Even though it may seem like consoles are old news, they’re actually still a big part of many people’s lives. Whether you grew up playing Super Mario Bros. on your NES or you just got an Xbox One S for Christmas, there are some really cool consoles out there that made gaming what it is today!
Nintendo 64
In my opinion the Nintendo 64 is the best gaming console ever made. Released in 1996, it was the first system to include an internal 64 bit processor, which allowed for faster graphics than previous consoles. The N64 also had four controller ports, so you could play multiplayer games with your friends and family. It came with a rumble pack built into the controller that allowed for more powerful force feedback than any other console before or since.
A memory card slot let users save their progress in games without having to keep track of where they were in the game’s cartridge, a major improvement over previous systems that required saving files on their own cartridges!
Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis is a 16-bit console that was released in the US in 1989, and it’s still one of the best consoles of all time. It was the first console to feature a cartridge (instead of a disc) and also the first console to include a second controller port. One of its best features was its built-in memory, you didn’t need to buy an external cartridge or add more RAM chips as you do with other gaming systems.
The Sega Genesis had some great games for it too: Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3D Blast and Altered Beast are all classics from this era.
Super Nintendo (SNES)
The SNES was released in 1990, and it’s still considered one of the best consoles ever made. Its 16-bit processor was vastly superior to anything else on the market at the time and allowed for more complex graphics and gameplay. There were also several popular games that came out for this console, including Super Mario World (1991), Donkey Kong Country (1994), Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting (1993), Super Mario Kart (1992) and Chrono Trigger (1995).
The hardware itself is actually quite similar to its predecessor, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), with a few key differences: A cartridge port instead of an internal storage device; four controller ports instead of two; no online capabilities; no 4K capabilities.
PlayStation 1
The PlayStation 1, commonly referred to as the PS1 or PSX, was the first console in Sony’s iconic PlayStation series. It was released in 1994 and became one of the best-selling consoles of all time, selling more than 100 million units worldwide by 2004.
It wasn’t the first console on the market, but it did have some things going for it that made it stand out from other gaming devices at that time: CD-ROM technology meant faster loading times and better graphics, a multitap allowed up to four players to play at once, and most importantly, it had some truly amazing games available for purchase. The release of Final Fantasy VII is often credited with making RPGs mainstream in America.
