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A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or electronic device that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device (a television, monitor, etc.) to display a video game. The term "video game console" is used to distinguish a machine designed for consumers to buy and use solely for playing video games from a personal computer, which has many other functions, or arcade machines, which are designed for businesses that buy and then charge others to play. The "video" in "video game console" traditionally refers to a raster display device.[1] However, with the popular use of the term "video game" the term now implies all display types and formats. The term "console" is used in the user manuals of several early video game systems. Its use, however, is not synonymous with "video game system" or the same as its modern usage. It refers to a specific part of the video game system. The Atari 2600, NES, and other consoles from those decades were called "video game systems" at the time.[2][3] The first company to use the term "console" to officially refer to its video game system was Fairchild with the Video Entertainment System (VES) in 1976.[4] Since then, definition has widened to include entire systems, as well as to describe alternate platforms such as handheld game consoles, TV games, and multimedia devices.[5] In common usage a "console" is a specialized electronic device that connects to a standard television set or composite video monitor. A "handheld" gaming device is a self-contained electronic device that is portable and can be held in a user's hands. Although the first computer games appeared in the 50s,[6] they used vector displays, not video. It was not until 1972 that Magnavox released the first home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, invented by Ralph H. Baer. The Odyssey was initially only moderately successful, and it was not until Atari's arcade game Pong popularized video games, that the public began to take more notice of the emerging industry. By the autumn of 1975 Magnavox, bowing to the popularity of Pong, cancelled the Odyssey and released a scaled down console that only played Pong and hockey, the Odyssey 100. A second "higher end" console, the Odyssey 200, was released with the 100 and added onscreen scoring, up to 4 players, and a third game – Smash. Almost simultaneously released with Atari's own home Pong console through Sears, these consoles jump-started the consumer market. As with the arcade market, the home market was soon flooded by dedicated consoles that played simple pong and pong-derived games.
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Video Game Console Articles
Reverse Cell Phone Directories and Prank Callers
by Davion Wong
Dec 30, 2008
Catching prank callers red-handed are now made easier with reverse cell phone directories. The web has plenty of sites offering reverse cell phone look-ups, and most of them offer the service for a certain fee.
Directories of reverse cell ph...
Unlocking the best gaming reviews available
by Daniel Collins
Dec 18, 2008
With so many different video games constantly being released, it can be difficult to decide which one deserves your hard-earned cash. It therefore makes sense to be a savvy shopper and read up on the various reviews available in order to make th...
Online Game and Social Networking
by Sveinn Johannsson
Aug 17, 2007
uVme brings together Online Gaming, Social Networking, and Web 2.0 in an exciting new format for network marketing. These three areas have been the fastest growing, most intriguing aspects of how the Internet has evolved in recent years, even as it c...
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