Dedicated Console - History

History

See also: History of video game consoles (first generation)

Most of the earliest home video game systems were dedicated consoles, most popularly Pong and its many imitators. Unlike almost all later consoles, these systems were typically not computers (in which a CPU is running a piece of software), but contained a hardwired game logic.

By the end of the 1970s, cartridge-based systems, beginning with the Fairchild Channel F, had risen to prominence during the second generation of consoles due to the success of the Atari 2600, though stand-alone systems such as Coleco's Mini-Arcade series continued to have a smaller presence in the home market up until the North American video game crash of 1983. Since the Nintendo Entertainment System, cartridge-based consoles have dominated the home market up until CD-based consoles such as the PlayStation gained prominence in the mid-to-late 1990s.

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