Generations of Video Game System: Defying the Method we Define Entertainment

Home entertainment takes its brand-new type. With the development of technology and its integration to various elements of our lives, traditional home entertainment such as theatrical plays and cultural programs is replaced by game news so-called "electronic entertainment". There you have numerous digital and animated movies that you can view on movie theater or on your home entertainment system, cable tv system (CTS), and the video game system, which is popular not just to young and old players alike however also to game designers, simply because of the advancement of ingenious innovations that they can use to enhance existing video game systems.

The computer game system is meant for playing computer game, though there are modern video game systems that permits you to have a gain access to over other kinds of home entertainment using such game systems (like seeing DVD motion pictures, listening to MP3 music files, or surfing the Internet). Hence, it is typically referred to as "interactive home entertainment computer" to distinguish the game system from a machine that is used for numerous functions (such as personal computer and arcade games).

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The first generation of video game system began when Magnavox (an electronic devices company which makes tvs, radios, and gramophones or record players) released its first computer game system, which is the Magnavox Odyssey created by Ralph Baer. Odyssey's popularity lasted until the release of Atari's PONG computer game. Magnavox recognized that they can not compete with the popularity of PONG games, thus in 1975 they produced the Odyssey 100 computer game system that will play Atari-produced PONG video games.

The second generation of computer game system came a year after the release of Odyssey 100. In 1976, Fairchild launched the FVES (Fairchild Video Entertainment System), that made use of a programmable microprocessor so that a video game cartridge can hold a single ROM chip to save microprocessor directions. However, because of the "video game crash" in 1977, Fairchild abandoned the video game system market. Magnavox and Atari stayed in the video game market.

The rebirth of the computer game system started when Atari launched the popular game Area Invaders. The market was unexpectedly restored, with numerous players made purchase of an Atari computer game system just for Space Intruders. To put it simply, with the appeal of Space Invaders, Atari dominated the computer game industry throughout the 80s.

Video game system's 3rd generation came into seeking the release of Nintendo's Famicon in 1983. It supported complete color, high resolution, and tiled background video gaming system. It was at first released in Japan and it was later brought to the United States in the form of Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985. And much like Atari's Space Invaders, the release of Nintendo's famous Super Mario Brothers was a huge success, which completely revived the suffering computer game system industry in the early months of 1983.

Sega intended to compete with Nintendo, but they stopped working to establish significant market share. It was until 1988 when Sega launched the Sega Genesis in Japan on October 29 of the exact same year and on September 1, 1989 in the United States and Europe territories. Two years later, Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Home Entertainment System (SNES) in 1990.

Atari returned with their new computer game system, which is the Jaguar and 3DO. Both systems might show more onscreen colors and the latter made use of a CD instead of video game cartridges, making it more powerful compared to Genesis and SNES. Nintendo, on the other hand, opted to release brand-new games such as Donkey Kong Nation instead of producing brand-new computer game systems. Sega's Vectorman and Virtua Racing followed suit. Numerous years later on, Sony, Sega, and Nintendo released the fifth generation of computer game systems (PlayStation, Saturn, and N64, respectively).

The 6th generation of game systems followed, including Sega (Dreamcast, which was their last computer game system and the very first Internet-ready video game system), Sony (PlayStation 2), Nintendo (Game Cube which is their first system to use video game CDs), and the newcomer Microsoft (Xbox).

The most recent generation of computer game systems is now slowly getting in the game market. These are as follows:

- Microsoft's Xbox, which was released on November 22, 2005;

- Sony's PlayStation 3, which is schedule to be released on November 11, 2006 (Japan), November 17 of the same year (North America), and March 2007 (Europe); and

- Nintendo's Wii, which is set up to be released on November 19, 2006 (The United States And Canada), December 2 of the very same year (Japan), December 7 (Australia), and December 8 (Europe).

The development of video game system does not end here. There will be future generations of game system being developed as of this minute, which will defy the method we specify "home entertainment".