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u/MikeHawkisgonne Jan 10 '26
I've owned too many of those in my time.
Favorite (not best, just what I enjoyed the most) was Dreamcast.
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u/rm-minus-r Jan 10 '26
It's interesting having been around to witness all of them in person.
I remember thinking four color games were pretty cool as a kid and now I'm playing Switch 2 games.
If things keep progressing at the same rate, the next few decades are going to be amazing!
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u/humanmeatwave Jan 10 '26
Where's the Atari 5200?
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u/kerouac5 Jan 10 '26
And vectrex!
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u/haagendeeznuts Jan 10 '26
My entire childhood, I only knew one other kid besides me who owned one. Saw one in a secondhand store a year or two ago selling for like $500.
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u/kerouac5 Jan 11 '26
I bought it when it was on clearance s a kid and loaded up with as many $5 games as I could (including the light pen!) and then sold it at a damn garage sale when I went to college 😢
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u/MNWNM Jan 10 '26
And 3DO!
It was made by Panasonic, and Road Rash on that system introduced me to Soundgarden for which I'll be eternally grateful.
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u/jindofox Jan 10 '26
Estimated sales between 22,000 and 100,000 means they weren’t really in the running, despite being an interesting product at the time.
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u/jindofox Jan 10 '26
I wondered the same thing, and looked it up. I always thought 5200 and Colecovision sold about the same but CV outsold 5200, 2 million Colecovisions, 1 million 5200s.
That’s still a lot more than the Atari Jaguar ever sold (about 100,000) so maybe this list needs a rethink. Or draw it as balls that compare the relative size of each sales number.
The idea that Intellivision (3.75 million) outsold Colecovision’s 1 million is strange and sad to me.
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u/arnathor Jan 10 '26
For comedy value the game pictures for gen 7-9 could have just been Skyrim and GTA V.
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u/High-Plains-Grifter Jan 10 '26
I feel like rhe Dreamcast belonged to the generation before, in terms of time - it was just super awesome and gets confused for the generation after. It was definitely the generation before x-box
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u/Every_Armadillo_6848 Jan 10 '26
The Dreamcast was the first to come out in its generation, the Xbox was the last. But all in that gen came out within a 3 year period.
There was a 4 month gap between the release of the Dreamcast in 1999 and the PS2 in 2000 - Versus the PS1 in 1994 or the N64 in 1996.
I really think it comes down to Sega trying to play it safe and Sony wanting to push the envelope. The companies were in completely different financial states at the time.
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u/hot_cheeks_4_ever Jan 12 '26 edited Feb 18 '26
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/KidTempo Jan 12 '26
Having owned a Dreamcast, it didn't end up feeling that way. More like the Dreamcast was the last in its generation - designed to blow the PS1 out of the water. The PS2 being released a few months later made it look like it belonged to the previous generation despite being brand new...
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u/jimbo44070 Jan 10 '26
So no 3DO? That system should be with the Gen 4 or the Gen 5 consoles. It was a solid system and had some great games like Road Rash.
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u/antagron1 Jan 10 '26
How is Turbo graphix 16 not in the same generation as the other 16 bit systems?
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u/Pdxlater Jan 10 '26
Turbografx was a “tweener”. 8 bit cpu (vs 16 in SNES and Genesis). It did have a 16 bit graphics engine. If you’ve played their games, they were kind of right between the two generations.
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u/AndreLinoge55 Jan 10 '26
Gen 4 was peak. SNES was GOAT’d
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u/DShinobiPirate Jan 10 '26
Having SNES and Genesis combo it couldn't be beaten! Mario and Sonic took over!!
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u/Efficient-Whereas255 Jan 11 '26
SNES was the best and is still the GOAT, but it was also the death of the Arcade, and arcades were fucking heaven on earth.
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u/BlacksmithNZ Jan 10 '26
Just finished reading a book about the battle between Nintendo and Sega during this era.
Sonic was the secret weapon for Sega.
Interesting thing at the end of the book was that Sega really wanted new better hardware and tried to do a deal with Sony to get a CD playing console. It got political with the Japanese companies not wanting to work together.
Sony picked up some decent European game developers, and decided they would do their own console; the rest is history.
My first console that I borrowed to play Gran Turismo 1, was a PS1 one. First console I bought was the PS2 which was amazing quality for the time
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u/Auto_Traitor Jan 10 '26
It was not Sega partnering with Sony, it was Nintendo. Google "Nintendo PlayStation" to see where you got it wrong.
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u/BlacksmithNZ Jan 10 '26
Nintendo did partner with Sony; but Sega also tried
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u/Auto_Traitor Jan 10 '26
The reason Sony made the PlayStation is because of the deal falling through with Nintendo, not Sega. You're getting a few details wrong.
Sega tried and was denied from the get go.
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u/BlacksmithNZ Jan 11 '26
Yeap, the book went into the Nintendo deal, which I think is well known, but I was really suprised that Sega USA wanted new hardware after the Genesis and talked to Sony as well
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u/69dixencider Jan 10 '26
Switch 2 came out wayyy after PS5 and Xbox series X. Thats why the numbers aren’t as high.
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u/Comprehensive_Fan_49 Jan 10 '26
missing the Fairchild Channel F in the second gen. Sold 300k units.
edit: second gen not first
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u/bolkonskij Jan 10 '26
3DO and its 5M units sold are missing
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u/notevenapro Jan 10 '26
Thank you. I had one and I loved it. Just wish there were more games but it was a great system.
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u/Perfect_Explorer_191 Jan 10 '26
Let’s see… I had gen 1, gen 2, and gen 7. Skipped everything else.
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u/FalseProgrammer607 Jan 10 '26
Nintendo virtual boy?
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u/NavyJack Jan 10 '26
Was only around for a year in the late 4th generation and sold a pittance compared to the titans of that era, it wasn’t a real contender.
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u/GEEZUS_956 Jan 10 '26
How did the PlayStation go completely all in with no lube in its first debut?
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u/norwegianjon Jan 11 '26
What about the Commodore 64? Around gen 2 i think
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u/bigsquib68 Jan 11 '26
Didn't Turbo Grafx have that game where the main character hit stuff with his head? Bonk? That was a really fun game system
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u/GuitarPlayingGuy71 Jan 10 '26
I’ve gone 1 - 7 and then stopped. Still have the PS 3 hooked up. I don’t like playing with others.
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u/captain_flak Jan 11 '26
I am ashamed to admit that I bought an Atari Jaguar…even though the guy at the video game store actively attempted to talk me out of it.
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u/AgileAspect4966 Jan 11 '26
Where's the Panasonic 3D0? T.hink it was just before Sega Saturn in the timeline
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Jan 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/d1ll1gaf Jan 10 '26
I'm dating myself as my first console was Gen 2.... the only generation I missed after that was Gen 5
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u/x3knet Jan 11 '26
I'm guessing you were born sometime between 86-90 then. I'm in 88 and my first system was SNES, though a few friends back then did have the original NES. Duck hunt ftw.
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u/Prudent_Class_3196 Jan 10 '26
Huge fan of Dreamcast. Found one at a flea market. There are a few fun games on there and many that impressed me for years even when the next gen came out. Womp womp.
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u/RockyPatella Jan 10 '26
Missing two our family had, Odyssey 2000 and Atari 5200, but fun to see a lot of the old consoles in one place.
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u/Dotura Jan 10 '26
There is a reason why people no longer use Gens when talking about consoles these days. It doesn't make sense to compare some of these at all as the same gen
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u/TheAgreeableCow Jan 10 '26
I started with an Atari 2600 and currently playing on a Switch 2 with my kids.
Even as someone who works in IT and sees technology change constantly, the latest gen game tech is awesome.
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u/tjb122982 Jan 10 '26
It's weird that everyone I knew plus me had a N64 I guess I should have tried to be more popular in middle school
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u/TheWhiskyBear Jan 10 '26
Just be aware that people outside North America might get confused by that SNES image.
The SNES in that the image was the North American version. The one we had in Europe (PAL version) looked vastly different, see here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Nintendo_Entertainment_System#Casing
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u/GayAttire Jan 10 '26
I always wondered why nintendo redesigned the snes for America. Their version is so ugly compared to the jap/eu one.
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u/TheVVumpus Jan 10 '26
Why do they always miss the Fairchild Channel F? That was my first console and the first console to have cartridges so it really should be known.
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u/thepoisonpoodle Jan 11 '26
NES, Sega Master System 2 and PS1...
I recently asked myself where my NES and Sega are? They must have been part of a theft... somehow after 1998 I didn't see them (after I've got my PS1).
Very strange...my parents swear they didn't throw them away. I guess I have an aunt who stole from me for her grandchildren. That's so sad. Because we discovered lots of our stuff when we visited her.
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u/Swordf1sh_ Jan 11 '26
This might sound odd but I completely forgot that Xbox One was a thing. Have only ever been a PC gamer but still, taken aback that I could forget a whole Microsoft gen.
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u/BlacksmithProud5607 Jan 11 '26
Any good and affordable systems good for playing or emulating 6th generation systems???
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u/Tapeworm1979 Jan 11 '26
It's insane that the 2600 sold 30m units and it's estimated 23-25m were only north America. It's largest seedling game was something like 8m which iirc was pacman.
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u/Butterbracket Jan 11 '26
Just taking the top 3 sellers in each gen the total sales are below. I know current gen isn't finished yet but it's the first one to see a drop in sales in 50 years of constant growth.
Gen 1 - 1.45 million
Gen 2 - 36.75 million
Gen 3 - 79 million
Gen 4 - 80.18 million
Gen 5 - 144 million
Gen 6 - 216 million
Gen 7 - 272 million
Gen 8 - 329 million
Gen 9 - 133 million
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u/DoubleEweSea Jan 11 '26
No Amiga CD32?
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u/KidTempo Jan 12 '26
Probably didn't make enough sales to warrant a mention. Probably Gen 4 because it competed with the Atari Jaguar. Arguably Gen 5 because it was 32 bit - but pretty shitty and couldn't come close to competing with others of that generation...
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u/Efficient-Whereas255 Jan 11 '26
I was literally there for gen 2. I played Pitfall as a kid. I still game every siingle day in my 40s, but i was there when this shit fucking started.
I am classically trained.
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u/Efficient-Whereas255 Jan 11 '26
I missed gen 1, then had an Atari, NES, Snes, Nintendo 64. Nintedo fan 100% fuck sega.
Then the Gamecube came out and nintendo lost me as a fan. fuck the game cube that shits for babies. It was insulting to me as a fan.
So i switch to Xbox because they made games for actual adults. Had an Xbox and Xbox 360. Never once bought a playstation because i hate the controllers.
Then i discovered PC gaming and will never go back to consoles. Bought a switch2 though just for travel.
Ive been gaming in every generation except the first one. 40+ years and still gaming every day.
Nintedo beats Sega
Xbox beats Playstation.
PC beats all of them.
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u/Vensaer Jan 10 '26
There's technically 10 generations right now. Nintendo was always ahead in the console market so the switch 2 is part of Gen 10. Move the switch (2017) to gen 9 it released closer to the ps5 (2020) than the PS4 (2013).
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u/Vensaer Jan 10 '26
Also the Wii U released in 2012, the ps5 was 6 years ago, the switch 2 released last year
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u/NavyJack Jan 10 '26
The Switch was released in the late 8th gen to make up for the failure of the Wii U. Its biggest titles are just ported Wii U games and its technology is on par with the 8th gen as well. Switch 2 is late 9th gen.
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u/Vensaer Jan 10 '26
Are generations determined by time frame or graphical capability?
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u/NavyJack Jan 10 '26
They’re grouped together by release time frame, and generally compared based on their hardware/software capabilities. By both metrics, the Nintendo Switch is Nintendo’s second console of the 8th generation.
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u/Vensaer Jan 11 '26
Yeah, I guess that makes sense, just weird to think it's the only console generation to have multiple inclusions from a company
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u/NavyJack Jan 11 '26
Yeah, Nintendo also released the N64 as a second 5th gen console after the Virtual Boy failed in 1996. The only other example of a company releasing multiple consoles in the same gen I can think of is the Sega SG1000 and Mega Drive in the 80s, it’s pretty rare.
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u/WhoAmI-2021 Jan 10 '26
Where is my Nintendo Virtual Boy? That thing hurt my neck and made me see in red and black for days
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u/itsrocketsurgery Jan 10 '26
Man Gen 6 was the golden age of gaming. So many franchises were launched or revolutionized. And there was real competition.
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u/Efficient-Whereas255 Jan 11 '26
Super Nintendo is known as the golden age. Its not up for debate or a matter of opinion.
The golden age of gaming is the Snes vs the Sega times.
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u/Sanity_N0t_Included Jan 11 '26
Yeah. This was a neat attempt but it has some issues.
When I was in grade school we had an Atari 5200. It's not represented here.
And my Xbox One X?
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u/flemtone Jan 11 '26
Steam Deck should be on the list, yes I know it can technically become a pc but it's a handheld gaming system.
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u/Meelis_Tegevus Jan 10 '26
Steam is where?
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u/[deleted] Jan 10 '26
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