Video game hardware generations

Video game hardware generations are time eras in which certain consoles were released and supported by the manufacturer. The video game generations are used to classify home consoles, handheld consoles, dedicated consoles, and micro consoles, as well as certain peripherals that played different formats of video game titles. Home computers are not listed, as their hardware and purposes are very diverse. Arcade machines are also not included in this list.

First Generation (1972-80)

Main article: First generation of video game hardware

First generation hardware is most often defined by a lack of microprocessors in the circuitry of these electronic devices, instead using a series of logic circuits. Cartridge-based media was not widespread at this point, and a large number of dedicated video game consoles were released during this early generation, each dedicated console only capable of playing one or a small number of built-in video game titles. These titles were very basic, but utilized all the processing power of logic circuits.

Second Generation (1976-92)

Main article: Second generation of video game hardware

Third Generation (1983-2003)

Main article: Third generation of video game hardware

Fourth Generation (1987-2003)

Main article: Fourth generation of video game hardware

Fifth Generation (1993-2005)

Main article: Fifth generation of video game hardware

Sixth Generation (1998-2013)

Main article: Sixth generation of video game hardware

Seventh Generation (2005-)

Main article: Seventh generation of video game hardware

Eighth Generation (2012-)

Main article: Eighth generation of video game hardware

Ninth Generation (2020-)

Main article: Ninth generation of video game hardware

See also

• Console
• Console wars