I had an idea to try to remember all the definitive dates where there was a change in the console industry wars and one console took the lead. Below are some I could recall... Anyone else remember some I may have forgotten?

EDIT: Revised list with some ideas lsited below...

November 19, 2006 (World) - Wii launches with first ever motion sensing controller which helps it sell faster than any previous system in history.

Mar-2006 (Worldwide) - Sony has shippied 103.69 million PS2's passing the landmark set by PS1 at 102.49 million making PS2 the most produced and highest selling console of all time.

June 10, 2006 (US) - DS Lite launched...helping it leave PSP in the dust and putting it on pace to become the highest selling handheld console of all time.

March 4, 2000 (JP) - NA October 26, 2000 (US) - November 24, 2000 (EU) - PS2 launches with first ever DVD player integrated in a videogame console, sets the standard and dominates that entire generation.

Feb 1, 1997 (Japan) - Final Fantasy 7 is launched in Japan...helping PS1 start to outsell the Sega Saturn in that region.

November 25, 1994 (US) - Donkey Kong Country is launched for Snes helping Snes win that holiday season and eventually the 16 bit war.

June 23, 1991 (worldwide) - Sonic the Hedgehog is released for the Genesis. It added the element of speed to the standard platform formula, introduced other unique elements such as the loops, springboards, high-speed devices, and the rings now permanently associated with the game series. The game was both a critical and commercial success and it helped Genesis compete with the Snes for 4 years which was previously unimaginable.

October 18, 1985(US) - NES is launched in US and it sells like hotcakes, helping revitalize the US video game industry following the video game crash of 1983.

October 18, 1985 (US, Japan)- Super Mario Bros is released. and it featured gameplay that changed the way video games were created. It is the first console original in this genre to feature smooth-scrolling levels, which made it a landmark in home video-gaming.

October 1977 (US) - Atari 2600 is released and it becomes the first widely popular microprocessor based console with cartridges containing game code, replacing the standard of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in.

bump

Interesting topic. I'll try to think up some other dates, but at first glance you've covered most of em.

I'd say innovations such as rumble pack, analog stick, PS2's release, and the release of the original gameboy also belong.

Ah, I remember when I played my Commodore and one of my firends bought a beastly 2-86 which clocked at an incredible 12 MHz!
I also remember the christmas when me and my sister got the NES, I've never felt such joy on a christmas eve.
I did think I'd need therapy from the darn dog in Duck Hunt though.

im not sure when the exact date is but the first day that mario bros came out.

Here's a commonly made mistake. The Japanese Final Fantasy 7 launch was not a dramatic changing moment in the console wars, because the Playstation was already mopping the floor with the Saturn in Japan. Although the LIFETIME numbers were still close, the Playstation had pulled decisively away in weekly sales, and it was obvious to everyone which platform would ultimately be more successful.

Since we're at VGChartz, you don't have to take my word for it, and can look at the actual charts themselves. Console sales from the week before FF7 launch (and this on a week with a Saturn release topping the charts!)

Hardware:

Console	Week	Weekly	Total
	113	91,198 (+6%)	5,062,657
	406	83,290 (+52%)	13,984,137
	114	28,227 (+6%)	4,563,489
	32	16,207 (-37%)	1,809,570
	323	7,673 (-37%)	16,413,570
Total	226,595

How about the week before, with another Saturn game topping the charts at #1:

Hardware:

Console	Week	Weekly	Total
	112	86,358 (-37%)	4,971,459
	405	54,857 (-10%)	13,900,847
	113	26,682 (-63%)	4,535,262
	31	25,881 (-52%)	1,793,363
	322	12,188 (-52%)	16,405,897
Total	205,966

http://vgchartz.com/japweekly.php?date=35449&console=&maker=&disp=Japanese+Name&boxartz=1

Here were the holiday 1996 sales in Japan:

08 Dec: PS 89k, SAT 40k
15 Dec: PS 123k, SAT 68k
22 Dec: PS 148k, SAT 78k
29 Dec: PS 186k, SAT 79k
http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php?cons1=Wii&reg1=All&cons2=PS&reg2=Japan&cons3=SAT&reg3=Japan&start=35407&end=35428

And I could go on. The point is, the battle was already over between the Playstation and Saturn BEFORE Final Fantasy came out. It merely accelerated a trend that had been ongoing for some time. This is a classic case of confusing cause and effect. (FF7 came to the Playstation because it was pulling away from the Saturn, rather than it causing that shift.)

* * * * *

Here's something you should add to your list: the release of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis in 1991. This game, along with Sega's famously edgy marketing campaign, put the Genesis on the map and allowed it to fight the SNES on an even basis for the next four years. Prior to that, everyone expected that the SNES would mop the floor with the Genesis in America, just as the SNES had destroyed the Megadrive in Japan. Sonic largely redefined the gaming landscape, and changed the course of the fourth generation in America.

I'd love to demonstrate this with sales charts, if only we had them from so far back! Still, this is info covered in pretty much any gaming history you might read out there, and fairly well known. Should be on your list.

@Sullla

You may be right about FF7 not solely being responsible for ps1 oulling away form the saturn but I disagree with the statement that final fantasy 7 came to ps1 because saturn was lagging. 6 months prior they were still tied... I'm sure FF7 took longer to make than 6 months and Squares decision to bring it to PS1 along with the fact PS1 was mopping the floor with the saturn elsewhere in the world made Japan slowly start to lean towards the PS1.

Had that game come out for the Saturn instead I think Sega may still be making consoles today... I believe it should be on the list as I think it represents the final blow to the saturn world wide and the moment Sega said "we can't win this" in Japan.

I dunno the date but how about when PS1 becomes highest selling system all time, only to be beat by PS2.

cool idea though.

Revised list with some ideas above...pasted it on the first post as well.


November 19, 2006 (World) - Wii launches with first ever motion sensing controller which helps it sell faster than any previous system in history.

Mar-2006 (Worldwide) - Sony has shippied 103.69 million PS2's passing the landmark set by PS1 at 102.49 million making PS2 the most produced and highest selling console of all time.

June 10, 2006 (US) - DS Lite launched...helping it leave PSP in the dust and putting it on pace to become the highest selling handheld console of all time.

March 4, 2000 (JP) - NA October 26, 2000 (US) - November 24, 2000 (EU) - PS2 launches with first ever DVD player integrated in a videogame console, sets the standard and dominates that entire generation.

Feb 1, 1997 (Japan) - Final Fantasy 7 is launched in Japan...helping PS1 start to outsell the Sega Saturn in that region.

November 25, 1994 (US) - Donkey Kong Country is launched for Snes helping Snes win that holiday season and eventually the 16 bit war.

June 23, 1991 - Sonic the Hedgehog is released for the Genesis. It added the element of speed to the standard platform formula, introduced other unique elements such as the loops, springboards, high-speed devices, and the rings now permanently associated with the game series. The game was both a critical and commercial success and it helped Genesis compete with the Snes for 4 years which was previously unimaginable.

October 18, 1985(US) - NES is launched in US and it sells like hotcakes, helping revitalize the US video game industry following the video game crash of 1983.

October 18, 1985 - Super Mario Bros is released. and it featured gameplay that changed the way video games were created. It is the first console original in this genre to feature smooth-scrolling levels, which made it a landmark in home video-gaming.

October 1977 (US) - Atari 2600 is released and it becomes the first widely popular microprocessor based console with cartridges containing game code, replacing the standard of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in.

June 23rd, 1996 - Nintendo launches the last cartridge-based home console to date. The inability of software developers to easily port their games from disc-based consoles to the N64 due to size constraints severely harms Nintendo's third party relationships.