| RolStoppable said: I've had a big idea for the console market's history since about a year, but never got around to start it because of its scope. So instead I'll be making a more condensed version today, because having something is better than postponing it for all eternity. The idea is to put console history into a new context which not only expands analyses, but also provides answers to bigger questions of the current time, such as why PlayStation console sales are in decline in Japan with no signs of a rebound despite continued success in other regions of the world. Or why Nintendo's home consoles have been on an up and down trajectory after the continuous decline of their first four. Through each generation, the most important consoles will be placed in a table that contains five categories that describe the focus in their manufacturer's approach. These are: 1. Arcade Games: Consoles to play arcade games at home. It's rather rough, but should be good enough to work with. Important notes left to preface the table: Since I am creating a new context, I might as well reinstate a generation that got lost along the way; this is why you'll see the count go up to 10. Another note is that the count prioritizes the North American market because the console market wasn't a global thing in the beginning; this is the reason why the dates for generation 3 and 4 look a bit strange, because when Japan entered the fray, there wasn't a global alignment yet.
Generation 3: This is the generation you typically see wiped from history and lumped together with generation 2 because it was a dark era for the console market. Make no mistake, the Atari 5200 (1982) was the successor to the Atari 2600, it's just that it failed with only ~1 million units sold. Both the Colecovision (1982) and Intellivision (1980) are estimated to have been more successful with 2 million and 3 million, respectively, but they are pitiful numbers nonetheless. |
It was good of you to include the "lost" 3rd generation. In gaming magazines of the day, the Atari 5200 and ColecoVision were both very much advertised as the "Third Wave" or "Third Generation" consoles. I think the shortness of their lifespans is what led to their being lumped in with the 2nd generation systems. But, there is no denying the jump in graphical quality from an Atari 2600 to the Colecovision especially when comparing ports of the same games. That being said, when speaking of their lifetime sales, I think a bit more respect should be given considering the reason for their abrupt end. The Colecovision launched in August of 1982 to extremely popular reception and sales for its time only to be massively impacted by the North American Video Game Crash of 1983, just one year into its lifespan. I wouldn't call Coleco's sales "pitiful" when considering the timeframe they took place in, and the massive external factor that took place which removed any possibility of longevity in the marketplace.
