So many memories in just one gallery!
When people talk "about Atari" today, they usually mean the most successful game console of the 1970s and early 1980s, which was launched in 1977: The Atari Video Computer System, later called the Atari 2600. The primal stone among the commercially successful consoles. | © atari-computermuseum.de
The console's success story began in Japan in 1983: The Nintendo Entertainment System (called Famicon in Japan) became a hit and brought classic games like Super Mario Bros and Legend of Zelda into our lives. Over 500 game titles were available for the NES. The maximum resolution of the games is 256 x 240 pixels, and the NES has 2 KB of RAM. | © Nintendo
Four years after the NES, Nintendo launches its successor. In Europe, the Super Nintendo is not released until 1992 (April 11, 2022, was the 30th anniversary). It offers stereo sound for the first time and allows more complex graphics with 32,000 colors, of which 256 can be displayed simultaneously. The first Mario Kart released on this console, which is still one of the absolute Nintendo classics. | © Nintendo (Twitter)
The Sega Mega Drive was in direct competition with Nintendo's NES. Unlike the competitor's platform, the Mega Drive was capable of 16-bit support as early as 1988. And what Mario is for Nintendo, the high speed hedgehog Sonic was for Sega. | © Sega
A little fun fact: Sony and Nintendo originally planned to launch the Nintendo PlayStation on the market as part of a joint project. However, since the two companies didn't see eye to eye during the collaboration, the project was put on hold and Sony decided to launch a standalone console. The birth of the PlayStation era! | © Sony
The release of the Nintendo 64 was like a gaming revolution. The times when we controlled our pixelated 2D characters exclusively in four directions across the screen were finally a thing of the past. From now on, the three-dimensional gaming experience was the new standard. Masterpieces such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time are still unforgotten today.| © Nintendo
When the second generation of the PlayStation brand was released in 2000, the hype around Sony's console knew no boundaries. Even if the graphics seem rather edgy to us today, it was the nonplus ultra back then. Over 3500 games were released for the PS2. Among them, unforgettable hits like GTA: San Andreas. Because the console was so popular, the last PS2 title, FIFA 14, arrived on Sony's bestseller 13 years after the original release. | © Sony
The GameCube was Nintendo's last project where they tried to keep up with the competition. The console didn't just want to captivate with dicey design and innovative controls, but also with exclusive titles. One example of this is "Resident Evil 4". | © Nintendo
Until 2001, the US company Microsoft was only associated with the production of home computers. The clunky black box came with an integrated hard drive back then, which made the use of external storage media unnecessary. The in-house Xbox Live service also managed to set new standards in the field of online gaming. | © Microsoft Xbox
The "Halo" games as well as the thrilling "Gears of War" parts could only be played on Microsoft's flagship. Microsoft's Xbox Live also had a lot to offer in the area of successful online support thanks to stable servers. Nevertheless, many were convinced that the Playsi offered better exclusive titles. That's why it was commercially more successful. | © Microsoft Xbox
Five years after the Gamecube, Nintendo launches the Wii. It comes with a wireless remote control with motion sensor, rumble function and nunchuck controllers. There are numerous accessories for the Wii, such as a balance board or the Wii Wheel. It also brought the biggest Bop of all time, the Mii Theme. | © Nintendo
Although the PlayStation 3 was released around a year after the Xbox 360 and also came onto the market with a hefty starting price of 599 Euros, it still managed to overtake its Microsoft competitor. Even despite the massive hacker attack on the online servers. The PS3 era produced absolute hits in gaming history: e.g. "The Last of Us", "Uncharted 3" or "God of War 3". | © Sony
With the Wii U, Nintendo brought a console that can be used as a handheld as well as in conjunction with a TV. The Wii U Gamepad features the typical controller buttons and a touchscreen. Looking back, the console was really super unnecessary. | © Nintendo
Until the release of the PS5 and Xbox X/S, it was the absolute nonplus ultra from a performance point of view. The backwards compatibility to thousands of titles of predecessor consoles picked up long-established fans successfully.| © Microsoft Xbox
The PS4 started a new era in terms of graphics and performance. Incredibly epic titles were released on the PS4 and titles are still being released for it, firstly because the technical conditions are there and because the supply bottlenecks for the next-gen consoles are still serious. | © Sony
The last part of Nintendo's console history so far is written with the Switch. It is a tablet with detachable controllers that can be used to play games on the go as well as at home on the TV. A console that launched one of the most epic games in gaming history so far: Zelda - Breath of the Wild. | © Nintendo
With the Xbox X/S, Microsoft has also ushered in the new era of gaming. It will forever remain a question of faith and of course of gaming taste whether you are a Playsi or Xbox player. The Game Pass is definitely an argument for the Xbox. | © Microsoft Xbox
Welcome to the future of gaming. A new era has started with the PS5, but unfortunately only a few can enjoy the console so far due to supply issues. With titles like Horizon: Forbidden West, the console already shows what it is capable of. | © Sony
When the first consoles entered our living rooms, the entire gaming industry underwent a radical change. The pixelated games moved from the crowded arcades to our own four walls, where gamers were then able to play from the comfort of their sofas. The release of the first home consoles was accompanied by an exceptionally successful hype that continues to this day.
A big thank you to the inventors of these wonderful devices!
More gaming stuff for you:
