An Analytical Look At the Video Game Industry: A Thesis Paper
Disclaimer: Much of this will be in a different format. This thesis paper will not have pictures and it will include a formal bibliography at the end. Also, I wrote up an original game console timeline at the end of this paper. This is found and edited through my personal research so you don't have to do anything. I hope I've made the game console generation timelines less confusing. And finally, this thesis paper was for school. It's taken me a little under a month of almost solid procrastination to write, so enjoy. It's also in Times New Roman to look nice and fancy.
An Analytical Look At the Video Game Industry
5/5/20-5/28/20
Games and game consoles have come a long way in the past forty-five years, but these wouldn’t have gone anywhere if it weren’t for marketing. While the products themselves are what connect the consumer and the company, it’s marketing that allows for that connection to even happen. A hot topic that’s been burning since the seventies is discussing which ways are best to market games and consoles. This is a trick question, seeing as there are too many variables to depict the perfect answer. There isn’t a specific number of advertisements to put out or perfect tone of voice to use in commercials. It’s truly subjective to the style of your company’s products and what you’re offering. Despite this being the factual answer, there are many opinions taking different sides. Is it best to market your console as the cool console? Maybe it’s best to say that it’s the kids console, or even the console for seniors. After millions upon millions have taken sides and have expressed their opinions and reasoning of why one side is better, it all turns out false. There is no true or false side, solely because people and companies are all different in one way or another. Perhaps a teenager likes PlayStation, an adult likes Xbox, and a kid likes Nintendo. Companies can widen their demographics as much as they want, but you can never hit every target audience. This thesis can be easily proven if you simply take a look through the history of the gaming industry and its marketing.
When most people picture older game consoles, they think of cartridges, a joystick or D-pad, and a button or two. This was not how gaming was thought of this early in the industry. September of 1972 saw the release of the first ever home game console; the Magnavox Odyssey. The Odyssey was sold for a price of 100 U.S. dollars (a whopping 600 dollars today). As you could expect, in the early seventies, such new technology was something only for rich people; as with nearly everything else. Due to mainly this, the Odyssey was only able to sell 350 thousand in its three-year lifespan. The Magnavox controller was an uncomfortable rectangular box featuring a twistable knob on each side of it to move your character vertically and horizontally. It also featured the jankiest start button in existence at the top of the box. Most of these game consoles people think of use cartridges to play some first and many third party games, though, the Magnavox only had a handful of first party games. The Magnavox came with only a few gameplay modes. The first of the main ones used is table tennis, where the general concept is the square ball bouncing off of two different walls/objects. The second was one where moving the knobs simply moved your character in different directions. With a white character on a blank backdrop, simply playing these modes alone felt like there wasn’t an ounce of content. So instead of taking time and resources to make fun games, Magnavox created sheets of see-through plastic to put over your television screen. If you look at pictures of this, it looks absolutely ridiculous, and the worst excuse for hardware too early to release ever. Overall, this thing felt like a concept idea to bring to a pitch meeting, and not something that should have been released as a game console.
The first generation of consoles was short, and because in-home video gaming was so new and the Odyssey not being advertised very well, it kind of failed. Though, Phillips (the parent company to Magnavox) wasn’t sure what a failure in the game industry was yet. They didn’t know until the second generation when the Atari 2600 hit the market. The Atari 2600 marked what is widely considered the second generation of consoles today. Just comparing the designs of the first Magnavox console to this one is pretty shocking. In the game industry, it’s safe to say that the Atari 2600 was a smash hit; in the seventies, and today. It sold 25 million units in its lifespan, and this was likely due to its amazing marketing and commercials. Sadly, though, in-home game technology was still a new and expensive concept. Even a game system that could play so many different games (though displayed with a mere 160 by 192 pixels) would still cost 200 dollars; almost 800 dollars today. Despite this hefty price tag, due to the 2600’s abilities and marketing, it still managed to sell so many units.
Atari’s whopping success aside, Phillip’s Magnavox felt like they could still make it in the home console game. So, a year later, they released the Odyssey 2. The Odyssey 2 was far more impressive than the first Odyssey, but it didn’t live up to its competitor, mainly in terms of software. The Odyssey 2 had what are definitely the best controllers, though. Its normal controllers were mostly the same as the 2600, but it also came complete with a computer keyboard. It’s fair to say that this keyboard’s only purpose was so that Magnavox had something they could say that the competition did. This console went on to sell 2 million units; mainly because it was the Atari with more features, but less impressive gameplay and therefore games. Its main gimmick was that it could play many of the more popular arcade games in your home, but the Atari 2600 could do the same. Though, it could do it with much better games and better overall gameplay and graphics. Its other selling point, which was likely why it even sold 2 million units, was that it was 20 dollars less than the 2600. This would translate to almost 100 dollars less today.
Next, we find ourselves at the third generation of consoles. This generation introduced a number of groundbreaking things. Most notably the transition to 8 bit as opposed to 5, and the first commercial handheld game system. This first handheld was the Nintendo Game & Watch, and it was released in early 1980. It came complete with four different first party Nintendo games throughout the first three years of its eleven-year lifespan. There were no third party games made for Game & Watch, mainly because such small and new hardware proved very difficult to produce for. The system was a pretty big hit, because throughout its lifespan the console sold around 43 million units. Then again, its lifespan was quite long, and Nintendo stopped producing games for it in 1983. This number made it the best selling console of all time until 1983, paving the wild success of handhelds throughout the years to come.
In a hasty attempt to stay on top of the home console charts, Atari released their second console, the 5200, just in time for the holiday of 1982. This system flopped hard, and this is due to a variety of reasons. It sold a mere 1 million units, doing atrociously compared to its predecessor. The first reason was the lack of games. There were 70 total games made for the system in its wildly short one-and-a-half-year lifespan, and most of these were just remakes of 2600 games. The second reason was that the Atari 2600 was far from discontinuation. The 5200’s predecessor was discontinued eight years after it was discontinued itself, which is shocking in the gaming industry. The third was its price tag of 270 dollars, which translates to over 700 dollars today. The fourth and final main reason this console failed was due to marketing which made it seem like it was barely new. Almost as if it were a barely upgraded version of the 2600 rather than being considered its own console. This was completely false for a few reasons related to the hardware and software. Mainly, this console was revolutionary because it was the first 8 bit home console released. While having almost the same games as the Atari 2600, the actual improvements to these remakes were drastic.
Next on the list, we have the notorious Nintendo Entertainment System. This console was Nintendo’s first game console, and its hardware was around the same as the Atari 5200’s. Obviously this console didn’t fail because it’s one of the most famous consoles to date. This was due to one reason, and that reason was its price. Due to the success of the second generation consoles and their high prices, Atari thought that 700 dollars (in today’s money) was becoming the normal price for game consoles. Though, the industry was still a little two young to have a normal price set for anything, so it makes sense. The thing is that in-home video gaming was still a relatively new concept in the first and second console generations. Nintendo realized the truth, and knew that, especially as their business’ first home console, they had to have a few good selling points. The first was the controller, which became the new standard setup for the basics of most controllers following this console. Though, the main one was the price tag; a mere 90 dollars without a game bundled, meaning under 250 dollars today. This was groundbreaking; not only for the amazing sales of this console, but for the video game industry as a whole along with its future. It proved that in-home gaming was going to be the new way to play video games, and that everyone should play games this way. It also sold very well because of its launch title and the game the console came bundled with for 10 dollars more. This game was the classic Super Mario Bros., and it sold amazing. Not only because of its groundbreaking and smooth controls, but also due to its creative and interesting character and level design. It was one of the first games to offer true immersion in the world of the character you’re playing as.
Next came Atari’s third console. It’s not very normal for companies to release two consoles in one generation today, but we saw it in a few earlier console generations. Particularly, in Atari’s case, they had to release something else to salvage their sales and legacy. A mere three-and-a-half years after the 5200, this console was released. Thankfully, due to the NES’s success, they realized that their future consoles had to be priced much lower. This console sold better than the 5200 in its lifespan, but this is mainly because of the 7800’s much longer lifespan. It sold around 4 million units until being discontinued in 1992, each unit selling for 140 dollars (almost 330 dollars today). This console’s hardware wasn’t much more technically impressive than the 5200, but with a few minor and cheap improvements. This displays that in business, there’s a very clear line between price and how much of the product will be sold. Atari got as close as they could to this line with the 7800, but obviously didn’t have the ambition, resources, and bravery that Nintendo had when they made the NES. The Atari Jaguar did technically come after this console and became the last main console from Atari. This one would be pretty pointless to go over, as nobody’s too sure why it only sold less than 250 thousand units. It seems like Atari’s failed last hope and not a mainstream game console.
Then, towards the very end of this third generation, we saw its final major console; the Sega Master System. This system may not have been much more technically impressive than the other ones in this generation, and that was the main reason why Sega’s first ever console didn’t sell as much as Nintendo. Sega came in with their new and impressive design for consoles and controllers, but they never really became competitors until the fourth generation. The Master System came in towards the very end of this generation without any truly groundbreaking hardware or software. Hence, the console sold 11 million units for around 200 dollars (450 dollars today) each. Not a colossal amount, but certainly modest, and especially good for that much higher of a price per unit.
In 1988, we arrived at the fourth generation. This was a groundbreaking generation, mainly because of 16 bit console gaming, and handhelds really taking off. This generation kicked off with the release of the worldwide success, the Sega Genesis. This is probably the most well-known and most impressive Sega system due to its new and innovative controller design and amazing catalogue of games. This console was sold at 200 dollars in 1988 (around 430 dollars today), and went on to sell 33 million units throughout its nine-year lifespan.
Next came what was arguably the beginning of mainstream handheld gaming; Nintendo’s Game Boy. This console was launched at a price of only 90 U.S. dollars (around 170 dollars today), making it accessible to a wider audience than many home consoles at the time. The Game Boy tends to be roped in with the Game Boy Color. This is despite the fact that the Color was introduced over nine years later, and hence, most sales figures represent both consoles. After all, they were both practically the same console except for one displaying games in color. Both of these were clear smash hits as they went on to sell just under 119 million units until March of 2003. This means the original Game Boy faced a nearly fourteen-year lifespan, which proves its success even further.
Transitioning back into home consoles, one year after the Game Boy’s release, Nintendo gave us the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES for short). This console was released in 1990, and while having the same overall technical specs as the Sega Genesis that came two years before, it still went on to sell more units. It wasn’t a huge difference in sales, but it was still fourteen million units, as the SNES sold 47 million in its lifespan. Arguably, the main reason for this was that Nintendo was starting to build up a legacy. The NES and the Game Boy were obviously smash hits with audiences of all ages worldwide, so perhaps they’ve built a following. Perhaps people had just finished Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario Land on their Game Boy and wanted to see what was next for the character they loved so much.
Another widely disputed thing with big companies and business fans is what audiences to market to and how. The Genesis was always marketed in advertisements in a generally futuristic and more mature way. This obviously grabbed the attention of the older kids, teens, and young adults that video games were appealing to. The Genesis had a more explicit and mature catalogue of games as opposed to Nintendo’s games mostly being made for all ages. Nintendo’s success in their early years might prove that marketing to much younger audiences is better than trying to be the “cool” console, so to speak. This is of course disputable, especially now when video games appeal to much wider audiences. Overall, the ways in which you should market a game console are very confusing.
The year 1994 saw the beginning of the fifth generation of game consoles kicked off again by Sega; this time with the Sega Saturn. This console was a clear flop from its rocky start to its somewhat short-lived lifespan. The most obvious reason why this console was an indisputable failure was its large price tag of 400 dollars (almost 700 today). The main reason why this console only sold 10 million units could be due to its lack of 3d games. Only one month later, the public was introduced to Sony’s first endeavor in the video game industry with the PlayStation. This console was such a hit, and this was mainly due to its excelling and astonishing hardware. The bulk of the PlayStation’s games were 3d, while the Sega Saturn was clearly lacking. Sega claimed that the reason for still so many 2d games was that they felt that 2d graphics were at their prime, and it’s hard to dispute that. Though, just because Sega all personally enjoyed one game style didn’t mean they should at least try to market the Saturn as one of the only consoles that could display “3d” games. The reason for the quotes on “3d” is because none of these games were 3d games from a technical standpoint. They were all pixel polygons rendered to display the illusion of 3d rather than actually using 3d sprites. Then again, this wouldn’t look much different from the public eye, especially because this technology was so new that people would have loved anything in its style. While the Saturn does have some of the most graphically excelling 2d games of its time, in the public’s mind, this never compared to how “cool” 3d games were to them.
The next console was Sony’s first “PlayStation”, and most that can be said about was said in the previous paragraph. This system was groundbreaking for the 3d gaming market, which stands as the main game style today. It’s very rare that you’ll come across a truly 2d game with no 3d assets whatsoever, especially with mainstream first party games. Overall, the PS1 remains one of the highest unit counts for game consoles today, standing at 101 million units. It’s price was still relatively expensive compared to most of Nintendo’s recent consoles. Though, 300 dollars for this console (just over 500 dollars today) proved worth it for its outstanding technical specifications.
Back at Sega, everyone was terrified by the Saturn’s commercial failure. So, to not come off pathetic or overshadow the Saturn with a brand new home console, Sega decided to make their first real mainstream handheld; the Sega Nomad. Sega had made a couple of handhelds prior, but nothing that they really advertised as heavily and forcefully. At this point, handhelds seemed like the perfect route for Sega. Since they wanted to make 2d graphics, handheld gaming was still far behind home consoles in terms of specs, so this was their perfect excuse. Also was the wild success of the Game Boy, which sold millions upon millions of units on its own. All that Sega knew was that they had to switch things up to remain such a predominant figure in the industry. Alas, Sega had faced yet another failure. The only minor technical problem with it was the system’s shockingly low battery life (six AA batteries in 2-3 hours). Otherwise, though, the Nomad was a generally impressive handheld. Not anything groundbreaking, technically speaking, but still a good console overall. One of the obviously major reasons the Nomad sold so poorly would have been its high price tag of 180 dollars (around 300 dollars today). This wasn’t anything too catastrophic, of course, but it was enough to bring sales down. A more widely discussed major issue was its lack of marketing in Japan. Sega is a Japanese country and, like Nintendo and Sony for instance, sells a lot of their consoles in their home country. Though, somehow, the Saturn was an overall success in Japan only. Hence, Sega of Japan felt that it would hurt the excellent sales of the Saturn in their country to release another console not even a year after its launch. Perhaps the Nomad would have gone to sell upwards of 20 million units if marketed better in Japan, but it’s hard to tell now so far after the fact.
Two years after the start of generation five, Nintendo was finally catching up with 3d graphics of their own. In September of 1996, Nintendo revealed and released the Nintendo 64; a console considered by many to be one of, if not the, best game console of all time. It came along with some clearly amazing games from first and third parties. Perhaps what many loved, and still love, about the N64 was the glorious wave of groundbreaking 3d platformers. The start of this genre was distinctly Super Mario 64. This game brought amazing graphics, sweet gameplay, a vast and exciting open world, and perfect controls. Perfect controls, in this case, does not mean amazing controls, it means the absolute perfect controls, as they are still some of the best controls to date. With a lot of the N64, it was clear to see that Nintendo was trying to make their own PlayStation, but in a very specific way akin to their style. Nintendo was still pretty strict about keeping their games for all ages, but there were quite a few third party games that crossed that barrier. The console was sold at 200 dollars (almost 330 today), with a total of 33 million units being sold in its six-year lifespan. These were obviously modest numbers, but not anywhere close to the PlayStation’s over 100 million units. Overall, we saw a lot of innovation in the sixth generation, particularly in 3d graphics, that would pave the way for future gaming. Presumably more so than most prior generations.
The sixth generation of game consoles was kicked off by Sega for what would be the third and final time with the Sega Dreamcast. Realising their past mistakes with the Saturn in the past generation, Sega decided to go fully 3d. The Dreamcast received a slew of first and third party games; pretty much all of them being with 3d graphics. The graphics weren’t as good as nearly anything else in the sixth generation, but starting this generation was a smart idea for Sega. It allowed them to tell the public audience that the sixth console generation was not going to be much different. Of course, Sony and Nintendo aimed to prove different. They believed that a new generation meant upgraded hardware and software, all new games from beloved series’, and more. They didn’t want to exploit the public’s temporary ignorance for more money. Alas, Sega underestimated how smart their customers really were, and faced their devastating third global flop in a row. This led to the official collapse of Sega.
Sega’s collapse was a devastating event in the early years of the gaming industry. The Dreamcast would be their last mainstream home console ever, though, they would go on to continue making games. Most recently, in 2020, Sega and Nintendo continued their partnership to make the sixth installment in the “Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games” series. In conclusion, Sega is still a video game company who still have their original characters and whatnot. They’re just not a game company so major as to produce their own game systems of any kind. Then again, there have been on and off rumours ever since the Dreamcast of Sega making a console return. Though, none of these rumours are likely, and that’s something almost everyone hates to admit.
Almost a year-and-a-half later, on March 4th, 2000, we received the successor to the best-selling console of all time; the PlayStation 2. Within its lifespan, this console trumped the PS1 by becoming the new best selling home console of all time, selling 153 million units. It still holds this title today. There wasn’t anything particularly groundbreaking about this console. The only things being that its hardware and software were exceptional, its games were amazing, and the marketing was on point. The console was great, but nothing was groundbreaking, per say, from a technical standpoint. The console also sold for
Speaking of the Nintendo Game Boy, in the next March of 2001, we received the Game Boy Advance (or GBA for short). This was one of, if not the, best and most fun handhelds of its time. It had the same buttons as the original Game Boy, but with the two shoulder buttons that were initially introduced on the SNES. This console’s games are considered by many retro gamers and normal gamers alike to be the absolute peak of 2d graphics. The Game Boy Advance had many amazing titles through a variety of genres, and is debatably a huge hit for this reason. In 2003, the second model for the GBA was revealed: the GBA SP. This handheld was revolutionary in its very pocket-friendly design with the main screen at the top closing over the bottom with the controls. This was also the classic handheld design that went on to influence Nintendo’s DS and 3DS in the future. Along with the fact that the original Advance and the SP were both sold for 100 dollars (a little under 150 dollars today). With both models combined, the Advances sold over 81 million units throughout their nearly 10-year lifespan.
In September of 2001, Nintendo was back only half-a-year later with their fourth home console, the GameCube. The GameCube is arguably one of the best game consoles of all time, and many hardcore Nintendo fans would agree. Sadly, while the GameCube didn’t necessarily flop, it did only sell 22 million units, which is pretty low for a main home console. Despite this fact, the GameCube will forever go down in history as one of the most ambitious consoles yet. Complete with an undeniably legendary controller, and a vast catalogue of some of Nintendo’s best games to date. Not many people have dived into the GameCube’s lack of success; mainly because it wasn’t as much a flop as other consoles, which made it less interesting. Though, the main reason for its success was, again, its ambition. This was exactly what more hardcore and mature fans of Nintendo wanted, but not something that the public were really throwing their wallets at. One of Nintendo’s main selling points throughout the years was that their consoles, and the console’s games, were made for everyone. Pleasing such a large target demographic was something they pulled off surprisingly well throughout the years. The GameCube, though, saw many games that were rated Teen and Mature. Most of these games were third parties, some of which had also been on the PlayStation 2, but this move was still ambitious and risky. The new installments of Nintendo’s core franchises were also very interesting and risky, but they came out to be legendary games. The first of these was “Super Mario Sunshine”: a Mario game that takes place on an island with entirely new mechanics than the last 3d Mario game. The next, and perhaps the biggest, was The Legend Of Zelda’s “The Windwaker”. This was a sailing-based, open-world 3d Zelda game in a chibi style that not many fans meshed with. Though, a lot of the public has grown to love this style; mainly just because the game itself is so undeniably masterful. Third, we have “Mario Kart: Double Dash”: a game that took the classic Mario Kart formula and bended its limits to provide a great, and new-feeling experience. Finally, we saw the first two installments in the “Metroid Prime” series. These games took the classic 2d platformer series and turned it into a 3d, first person, action/adventure game with notably stunning graphics. Overall, the GameCube is considered by many, (Nintendo and non-Nintendo fans alike), to be one of the best consoles of all time. If its ambition had never hurt its marketing so many years ago, we could be seeing an entirely different Nintendo today. Then again, that could be a good and a bad thing, depending on how you see it.
Finally, in the last console of the sixth generation, notorious computer company Microsoft gave us their first ever game console; the Xbox. The Xbox’s sales were just slightly better than the GameCube’s, but for entirely different reasons. Mainly, the Xbox’s advertisements were seen by the public as just a PlayStation 2 clone, and it undeniably was in certain ways. Particularly, because many of the games were the same despite a few Xbox originals. If people already had PS2’s, they never felt as though they had a reason to spend 300 dollars (around 430 today) on a new console without much more to offer. Also, people found it slightly risky to instantly spend their money on a company’s first ever console. The NES was a no brainer because of its ridiculously low price, and the PS1 was a no brainer because of its outstanding tech. This left potential customers to ponder the reasons that they should get this console. The Xbox sold around 24 million units in its eight year lifespan, which isn’t bad by any means, but it’s not too great either. All in all, it’s fair to say that the PlayStation 2 dominated the sixth generation, and the future of home gaming as a whole.
The seventh generation began in the holiday season with the war of the portables. Looking back at the fifth generation, we saw Nintendo’s N64 get destroyed by Sony’s PlayStation 1. In the sixth generation, we saw the same thing happen with the GameCube and the PS2, but this time to more drastic measures. Naturally, one might assume that Sony would win yet again seeing as their handheld were being released just around the same time as Nintendo’s DS. Though, numbers will show that what was reasonable to expect was not the case. The Nintendo DS was released less than one month before Sony’s PlayStation Portable. Believe it or not, the DS actually went on to sell more than all of Sony’s consoles. By the end of its lifespan (2004-2011), the Nintendo DS had sold nearly 154 million units, selling only hundreds of thousands more than the PS2. This was likely due to a variety of reasons. The first of these being its impeccable marketing. Like the original Game Boy, and more like the Game Boy Color, the DS was advertised in the perfect way that could grab the attention of kids, seniors, and everyone inbetween. Its success was also due to its generally low and accessible price of 130 dollars (175 dollars today). Another more minor reason was that it was compatible with GBA cartridges. So even if you didn’t find any of the launch titles particularly interesting, you still had hundreds of games to play. Most of the launch titles for the system were third or second party games, and Nintendo delivered themselves in the coming year with their own amazing games. The launch titles weren’t all bad at all though. In fact, one title specifically caught the public eye: “Super Mario 64 DS”. This game was technically a remake of the original Super Mario 64, but it added many new features: most notably its new characters and its notoriously fun minigames. The main reason why this caught the public eye was that this was a game from a system that ran in full 3d. Seeing as their last handheld was 32 bit, it would only make sense to make the DS 64 bit, or at least close to it. Visually, though, it was a huge step up from the trashy excuses for 3d games we saw on the GBA. The fact that it was a handheld that could run full 3d was nearly incomprehensible to everyone at the time.
This idea changed, though, as not even a month later, we saw the official release of the PlayStation Portable (or PSP for short). As long as we can remember, PlayStation has always been on top in terms of the greatest and fastest tech, and the PSP delivered. While it wasn’t exactly as powerful, some could argue that this was basically a portable PS2. Some of the PS2’s more basic games were ported over to the PSP, though obviously nothing grand. Nonetheless, this impressed the public very much, and the system went on to sell almost 81 million units in its lifespan. Realizing that this is just over half of what the DS sold, it feels a little like a failure, but it certainly wasn’t. Mind you, 81 million units is nearly four times what the GameCube sold in its lifespan, and it also passes the wildly successful GBA and GBA SP. There are two core reasons why this console never sold nearly as much as the DS, despite being far more powerful. The first being its lack of compatibility with all ages. PlayStation was obviously used to not being the “kid’s console” on the market, but this could have hurt the sales. After all, the DS did an even better job than most of Nintendo’s systems at marketing it truly for all ages. It proved with its advertising that it wasn’t made for kids, but rather kid friendly.
About a year after this war, PlayStation went on to face Xbox 360 head on in the holiday season of 2013. Before this console, Xbox had been treated more like Sega in its early days; a company that wasn’t doing too bad, but wasn’t yet ready to play with the big kids. Then, just like the success of Sega’s second console, the Xbox 360 was a hit. It sold 84 million units in its lifespan, from 2005 until 2016. 84 million may seem like a modest number, but it’s actually quite extraordinary. Perhaps not compared to PlayStation, but certainly compared to Nintendo. As of mid-2020, only one home console and one handheld have surpassed this number. Its price wasn’t too bad, at launch being 300 dollars (almost 400 today). The reason why the Xbox 360 might have done so much better than the first Xbox might be due to this not being marketed the exact way that PlayStations were. This console’s advertisements came off displaying that it wasn’t at all for kids, but was stepping just a little closer to the “family-friendly” side of things. This may have differed it from PlayStations, but never made it too close to Nintendo’s consoles, which is right where they seemed to thrive.
One year later came the PlayStation 3; their first home console since the best selling home console of all time. This console sold 87 million units in its eleven-year lifespan from 2006 to 2017. This is utterly shocking. The console itself is amazing and so were its games, but the price came in at a whopping 600 dollars (almost 800 today). Being twice the price of the Xbox 360, it’s more than rational for one to think that it would have sold less units, but it just barely sold more. It’s fun to think that maybe the PlayStation executives priced it so high because they knew their millions of lemmings would come flocking, and would throw their wallets at anything with the words ‘Play’ and ‘Station’ on it. To stop dissing this console, it came complete with many price drops, alternate models, and astounding games. Then again, so did the Xbox 360. Overall, it’s difficult to pinpoint if there was one specific thing about this console that somehow made it worth 600 dollars.
A mere eight days later, we saw the official release of Nintendo’s latest home console; the Wii. Nintendo had never been known for their technical specs, but they certainly had been praised for their wild controller innovation. In the Wii, we witnessed this to what was perhaps the greatest degree since the original NES; full motion controllers. Motion controllers weren’t anything new in 2006, but the Wii introduced them as the first motion controller for a mainstream console. The downside to making such ambitious controllers, though, was scrapping a proven formula and making something new; practically the definition of ambition. These controllers were great, and pretty comfortable for the most part. They were a little finicky, seeing as the motion sensor had to be placed in the perfect spot for everything to work accordingly. Generally, this wouldn’t happen, leaving Nintendo to deal with many complaints. All of its minor issues aside, the Wii was a smash hit with audiences. Everyone knew that PlayStation messed up by pricing the PS3 so high, and this led the Wii’s sales to just pass 100 million. Though, PlayStation’s failures weren’t the only reason for Nintendo’s successes. First, this console had some of the best marketing of not only any Nintendo console, but any console overall. It was so clearly directed at everyone, but this time more literally people of all ages. In certain commercials, you see seniors having fun with their children, and those children having fun with their children. This endless cycle of fun left the Wii in many homes worldwide. Anyone would know that if you’re trying to market to families or generally wider audiences, your price should be as low as can be. This would make it more accessible to lower-class people who don’t really care about the technical specs of the PS3 and simply want to have fun playing games. The Wii was priced at a perfectly modest 250 dollars (a little over 300 dollars today), which definitely helped its sales. This made it the cheapest console this generation.
There’s no doubt that the Wii infected Nintendo’s future as a company, but it’s tough to tell if it was in a good or a bad way. You could look at the Wii and say that its ambition, particularly in the controllers, can still sell amazing. Then again, many think that the Wii’s marketing that was much less targeted at hardcore gamers puts a curse on Nintendo. Some were probably fearing this when they saw so many little kids buying Nintendogs for their DS’s. Then seeing Wii’s fly off the store shelves to families of all different kinds. Every hardcore gamer and Nintendo fan alike were afraid that this would push Nintendo to make “kid consoles”. The future was unsteady for where Nintendo was headed, but the sales figures proved that it certainly wasn’t for Nintendo as a company. The Wii marked the end of the seventh generation, despite some not even considering it having high enough technical specs to even be a part of this generation. That aside, we move on.
There aren’t many new things that were seen in the eighth generation of video game consoles except for everyone catching up to HD graphics. One of the only new things we saw, in fact, was a more steady and structured pattern in game consoles and generations. It seems that it will be this way for a while. It’s a cycle of PlayStation beating Xbox in their own two-way competition, and Nintendo still being a competitor, but mainly off doing their own thing. Like the seventh generation, this one also kicked off with the handheld wars, though this would be the last one as of 2020. The war was yet again between Nintendo and PlayStation with the 3DS and the Vita.
The Nintendo 3DS launched in February of 2011, just under ten months before the Vita. This console was the successor to the DS, but many consider it simply a much higher upgraded model. This is certainly not the case, and there is almost no debate there. It’s like the case with the Game Boy and the GBA; they are two entirely different systems because there were different games made for the GBA. Overall, the 3DS was a very impressive handheld, and could run many big games with hardware and software much higher quality than the DS. Throughout its lifespan, from its release date until mid-2019, the 3DS sold a bit under 76 million units. While this is still less than half of what the original DS sold, it was still not a failure by any means, and thankfully, it was never treated like so by Nintendo. This was a masterful system, and is considered by many to be the best handheld-only system of all time.
Next, we come to the PlayStation Vita. The PS Vita was sadly a notorious flop, and this was due to yet another console taking yet another hit from over-ambition. The Vita was initially marketed as what was almost good enough to basically be a handheld PS3. Since the PS4 hadn’t come out yet, this basically meant to most audiences that handheld gaming had caught up with console gaming. Everyone can agree that the Vita’s graphics are beautiful and the gameplay is smooth, and overall, Sony fulfilled their promise. Though, the ambition to make handheld games in such high quality comes along with high development cost. It costs millions of dollars to make good first party games, and it’s up to companies to balance and moderate their ambition. For example, take Kid Icarus for the 3DS; a widely-accepted astounding game that only sold a modest amount. Of course, modest sales aren’t bad, but because so much money, time, and resources were put into the development of this game, it had to do amazing. This leads us to eight years later, where we still have yet to see any other sort of new entry in the Kid Icarus franchise. This was basically the case with most of the PS Vita’s games. Generally, because of varied production costs, console games were more expensive to produce. Then, when a company wants to produce console games for a handheld, things start to get more pricey. This leads to many third-party developers not wanting to pour too much money into expensive games for a failing system. Perhaps, if the Vita’s launch titles were even more promising and grand, we could have seen the system be compared to the 3DS or even the PSP. Overall, it was a great system, but over-ambition can be bad. The right amount of ambition to put into your games and consoles need to be balanced. Now, what companies need to find is a balance to where the product will sell; not only because it looks like something interesting and fun, but because it still has at least some ambition.
Feeling confident due to their three-console streak of amazing successes, Nintendo decided to release the Wii U. Like the Vita, the Wii U was yet another pretty unfortunate flop. While the system came with some great games over its short lifespan, it never reached anywhere close to the popularity of the Wii. Watching Nintendo’s 2012 E3 presentation where they announced the console is honestly sad. Of course, many gamers were more happy, seeing as this was proving that Nintendo would stay true to them. After all, many expected them to break down for all of the billions of dollars that families were giving them. The Wii U was priced the lowest in this generation of mainstream consoles at 350 dollars, which might have been considered by some “too high”. Like it or not, Nintendo was becoming said family company that the Wii proved they could be. Pricing aside, this console sold a mere 13 million units; almost half of what the GameCube sold. The main theory amongst the public for the Wii U’s failure was that it never separated itself enough from the Wii; its marketing, and its more obvious name. There weren’t a whole lot of families waiting for entire nights outside of Best Buy to purchase a new family console. A lot of the time with families, it’s based around whether the kid or kids want it or not. Then again, no matter who wanted it, the console would never sell as much. Families reasonably questioned the point of buying something that looked like yet another Wii. The Wii U as a whole felt sort of like a Wii wannabe. Mainly because it was marketed to the same demographic, just in a more confusing way. The Wii U was never a terrible console by any means, and it’s sad to see the work that Nintendo put into this console and to see it fail so hard.
After the Wii U, we saw that PlayStation was back and ready to climb back into the hundred millions in terms of units. They struck us with the PlayStation 4, and it was an instant hit with millions. There’s not much to be said about the PS4 except that it was just yet another impressive PlayStation console with many exceptional games. The PlayStation 4 was sold at a modest 400 dollars (about the same today), and ended up selling over 110 million units before the official end of its lifespan. The PS4’s lifespan isn’t very likely to end in the next year or so, seeing as it has already done so well and won’t be fully overshadowed by the PS5.
Microsoft was also back and, yet again, in much more direct competition with Sony and their PlayStation. They came back with the confusingly-named Xbox One, and while it may not have been as much of a hit as the 360, its sales were still decent. So far, it has reached a total of 47 million units sold for a relatively high price of 500 dollars. Perhaps this is why the sales weren’t as astounding as Microsoft probably expected them to be. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason for the Xbox One’s sales. The one and only main reason that makes sense seems to be the same reason why the 360 did so well; aiming at a certain target demographic. The Xbox One never came off as a console with really any family-friendly games. Hence, it never explicitly differentiated itself enough from the PS4, because it seemed like just another console for adults and older teens. The Xbox 360 was unique because it wasn’t aimed as family-friendly as Nintendo’s consoles, but it divided itself from the PS3 enough to give people a reason to buy it. Picture someone in a store trying to decide what new console to buy. They ask a store clerk who doesn’t really care which gets sold, and tells the customer that they’re practically the same, except for the company’s original games. Naturally, the blind consumer will pick the console that’s a hundred dollars cheaper; the PS4.
Generation nine is a difficult thing to talk about, mainly because we’ve only seen one console in it so far. Of course, at this exact time, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 have both been revealed, but have yet to release until this holiday. The only console that we know enough about to be worth discussing is the Nintendo Switch; the seventh Nintendo console. The Switch is an all-around masterpiece of a console and meshed two ideas, handheld and console gaming, together and birthed something glorious. The Switch was never like the Vita; mainly because you never had to pay sixty extra dollars to take your games on the go. This console single handedly saved Nintendo, and will most likely secure their place in the industry even if their next console flops.
The PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X will be the second and third entries in the ninth generation of video game consoles. These consoles are set to release “Holiday 2020”, and they are already stirring up much hype. The general consensus on the consoles is that the PlayStation fans are excited for the PS5, and the Xbox fans are excited for the Series X. Now, the gaming community is left to wonder which the public will buy. It’s very hard to say, but in every generation, PlayStation seems to trump Xbox by some amount. Though, the past doesn’t matter. This is an entirely new generation of consoles, and for all we know, the PS5 could sell 10 million units, while the Series X sells 200 million. This is terribly unlikely, but still possible. The main deciding factor between which the public will buy is the launch titles. PlayStation fans have always seemed to be more invested in their series titles than Xbox fans are. Though, that leaves the question of if these games will be good or not. Overall, this is far too difficult to tell as all that we’ve really received from the companies were one announcement trailer each.
Different companies in the gaming industry have fallen off from success and risen from nothing. The industry is a wildly unpredictable place filled with equally unpredictable customers. Hence, there is no right way to market a game console. Though, there are still a few things big companies should take away from this. First, your consoles need to be good. In one way or another, whether it’s technical specs or revolutionary mechanics, they need to meet customer expectations. Next, these consoles need to have whatever sacrifices made to still be at a reasonable price. To people so rich that they’ve grown blind to the value of a dollar, it’s hard to put into perspective what six-hundred, or even three-hundred extra dollars means. Finally, these companies need to control their ambition. Maybe go a little riskier and unpredictable, like with the PS3 to the PS4, for example. The PS4 was so clearly just yet another entry in the line of PlayStation consoles, and while it was good, they should take things more ambitious. Then again, with the GameCube, primarily the games themselves were far too ambitious. A chibi-style Legend of Zelda game, and an island-based Mario game are certainly part of the reason why the console didn’t sell too great. While most fans will admit that, in retrospect, they were astounding games, they may have been a little too ambitious for their time. The Switch, for example, found the perfect amount of ambition. It was revolutionary in its controllers, and it was technically the first ever HD handheld. In conclusion, there is no right way to market, sell, or even produce a console. In some cases, the best thing to do is just make what you want, moderate its elements, and pray that it sells.
CONSOLE GENERATION TIMELINE REFERENCED
BY: ME
CONSOLE GENERATION 1: 1972-1976
- Magnavox Odyssey
- Lifespan: September 1972 - 1975
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 350 thousand
CONSOLE GENERATION 2: 1977-1978
- Atari 2600
- Lifespan: September 1977 - 1992
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 25 million
- Magnavox Odyssey 2
- Lifespan: 1978 - March 1984
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 2 million
CONSOLE GENERATION 3: 1979-1987
- Nintendo Game & Watch
- Lifespan: April 1980 - 1991
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 43 million
- Atari 5200
- Lifespan: November 1982 - May 1984
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 1 million
- Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
- Lifespan: July 1983 - August 1995
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 62 million
- Atari 7800
- Lifespan: May 1986 - January 1992
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 4 million
- Sega Master System
- Lifespan: September 1986 - 1992
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 11 million
CONSOLE GENERATION 4: 1988-1998
- Sega Genesis
- Lifespan: October 1988 - 1997
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 33 million
- Game Boy/Game Boy Color
- Game Boy Lifespan: April 1989 - March 2003
- Game Boy Color Lifespan: October 1998 - March 2003
- Units sold (through both lifespans): Approx. 119 million
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
- Lifespan: November 1990 - 1999
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 47 million
CONSOLE GENERATION 5: 1994-1997
- Sega Saturn
- Lifespan: November 1994 - 1998
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 10 million
- Sony Playstation
- Lifespan: December 1994 - March 2006
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 101 million
- Sega Nomad
- Lifespan: October 1995 - 1999
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 11 million
- Nintendo 64
- Lifespan: September 1996 - 2002
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 33 million
CONSOLE GENERATION 6: 1998-2003
- Sega Dreamcast
- Lifespan: November 1998 - March 2001
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 9 million
- Sony Playstation 2
- Lifespan: March 2000 - 2013
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 153 million
- Game Boy Advance/Game Boy Advance SP
- GBA Lifespan: March 2000 - December 2009
- GBA SP Lifespan: February 2003 - December 2009
- Units sold (through both lifespans): Approx. 81 million
- Nintendo GameCube
- Lifespan: September 2001 - 2007
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 22 million
- Microsoft Xbox
- Lifespan: November 2001 - March 2009
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 24 million
CONSOLE GENERATION 7: 2004-2011
- Nintendo DS
- Lifespan: November 2004 - 2013
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 154 million
- PlayStation Portable
- Lifespan: December 2004 - 2014
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 81 million
- Microsoft Xbox 360
- Lifespan: November 2005 - April 2016
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 84 million
- Sony Playstation 3
- Lifespan: November 2006 - May 2017
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 87 million
- Nintendo Wii
- Lifespan: November 2006 - October 2013
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 101 million
CONSOLE GENERATION 8: 2011-2016
- Nintendo 3DS
- Lifespan: March 2011 - July 2019
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 76 million
- PlayStation Vita
- Lifespan: December 2011 - March 2019
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 16 million
- Nintendo Wii U
- Lifespan: November 2012 - November 2016
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 13 million
- Sony Playstation 4
- Lifespan: November 2013 - Present Day
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 110 million
- Xbox One
- Lifespan: November 2013 - Present Day
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 47 million
CONSOLE GENERATION 9: 2017-PRESENT DAY
- Nintendo Switch
- Lifespan: March 2017 - Present Day
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. 56 million
- Sony Playstation 5
- Lifespan: (Holiday) 2020 - TBD
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. TBD
- Xbox Series X
- Lifespan: November 2020 - TBD
- Units sold (through lifespan): Approx. TBD
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Note: Dates are sited in the American format of ‘mm/dd/yy’.
History of Video Game Consoles. Preceden. Late 2016-Early 2017.
An Exhaustive History of Eight Generations of Video Game Consoles: 1967-2018. DID Electrical. 2018.
40 years of video game console sales. TNW. 4/24/19.
Atari 5200 and Atari Jaguar: (Why Atari Failed So Hard). Brandi Harold. 10/15/12.
Nintendo Switch Sales: Adding Context to Its Incredible First Year. Chris Reed, IGN. 1/9/19.
Atari 5200 and Atari Jaguar: (Why Atari Failed So Hard). Brandi Harold. 10/15/12.
Money inflation calculator. Ian Webster. 5/21/20.
Why the Vita Failed - PlayStation’s Lost Gamble - Extra Credits. Extra Credits. 6/25/14.
Hardware sales for console generations over time. ResearchGate. Mid 2013.
Feature: The History of the Nintendo Game & Watch. Damien McFerran. 2/24/10.
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