out of the market.
SEGA, having studied the errors of Saturn, its first console using disks, could take into account its weak points when developing the Dreamcast. In addition, the Dreamcast was the first console to have a built-in modem for organizing online games. And, although the realization of network capabilities here did not shine with perfection, it still performed the functions assigned to it.
Dreamcast, unfortunately, was the last SEGA console, but it had a significant impact on the gaming industry, which is felt today.
Among the notable SEGA Dreamcast games are updated Sonic Adventure and Virtua Fighter, as well as Crazy Taxi, Soul Calibur, Shenmue.
Sony PlayStation console came out in 1995. It was Sony’s first foray into the gaming market, pulling it into a battle that previously had only two sides - Nintendo and SEGA. The arrival of the PlayStation gaming market not only contributed to the fact that after a few years, Microsoft attempted to reach the same market not without success, but also contributed to the transfer of the gaming industry to disk storage media. The PlayStation system uses a DualShock controller, the ideas embodied in which are still relevant today. This console has become, along with SEGA Saturn and Nintendo 64, the conductor of three-dimensional graphics in the world of console games. At the same time, when promoting the console, Sony used an interesting marketing strategy that aimed it at an audience whose age was higher than the one that other manufacturers of similar devices usually hoped for. That is, it was meant that not only children, but also their parents could play games. A similar shift in the marketing of games is felt today.
Thanks to PlayStation, we saw a lot of great game projects. Among them are Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, Resident Evil, Tony Hawk.
Microsoft's Xbox 360, released in 2005, was the first gaming console in the world that supports high-resolution video. Its output has become one of the milestones in the history of graphics hardware game consoles and graphics effects, available devices of this class. In particular, although such opportunities in the gaming environment were not new, they appeared on the console market with the arrival of the Xbox 360. In addition, it was the first console with built-in support for a wireless controller. Previously, the same thing was achievable through additional devices.
In addition to the hardware, this console is noticeable in its software part, namely the fact that along with its release an updated version of the Xbox Live service appeared, which, as of January 2009, united about 17 million players. As a result, this prefix turned out to be very “long-playing”, its lifetime significantly exceeded the average indicators in the industry.
Among the notable Xbox 360 games are Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, Gears of War, FEAR, Forza Motorsport 2.
The prefix SEGA Genesis, which was released in 1989, enjoyed great support from Electronic Arts. It is known as the platform on which the classic games of almost all existing genres were launched. In addition, some people believe that its six-button controller was the best that has ever been created in this area.
During the existence of Genesis, SEGA competed with Nintendo and sometimes gained the upper hand over it, which for some time made SEGA Genesis the most popular console in the world.
Notable games for this console include Phantasy Star, Sonic the Hedgehog, Shining Force, NHL '94, Mortal Kombat, Comix Zone.
The prefix SNES was released in 1991. This year is marked by the first true war consoles of Nintendo and SEGA. SNES differed more powerful opportunities in the field of sound and image formation than its competitor from SEGA. For SNES a huge amount of quality games have been released. As a result, sales showed that Nintendo won in this fight. In addition, it should be noted that the ideas underlying the controller of this console, had an impact on the PlayStation and Xbox controllers. A major impact on the industry was also made by the first attempts to create 3D games made at SNES.
Notable games for SNES include Donkey Kong Country, Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Gradius III, Contra III, Mega Man X, Secret of Mana, Pilotwings, Super Metroid.
The Sony PlayStation 2 console was released in 2000. This is a bestseller of all time - as of the end of 2008, more than 130 million copies have been sold. Only this one indicates what place this prefix takes in history and how gamers relate to it. The PlayStation 2, in addition to being an important achievement for Sony, helped promote the DVD format, making it a VHS killer.
However, even if you do not take into account the financial side of the issue and the DVD format, the popularity of the PS2 is explained by the huge number of high-quality games created for it, and its wide availability. So, in 2009, the library of games for this platform consisted of about 2000 positions. We can say that without the PlayStation 2, the game world of our days would be completely different.
Notable PS2 games include Grand Theft Auto III, Guitar Hero, Shadow of the Colossus, God of War.
The prefix Atari 2600 was released in 1977. Strictly speaking, it can be considered a device underlying the entire modern industry of gaming consoles. Immediately after the release, this console did not become a hit. In fact, she became the creator of a new kind of entertainment. Her real flowering began in 1979. Then Atari hurried to license the popular arcade games of those times like Space Invaders, Missile Command and Pac-Man. This led to the fact that the Atari 2600 is firmly established in the homes of gamers. In 1982, this console was a 2 billion Atari business.
But good times tend to end. The company did not pay enough attention to quality control, the market was flooded with games, the development of which took very little time. For example, ET the Extra-Terrestrial, which was planned to be released by the 1982 Christmas season, was developed in just 5 weeks. Sometimes it is called one of the worst games in history. She became the cause of large financial losses of the company. Buyers, already rather picky, were not ready to pay for low-quality crafts. This incident was one of the causes of the 1983 gaming industry crisis.
Despite this, the Atari 2600 is a huge gaming industry phenomenon that influenced what games we play today.
Notable games for the Atari 2600 include Bowling, Maze Craze and the ill-fated ET the Extra-Terrestrial.
So we got to the first place of our rating game consoles. Here is the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), released in 1985. Up to this point, the name of the company Nintendo in the United States was associated with arcade machines like Donkey Kong and with handheld games with the Nintendo Game & Watch LCD screen. After the crisis of 1983, the word "videogame" sounded scary. Nintendo decided to make a difference with the Nintendo Entertainment System.
The company has already seen the incredible success of the Famicom console, which was released in 1983 in Japan, after which it decided to release the same device in the United States, renaming it NES. After an unsuccessful attempt to cooperate with Atari, Nintendo decided to act on its own. The prefix was transformed a little, making it more attractive for a western buyer, and in 1985 trial lots went on sale in some states. The experiment was a success and by the winter holidays of 1986 it was already sold throughout the country.
Nintendo, in order to prevent poor-quality games from entering the market and not repeating the mistakes that led to the catastrophe of 1983, has set stringent quality requirements for games developed for NES. This strategy worked. High-quality games and the interest of third-party developers in collaboration with Nintendo did their job, the home video industry began to recover. If Nintendo would not have acted that way then, the game world that we see today might look completely different.
Notable games for NES include Super Mario Bros., Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, Battle City, Contra, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Dear readers! Tell us about your first gaming console.
In general, initially we planned to release a post in which we would talk about those slot machines and consoles that are in the “Museum of Soviet Gaming Machines” - well, that is, those that we (and you) played at the GAME OVERNIGHT tournament (report). But something went wrong: a colleague, whom we sent to the museum “pofotkat automatic machines for the article” instead of normally pofotkat everything, could not cope with the temptation and spent all the time on the games in automatic machines :) And then I just clicked something then the phone (apparently, it was the Nokia 3310)). When we saw the photos, we realized that a beautiful review would not work :)
Therefore, the task of the competition is to try to guess the games that hit our colleague's lens :)
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The first 10 participants, who today correctly at 18:00 (according to MSK) correctly guess all 8 games (send answers in lichku) will receive a prize - a ticket to visit the Museum of Soviet slot machines (geographically it is in the center of Moscow) to the GAME OVERNIGHT exhibition, organized jointly with us. It, due to numerous requests from museum visitors, was decided to be extended until December 31.
In addition to the gaming machines, you can play the PlayStation (one), PS2, Nintendo 64, Xbox One and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) consoles at the exhibition. In the same place, you can taste the culinary result of the last collaboration of the provider with the burger Burger Heroes - the SuperMario burger with mushrooms and truffle cream, developed especially for the exhibition (spoiler: delicious!).
Write directly in the comments. Guess the game - save the honor of the photographer!
25. Magnavox Odyssey
The Magnavox Odyssey console was released in 1972. This is the world's first gaming console, even ahead of Atari Pong. It, containing digital and analog solutions, can be considered a reference point in the world of home gaming consoles. The Odyssey console could not boast a color image and sound output, but despite this, more than 300,000 copies were sold.
To Odissey, in addition to bulky controllers, it was possible to connect a light gun. This is the first peripheral device of this kind.
Among the games for this console can be noted Baseball, Basketball, Ski, Shooting Gallery.
24. Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar console was released in 1993. It became something of a last chance company after the failed Atari 7800 and Atari Lynx. The company decided to attract players with magic numbers. While Super NES and Genesis could boast of using 16-bit technologies, the “64-bit interactive multimedia system” was written on the Atari Jaguar. If we put aside marketing tricks, it can be noted that Atari Jaguar was a very powerful piece of hardware at that time, which bypassed Super NES both in terms of features and in working with two-dimensional graphics. This console, however, lived not too long - on the way were monsters like Sony PlayStation and SEGA Saturn. The success of the Jaguar was prevented by the company's not particularly good management moves, the difficulty of developing games for this console, the unsuccessful game Cybermorph that came with it.
Among the notable games for this console are Tempest 2000, Doom, Power Drive Rally, Alien vs Predator.
23. Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 console was released in 1982. It was a response to the release in 1978 by Mattel of the Intellivision prefix. However, shortly after its release, it turned out to be a competitor to the ColecoVision console, released in the same 1982. Atari 5200 compares favorably with its competitors analog joystick, the presence of four ports for connecting controllers, buttons Start, Pause and Reset. This console had a processor with a frequency of 1.79 MHz, 16 KB of memory and could produce video resolution of 320x192 pixels. In those days, given that the Intellivision processor had a frequency of less than 1 MHz, the Atari 5200 looked very decent against the competition.
True, the capabilities of the Atari 5200 were no longer so attractive against the background of the ColecoVision processor with a frequency of 3.58 MHz, which was crazy for those times. The console went down in history, leaving the future generations of game consoles ideas for the design of the case, four ports for controllers and an analog joystick.
Notable games for this console include Pengo, Mountain King, The Dreadnaught Factor, Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns.
22. Panasonic 3DO
The prefix 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was released by Panasonic in 1993. She, at the time of release, looked a worthy competitor to systems such as Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn. She was killed by insufficient support from third-party game developers and the high cost at the start of sales (about $ 700). It was a 32-bit console that supports games distributed on disks. Up to eight controllers could be connected to it, its capabilities could be expanded using memory cards, modems, video cartridges and other additional devices.
Despite its huge price, the console could boast a large library of games and a wide range of peripheral devices. Although she lacked exclusives, it was possible to play at the ports of some of the very popular games at that time. The 3DO console was distinguished by the support of controllers connected to each other and the ability to output surround sound.
Among the notable games for this console are Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Gex, Return Fire, Road Rash.
21. Magnavox Odyssey²
From the Magnavox Odyssey console, which we have already met in this rating, the home gaming industry began. This first console was rather limited in its possibilities, in particular, this refers to the fact that it only supported the built-in games, and to what huge and inconvenient controllers it had. The new Magnavox console - Odyssey² - was designed to correct these shortcomings. It largely imitates its main competitor - the Atari 2600. This is the use of the one-touch joystick already familiar in those days, and the support for replaceable cartridges. And although the resolution of the picture, which gave Odyssey², was inferior to what was available Atari 2600, it exceeded Atari in many other indicators. For example, this is support for a full keyboard and voice synthesizer.
This prefix can be called not very popular, although around the world about two million copies have been sold.
More than 50 games were created for Odyssey², among them KC Munchkin can be mentioned! - clone Pac-Man, Pickaxe Pete, Smithereens, Quest for the Rings.
20. SEGA Master System
The SEGA Master System console came out in 1986. She almost became a hit. Despite its technical superiority to the incredibly popular NES, it lacked something very important: Mario. However, without Mario, and without Sonic the Hedgehog, she lasted five years.
The Master System was a conductor of SEGA arcade hits to player homes. Although she did not give the opportunity to play OutRun and Space Harrier - these games were then available only in the halls of arcade machines, many great games were released for her. However, due to Nintendo's tight policies, very few game publishers have decided to cooperate with SEGA. From the technical features of the console, we can mention the support of the SegaScope 3-D stereo glasses and the Light Phaser light gun.
Among the notable games released for the Master System are Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Phantasy Star, Maze Hunter 3D, Space Harrier 3D, Wonder Boy.
19. SNK Neo-Geo
The Neo-Geo console was released by the company SNK, specializing in arcade machines, in 1990. In the late 80s, SNK published games for the NES, but later decided to try its hand at developing its own set-top box, which was designed to bring the spirit of the halls of arcade machines to the home gamers. In those days, the Neo-Geo Multi Video System was created, a system designed for use in gaming halls, and its home version - the Neo-Geo Advanced Entertainment System. The characteristics of these two devices were the same; as a result, Neo-Geo exceeded, in terms of picture and sound, the Super NES and SEGA Genesis consoles. The power of the device was reflected in its price and the price of game cartridges. Namely, the console itself cost more than $ 800, and cartridges cost more than $ 200. As a result, the console quietly disappeared from the market about two years after the release. The situation was not saved by the attempt to release its updated version - NeoGeo CD. It should be noted that the version of the device for arcade halls proved to be very popular.
Notable games for this system include King of Fighter, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown, Magician Lord.
18. SEGA Saturn
The prefix SEGA Saturn was released in 1995. It belongs to the so-called 5th generation of game consoles. She is a follower of SEGA Genesis (Sega Mega Drive). Demonstration of Sega Saturn, made four months before the date of its official launch, caused a sensation at Electronic Entertainment in 1995.
SEGA was hoping to seize the initiative from Sony, which was going to release a PlayStation then. And although Saturn lost in the competition with consoles from Sony and Nintendo, it left a significant mark in the history of console games. In particular, many excellent projects were created for it.
Notable games for SEGA Saturn include Shining Force III, Virtua Fighter 2, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Nights into Dreams ..., Burning Rangers.
17. Atari 7800
The Atari 7800 console, compact and powerful, was released in 1986. Naturally, there were games designed specifically for it, but it was also compatible with games for the Atari 2600, moreover, it didn’t require something like a special adapter.
Initially, the Atari 7800 was considered a follower of the Atari 5200, it was supposed to be released in 1984, but its release was postponed. It, as a response to the arrival on the American market of Nintendo and SEGA, with the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Master System, was released in 1986. Many of the features of the console, such as the cartridge for storing information about game successes, did not come out.
Launching the 7800 console, Atari focused on low-end gamers. Games for her were sold for less than $ 19.99. Since the system was ready for release back in 1984, the games for it were developments of the past years. The prefix differed in quite good graphic possibilities, but produced not really high-quality sound. In addition, it was difficult for the company to work with third-party game developers, bound by contracts with Nintendo, and the life of Atari itself was not particularly easy and pleasant at that time. As a result, the Atari 7800 was not particularly successful. Perhaps its main strength was the ability to play games for the Atari 2600.
Among the notable games for the Atari 7800 are Pole Position II, Ballblazer, Food Fight, Joust, Dig Dug, Donkey Kong, Xevious. .
16. Nintendo GameCube
The Nintendo GameCube prefix, released in 2001, is often criticized for its almost “toy” appearance and for the lack of some of the technical capabilities that are typical for consoles of that time, for example, because it has no digital output. But this console, despite the frivolous appearance, was a strong player in the home entertainment market and gave birth to many great games. It was not only an expression of Nintendo's departure from gaming systems based on cartridges, but also became the repository of the latest technologies of the time, such as the IBM Gekko processor and the ATI Flipper video accelerator.
The prefix stayed on the market for a very long time, in total about 22 million devices were sold. Of course, this is not the 155 million copies sold on the PlayStation 2, but the figure is still very impressive.
Notable GameCube games include Eternal Darkness, Wind Waker, Viewtiful Joe, Resident Evil 4, Mario Kart: Double Dash !!, Super Monkey Ball, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.
15. Sony Playstation 3
Sony Playstation 3, released in 2006, changed gamers ’perception of online games and gaming opportunities. Gone are the days when games were released exclusively on some information carriers. The launch of the PlayStation Network service allowed to buy new games without getting up from the couch, made it possible to quickly and conveniently download additional materials for games. In addition, thanks to the PS3 in every home in which this device appeared, it also settled Blu-ray disc players.
A huge number of great games have been released for the PlayStation 3 - this includes exclusive projects and games released on different platforms. Among them are Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Killzone 2, Flower, Warhawk, LittleBigPlanet, Grand Theft Auto IV, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Fallout 3, BioShock.
14. Mattel Intellivision
The Intellivision console was released by Mattel in 1979. It was one of the main competitors of the Atari 2600. Until 1980, Intellivision was not particularly popular, as it was released in a limited number of markets and only four games were created for it. It should be noted that Intellivision differs, in comparison with the Atari 2600, much more powerful hardware. This also applies to graphics capabilities, and more advanced controllers. Games for this console came with overlays for the keyboard controller, which simplified the gameplay.
Intellivision has not won the Atari 2600, but this console brought a lot of innovation to the gaming world. In particular, we are talking about the PlayCable system that was ahead of its time, designed to distribute games through cable television channels.
The Intellivision platform is distinguished by a large set of sports games, in particular, licensed MLB, NHL, NFL and NBA.
13. NEC TurboGrafx-16
The TurboGrafx-16 console was released in 1989 by NEC Corporation. It should be noted that in Japan, in 1987, sales of PC Engine consoles regularly surpassed sales of Famicom (Japanese NES). Therefore, NES decided to try its hand in America, to rip Nintendo and SEGA there, and released a prefix there under the name TurboGrafx-16. This NEC failed, the prefix was not very popular. Perhaps the reason is that from a hardware point of view, it was not particularly powerful, perhaps because the bundled game Keith Courage in Alpha Zones was unknown to anyone.
However, not high enough sales of the console does not give reason to say that TurboGrafx-16 is completely devoid of strengths. In particular, many quality games were created for her. In addition, it was the first console to which you could connect a CD drive. It was very expensive, costing $ 399, but it marked the transition from storage media in the form of disk cartridges.
Among the notable game projects for TurboGrafx-16 are Bonk's Adventure, Military Madness, Splatterhouse, Deep Blue.
12. Coleco ColecoVision
ColecoVision console released by Coleco in 1982. This company made toys, was engaged in electronic gaming devices, and, looking at the Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision, decided to create its own console.
ColecoVision is famous for its strategy to transfer popular games of those times from the halls with arcade machines to the “home” format. The capabilities of the console allowed to adapt such games, which looked much better than what could be achieved by means of Atari 2600 or Intellivision. Coleco even produced peripherals for its console, like steering wheels and trackballs, which made it possible to better convey the atmosphere of the gaming halls.
Despite the fact that in the early period of ColecoVision's existence, the prefix was popular, not least because of the successful selection of games, this success did not last long, and when it was a hard year for the gaming industry in 1983, ColecoVision went to the bottom.
Notable games for this console, which are overwhelmingly licensed by Coleco from other companies, include Donkey Kong that comes with the device, as well as Zaxxon, Mr. Do !, Turbo, Mouse Trap.
11. Microsoft Xbox
The prefix Microsoft Xbox came out in 2001. It became the device with which Microsoft entered the world of console games. And although the Xbox did not have an outstanding design or an extensive library of games, this console created the basis for many modern gaming standards. We are talking about the game Halo series and Xbox Live service.
Of course, Nintendo 64 fans will be indignant at the fact that the forerunner of first-person shooters on consoles is GoldenEye, but it was Halo who modernized the genre of FPS games. Almost all the games released after Halo used its control scheme and character health system. But the main achievement of Halo can be called the first of its kind 16-user game mode on the network. This game was the first console shooter, which made PC owners jealous of those who played on consoles, it became a milestone symbolizing the profound changes in the gaming industry.
Xbox Live service can be considered the first large-scale and high-quality gaming service, giving access to a variety of games and additional features. In fact, Xbox Live showed the world the future of console games.
There are lots of great Xbox games. Note such as Halo, Halo 2, MechAssault, Jade Empire.
10. Nintendo Wii
The prefix Nintendo Wii was released in 2006. While the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube consoles were excellent devices, they were inferior to the developments from Microsoft and Sony, and Nintendo could no longer count on their high sales. After a couple of attempts to replicate the success of NES and Super NES, the company decided to offer the market something unusual.
This is a completely new user interface. The changes affected, basically, not the games themselves, but how they could be played on the Nintendo Wii. In particular, it concerns the Remote controller. It has several buttons, but it recognizes movements and can be used as a device that can control the objects displayed on the screen, simply pointing to them. In order for this controller to get a chance to become a standard device, the company has made it the center of a new system. And it worked, attracting millions of gamers to the new platform and forcing Sony and Microsoft to look for similar ways to interact with their consoles.
Among the games for the Nintendo Wii include Wii Sports, Super Mario Galaxy, Pandora's Tower.
9. Nintendo 64
The prefix Nintendo 64 was released in 1996 and was the last Nintendo console using game cartridges. Perhaps, this device could quietly become the property of history, as something that did not meet the expectations placed on it, but the N64 brought several important innovations and several cult games to the world of gaming consoles.
The company saw the Nintendo 64 console as an advanced device, equipped with a revolutionary controller and equipped with a carefully selected collection of games. However, despite everything, this console was significantly inferior in popularity to its rival Sony PlayStation. Namely, it sold about 32 million copies of the Nintendo 64 and about 102 million PlayStation.
Notable games for Nintendo 64 include Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Pokemon Stadium, Donkey Kong 64.
8. SEGA Dreamcast
SEGA released the Dreamcast console in 1998. This console, despite its relatively short life, was the first system of the sixth generation, which includes the PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox. Although the Dreamcast console, having appeared on sale in 1998, was several years ahead of the above-mentioned consoles of other companies, it did not bring much success to it - the tough competition and the arrival of DVD-carriers in the gaming environment in 2001 drove it out of the market.
SEGA, having studied the errors of Saturn, its first console using disks, could take into account its weak points when developing the Dreamcast. In addition, the Dreamcast was the first console to have a built-in modem for organizing online games. And, although the realization of network capabilities here did not shine with perfection, it still performed the functions assigned to it.
Dreamcast, unfortunately, was the last SEGA console, but it had a significant impact on the gaming industry, which is felt today.
Among the notable SEGA Dreamcast games are updated Sonic Adventure and Virtua Fighter, as well as Crazy Taxi, Soul Calibur, Shenmue.
7. Sony PlayStation
Sony PlayStation console came out in 1995. It was Sony’s first foray into the gaming market, pulling it into a battle that previously had only two sides - Nintendo and SEGA. The arrival of the PlayStation gaming market not only contributed to the fact that after a few years, Microsoft attempted to reach the same market not without success, but also contributed to the transfer of the gaming industry to disk storage media. The PlayStation system uses a DualShock controller, the ideas embodied in which are still relevant today. This console has become, along with SEGA Saturn and Nintendo 64, the conductor of three-dimensional graphics in the world of console games. At the same time, when promoting the console, Sony used an interesting marketing strategy that aimed it at an audience whose age was higher than the one that other manufacturers of similar devices usually hoped for. That is, it was meant that not only children, but also their parents could play games. A similar shift in the marketing of games is felt today.
Thanks to PlayStation, we saw a lot of great game projects. Among them are Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, Resident Evil, Tony Hawk.
6. Microsoft Xbox 360
Microsoft's Xbox 360, released in 2005, was the first gaming console in the world that supports high-resolution video. Its output has become one of the milestones in the history of graphics hardware game consoles and graphics effects, available devices of this class. In particular, although such opportunities in the gaming environment were not new, they appeared on the console market with the arrival of the Xbox 360. In addition, it was the first console with built-in support for a wireless controller. Previously, the same thing was achievable through additional devices.
In addition to the hardware, this console is noticeable in its software part, namely the fact that along with its release an updated version of the Xbox Live service appeared, which, as of January 2009, united about 17 million players. As a result, this prefix turned out to be very “long-playing”, its lifetime significantly exceeded the average indicators in the industry.
Among the notable Xbox 360 games are Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, Gears of War, FEAR, Forza Motorsport 2.
5. SEGA Genesis
The prefix SEGA Genesis, which was released in 1989, enjoyed great support from Electronic Arts. It is known as the platform on which the classic games of almost all existing genres were launched. In addition, some people believe that its six-button controller was the best that has ever been created in this area.
During the existence of Genesis, SEGA competed with Nintendo and sometimes gained the upper hand over it, which for some time made SEGA Genesis the most popular console in the world.
Notable games for this console include Phantasy Star, Sonic the Hedgehog, Shining Force, NHL '94, Mortal Kombat, Comix Zone.
4. Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
The prefix SNES was released in 1991. This year is marked by the first true war consoles of Nintendo and SEGA. SNES differed more powerful opportunities in the field of sound and image formation than its competitor from SEGA. For SNES a huge amount of quality games have been released. As a result, sales showed that Nintendo won in this fight. In addition, it should be noted that the ideas underlying the controller of this console, had an impact on the PlayStation and Xbox controllers. A major impact on the industry was also made by the first attempts to create 3D games made at SNES.
Notable games for SNES include Donkey Kong Country, Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Gradius III, Contra III, Mega Man X, Secret of Mana, Pilotwings, Super Metroid.
3. Sony PlayStation 2
The Sony PlayStation 2 console was released in 2000. This is a bestseller of all time - as of the end of 2008, more than 130 million copies have been sold. Only this one indicates what place this prefix takes in history and how gamers relate to it. The PlayStation 2, in addition to being an important achievement for Sony, helped promote the DVD format, making it a VHS killer.
However, even if you do not take into account the financial side of the issue and the DVD format, the popularity of the PS2 is explained by the huge number of high-quality games created for it, and its wide availability. So, in 2009, the library of games for this platform consisted of about 2000 positions. We can say that without the PlayStation 2, the game world of our days would be completely different.
Notable PS2 games include Grand Theft Auto III, Guitar Hero, Shadow of the Colossus, God of War.
2. Atari 2600
The prefix Atari 2600 was released in 1977. Strictly speaking, it can be considered a device underlying the entire modern industry of gaming consoles. Immediately after the release, this console did not become a hit. In fact, she became the creator of a new kind of entertainment. Her real flowering began in 1979. Then Atari hurried to license the popular arcade games of those times like Space Invaders, Missile Command and Pac-Man. This led to the fact that the Atari 2600 is firmly established in the homes of gamers. In 1982, this console was a 2 billion Atari business.
But good times tend to end. The company did not pay enough attention to quality control, the market was flooded with games, the development of which took very little time. For example, ET the Extra-Terrestrial, which was planned to be released by the 1982 Christmas season, was developed in just 5 weeks. Sometimes it is called one of the worst games in history. She became the cause of large financial losses of the company. Buyers, already rather picky, were not ready to pay for low-quality crafts. This incident was one of the causes of the 1983 gaming industry crisis.
Despite this, the Atari 2600 is a huge gaming industry phenomenon that influenced what games we play today.
Notable games for the Atari 2600 include Bowling, Maze Craze and the ill-fated ET the Extra-Terrestrial.
1. Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
So we got to the first place of our rating game consoles. Here is the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), released in 1985. Up to this point, the name of the company Nintendo in the United States was associated with arcade machines like Donkey Kong and with handheld games with the Nintendo Game & Watch LCD screen. After the crisis of 1983, the word "videogame" sounded scary. Nintendo decided to make a difference with the Nintendo Entertainment System.
The company has already seen the incredible success of the Famicom console, which was released in 1983 in Japan, after which it decided to release the same device in the United States, renaming it NES. After an unsuccessful attempt to cooperate with Atari, Nintendo decided to act on its own. The prefix was transformed a little, making it more attractive for a western buyer, and in 1985 trial lots went on sale in some states. The experiment was a success and by the winter holidays of 1986 it was already sold throughout the country.
Nintendo, in order to prevent poor-quality games from entering the market and not repeating the mistakes that led to the catastrophe of 1983, has set stringent quality requirements for games developed for NES. This strategy worked. High-quality games and the interest of third-party developers in collaboration with Nintendo did their job, the home video industry began to recover. If Nintendo would not have acted that way then, the game world that we see today might look completely different.
Notable games for NES include Super Mario Bros., Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, Battle City, Contra, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Dear readers! Tell us about your first gaming console.
Competition
In general, initially we planned to release a post in which we would talk about those slot machines and consoles that are in the “Museum of Soviet Gaming Machines” - well, that is, those that we (and you) played at the GAME OVERNIGHT tournament (report). But something went wrong: a colleague, whom we sent to the museum “pofotkat automatic machines for the article” instead of normally pofotkat everything, could not cope with the temptation and spent all the time on the games in automatic machines :) And then I just clicked something then the phone (apparently, it was the Nokia 3310)). When we saw the photos, we realized that a beautiful review would not work :)
Therefore, the task of the competition is to try to guess the games that hit our colleague's lens :)
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The first 10 participants, who today correctly at 18:00 (according to MSK) correctly guess all 8 games (send answers in lichku) will receive a prize - a ticket to visit the Museum of Soviet slot machines (geographically it is in the center of Moscow) to the GAME OVERNIGHT exhibition, organized jointly with us. It, due to numerous requests from museum visitors, was decided to be extended until December 31.
In addition to the gaming machines, you can play the PlayStation (one), PS2, Nintendo 64, Xbox One and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) consoles at the exhibition. In the same place, you can taste the culinary result of the last collaboration of the provider with the burger Burger Heroes - the SuperMario burger with mushrooms and truffle cream, developed especially for the exhibition (spoiler: delicious!).
Write directly in the comments. Guess the game - save the honor of the photographer!