History of video game consoles (seventh generation) facts for kids
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The seventh generation of video game consoles began in 2005. Also known as the first motion gaming era, the seventh generation began on November 22, 2005 with the release of the Xbox 360. The PlayStation 3 was released on November 11, 2006. The Wii was released on November 19, 2006. Each new console introduced a new type of breakthrough in technology. The Xbox 360 had games at HD resolutions. The PlayStation 3 included FHD gaming, HD movie playback and a built-in 3D Blu-ray disc player. The Wii's controllers had movement sensors as well as joysticks.
Sony released the PlayStation Move in September 2010. This was to compete with Nintendo's other motion controllers. Microsoft released the Kinect. The Kinect does not use any controllers and makes the users the "controller". Kinect sold 8 million unites in its first 60 days. The Guinness World Record named it the "fastest selling consumer electronic device". Both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360s controllers can be used wired or wirelessly. The first handheld game consoles was the Nintendo DS.
Contents
Video game systems
Comparison
| Name | Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Wii |
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| Manufacturer | Microsoft | Sony | Nintendo |
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| Release dates |
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| United States launch prices |
US$299.99 (Core) (discontinued) |
US$499.99 (20 GB) (discontinued) |
US$249.99 (white console with Wii Sports included) (discontinued) |
| Japan launch prices |
¥27,800 (Arcade 256 MB internal memory) (discontinued) |
¥49,980 (20 GB) (discontinued) |
¥25,000 (white console) |
| Europe launch prices |
€179/ £199.99 (Arcade 256 MB internal memory) (discontinued) |
€399.99 / £299.99 (40 GB) (discontinued) |
€249.99 / £179.99 (white console with Wii Sports included) |
| Media | DVD-DL | Blu-ray Disc | Wii Optical Disc (proprietary DVD-DL) |
| Best-selling game | Kinect Adventures (pack-in with Kinect peripheral), 24 million
Best selling non-bundled game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, 14.23 million |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, 12.04 million | Wii Sports (pack-in, except in Japan), 76.76 million
Best selling non-bundled game: Mario Kart Wii (28.23 million) |
| CPU | 3.2 GHz IBM PowerPC tri-core codenamed "Xenon" | Cell Broadband Engine (3.2 GHz Power Architecture-based PPE with seven 3.2 GHz SPEs) | 729 MHz PowerPC based IBM "Broadway" |
| GPU | 500 MHz codenamed "Xenos" (ATI custom design) | 550 MHz RSX 'Reality Synthesizer' (based on NVIDIA G70 architecture) | 243 MHz ATI "Hollywood" |
| Memory |
512 MB GDDR3 @ 700 MHz shared between CPU & GPU |
256 MB XDR @ 3.2 GHz |
24 MB "internal" 1T-SRAM integrated into graphics package |
| Dimensions |
Original: 310 × 80 × 260 mm (12.2 × 3.2 × 10.2 in) |
Original: 325 × 98 × 274 mm (12.8 × 3.9 × 10.8 in) |
4.4 × 16 × 21.5 cm (1,513.6 cm3) / 1.7 × 6.3 × 8.5 in (92.4 in3) |
| Weight |
Original: 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) |
Original: 5 kg (11 lb) |
1.2 kg (2.6 lb) |
| Included accessories |
250 GB "Super Elite" consoles come with 2 Wireless controllers. 320 GB Xbox 360 S consoles come with a "transforming d-pad" controller. |
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| Accessories (retail) |
see Xbox 360 accessories |
see PlayStation 3 accessories |
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| User interface | Xbox 360 Dashboard New Xbox Experience (NXE) Twist Control* *Twist Control is the unconfirmed name of the dashboard released on 6 December 2011 using Microsoft Metro (design language). |
XrossMediaBar (XMB) | Wii Menu |
| System software features |
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| Backward compatibility | 465 Selected Xbox games (as of November 2007). Additions made with software updates. Hard drive required. | The first generation model is backwards compatible with PS1 and PS2 titles through the inclusion of the Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer chips. The second generation model offers less backward compatibility for PS2 titles. Owing to only featuring the Graphics Synthesizer, and having to emulate the CPU. |
Supports all Nintendo GameCube software and most accessories. The "Family Edition" model drops support for GameCube games. |
| Online services | Xbox Live Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Marketplace Xbox Live Vision (webcam), headset Xbox Live Video Marketplace Windows Live Messenger Internet Explorer (Xbox Live Gold required) VideoKinect (Kinect sensor is needed) |
Remote Play PlayStation Network PlayStation Store Internet browser (Flash enabled) Video chat using PlayStation Eye camera or other USB webcam What's New PlayStation Home Life with PlayStation PlayStation Plus |
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection WiiConnect24 Internet Channel (web browser) News Channel Forecast Channel Everybody Votes Channel Wii Shop Channel Check Mii Out Channel Nintendo Channel Wii no Ma (Japan only) Wii Speak Channel (Available only with purchase of Wii Speak) Food Delivery Channel (Japan only) TV Guide Channel (Japan only) Today and Tomorrow Channel (Japan and UK only) Everybody Loves Theatre Channel (Japan only) Homebrew Channel (Non-official software) |
| Video and entertainment services |
4oD* (UK Only; Xbox Live Gold required) *"Twist Control" update is needed. See 'User Interface' |
4oD (UK only, via internet browser) |
BBC iPlayer (UK only) Hulu Plus (North America only, separate subscription required) |
| Consumer programmability | Development on PC with XNA Game Studio ($99/year subscription, binary distribution with XNA 1.0 Refresh) | Featured development on console (excluding RSX graphics acceleration) via free Linux platform or PC (excluding all Slim models and any console updated to firmware 3.21 and later) | WiiWare Homebrew Channel (Non-official software) |
| I/O |
IrDA-compliant infrared for remote |
Bluetooth 2.1 EDR *2 USB 2.0 ports on 3rd gen and 4th gen (slim) models |
Bluetooth 2.0 |
| Optical media | 12× DVD (65.6–132 Mbit/s), CD | 2× BD-ROM (72 Mbit/s), 8× DVD, 24× CD, 2× SACD* *Compatibility removed in 3rd & 4th gen models |
Wii Optical Disc, Nintendo GameCube Game Disc (DVD-Video playback was announced for Japan in 2007, but has not been released) |
| Video outputs | HDMI 1.2a (on models manufactured after August 2007), VGA (RGBHV), Component/D-Terminal (YPBPR), SCART (RGBS), S-Video, Composite | HDMI 1.3a, Component/D-Terminal (YPBPR), SCART (RGBS), S-Video, Composite | Component/D-Terminal (YPBPR), SCART (RGBS), S-Video, Composite |
| Resolutions | HDTV-capable (480i, 480p, 576i (50 Hz), 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) Various monitor resolutions available via VGA and HDMI/DVI (640×480, 848×480, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×768, 1280×1024, 1360×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050 & 1920×1080) |
HDTV-capable (480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) | EDTV-capable (480i, 480p, 576i) |
| Audio | Dolby Digital, WMA Pro, DTS*, DTS-ES* *(DVD and HD DVD movies only) |
Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Digital Plus*, Dolby TrueHD*, DTS-HD Master Audio*, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio*, DTS-ES‡, DTS 96/24‡, DTS-ES Matrix† *DVD and Blu-ray movies only. ‡DVD movies only. †Blu-ray movies only. |
Dolby Pro Logic II surround, stereo sound and an additional Mono speaker is built into the controller. |
| Network | 100BASE-TX Ethernet Optional 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi adapter (Built in with the Slim models) |
10BASE-T/100BASE-TX/1000BASE-T section of Gigabit Ethernet Ethernet Built-in 802.11 b/g Wi-fi (all models except 20 GB) |
Built-in 802.11 b/g Wi-fi Optional Ethernet via USB adapter |
| Storage | Included/Optional* detachable SATA upgradeable 20 GB, 60 GB, 120 GB,250 GB or 320 GB hard drive. Xbox 360 memory cards USB mass storage Cloud storage (512MB) (Xbox Live Gold subscription required) *Premium version includes 20 GB or 60 GB HDD, Elite includes 120 GB HDD, and all HDDs are available for separate purchase. |
2.5-inch upgradeable SATA hard drive (upgradeable with any 2.5-inch SATA 1.0 compliant HDD or SSD). Memory Stick, SD, & Type I/II CompactFlash / Microdrive* USB mass storage Cloud storage (2GB) (PlayStation Plus subscription required) *60 GB and 2nd gen 80 GB models only |
512 MB built-in flash memory SD card (up to 32 GB with 4.0 software) Nintendo GameCube Memory Cards |
| Integrated 3DTV support | Yes | Yes | No |
Worldwide Sales
| Console | Units sold worldwide | Units sold to customers in Australia | Units sold to customers in Canada | Units sold to customers in Japan | Units sold to customers in the US | Units sold to customers in Europe |
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| Wii | 99.84 million
(as of 31 March 2013) |
2 million (as of October 2010) |
2 million (as of 16 December 2009) |
12.71 million (as of 31 March 2013) |
39 million (as of 28 February 2011) |
25 million (as of December 2010) |
| PlayStation 3 | 70 million | 1.2 million (as of 31 December 2010) |
1.5 million (as of 6 October 2010) |
10 million (as of 11 April 2010) |
15.4 million (as of December 2010) |
14.7 million (as of December 2010) |
| Xbox 360 | 75.9 million (as of December 31, 2012[update]) |
1 million (as of 20 April 2010 and include sales from New Zealand) |
870,000 (as of 31 July 2008) |
1.5 million (as of 28 February 2010) |
25.4 million (as of December 2010) |
13.7 million (as of December 2010) |
| Total | 237.4 million | 4.2 million | 4.4 million | 24.0 million | 79.8 million | 53.4 million |
Handheld systems
Handheld comparison
| Name | Nintendo DS / DS Lite / DSi / DSi XL | PSP-1000 series / PSP-2000 Series / PSP-3000 Series / PSP Go / PSP-E1000 series | ||
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| Manufacturer | Nintendo | Sony | ||
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PSP:
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| Launch prices | DS:
DS Lite:
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PSP-1000 series Pack:
PSP-2000 series Core Pack:
PSP-3000 series:
PSP Go (PSP-N1000): US$249.99 |
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| Media | Nintendo DS Game Card, Game Boy Advance cartridge (DS, DS Lite only), SD(HC) Card (DSi only) | Universal Media Disc (UMD) (PSP-1000, PSP-2000, PSP-3000 and PSP-E1000 series only), Memory Stick Duo (PSP-1000, PSP-2000, PSP-3000 series only), Memory Stick Micro(M2), Flash memory (PSP Go only), Content delivery via PSN (All) | ||
| Best-selling game | New Super Mario Bros., 29.09 million, all versions combined (as of 31 March 2012) Nintendogs, 23.64 (as of 31 March 2011) |
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, 2.7 million (as of January 2009) Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories 2.7 million (as of 26 November 2008) |
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| Included accessories and extras |
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| Accessories (retail) |
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| CPU | DS and DSL: 67 MHz ARM9 and 33 MHz ARM7 DSi: 133 MHz ARM9 and 33 MHz ARM7 |
MIPS R4000-based; clocked from 1 to 333 MHz (2 of these) | ||
| Memory | DS and DSL: 4 MB SRAM DSi: 16 MB |
EDRAM (5 MB reserved for kernel, 3 for music) PSP-1000: 32 MB PSP-2000, PSP-3000, PSP Go: 64 MB |
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| Dimensions | DS: 148.7 × 84.7 × 28.9 mm (5.85 × 3.33 × 1.13 inches) DS Lite: 133 × 73.9 × 21.5 mm (5.24 × 2.9 × 0.85 inches) |
PSP 1000: 74 mm (2.9 in) (h) 170 mm (6.7 in) (w) 23 mm (0.91 in) (d) PSP Slim & Lite:71.4 mm (2.81 in) (h) 169.4 mm (6.67 in) (w) 18.6 mm (0.73 in) (d) PSP Go: 69 mm (2.7 in) (h) 128 mm (5.0 in) (w) 16.5 mm (0.65 in) (d) |
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| Weight |
DS: 275 g (9.7 oz) DSL: 218 g (7.7 oz) DSi: 214 g (7.5 oz) DSi XL: 314 g (11.1 oz) |
PSP 1000: 280 g (9.9 oz) PSP Slim & Lite 189 g (6.7 oz) PSP Go: 158 g (5.6 oz) |
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| Online service | Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, DSi Shop (DSi only), DSi camera(DSi only), DSi sound(DSi only), Internet browser(DSi only), Flipnote studio(DSi only), Facebook(DSi XL only) | PlayStation Network, RSS reader, Skype (PSP-2000 series, PSP-3000 series and PSP Go only), PlayStation Store
Internet browser, Digital comics, Remote Play |
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| Backward compatibility | Game Boy Advance (DS, DS Lite only) | PlayStation (downloadable PSone Classics only), PlayStation 3 (through Remote Play) | ||
| System software | Nintendo DS Menu (DS, DS Lite), Nintendo DSi Menu (DSi) | XrossMediaBar (XMB) | ||
| Consumer programmability | See Nintendo DS homebrew | See PlayStation Portable homebrew | ||
| Resolutions | 256 × 192 (both screens) | 480 × 272 | ||
| Network | Wi-Fi 802.11b, Wi-Fi 802.11g (DSi only, only functions with DSi-specific software), wireless ad-hoc with other DS units and Nintendo Wii | Wi-Fi 802.11b (PSP-1000, PSP-2000, PSP-3000 and PSP Go only), IrDA (PSP-1000 series only), Bluetooth (PSP Go only), wireless ad-hoc with other PSP units and PS3 | ||
| Audio | Stereo speakers, headphone jack | Stereo speakers, headphone jack | ||
| I/O | 1 Nintendo DS Game Card slot 1 GBA slot (DS, DS Lite only) 1 SD(HC) card slot (DSi Only) |
UMD drive (PSP-1000, PSP-2000, PSP-3000 and PSP-E1000 series only) 1 USB device port (proprietary connector on PSP Go, mini-b connector on other models) 1 Memory Stick Duo/PRO Duo slot (Memory Stick Micro (M2) on PSP Go) 1 IrDA (PSP-1000 series only) |
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| Storage | Nintendo DS Game Card, SD(HC) card (DSi only) | Memory Stick Duo/PRO Duo (Memory Stick Micro (M2) on PSP Go), 16 GB flash memory (PSP Go only) | ||
| Battery life | DS, backlight on: 14 hours DS Lite, minimum brightness setting: 15–19 hours DSi, minimum brightness setting: 9–14 hours |
MP3 playback: 10 hours Game: approximately 3–6 hours Video playback: 3–7 hours depending on screen brightness setting Wi-Fi internet browsing: approximately 3–4 hours |
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| Units sold (all models combined) | Worldwide: 153.87 million (as of 31 March 2013) Japan: 32.99 million (as of 31 March 2013) |
Worldwide: 71.4 million (as of 13 September 2011)
Japan: 11,078,484 (as of 28 December 2008) |
Note: First year of release is the first year of the system's worldwide availability.
Other systems
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HyperScan (2006)
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Zeebo (2009)
| Name | Manufacturer | Release date | Notes |
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| EVO Smart Console | Envizions | 2006 | Can be considered as a Media PC |
| Zeebo | Zeebo Inc. | 2009 | Sold in Mexico, Brazil and India only |
| HyperScan | Mattel | 2006 | Designed for children's use |
| Game Wave Family Entertainment System | ZAPiT Games | 2005 | Family-friendly built-in games |
Handhelds
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Gizmondo (2005)
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CAANOO (2010)
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GP2X Wiz (2009)
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Pandora (2010)
| Name | Manufacturer | Release date | Notes |
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| CAANOO | GamePark Holdings | 16 August 2010 | Runs emulators |
| Fusion: 30-In-1 Portable Arcade | Jungle Soft | 2010? | Built-in games |
| GP2X Wiz | GamePark Holdings | 12 May 2009 | |
| Leapster2 | LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. | 2008 | Educational games |
| Mi2 / PDC Touch | Planet Interactive/Conny Technology/Videojet | November 2009 – Benelux, China, France, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, Portugal |
Many built-in games |
| Pandora | OpenPandora | May 2010 | Runs on Linux and designed for homebrew |
| Pelican VG Pocket | Pelican Accessories | August 2006 |
- Released in China only
| Name | Manufacturer | Release date |
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| Dingoo A320 | Shenzhen Dingoo Digital Co., Ltd. | March 2009 |
| Ez MINI | Mitac or Mio | 2005 |
| Gemei X760+ | Gemei | 2009 |
| LetCool N350JP | 2011 |
- Released in South Korea only
| Name | Manufacturer | Release date |
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| GP2X | GamePark Holdings | 10 November 2005 |
Popular games
- Assassin's Creed II
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- BioShock
- Gears of War
- Grand Theft Auto IV
- Halo 3
- LittleBigPlanet
- Mass Effect 2
- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
- Portal
- Super Mario Galaxy
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Wii Sports
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Images for kids
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The Xbox 360 Pro console and controller.
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Silver PlayStation 3 consoles on display in 2006
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Game Wave Family Entertainment System, commonly abbreviated as Game Wave
