Gaming by GlossGreen

Part 3

This generation of gaming brought many exciting changes to us that are just now being fully realized. Many of the innovations introduced here will be with us for many continuing generations.

The next, sixth, generation (1998-2006) brought a new kind of innovation to the forefront. The Sega Dreamcast was released in late 1999. What made this console innovative was the inclusion in the box of a modem for online operations. Online capabilities had been included with previous generations of consoles before, but previous generations did not have this capability immediately able for use like the Dreamcast did (minus the time actually setting up the service). The Dreamcast started out strong with a good line-up of games and a lack of next generation competition, but what started as a very promising future for Sega ended up being a bitter disappointment and the end of their involvement in consoles.

The sixth generation of gaming was dominated by the PlayStation 2 which was released about one year after the Dreamcast. The launch of the PlayStation 2, and in fact, the announcement of its impending release was one factor that had an influence in Sega leaving the console market. Also with the scheduled launches of both the Nintendo Gamecube and the Microsoft Xbox, Sega decided to leave the console business and focus on software. Now, Sega may have been the first to have included internet capability, but the release of the Xbox in late 2001 brought it to the gaming forefront. Live was launched in 2002 to immediate success and with it a new era for console gaming commenced.

This generation also brought many handheld systems to the market. While these new handhelds (most notably the Neo Geo Pocket Color, N-Gage, and the redesigned N-Gage QD) were unsuccessful against the entrenched competition, Nintendo did release three new variants of its popular Game Boy hardware during the 2001-2005 time frame. The successor to the Game Boy Color was released in 2001 and was called the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo never was one to get too risky with the naming of its consoles. Moniker aside, the Game Boy Advance ended up being very profitable for Nintendo. This version of the venerable system had a horizontal orientation, surprisingly similar to its competitor's consoles more so than any earlier version of Game Boy. But issues of comfort and a dark screen while playing games led to an updated version of the hardware, the Game Boy Advance SP.

The SP was released 2 years later in 2003 and added significant upgrades to the original. A front lit screen (and later backlit), rechargeable battery, and a new clamshell design to reduce the overall size (when closed) and protect the screen. Orientation also went from horizontal to the classic Game Boy vertical. The next iteration was not an improvement but a style change for the SP. The Game Boy Micro was released in 2005. This version of the Game Boy was compatible with all SP games, but was not backwards compatible with other previous generations. With a smaller screen and interchangeable faceplates, sales of the Micro started out strong but eventually only ended up selling about 2.4 million consoles worldwide, Nintendo's most significant failure. In the scheme of things though, the Micro had a very small part in Nintendo's strategy, and Nintendo could definitely afford to take a loss on it.

Part 2

Continuing with my series on the history of innovation in gaming, we reach the silver age of gaming. Gaming since 1983 had been in a very bad place. Atari had lost some of it strength and other consoles, such as the Intellivison, ColecoVision, and the Odyssey systems, just ceased to be. The videogame industry's fortunes were about to change.

The Nintendo Entertainment System (third generation 1983-1992) was released in 1985 and quickly began to turn things around. The graphics were improved, the games were fun and (dare I say it?) innovative. Other manufactures soon took notice and released systems of their own. Sega began it's console history with the Master System in 1986 as did the continuing Atari series of consoles with the 7800. This generation was to be the last successful one for Atari.

The fourth generation (1987-1996) brought innovation in the form of a new type of game media. An add-on was available for most of this generation's consoles included a drive to play games on Compact Discs. The TurboGrafx-16, Sega Genesis, and the Neo Geo all sold a CD drive add-on for their consoles. At this stage though, the add-ons supporting the new format weren't very successful, but it did show us a bit of the future. Out of the numerous game systems released, one significant system didn't add a CD drive in the U.S. The Super Nintendo stuck stubbornly with the cartridge format. A decision they would regret later.

Another innovation of the fourth generation was the introduction of the first color screened handheld game consoles. This was not the first generation to have a handheld system, it was just the first to have a really successful one. This generation introduced the world to the Nintendo Game Boy, Sega's Game Gear, and the Atari Lynx. While both the Game Gear and the Lynx had color screens, it was the little system with the monochrome screen that stole the show. The Nintendo Game Boy (with the Game Boy Color) ended up selling over 118 million units worldwide. It's competition had to compete with Nintendo's sales muscle and marketing clout. Unfortunately, an expensive Lynx and battery hungry Game Gear just couldn't compete.

The fifth generation (1993-2002) saw the mass adoption of the CD format for most of the gaming systems. With this generation, the power of the machines gave way to another innovation. 3-d graphics began its dominance over the 2-d side scrollers and top-down shooters of the previous generation. 2-d games have still retained popularity today, especially within the fighting and top-down shooter genres, but was never to be the dominate style again. Two notable exceptions to adoption of the CD format were the Atari Jaguar and the Nintendo 64.

It is well documented history as to why the Nintendo did not include a CD on this generation of console. Originally the plan was to have Sony build a CD component for Nintendo's new system, but when Nintendo struck a deal with another manufacturer, Sony decided to go ahead and used it's new knowledge to create a gaming console of it's own. The Sony PlayStation did not have the best graphics, nor did it have a name known in gaming circles to promote it. What the PlayStation did do is appeal to a generation of gamer that started with the NES and wanted something a little more mature. While the Nintendo was looked at as a kiddy system and the Genesis suffered by having a lack of third party support, the PlayStation was the choice system for innovative developers and the maturing gamer demographic.

Handhelds also evolved during this period, albeit, mostly just the Nintendo console. The Game Boy underwent a significant change, one that would make it even more competitive in the market place. This generation saw the introduction of a color version of the Game Boy, named appropriately enough, Game Boy Color. In of itself, this was not a drastic innovation for Nintendo. What was unique was the first ever inclusion of backwards compatibility on a handheld system. Backwards compatibility was important to the Game Boy Color for one important reason. Instant game library for a new system. Every game from the original Game Boy would work on the color version. A very good more for launching a new version of a familiar console.