seventh generation
The seventh generation is a video game consoles era in the history of computer and video games that began November 22, 2005 with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360. The transition into the seventh generation is still ongoing in 2006 with the expected release of new video game consoles from Nintendo: (The Wii) to be between November 19th and December 9th 2006 across the globe, and the Sony (PlayStation 3) in November 2006 and March 2007.
Microsoft has labelled this generation as the "HD Era" due to the fact that its own seventh generation console, Xbox 360, (and Sony's seventh generation console, PlayStation 3) supports 720p, 1080i and 1080p HD (High-Definition) video-output, in the same way that the fifth generation was known as the "3D Era". Nintendo on the other hand has self-claimed Wii (originally code-named "Revolution" by Nintendo) as the "true new generation" and stated it will not compete directly against the consoles by Microsoft or Sony, Nintendo's Wii is meant to be soley game oriented, while Microsoft's and Sony's seventh generation consoles are both game and multimedia oriented (with many music and video playback features).

six generation
This era is currently drawing to a close; it appears to be a sales victory for the PlayStation 2, with the Xbox, made by Microsoft, coming in second, and with the Nintendo GameCube coming in a close third. Also included in this era was the Sega Dreamcast, which arrived prior to all of the others (1999). However, the impending and much-hyped PlayStation 2 competed with the Dreamcast before it was even released; this, combined with the shadow of the Saturn's downfall and the vast piracy problems it suffered all led to the Dreamcast's early demise. The brand Sony had established with the original PlayStation was a major factor in its victory, both in terms of securing a consumer base and attracting third party developers; the gradual increase in one tending to reinforce the other. The PlayStation 2 was also able to play DVDs and was backwards-compatible with PlayStation games, which many say helped the former's sales. Any user considering buying a DVD player or PlayStation could view the PlayStation 2 as a sensible alternative, and the system effectively had a back catalogue available before it even went on sale.
The Xbox, despite the formidable financial backing of Microsoft and despite being more powerful than the PlayStation 2 due to its later release date, has failed to significantly threaten the PlayStation 2 place as market leader. However, it has attracted a large fanbase in the United States and Europe and has become a recognisable brand amongst the mainstream. In Japan its sales are far poorer, possibly due to the physical size of the console, and Microsoft's inability to acquire many major Japanese developers for their franchises as exclusives for the platform (contrast with Microsoft's multi-million dollar acquisition of UK developer Rare). However, there is a niche fanbase, particularly as the online services for the console, "Xbox Live", offers more to users than Playstation 2's non-centralized online system and Nintendo GameCube's near total lack of online games.
Nintendo is still struggling with its own conflicting brand images, particularly the family-friendly one developed during the 1990s. Nintendo's arsenal of franchises and history in the industry, though earning it a notoriously loyal fan base, have failed to give it an advantage against the Xbox and PlayStation 2. The Nintendo GameCube sits comfortably in second place in Japan, and in a close third place in the United States and Europe. Overall, it has pulled in slightly behind the Xbox. Nintendo develops far more first party games than either of the other companies, and many more second party ones so its profits were increased based on this.

5 generation
In the history of computer and video games, the 32-bit / 64-bit era was the fifth generation of video game consoles. It featured both 32-bit and 64-bit consoles, and the market was dominated by three consoles, the Sony PlayStation (1995), Sega Saturn (1994) and the Nintendo 64 (1996), with the PlayStation eventually ending up the most successful. Demographics in console sales varied overall, but these consoles defined the System wars of this era (see section below). The 3DO and Atari Jaguar were also part of this era, but their marketing was poor and they failed to make an impact. This era also saw two updated versions of Nintendo's Game Boy: Game Boy Color and Game Boy Light (Japan only).
Bit ratings for consoles largely fell by the wayside during this era, with the notable exception of the Nintendo 64. The number of "bits" cited in console names referred to the CPU word size and had been used by hardware marketers as a "show of power"; however there was little to be gained from increasing the word size much beyond 32 or 64 bits - performance depended on more varied factors, such as processor clock speed, bandwidth, and memory size.
The 32-bit / 64-bit era also saw the rise of emulation. It was during this time that not only were commonly available PCs powerful enough to emulate the 8 and 16bit systems of the previous 5 or more years, but the internet made it possible to store and download tape and rom images of older games, eventually leading 7th generation consoles (such as Xbox 360 and Wii) to make such older games availbale for purchase or download

fourth genertaion
Sega and NEC simultaneously released the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 just before Christmas. The two systems did very brisk business despite the fact that Nintendo had about a 90% share of the market for the Nintendo Entertainment System, proving that the market was ripe for new technologies. The more powerful Genesis quickly outpaced the TG-16's sales, and took a commanding lead starting in early 1990. In this year, Namco released Kyuukai Douchuuki, World Stadium '90, Final Lap 2, Pistol Daimyo no Bouken, Souko Ban Deluxe, Dragon Saber, Steel Gunner, Rolling Thunder 2, Golly! Ghost! and developed an unreleased prototype, Puzzle Club. In 1991, Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog, in response to the impending release of Nintendo's updated system, the Super NES.
Sega advertisements during the 1991 holiday season underscored the speed of the company's new mascot. Also in late 1991, Nintendo released the 16-bit Super NES to compete with the Genesis. Packaged with the new system was Super Mario World, a new game from the very popular Mario franchise. This was the true beginning of the 16-bit war.

third genertaion
During the era, the Famicom (short for family computer) became very popular in Japan. The Famicom's American counterpart, the Nintendo Entertainment System, highly dominated the gaming market in North America, thanks in part to its restrictive licensing agreements with developers. Though the NES dominated the market, the Sega Master System (which was popular in Brazil and Europe), and the Atari 7800, were also major players during this era. The Sharp X68000 began its niche run in Japan with its first iteration in 1987.

Super Mario Bros.
The latter part of the third generation (argued by some as part of the 4th generation) introduced the Game Boy, which singlehandedly gelled and proceded to dominate the previously scattered handheld market for 15 years until the release of the 7th generation Sony PSP. While the Game Boy product line has been incrementally updated every few years, until the Game Boy Micro and Nintendo DS, and partially the Game Boy Color, all Game Boy products were backwards compatible with the original released in 1989.
The post-crash 8-bit era saw the first console role-playing video games, and was the birth of the side-scroller. Editing and censorship of video games was often used in localizing Japanese games to North America. It is the era when many famous video game series, and the characters starring in them, originated. Some notable examples include Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Quest, Metroid, Mega Man, Metal Gear, Castlevania, Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star and Bomberman.
This generation is often mislabeled as the "First Generation" as it is the start of video gaming as it is today (although the grouping of generations is arbitrary).

second generation
The earliest console, the Magnavox Odyssey, had used removeable cartridges that were nothing but glorified jumpers to activate the games already wired in to the console. This method was soon replaced during the move to PONG consoles, where the logic for one or more games was hardcoded into microchips using discrete logic, and no additional games could ever be added. By the mid-1970's cartridges had returned with the move to CPU based consoles. With games now consisting of microprocessor based code, these games were burned onto ROM chips that were mounted inside plastic cartridge casings that could be plugged into slots on the console. When the cartridges were plugged in, the general-purpose microprocessors in the consoles read the cartridge memory and ran whatever program was stored there. Rather than being confined to a small selection of games included in the box, consumers could now amass libraries of game cartridges

first generation
Television engineer Ralph Baer conceived the idea of an interactive television while building a television set from scratch for Loral in 1951 in the Bronx, New York. He explored these ideas further in 1966 when he was the Chief Engineer and manager of the Equipment Design Division at Sanders Associates. Baer created a simple two-player video game that could be displayed on a standard television set called Chase, where two dots chased each other around the screen. After a demonstration to the company's director of R&D Herbert Campman, some funding was allotted and the project was made "official". In 1967 Bill Harrison was brought on board, and a light gun was constructed from a toy rifle that was aimed at a target moved by another player.

An emulation of Tennis for the Magnavox Odyssey, without overlay
Bill Rusch joined the project to speed up development and soon a third machine-controlled dot was used to create a ping-pong game. With more funding additional games were created, and Baer had the idea of selling the product to Cable TV companies, who could transmit static images as game backgrounds. A prototype was demonstrated in February 1968 to Teleprompter Vice President Hubert Schlafly, who signed an agreement with Sanders. The Cable TV industry was in a slump during the late 60's and early 70's and a lack of funding meant other avenues had to be pursued. Development continued on the hardware and games resulting in the final "Brown Box" prototype, which had two controllers, a light gun and sixteen switches on the console that selected the game to be played. Baer approached various U.S. Television manufacturers and an agreement was eventually signed with Magnavox in late 1969. Magnavox's main alterations to the Brown Box were to use plug-in circuits to change the games, and to remove the colour graphics capabilities in favour of colour overlays in order to reduce manufacturing costs. It was released in May 1972 as the Magnavox Odyssey.

11 october
Type of Developers
Video game fall into three dfferent categories :third party developers , in houe developers and the maller independents.They all have a different job to do within developing game uch as:
Third- party developers are ually called upon by a video game publisher to develop a title for one or more sytems.the publiher ha a say in what happens in the game but the publisher i paying the third-party developers to create the game.Ifa developer is has been given a game idea to create then the publisher decide not to contunie with the making of the game it can be very important a the third-party developer rely strongly on a publiher to give them a game to create.

In-House developers

Many video game publihers maintain in-houe developers or studios.The size of the team desides on the game.In-house developers teams tend to have freedom as to design and content of a game , compared to the teams third-party developrs.Part of the reason for this is that ince the developer are employees of the publishers, thier interests are exactly aligned with those of the publisher a i possible.

Independent Developers
Independents are small software developers that are not owned by beholden to a single publisher.Some of the thee developer self-publish thier own games , relying on and word of mouth for publicity.If the maintream publihers dint have a huge marketing budgets thier products never get a much recogtion or popular acclaim as those larger publisher.

Sony Playstation / PSOne
Japanese electronics company Sony’s involvement in the videogame industry began as a manufacturer of a custom sound chip used in Nintendo’s SuperNES console.Rival companies NEC and Sega had taken the leap to CD based gaming, and Nintendo had no intentions of being left behind. They immediately partnered up with Sony to develop their CD based system. Sony went on to develop two units. One was a 16-bit add-on for the Super Famicom / SuperNES that sat underneath the system and allowed CD based gaming (SNES CD ), and another as a stand-alone unit. Initially the agreement allowed Sony the ability to license CD based games for the system. Nintendo was not willing to relinquish control over software licensing. They dropped Sony from the project, and approached Phillips to develop the add-on.
Ken Kutaragi, the Sony researcher who had worked on the "SNES PlayStation" prototype and the sound chip for the SNES (Sony SPC700), did not want to give up the hard work put into the unit. He wanted to continue working on this project and so he approached the then Sony President Norio Ogha to develop the stand-alone console without Nintendo. The project continued, and the new Sony Computer Entertainment Division was formed (SCEA).
Sony announced the console dubbed ‘Playstation’ at the Tokyo International Electronics Show on October 1991. The original Playstation concept would be able to play SNES games, as well as educational CD software. Nintendo would try to re-negotiate with Sony in fear that they would drop support for the SuperNES sound chip, but the joint effort between the companies never saw the light of day. Ken Kutaragi went back to develop the Playstation from scratch making it a 32-bit console that was simple yet powerful, easy to program for, and cheap. The new Sony Computer Entertainment division (SCE, SCEA, SCEE) began to use their company connections, and financial influence to persuade 160 3rd party software developers in North America alone, and over 400 worldwide, to develop for the newly designed Playstation. The Playstation (a.k.a PSX) was released shortly after the Sega Saturn on December 2nd 1994. The console was an immediate success selling over 100,000 units it’s first weekend. Developers found the Playstation simpler to develop for then it’s 32-bit rival Saturn. Sony then took it’s console abroad. The Sony Playstation immediately saw success in America on September 9th 1995. Europe saw releases a month later.
The PSX success was driven by a strong advertising campaign, and a price $100 cheaper then Sega Saturn. The PSX eventually claimed the number one videogame console sales position by beating out the Saturn, and even maintaining it’s position after the eventual release of Nintendo’s 64-bit console.
Even after the release of next generation systems, Sony saw an opportunity to make even more money out of the PSX. In 1999 Sony released the PSOne. This remodeled PSX console was made to the size of a portable CD Disk player. It was also both cheaper to buy, and cheaper to produce. LCD screens, battery packs, and vehicle power outlets also made the console somewhat portable.
The PSX had one of the largest libraries of software spanning 1000+ releases, and a wide assortment of accessories. Ken Kutaragi's desire to keep Playstation going ushered in he next level of three dimensional CD-based videogaming, and helped make Sony a dominate force in the videogame industry.
FACT: In mid 1997, Ken Kutaragi brought back an idea that had not been seen in almost 20 years. A special version of the Playstation called Net Yaroze (Yaroze meaning “Let’s do it together”) was released in limited quantities for around $750USD. This unit was a simplified development kit that would allow users to make their own PSX games using the C program language. Such an idea was last introduced back in 1979 with the Bally Professional Arcade (Bally BASIC), the Magnavox

Bandai Supervision 8000
Bandai had continued their successful TV Jack console line since 1977. The final evolution of the TV Jack series came about in 1979 with the release of TV Jack 8000. This version was named Supervision 8000 or Bandai TV Jack Micro Computer System. This release not only marked the series first programmable cartridge capable console (Actually one of the first Japan cartridge based-systems), but also marked Bandai's attempt to also delve into the computer markets. It was developed with the help of Logic Systems International (L.S.I).The Supervision 8000 was an impressive console for it's time. It was driven by an 8-bit NEC D780C (Z80 clone) processor capable of max 3.58mHz speeds. It also used a General Instruments AY-3-8910 co-processor, which supported 3 sound channels, and two general purpose parallel IO ports that are used for joysticks. Similar processors could later be found in the Amstrad GX400, and the popular Japanese MSX computer line released in the 1980's. This makes the Supervision 8000 well ahead of it's time. The console chassis contained a housing for the controllers, and had a small divot at the bottom for possible keyboard support. Unfortunately being ahead of it's time came at a price. The Supervision 8000 retailed for a high price of 59,800 Yen, and came with a pack in game called "Missile Vader". The high price must have kept the console out of the hands of many gamers (Particularly since it's TV Jack predecessors retailed for much less). Only six other games were released. Bandai later dropped support for Supervision 8000 in favor of becoming a distributor for Mattel's Intellivision in 1982. This marked the end of the TV Jack console line.
FACT: The Supervision 8000 console layout, particularly it's controllers, may cause one to believe it is a clone of Mattel's Intellivision. Both consoles use the AY-3-8910 co-processor, but the main processors are quite different. The Supervision 8000 used an 8-bit Zilog clone (3.58mHz) that was oddly faster then the Intellivision's 16-bit GI 1600 (500kHz), which displayed better graphics. The console's time of release can also lead you to believe it's a clone. Bandai announced the Supervision 8000 at the Tokyo Trade Show in September of 1979. It was later released in December of that same year. The Intellivision was test marketed in late 1979, and was sold in 1980. The Supervision 8000 is clearly not a clone. However it is our theory that Mattel duplicated the design of Bandai's controllers. To keep things cool, Mattel approached Bandai with an offer to distribute the Intellivision in Japan. Bandai later continues to remain a distributor well throughout the 1980's. Hmmm.

Bandai Supervision 8000
Bandai had continued their successful TV Jack console line since 1977. The final evolution of the TV Jack series came about in 1979 with the release of TV Jack 8000. This version was named Supervision 8000 or Bandai TV Jack Micro Computer System. This release not only marked the series first programmable cartridge capable console (Actually one of the first Japan cartridge based-systems), but also marked Bandai's attempt to also delve into the computer markets. It was developed with the help of Logic Systems International (L.S.I).The Supervision 8000 was an impressive console for it's time. It was driven by an 8-bit NEC D780C (Z80 clone) processor capable of max 3.58mHz speeds. It also used a General Instruments AY-3-8910 co-processor, which supported 3 sound channels, and two general purpose parallel IO ports that are used for joysticks. Similar processors could later be found in the Amstrad GX400, and the popular Japanese MSX computer line released in the 1980's. This makes the Supervision 8000 well ahead of it's time. The console chassis contained a housing for the controllers, and had a small divot at the bottom for possible keyboard support. Unfortunately being ahead of it's time came at a price. The Supervision 8000 retailed for a high price of 59,800 Yen, and came with a pack in game called "Missile Vader". The high price must have kept the console out of the hands of many gamers (Particularly since it's TV Jack predecessors retailed for much less). Only six other games were released. Bandai later dropped support for Supervision 8000 in favor of becoming a distributor for Mattel's Intellivision in 1982. This marked the end of the TV Jack console line.
FACT: The Supervision 8000 console layout, particularly it's controllers, may cause one to believe it is a clone of Mattel's Intellivision. Both consoles use the AY-3-8910 co-processor, but the main processors are quite different. The Supervision 8000 used an 8-bit Zilog clone (3.58mHz) that was oddly faster then the Intellivision's 16-bit GI 1600 (500kHz), which displayed better graphics. The console's time of release can also lead you to believe it's a clone. Bandai announced the Supervision 8000 at the Tokyo Trade Show in September of 1979. It was later released in December of that same year. The Intellivision was test marketed in late 1979, and was sold in 1980. The Supervision 8000 is clearly not a clone. However it is our theory that Mattel duplicated the design of Bandai's controllers. To keep things cool, Mattel approached Bandai with an offer to distribute the Intellivision in Japan. Bandai later continues to remain a distributor well throughout the 1980's. Hmmm.

Magnavox Odyssey
The Magnavox Odyssey was the very first home video game system. It was the brilliant creation of Ralph Baer (dubbed "The Father of home video games"). It played "Ball and Paddle" games such as "Ping Pong", "Table Tennis", "Volleyball", and others.
On January 27th, 1972, Magnavox began production on the machine, and the system was released in May. It was heavily advertised and reportedly sold 100,000 units in 1972 for around $100 each.
The Odyssey has no real specs. It contained no processor or memory. The box is made up of transistors, resistors and capacitors. Odyssey used cards that contained pin outs to change game settings. Plastic overlays that could be placed over the TV screen created graphics and color, but the actual display consisted of white squares (Paddle and ball) on an all black background. The Odyssey originally came with six game cards, and a 36-page user manual for the twelve games offered by the system.
The launch of Odyssey generated a severe case of "Pong Madness". Companies worldwide began developing their own "Pong" machines. The sheer madness of it all can be seen HERE
FACT: Magnavox Odyssey was sold only in Magnavox stores. Customers were told that the Odyssey would only work on Magnavox brand televisions. A nice lie that contributed to the amount of units sold.

Defender, Williams Electronics, 1980
Defender was designed by Eugene Jarvis. It was the first video game to feature artificial "world" in which game events could occur outside on-screen view presented to the player.
[Defender Information]

Battlezone, Atari Inc., 1980
Battlezone was the the first video game to feature truly interactive 3-D environment. It had 2-color vector display. The United States Armed Forces were so impressed by the game that they commissioned Atari to build specially modified and upgraded versions for use in tank training.

Warrior, Vectorbeam/Cinematronics, 1979
Warrior was the first one-on-one fighting game. It was a two-player overhead sword-fighting contest. It had a brillian vector graphics display for its time, but unfortunately it was less reliable than the Atari one. It was a very rare game

Asteroids, Atari Inc., 1979
Asteroids was Atari's answer to Space Invaders. The game was designed by Ed Logg and it utilized a monochrome vector graphics display, which was capable of fast moving objects made of very sharp lines (compared to crude pixel graphics of its time). Combined with great game play it became the biggest selling of game of its time.
Asteroids and Lunar Lander (Atari, 1980) were the predecessors Gravitar (Atari) and many modern rotating ship shoot'em'up games e.g. Xpilot

Football, Atari Inc., 1978
Football was the first true video sports game. It was created by Dave Stubben. Its development originally began as a game called "X's and O's" by Steve Bristow in late 1973. The project was shelved for years until the Atari figured out a way to break out from the limits of the single-screen game displays of the time. Football introduced "scrolling" video game displays to the world, allowing games to take place on playfields larger than the monitor on which they were displayed. Later-on Atari has made a lot of money for its patent for scrolling video game displays that rose from Football. Football was also the first game to feature the track ball.

Space Invaders, Taito/Bally/Midway, 1978

Space Invaders was the first blockbuster videogame. It brought the video games out of arcades and bars into restaurants, corner stores an brought video games into the public conciousness. It was translated to Atari 2600 video home game system and the home versio was also a huge commercial hit.
[Space Invaders Manual]

Breakout, Atari Inc., 1976
Breakout was designed by Atari's fortieth employee Steve Jobs and his friend Steve Wozniak. A year later these two persons founded Apple Computer.

Night Driver, Atari Inc., 1976
Night Driver was the first racing game with "first person" perspective, showing the road as if actually seen from the car. Before Night Driver there had been many racing games with bird perspective (seen from above), e.g. the popular Atari game called "Sprint 2" from 1976. The night theme was chosen to hide the limitation of the hardware to create more complicated images. For many years, most 3D games built on the basic concept of Night Driver, using computer hardware to "scale" flat images called "sprites" in order to simulate movement in the 3D.

Gunfight, Taito/Midway, 1975
Gunfight was a two-player game in style of Western movies. It was the first Japanese title to be licensed for release in America. Midway redesigned it to allow more varied game play. The redesigned version was the first video arcade game to utilize a microprocessor.

Tank, Kee Games/Atari Inc., 1974
Tank was the first video game which used ROM chips to store graphic data. It had on-screen characters that actually looked like recognizable objects. Before that video games used simple block graphics like in Pong, or collections of dots as in Computer Space.

PonPong, Atari Inc., 1972
g was the first succesful arcade video game. It was designed by Nolan Bushnell and Alan Alcorn. The game play was extremely simple. It has two players, both which controlled a vertical bar which could bounce back a moving dot which moving between the vertical bars. Nolan placed the first game machine in a local gas station. When he became back the machine ceased to operate which it was full of money. Pong became an instant success and it created the arcade video game industry. Several home versions were also made of the Pong game and it also created the home video game industry as well.
[Pong: The Revolutionary Game]

Computer Space was the first commercial arcade video game released to the public. It was designed by Nolan Bushnell. It had many technological innovations, but the gameplay was confusing and it didn't become a commercial success. Using the profits from the game Nolan Bushnell left Nutting Associates and formed Atari Inc.

The ratings system for video games is relatively new compared to the ratings systems used by other entertainment industries -- and so far, it's been a rocky road. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) comes under fire on a regular basis, most recently with the hidden "Hot Coffee" mini-game in "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas." With video game sales topping $7 billion in 2004, the focus on game ratings will only intensify [ref].

Pan European Game Information, or more commonly PEGI, is a European system for rating the content of computer and video games, and other entertainment software. It was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) and came into use in April 2003. The PEGI system is used in 25 countries. It is not associated with the European Union.
Participation is voluntary, at the discretion of the game developer. To obtain the ratings for any piece of software, the developer completes a questionnaire, which is then evaluated by the Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media (NICAM) and ratings are given. It's based on the Dutch Kijkwijzer system too.
There are two parts to the classification for any piece of software — a suggested minimum age and also up to six descriptions of content, such as the use of strong language, violence, etc