Regardless, I think the gens can be separated fairly comfortably into a few distinguishable phases.
Phase 1: Gen 1 & 2
-Industry still in infancy
-little to no regulation (hello licensed cross-platform game adapter/endless shovel ware!)
-Games incredibly simplistic
-most popular games are generally poor arcade ports
-Sports games extremely limited
Phase 2: Gen 3 & 4
-industry becomes heavily regulated in a way we'd recognize today
-Scope of games drastically increased
-Modern controllers are born
-Save Games become common
-Cartrige based handhelds become popular
-Consoles more capable of new genres like RPGs
-Improved music, voice, sound effects
-2d games and platforming mastered
-3d toyed with but not common
-Sports games become licensed and exceedingly popular
Phase 3: Gen 5 & 6
-3D largely introduced and mastered
-Intro of future juggernauts Sony/Microsoft while Sega bows out
-Analog stick becomes main tool for movement
-Cartriges are replaced by CDs
-the FPS really takes hold as a powerful, popular genre
-Ability to play DVDs and serve purposes outside of purely gaming becomes exceedingly important
-Controllers begin to gain additional attributes like rumble and such
-Games are still largely local though online begins its rise
-Last phase where it was common to see many smaller companies producing a console of their own
-Sports games begin to dominate
-First true 3d sandbox games appear
Phase 4: Gen 7 & 8
-Internet becomes a near necessity
-Games grow sufficiently large that they generally require downloadable patches and installations
-DRM toyed with though generally rejected
-Strong competition with mobile games
-Operating Systems increasingly complex
-Capable of far more than just games, including DVDs, apps, Internet etc
-Online subscriptions becoming the norm
-Photorealistic graphics (~1080i+) become almost expected
-Downloadable games more prevalent than ever
-Advent of said downloadable games leads to rebirth of indie scene to scale not seen since Gen 2
-Motion controls/use of cameras done well
-To be the first true dive into VR
-Online multiplayer becomes more important than local multiplayer
-The shooter becomes the most popular of the generation's genres alongside sports games
Going forward Im not sure what will be the next dividing line, but if I had to guess I'd say greater prevalence of digital downloads, VR, and online libraries.
