The Golden Age (1977 - 1982)

The Atari VCS (later 2600) ruled the school. Video game history also experienced its first and only deaths when two seemingly healthy teenage boys died of heart attacks after posting high scores in Atari's Berzerk.

Atari 2600 (VCS)

Pac-man, Asteroids, Missile Command, Space Invaders

Mattel Intellivision

Major League Baseball and a slew of sports titles

Dark Ages (1982 - 1984)

The market was saturated with awful consoles and over-hyped, low-quality games. This sparked a run on arcades that led to the crash of the video game market in 1983. Offering games on floppy disks, the Commodore 64 became one of the highest selling PC's in history.

Commodore 64

Boulderdash, Pirates!, Impossible Mission

Colecovision

Donkey Kong, Frogger, Spy Hunter

The Renaissance (1985 - 1989)

The 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System emerged from the void in 1985, setting the industry standard in game design, platform games, use of cartridges and controller layout. Some regard this period as the true golden era of video gaming.

Nintendo

Super Mario 3, Metroid, Mega Man 2, Legend of Zelda, Mike Tyson's Punch Out

Generation Y Finds Religion (1989 - 1995)

The 16-bit console saw the major franchise titles of the 8-bit era come of age and solidify their grips on the market and our lives.

Sega Genesis

Sonic the Hedgehog, Mortal Kombat, Phantasy Star

Super Nintendo

Zelda: A Link to the Past, Final Fantasy III, Super Metroid

The Console Wars (1996 - 1998)

The primarily 32-bit era featured the introduction of games on compact discs, advanced graphics, memory cards and the demise of Atari.

Sony Playstation

Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo 2, Resident Evil 2

Nintendo 64

Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Perfect Dark, Goldeneye 007

Sega Saturn

Virtua Fighter 2, Panzer Dragoon, Sega Rally

A Storm's A-Brewin' (1998 - 2006)

In the 128-bit era, cartridges were out, discs were in and Sony's advanced graphics, online game play and library blew the rest of the market out of the water. The last Sega system kicked the bucket in 2001.

Sega Dreamcast

Soul Caliber, Resident Evil Code: Veronica, Sonic Adventure

Playstation 2

God of War, Grand Theft Auto III, Final Fantasy X, Burnout: Takedown

Xbox

Halo 2, Ninja Gaiden, Splinter Cell, Project Gotham Racing

Nintendo Gamecube

Metroid Prime, Super Mario Smash Bros Melee, Resident Evil 4

The Next-Gen Revolution

Consoles are now entertainment centers that feature complex online play, HD and Blu-Ray DVD capabilities, ridiculous graphics and integrated wireless controllers with movement sensors. And with the Wii, video games now appeal to the young and old alike.

Nintendo Wii

Wii Sports, Guitar Hero, Super Mario Galaxy

Playstation 3

Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Call of Duty 4, Grand Theft Auto IV

Xbox 360

Halo 3, Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect