Level 3: Consoles

The original Pong (Atari) consisted of a black and white television set and the coin system from a coin operated washer. The coins were collected in a milk carton that had been cut open. It was an...

The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari. In 2009, the 2600 was named the second greatest video game console of all time by IGN.

The Atari 2600jr was the last version of the Video Computer System to be sold. It was introduced by Atari Corp in 1986. However the Atari 2600jr was originally designed in 1983. The Atari 2600jr was...

The Videopac G7000 was one of Atari 2600's biggest rivals. It was the only video game console to have a built-in keyboard. Its successor, the G7200, would feature a built-in black and white screen.

The Vectrex is a real collectors item. It consists of a mini arcade cabinet-like screen and a rectangular console that could be stored away inside the cabinet. The first ones were produced by General...

The Colecovision was released in August 1982, and had sold more than 500,000 units by December of the same year. It was Coleco Industries' second generation home video console. Hardware add-ons...

With a 30% to 40% market share, the C64 is one of the most successful games of its time. It's not surprising that, at 17 million sold units, it still tops the list of best selling PC's ever.

IN 1982 ASCII Corporation introduced the MSX-standard. MSX stands for 'Machines with Software eXchangeability'. It meant that MSX software would run on any computer that featured the MSX logo. The...

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit video game console. It was released in North America, Europe and Australia in 1984.

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit video game console. It was released in North America, Europe and Australia in 1984.

The Sega Master System (SMS) is an 8-bit video game console released by Sega. Worldwide thirteen million copies of this machine have been sold. It's based on the SG-1000 Mark III (1985). The SMS...

In 1984 Commodore bought Amiga Corporation, hoping to follow up on the success of the Commodore 64. The Amiga 500 was the best selling model. Although it wasn't exclusively a game console, gaming was...

The Sega Mega Drive is a fourth-generation video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988. It wasn't until the Mega Drive was released in the US (1989) under the name Genesis that sales really...

The Neo Geo was a video arcade machine and 16-bit video game console released by the Japanese company SNK. When it first hit the American market it was priced at a staggering $649.99. Proud owners...

The Philips Cd-i is an interactive multimedia CD player. Apart from games you could play audio CD's, picture CD's and, in combination with a video cartridge, video CD's (VCD). The CD-i featuring in...

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) is a 16-bit video game console. It was first released in 1990, and was Nintendo's second home console, following the NES. The SNES controller featured...

The Amiga CD32 was the first 32-bit CD-ROM based video game console. It was released by Commodore. Despite being a very powerful machine, way ahead of its time, the CD32 was never a big success. Some...

The Jaguar is a 64-bit video game console, released in 1993 by Atari. Although it wasn't a big success (only 80 games were released for this little machine), it's important in that it was Atari's...

Sega Saturn is a 32-bit video game console. It was first released in Japan. The Saturn was released six months prior to the expected release date, in order to compete with the Playstation. However

The Nintendo 64 is Nintendo's third home video game console and the NES' successor. It was released in 1996. The N64 was the last console that made use of cartridges rather than CD-ROMs or DVDs.

The Dreamcast is a video game console made by Sega, and is the successor to the Sega Saturn. The Dreamcast was the first entry in the sixth generation of video game consoles and was released in late...

The PlayStation 3 is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. Thanks to a nice firmware...

People had been talking about it for years: Microsoft and game guru Peter Molyneux were developing a console that would change the gaming world forever. The result is a controller-free console that...

After a year of being bullied by the EU smoking ban, Lieven van Velthoven wanted to boost the smoking crowd's moral, and help smokers feel a little bit better about themselves. He developed a version...

Create your own racing track by placing real, 3D, tangible stuff on the exhibition floor. Race with up to four virtual cars around whatever you can find in the exhibition space. This game was...

A thrilling pinball game showing the development of these machines. Shoot your way around the country tearing up road as you go, on the crowded and action filled playfield of this machine.

The original Pong (Atari) consisted of a black and white television set and the coin system from a coin operated washer. The coins were collected in a milk carton that had been cut open. It was an...