Consoles are a big part of gaming. Without them games can't be played. Throughout the digital age, consoles have evolved and new one have been created.
Nintendo have created a lot of game consoles, and the early ones really affected gaming. There are two types of consoles: portable and home. The earlier consoles were all home and couldn't be moved. Those are the one that are above.
The first gaming console up there is the SNES (the Super Nintendo Entertainment System). It was the best-selling console of the 16-bit era, even though it was introduced later than the Sega Genesis. The SNES had advance graphics and sound for its time, and although it wasn't the first (the NES was the original Nintendo console) it remained popular until the 32-bit era, and was discontinued in 2003. I had the joy of playing with one at Eurogamer, and found the controls simple and easy to get the hang of.
The next console is the Nintendo 64. By this time, Nintendo had a new rival: Sony. It was the last major home console to use a cartridge for storage (until the Nintendo Switch). It's one the most recognisable gaming consoles of all time, and had some of the most loved games. Nintendo both Sega and Sony sales for the Nintendo 64.
The next console is the Nintendo GameCube, which had to compete with three other consoles: Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and Sega's Dreamcast. The console was praised for it's controller, which was easy to hold and fun to play with. There were two models of the GameCube released. The first was DOL-001, which had a second serial port, the ability to use digital component AV cables, and progressive scanning (a way of storing, displaying or transmitting moving images). The second was DOL-101, which couldn't do any of that. Instead, it had firmware that disabled Action Replay cheats and cheat codes.
The final console above is the Nintendo Wii. It competed with the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, with Sega out of the picture. It introduced the wireless controller to Nintendo consoles, which is what a lot of other consoles now have. It's one of the most well-known gaming consoles, as a lot of people grew up with it (myself included).
The portable games above are all Nintendo as well, and some of them are rather similar. The first is the Wii U, the successor of the Nintendo Wii, as the first eighth-generation gaming console. The game can be considered portable, as the GamePad can be taken out, but still needs to be charged up. However, unlike with other Nintendo consoles, the Wii U didn't sell as much as the others. It was criticized for bad marketing, short GamePad battery life, and a lot of other issues. Despite this, the majority of reviews for the Wii U are positive.
The next is the most recognisable gaming console of the year. The Nintendo Switch, the entirely portable gaming console that can be linked up to any screen. Because of poor sales for the Wii U, Nintendo decided to try and create a new gaming console, and they wanted to create a larger impact than the Wii U. When it was released, the response was mixed, but the Switch ended up being popular and well received.
The two bottom consoles are older, and portable. The Nintendo DS and DSi are both portable, handheld consoles created by Nintendo. They were created with wireless connectivity and built-in microphones. These consoles were popular for children and for playing games on the go. Their succesor console is the Nintendo 3DS, which was released in 2013.
The two bottom consoles are older, and portable. The Nintendo DS and DSi are both portable, handheld consoles created by Nintendo. They were created with wireless connectivity and built-in microphones. These consoles were popular for children and for playing games on the go. Their successor console is the Nintendo 3DS, which was released in 2013.
Although there are many other gaming consoles, Nintendo are one of the most well-known. They'd been around since the 8-bit era, and so have their consoles, so it was only right to research their most well-known consoles. There are other companies that make brilliant gaming consoles, but as Nintendo has been around since 1889 (they used to make card games) they really was no other choice than to write about their consoles.