Table of Contents

Introduction

Part 0: The Birth of Gaming

Part 1:  1st Generation: The beginning of electronic gaming: College mainframes, video arcades, and TV gaming
        1972 - Magnavox Odyssey*
        1975 - Pong Consoles
Part 2: 2nd Generation: The video game crash
        1976 - Fairchild Channel F
        1977 - RCA Studio II
        1977 - Coleco Telstar Arcade
        1977 - Atari 2600*
        1978 - Bally Professional Arcade
        1978 - APF MP1000
        1978 - Interton VC 4000
        1979 - Milton Bradley Microvision
        1978 - Magnavox Odyssey 2
        1979 - Mattel Intellivision*
        1979 - Atari 800
        1980 - Nintendo Game & Watch
        1981 - VTech Creativision
        1981 - Epoch Cassette Vision
        1982 - ColecoVision*
        1982 - Atari 5200
        1982 - Entex Adventure Vision
        1982 - Emerson Arcadia 2001
        1982 - Vectrex
        1982 - Commodore 64
Part 3: 3rd Generation: The rebirth of video games and the rise of Japan
        1983 - Sega SG-1000
        1983 - Sega Master System
        1983 - Nintendo Famicom/NES
        1983 - Casio PV-1000
        1984 - Epoch Super Cassette Vision
        1984 - Epoch Game Pocket Comp
        1985 - RDI Halcyon
        1986 - Atari 7800
        1987 - Action Max
        1988-VTech Socrates
Part 4: 4th Generation: The console wars
        1987 - NEC PC Engine*/1989 - NEC TurboGrafx-16*
        1987 - Atari XE Games System
        1989 - ViewMaster Interactive Vision
        1988 - Sega Mega Drive*/1989 - Sega Genesis*
        1989 - Nintendo Game Boy
        1989 - Atari Lynx
        1990 - SNK Neo Geo AES/CD
        1990 - Super Famicom/SNES
        1990 - Sega Game Gear
        1990 - Amstrad GX4000
        1992 - Watara Supervision
        1991 - Philips CDi
        1993 - Pioneer LaserActive
        1995 - Super A'can
Part 5: 5th Generation: The CD-ROM and 3D gaming
        1993 - 3DO*
        1993 - Atari Jaguar*
        1993 - FM Towns Marty
        1993 - Commodore Amiga CD32
        1994 - Sega Saturn*
        1994 - Sony PlayStation*
        1994 - Bandai Playdia
        1994 - NEC PC-FX
        1995 - Tiger R-Zone
        1995 - Casio Loopy
        1995 - NIntendo Virtual Boy
        1996 - Nintendo 64*
        1996 - Bandai Atmark/Pippin
        1997 - Tiger Game.com
        1998 - Neo Geo Pocket / 1999 - Neo Geo Pocket Color
        1998 - Wonderswan
        1998 - Game Boy Color
Part 6: 6th Generation: Gaming takes over the mainstream, the beginnings of net play
        1998 - Sega Dreamcast*
        2000 - Sony PlayStation 2*
        2001 - Nintendo Game Boy Advance
        2001 - Nintendo GameCube*
        2001 - Microsoft Xbox*
        2003 - Nokia N-Gage
        1999 - Nuon
        2003 - Tapwave Zodiac
        2004 - XaviX Port
        2004 - Vtech V.smile
Part 7: 7th Generation: HD gaming, motion control, and the casual gamer
        2004 - Nintendo DS*
        2004 - Sony PSP*
        2005 - Vtech V.Flash
        2005 - Game Wave
        2005 - Xbox 360*
        2005 - Tiger Gizmondo
        2006 - Mattel HyperScan
        2006 - Sony PlayStation 3*
        2006 - Nintendo Wii*
Part 8: 8th Generation - The uncertain future
        2011 - Nintendo 3DS*
        2011 - Sony PS Vita
        2012 - Nintendo Wii U*
        2011 - Amazon Fire TV
        2013 - Ouya
        2013 - Sony PlayStation 4*
        2013 - Xbox One*
        2013 - GameStick
        2013 - NVDIA Shield
        2015 - Steam Controller and Steam Link
        2014 - Google Nexus Player

About the Author

Evan Amos is a passionate video game fan and photographer. His work has been featured in Game Informer, Kotaku, Wired, Retro Gamer, and other popular media outlets.

Reviews

Featured in Wired and My Modern Met.

"This book gathers [Evan Amos]'s gorgeous images into a visual history of games, and it’s such a nostalgic treat to pore over."
—Keith Stuart, The Guardian, 1 of 20 Books Every Gamer Should Read

"While services like PlayStation Now prove that streaming has the potential to increase access to older hardware-bound games, The Game Console posits that consoles themselves are important cultural objects that we shouldn’t forget."
—Motherboard

"Amos’ passion for gaming and photographic skills come together beautifully in The Game Console."
—Kotaku

"Photographed in intense, loving detail, the book quite literally unpacks 86 consoles and examines their innards."
—Mashable

"A perfect choice for gamers looking to build up their knowledge on video game history."
—Android Central

"The actual history lesson of the industry makes this more than a coffee table book." 
—Game Vortex

"This image-rich guide brings gamers on a guided tour exploring the legendary consoles of yesteryear."
—Sian Babish, Chicago Tribune

"Best gaming book."
—Mr. Chaplin, Lyeed.com