Timeline of major video game consoles

     From the very first simple cubed, black and white graphics to the now modern eye-popping motion sensored technology, video game consoles have evolved tremendously over time. One startling fact that should be noted is that there have been 70 different consoles that have been developed to this day. From the very first games to exist, such as Pong and Pac-man, technology has improved so significantly that nowadays high caliber 3D graphic gameplay exists. It is safe to say that with the fierce competition boiling between many of these video game companies, it has led to the development of superior technology including providing excellent game play. Another interesting fact that many probably do not know is that during the peak era of video arcade games, Nintendo and Sage were in a fierce battle with each other with the development of their consoles. Let's take a look at a few of the many video game consoles out there from the very first, to the latest.

     In the 60's, the world witnessed the birth of the first video game console. Ralph H. Beer, who is also known as "The Father of Video Games," developed the first ever video game console in the history of mankind in 1967. It was simply named "The Brown Box." The console was a rather simple bulky rectangular brown wooden box with two attached controllers, thus giving it the name. The console was developed so that it could be hooked up with ordinary television sets. There were only 6 available games for the Brown Box which were all rather simple games which consisted of: Ping-pong, tennis, handball, volleyball, chase games, and a light-gun game.
     Fast forward about 10 years and you have the Atari Sears Tele-Games Pong System, which was developed in 1975. Following the success of the Atari Arcade gaming system, the company decided to create the Atari 2600, which was released in 1977. Atari and another company Magnavox would continue to develop consoles until 1978, when Nintendo released its first console. The company would go on to become a major factor in the video game industry for the next three decades. The Nintendo Color TV Game Series was released from 1977-1979. Nintendo would go on to release consoles that were similar to that of Atari and featured Pong-style games.
     Another 5-10 years and we reach the golden age of video gaming. This was the period where serious advances were made such as the integration of different types of games such as fighting, platform, adventure and RPG games. During this era, we also saw the release of notable games such as Pac-man, Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc. One major change that was integrated was the fact that cartridge-based video game systems were formed rather than the dedicated consoles. Nintendo and Saga outright dominated the video game era in that decade. Sega released its first ever console: the SG-1000 in 1983. Notable consoles released in this era include the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1983 and the Sega Master System in 1985.
The next major console to be released by Nintendo in the 90's was the Nintendo 64 in 1996. Nintendo 64 was an instant hit, with millions of people busting stores to get their hands on one.
     Now to the present time where we have Microsoft contributing with the X-Box system. There is the X-Box, X-Box 360, and just recently the newly released X-Box One. Nintendo continued to develop products with the development of handheld consoles such as the Nintendo DS, followed by the Wii system. Following the Wii, there was the Wii U. Sony released handheld devices such as the PSP, which was a massive hit at the time of its release, followed by the PSP Vita, which did not sell as well. Consoles such as the PS1, PS2, PS3, and recently the PS4 followed.   
     Of course there are many more consoles that were not mentioned above as there are simply too many to note individually. Each console was unique in that there was one notable difference.