User:Wikilenn/List of first generation home video game consoles

Clone consoles

Although most consoles are near identical game play -wise, due to the use of the same integrated circuits, some consoles were more blatant on their copying, and tried to mimic specific consoles. An example of what is possibly the first clone video game console is the Spanish Overkal created by Inter Electrónica S. A. in 1974, that cloned the Magnavox Odyssey released two years earlier in the US, and in Europe by ITT as the ITT Odyssee one year earlier, with. It had similar shape, controllers, color scheme, and even all the accessories included, such as the poker chips, paper money, play board, and even the overlays;

Video game crash of 1977

The Coleco Telstar Arcade tried to implement Coleco's previous dedicated consoles into one, with little success.

While the video game crash of 1983 lastedled to three years without innovation and furtherfurthered stagnation, the video game crash of 1977 was a more instantaneous event, because what caused it was. This was to due to the existence of cartridge -based consoles, like the Fairchild Channel F theone year beforeprior, and the popular Atari 2600, amongand many others that were available on the market. Rather than purchasing several identical consoles that occupied more space and required connection to the TV, being able to purchase new, improved and different games for the same console at a lower price led to the fall of dedicated consoles. The transition was abrupt, so manufacturers scrambled to replace or sell aging tech.

Being able to purchase new, better and different games for the same console at a reduced price, instead of several identical consoles that occupied more space and a connection on the TV, lead to the fall of dedicated consoles, in favor of better technologies. The transition was abrupt, so manufacturers scrambled to replace or sell aging tech.

Atari considered creating a second cartridge console to implement their surplus of processors from their dedicated line of consoles, which took the form of the Atari Game Brain to be released in 1978. However, but the plan ultimately fell through and the Game Brain was canceled, as it would create confusion with their more successful console, and so it was canceled.

While these consoles mostly disappeared from America in 1978, in other regions of the world, —most notably Europe and Japan, —these consoles were thriving, as because second generation consoles did not have a strong presence. This led to a family of clone consoles that had their CPUs in individual cartridges.

Permanence in the market

More than 200 different companies were involved in the first generation, and while more than half only released one console, it's was still a large number of companies compared to the 20 that partook onin the second generation.

There were only manufacturers to create consoles past the first generation. The rest never entered the video game console market again. When only counting only those who took part in the Second Generationsecond generation, meaning companies that released a new platform after the first generation, there'sthere were only 12.

NintendoNintendo is the only company that participated in the first generation thatand still presently manufactures video game consoles