The Gaming Console, Nearly 50 Years Old


The video game console is nearly 50 years old and to think that if it weren't for William Higinbotham and his oscilloscope, gamers around the world would still be playing board games. Below is a time line of the previous gaming systems and their evolution to the modern system.

1958 Tennis For Two
1961 SpaceWar
First Generation Consoles
1972 Magnavox Odyssey
1975 Atari: PONG
1976 Coleco Telstar
Early Second Generation Consoles
1976 Fairchild Channel F
1977 Atari 2600
1978 Magnavox Odyssey 2
Later Second Generation Consoles
1982 Atari 5200
1982 ColecoVision
1982 Vectrex
1983 SG-1000
Third Generation Consoles
1985 NES
1985 Sega Master System
1986 Atari 7800
Fourth Generation Consoles
1989 TurboGrafx 16
1989 Sega Genesis
1990 Neo-Geo
1991 SNES
Fifth Generation Consoles
1993 3DO
1993 Atari Jaguar
1994 Sega Saturn
1995 Sony PlayStation
1996 Nintendo 64
Sixth Generation Consoles
1999 Sega Dreamcast
2000 Sony Playstation 2
2001 Nintendo GameCube
2002 Microsoft Xbox
Seventh Generation Consoles
2005 Microsoft Xbox 360
2006 Nintendo Wii
2006 Sony Playstation 3

Tennis For Two (1958)
Tennis For Two was created by William Higinbotham, a nuclear power plant technician, in 1958. The game ran on an analogue computer that was attached to a modified oscilloscope. The oscilloscope was placed on its side so that the 5 inch display could mimic a virtual tennis court that was complete with a tennis net, ball and ground. Players had to control the ball through the use of knob and a push button. The knob adjusted the trajectory of the ball while the button mimicked the hitting action of a racket. The game was a hit among touring groups that visited the power plant.
SpaceWar (1961)
SpaceWar was created by Steve Russell, Martin Graetz and Wayne Wiitanen who were members of the Tech Model Railroad Club at MIT in 1961. The game ran on the University's PDP-1 computer system and consisted of two players, on opposing teams, controlling space ships. The ships were armed with missiles and contained a limited supply of fuel. Players had to shoot each others, while avoiding to crash with stars. In critical situations player could press a special button that would provide the ship with a temporary increase in velocity, aka Hyerspace button, thus allowing the ship to evade on coming missiles. The ships were controlled by four switches, that turned the ship's direction, its speed, firing rate and hyperspace.
Magnavox Odyssey (1972)
The Magnavox was the first commercially available home gaming console. The system was analogue rather than digital and was battery operated.

Release Year: 1972
Release Cost: $100 US
CPU: 40 transistors and 40 diodes
Audio: None
Video: Only black and white, color was added through the use of plastic sheets that were attached to the TV screen. The system could only produce square shaped controllable game objects.
Controller: Consisting of two Knobs (Horizontal & Vertical controls) and 1 Reset button.
Media: Removable circuit cards
Atari: PONG (1975)
PONG was developed by Atari was was the first commercially successful gaming console. The system was commercially available through the retail chain Sears in 1975. The game consisted of players controlling paddles that were used to bounce a ball from one side to another. The trajectory of the rebound ball is determined by the initial hit angle and the speed of the ball increases with time, the longer the ball remained in play the faster it went.
Coleco Telstar (1976)
Coleco Telstar first released in 1976 for a retail price of $50 US. The console was based upon Atari's PONG and used the General Instrument's AY-3-8500 chip.
Fairchild Channel F (1976)
The Fairchild Channel F was first released in August 1976 and was the first video game system to feature interchangeable cartridges system.

Release Year: 1976
Release Cost: $169.95 US
CPU: 1.79 MHz
Audio:500 Hz, 1 kHz, and 1.5 kHz tones
RAM: 64 bytes
Video: Maximum of 8 colors, and only four different colors per line.
Controller: Handheld, hardwired 8 directional joysticks with a single firing button.
Media: Removable cartridges
Atari 2600 (1977)
The Atari 2600 was the first successful video game console to use the plug-in cartridges instead of built in games.

Release Year: 1977
Release Cost: $200 US
CPU: 1.19 MHz
Audio:2 Channel Mono
RAM: 128 bytes
Video: 128 color, 160 x 192 pixel resolution
Controller: 8 directional single button corded digital joystick
Media: Removable Cartridge (4 KB Capacity)
Magnavox Odyssey 2 (1978)
The Odyssey 2 followed in the steps of the Fairchild Channel F and Atari 2600 by using the removable game cartridge system. This allowed each game to have its own unique graphics, gameplay, scoring, and music.

Release Year: 1978
Release Cost: $200 US
CPU: 1.79 MHz
Audio:2 Channel Mono
RAM: 192 bytes (CPU internal = 64 bytes, Video = 128 bytes)
Video: 16-color palette, 160x200 pixel resolution
Controller: 8 directional single button corded digital joystick
Media: Removable Cartridge (8 KB Capacity)
Keyboard: QWERTY-layout membrane keyboard
Other: Speech recognition system
Atari 5200 (1982)
The Atari 5200 was released to replace the Atari 2600, and featured many innovations like the first automatic TV switchbox.

Release Year: 1982
Release Cost: $330 US
CPU: 2 X 1.79 MHz (Dual Cpu's)
Audio: 4-channel sound
RAM:16KB
Video: 320x192 resolution, 256 colors with 16 colors per scan line
Controller: 16 directional controller, that adjusted the speed according to the elasped time and direction. The controller also featured a pause button.
Media: Removable Cartridge
ColecoVision (1982)
  Released in August 1982, the console offered arcade-like graphics and featured an initial catalog of 12 games.

Release Year: 1982
CPU: 3.58 MHz
Audio: 3 tone generators, 1 noise generator
RAM: 48KB
Video: 256x192 resolution, 16 color, 32 sprites
Media: Removable Cartridge (32KB)
Vectrex (1982)
  Released in November 1982, the Vectrex was the first console that featured a built-in monitor screen.

Release Year: 1982
Release Price: $199
CPU: 1.6 MHz
Audio: 3" magnet-driven speaker, General Instruments AY-3-8912
RAM: 1KB
ROM: 8KB
Media: Removable Cartridge
CRT: Samsung 240RB40 B&W television 9 x 11 inches
SG-1000 (1983)
  Released in 1983, the SG-1000 was the first console manufactured by Sega.

Release Year: 1983
Release Price: ¥15,000
CPU: 3.5 MHz
Audio: 4-channel mono sound
RAM: 18 KB
ROM: 8 KB
Video: 256x192 (16 colors)
Media: Removable Cartridge
NES (1985)
  Released by Nintendo in 1983 the Nintendo Entertainment System was the most successful gaming console of its time with over 60 million NES units sold worldwide.

Release Year: 1985
Release Price: $199
CPU: 3.5 MHz
Audio: 5-channel sound
RAM: 2 KiB
ROM: 48 KiB
Video: 256×240 pixels, 48 colors and 5 grays in base palette with 25 colors on one scanline
Media: Removable Cartridge
Sega Master System (1985)
  Manufactured by SEGA in 1985, the console was released as a direct competitor to the NES.

Release Year: 1985
Release Price: $200
CPU: 3,579,545Hz
Audio: 4 channel mono sound, 9 channel mono FM sound
RAM: 64 kbit (8 kB)
Video RAM: 128 kbit (16 kB)
ROM:64 kbit (8 kB) to 2048 kbit (256 kB)
Video: 256x224 pixels, Up to 32 simultaneous colors available (16 for sprites, 16 for background)
Media: Removable Cartridge
Atari 7800 (1986)
  The 7800 was designed to replace the unsuccessful Atari 5200, and re-establish Atari's market supremacy against Intellivision and Colecovision.

Release Year: 1986
Release Price: $200
CPU: 1.79 MHz
Audio: 4 channel mono sound, 9 channel mono FM sound
RAM: 4 KB
Video RAM: 128 kbit (16 kB)
ROM: built in 4K BIOS ROM, 48K Cartridge ROM space without bankswitching
Video: 160x224 resolution with 256 colors, Graphics clock: 7.16 MHz
Ports: 2 joystick ports, 1 cartridge port, 1 expansion connector, power in, RF output
Media: Removable Cartridge
TurboGrafx 16 (1989)
  Manufactured by NEC in 1989, TurboGrafx 16 (also know as PC Engine) was the first console to have an optional CD module, allowing the standard benefits of the CD, more storage and cheaper media costs.

Release Year: 1989
Release Price: $300
CPU: 7.16 MHz
Audio: 6 PSG audio channels
RAM: 8KB
Video RAM: 64KB
ROM: built in 4K BIOS ROM, 48K Cartridge ROM space without bankswitching
Video: 512×240 resolution with 512 colors
Media: TurboChip (card-like game media) and CD
SEGA Genesis (1989)
  The SEGA Genesis (also know as SEGA Mega Drive) was a 16-bit video game console released by Sega to initally compete with NES.

Release Year: 1989
Release Price: $190
CPU: Main processor: 7.67 MHz, Secondary processor: 3.58 MHz
Audio: Main: Six FM channels, four operators each. Secondary: Four-channel PSG (Programmable Sound Generator).
Audio RAM: 8 KBytes
RAM: 64 KBytes
Video RAM: 64 KBytes
Video: 320x240 resolution with 512 colors, upto 64 spirites and 4 planes
Media: Cartridge, Optional CD-ROM (Sega CD)
Neo-Geo (1990)
  The Neo-Geo video game system released in 1990 by SNK.

Release Year: 1990
Release Price: $599
CPU: Main processor: 12 MHz, secondary processor: 4 MHz
RAM: 64 KB
Video RAM: 68 KB
Video: 304x224 resolution with 65,536 colors
Media: Cartridge
SNES (1991)
SNES (also known as Super Nintendo or Super NES) was a 16-bit video game console released by Nintendo in 1991. Nintendo sold 49 million units world wide.

Release Year: 1991
Release Price: $199
CPU: 3.58 MHz
Audio: 8-bit Sony SPC700 CPU 1.024 MHz, 8-channel PCM.
Audio RAM: 64KB
RAM: 128KB
Video RAM: 128KB
Video: 512x224 resolution with 256 entries; 15-bit color depth (RGB555) for a total of 32,768 colors.
Media: Cartridge (4 MB)
3DO (1993)
3DO was manufactured by Panasonic, Sanyo and Goldstar and released in 1993. Apart from game CDs the console was also able to play audio CDs, view Photo CDs, and play Video CDs.

Release Year: 1993
Release Price: $699.95
CPU: 25 MHz
Audio: 16-bit stereo sound
RAM: 2 megabytes
Video: 640x480 pixel resolution (approximately 16.7 million colors)
Media: CD-ROM
Atari Jaguar (1993)
The Atari Jaguar was introduced to compete against the Sega Genesis and the SNES. It was touted as the first 64-bit system.

Release Year: 1993
Release Price: $249.99
CPU: 25.59 MHz
Audio: 16-bit stereo sound
RAM: 2 megabytes
Video: 800 x 576, 16.8 million colors
Media: Removable Cartridge (6 MB)
Sega Saturn (1994)
The Sega Saturn was a 32-bit video game console that was released by SEGA, a year earlier, to compete with the Playstation.

Release Year: 1994
Release Price: $399
CPU: 28.2 MHz
Audio: 22.6 MHz Yamaha FH1 digital signal processor
RAM: 2 megabytes
Video: VDP1 32-bit video display processor
Media: CD-ROM
Playstation (1995)
Manufactured by SONY the Playstation was the first home gaming console to ever reach the 100 million mark.

Release Year: 1995
Release Price: $299
CPU: 33.90 MHz
Audio: 24 channels and up to 44.1 kHz
RAM: 2 megabytes
Video RAM: 1 megabytes
Audio RAM: 512 Kilobytes
Video: 640×480, 16.7 Million Colors, 1.5 million flat-shaded polygons per second, 500,000 texture mapped and light-sourced polygons per second
Media: CD-ROM
Nintendo 64 (1996)
The Nintendo 64 was released by Nintendo in 1996, one of its launch titles, Super Mario 64, is accredited to having set the standard for 3D platform games.

Release Year: 1996
Release Price: $199
CPU: 93.75 MHz
Audio: 16-bit Stereo, 48.0 kHz
RAM: 4 MiB RDRAM
Video: 640 × 480, 16.7 Million Colors, 100,000 polygons per second, 8-bit integer vector processor
Media: Cartridges
Sega Dreamcast (1999)
Released by Sega in 1999, the Dreamcast was the first console to have built-in modem and Internet support for online gaming.

Release Year: 1999
Release Price: $199
CPU: 200 MHz
Audio: 16-bit Stereo, 66 MHz
RAM:16 MB
Video RAM: 8 MB
Audio RAM: 2 MB
Video: 640 × 480, 16.78 million simultaneous colors (24 bit), 7.0 Mil polygons/second peak performance, supported Trilinear filtering.
Media: GD-ROM (Up to 1.2 GB of data)
Sony Playstation 2 (2000)
Released By Sony in 2000, the Playstation 2 was the fastest selling gaming console in history, with over 100 million units shipped in November 2005.

Release Year: 2000
Release Price: $300
CPU: 294 MHz
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, 48 kHz
RAM: 32 MB Direct Rambus
Video RAM: 4 MB DRAM
Video: 1280x1024, 147 MHz
Media: CD-ROM, DVD
Nintendo GameCube (2001)
Released By Nintendo in 2001, The GameCube was the most compact and least expensive of the sixth generation era consoles.

Release Year: 2001
Release Price: $200
CPU: 485 MHz
Audio: 16 Bit 48 kHz, 64 channels
RAM: 24 MB
Audio RAM: 8 kilobytes of RAM
Video: 162 MHz, Fill Rate: 648 megapixels/second
Media: GameCube Optical Disc (1.5 GB)
Microsoft Xbox (2002)
Released By Mircrosoft in 2002, the Xbox was the first console to incorporate a hard disk drive that was primarily used for storing game saves.

Release Year: 2002
Release Price: $299
CPU: 733 MHz
Audio: 64 3D channels
RAM: 64 MB DDR SDRAM
Video: 1920x1080, Graphics Processor: 233 MHz
Media: CD-ROM, DVD
Microsoft Xbox 360 (2005)
Released By Mircrosoft in 2005, the Xbox 360 was the successor to Microsoft's Xbox video game console. It was the first console to have a simultaneous launch across the three major regions.

Release Year: 2005
Release Price: $399 (Core), $525 (Premium)
CPU: 3 X 3.2 GHz
Audio: Six channel (5.1)
RAM: 512 MB 700 MHz GDDR3 RAM
Video: 1920x1080, Graphics Processor: 500 MHz
Media: DVD, CD and HD DVD
Nintendo Wii (2006)
Released By Nintendo in 2006, the Wii was the successor to the Nintendo's GameCube console. It was the first console to have a controller that could detect motion and rotation in three dimensions.

Release Year: 2006
Release Price: $250
CPU:729 MHz
Audio: Stereo - Dolby Pro Logic II-capable
RAM: 88 MB main memory, 3 MB GPU
Video: 480p, Graphics Processor: 243 MHz
Media:12 cm Wii Optical Disc, 8 cm Nintendo GameCube Game Disc
Sony Playstation 3 (2006)
Released By Sony in 2006, the PS3 was the successor to Sony's highly successful console, the PS2. It was the first console to feature a built in Blu-Ray player.

Release Year: 2006
Release Price: $499 (Core), $599 (Premium)
CPU:3.2 GHz Cell Broadband Engine
Audio: 7.1 digital audio, Dolby TrueHD
RAM: 256 MB of Rambus XDR DRAM
Video: 1080p, Graphics Processor: NVIDIA G70 (clocked at 700 MHz)
Media: BD-ROM (Blu-ray Disc Rom), DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, Super Audio CD
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