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1972 - The first commercial home video game console, developed by a small team led by Ralph H. Baer.
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1972 through 1980
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1975 - Atari releases home version of pong through Sears retail store, its a success
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1976 through 1992
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1977 - Credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and ROM cartridges containing game code.
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1979 - Mattels only console until 2006
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1983 - Developed in response to a downturn in arcades in 1982, this model discontinued 1 year later
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1983 - An 8-bit home video game console originally released under the name family computer.
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1983 through 2003
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1987 through 2004
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1990 - The Neo Geo originally launched as the MVS coin-operated arcade machine.
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1990 - Although its 7 versions are essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent the different versions from being compatible with one another.
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1993 through 2005
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1994 - initially a cancelled prototype designed by sony and nintendo in the early 1990's, its the first console to sell over 100 million units.
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1996 - Nintendo's 3rd console for the international market with a 64-bit CPU. Retired in 2003
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1998 through 2013
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2000 - Sony's second installment in their playstation lineup, this one is also the first PS to offer backwards compatibility, also selling more than 150 million units since 2011.
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2001 - Microsoft's first foray into the market of console gaming, one year later launching Xbox live allowing players to connect with each other over broadband connection, contributing to the popularity of online gaming were titles such as Halo 2.
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2005 - The successor to its previous iteration the, 360 expands upon the online subscription service "Xbox Live" allowing users to play games online, download games and game demos, purchase and stream music, television programs, and films. The xbox brand grew from just gaming to encompassing all multimedia making a hub for entertainment.
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2005 through ???
(still continues today) -
2006 - The PS3 was the first console to use blu-ray dics as its primary storage medium, while also being the first playstation in the PS lineup to integrate social gaming services such as "playstation network", a slim model was later developed but with the decreased weight came the loss of being able to play PS2 games, the console had a slow start in the market but picked up after a while.
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2012 through ???
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2013 - Marketed as a "all-in-one entertainment system" the XB1 moved away from its predecessor's PowerPC-based architecture and shifting back to an x86 architecture used in the original Xbox(2001), pushing more towards social networking and the ability to record, take screenshots, and live stream.
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2013 - moving away from micro processing the PS4 switched to an 86x-64, which was the most powerful APU at the time, its controller featured a touchpad.
