13th CUBIES ANNIVERSARY (July 4, 2019)

Theme: “Video Game Consoles: Its History, Struggle, and Success”

This day commemorates the 13th anniversary since the CUBIES Game was approved as a Thesis Proposal during CBG 2006 or officially known as Games of the VIIth Colympiad. This year’s theme focuses all about video game consoles up to this point where it highlights its history, its struggles, and its continuing triumph.

The history of video games goes as far back as the early 1950s, when academic computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations as part of their research. Video gaming did not reach mainstream popularity until the 1970s and 1980s, when video arcade games and gaming consoles using joysticks, buttons, and other controllers, along with graphics on computer screens and home computer games were introduced to the general public. Since the 1980s, video gaming has become a popular form of entertainment and a part of modern popular culture in most parts of the world.

The year 1967 saw the creation of the first video game console. The device, known as the Brown Box, was essentially a rectangular brown wooden box with two attached controllers. It was invented by Ralph H. Baer, “the Father of the Video Games”. The console was designed to connect to TV sets and players had a total of six games at their disposal – tennis, ping-pong, handball, volleyball, chase, and a light gun game. During the 1970s, the first generation of home consoles emerged, including the popular game Pong and various "clones". The 1970s was also the era of mainframe computer games. The golden age of arcade video games was from 1978 to 1982. Video arcades with large, graphics-decorated coin-operated machines were common at malls and popular, affordable home consoles such as the Atari 2600 and Intellivision enabled people to play games on their home TVs. During the 1980s, gaming computers, early online gaming and handheld LCD games emerged; this era was affected by the video game crash of 1983. Back in 1972, Magnavox released the first home video game console – the Magnavox Odyssey. Back then, it must have been the most sophisticated piece of gaming merchandise, although contemporary players will consider the lack of sound plain ridiculous. In 1974, Philips bought Magnavox and released Philips Odyssey 2, Philips Odyssey 2001, and Philips Odyssey 2100. In 1975, Magnavox decided to improve the Odyssey system and started rolling out new models on a regular basis. Although each released console outshined its predecessor in terms of graphics, controllers and performance, the number of compatible games remained largely the same. However, the Magnavox devices faced the competition of the highly acclaimed Atari 2600. Meanwhile, Fairchild, Coleco and Stunt Cycle also entered the video game console market. As a matter of fact, Fairchild failed to gain a considerable market share but Coleco Telstar was a different story. Its debut caused a lot of excitement as it enabled players to play games in color and complete different difficulty levels. Coleco unleashed Telstar Ranger, Alpha, Colormatic, and Combat consoles. By the end of the 70s, Nintendo became a major figure on the console gaming market. However, the Color TV Game Series was available only in Japan. On top of that, General Home Products brought the Wonder Wizard to players’attention. Magnavox also unleashed several upgraded consoles that play Pong-based games.

From 1976 to 1992, the second generation of video consoles emerged. In 1979, Mattel introduced the Intellivision console. Coleco continued paving its way to growth by releasing Telstar Sportsman, Colortron, Marksman, and Gemini consoles.

The third generation of consoles, which were 8-bit units, emerged from 1983 to 1995.  In the early 80s, the console gaming segment started to take the shape. This was a period of innovation. The industry made a deviation from the Pong games and took the first steps towards diversification and development of adventure, RPG, and fighting games. The early 80s is the era of Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Golden Axe, and more. However, the most notable change was the shift from dedicated consoles with a handful of built-in games to cartridge-based video game systems. At that time, Sega and Nintendo dominated the market. In 1983, Sega released the SG-1000, but it achieved sporadic success due to the introduction of the NES console. Two years later, in 1985, Sega released the Sega Master System, which was well-accepted by players. The competition did not fall behind, though. Atari released the 5200 model. Intellivision II and ColecoVision were also launched. However, none of these models managed to dethrone Sega and Nintendo. As a matter of fact, the ColecoVision was the last console the company has released. The war between Sega and Nintendo reached its peak. Both companies struggled to outshine each other and released more and more sophisticated pieces of gaming gear. Sega came up with the Mega Drive and Master System III, while Nintendo rolled out the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). At that time, Atari released the 7800 model that offered backward compatibility with the legendary Atari 2600. In 1990, SNK Neo Geo shook up the market with the introduction of the Neo Geo AES. The latter featured stunning for its time graphics, but the hefty price tag (the console itself cost $800, and each game cost $200) played a trick on SNK and the console did not achieve the expected overwhelming success.

The fourth generation of consoles, which were 16-bit models, emerged from 1987 to 1999. The 1990s saw the resurgence and decline of arcades, the transition to 3D video games, improved handheld games, and PC gaming. In the beginning of the 90’s, there was a considerable change in the way video game consoles functioned. The year 1992 saw the launch of the first CD console – Philips CD-i. The next year, Sega CD was launched. In 1993, Atari introduced the Atari Jaguar, which was aimed to declare war to the 16-bit consoles available on the market. Sad as it may seem, the Jaguar was the last console Atari has released.

The fifth generation of consoles, which were 32 and 64-bit units, was from 1993 to 2006. During this era, mobile phone gaming emerged. At that time, the console manufacturing was advancing with a tremendous speed. The Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation have quickly captured gamers’ attention. Sega released the Genesis 2 console, followed by Genesis 3 (1997). It has also developed a new Saturn console to compete against the CD-based devices. Nintendo unleashed Nintendo 64 model. Nintendo’s Virtual Boy, released in 1995 had a head-mounted display to view 3D graphics. In 1998, Sega released the Dreamcast. The latter provided Internet support via a built-in modem for online playing, which gave it a serious advantage over the competition.

During the 2000s, the sixth generation of consoles emerged (1998–2013). During this period, online gaming and mobile games became major aspects of gaming culture. The beginning of the 2000s marked the arrival of Playstation 2. Nintendo has apparently realized that it was about time to unleash a device that can resist the tough competition.  As a result, the Nintendo GameCube hit the stores in 2001. In the same year, Microsoft unleashed the Xbox console. The Xbox arrived with a built-in hard drive enabling players to save games. The release of the Xbox Live allowed subscribers to team up and battle against others and download new content for their games. Essentially, after three decades of experiments, the beginning of the new century brought stability and outlined the brands that would dominate the market for the decades to come.

The seventh generation of consoles was from 2005 to 2012. This era was marked by huge development budgets for some games, with some having cinematic graphics; the launch of the top-selling Wii console, in which the user could control the game actions with real-life movement of the controller; the rise of casual PC games marketed to non-gamers and the emergence of cloud computing in video games. In 2005, Microsoft released the Xbox 360. The year after, Sony released the Playstation 3. Both devices feature full 1080p HD graphics. The innovative remote of Nintendo Wii came to confirm that the console manufacturing has come a long way to provide players with unparalleled gaming experience. In 2006, Nintendo released the DS Lite. In 2009, players put their hands on the MotionPlus for Wii. The next year saw the arrival of Kinect for Xbox 360 and Move for PS3. In 2012, Sony released PS Vita; Nintendo rolled out Wii U and Wii Mini, and Nintendo 2DS.

In 2013, the eighth generation of consoles emerged, including Nintendo's Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft's Xbox One, and Sony's PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. PC gaming has been holding a large market share in Asia and Europe for decades and continues to grow due to digital distribution. Since the development and widespread consumer use of smartphones, mobile gaming has been a driving factor for games, as they can reach people formerly uninterested in gaming, and those unable to afford or support dedicated hardware, such as video game consoles. Contemporary console players have a plethora of top tier devices to choose from. However, the arrival of PS4 in 2013 was a standout success. The device features a refined controller and faultless console design as well as a range of connected services for online gaming and media streaming. Shortly after, Microsoft released the Xbox One, which became the main PS4 competitor. In 2014, the New Nintendo 3DS XL had its debut followed by the introduction of the New Nintendo 3DS. On August 2nd 2016, Microsoft released the latest console in its line-up – Xbox One S. The latter is a powerful console that has 4K capabilities and beautiful minimalistic design. Sony also offered Playstation fans an upgrade and launched the PS4 Slim console. On January 31, 2017, Wii U was discontinued and was replaced by Nintendo Switch on March 3, 2017. It carries an innovative table-like form factor with detachable wireless controllers and can be placed in a docking station for television. It had completely outsold the Wii U by January 2018. Nintendo officially declared that Switch had outpaced the seventh-generation Wii as the fastest-selling home video console of all time in the United States.

Once again, HAPPY CUBIES DAY!!!