Console wars

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"Console wars", also known as "System wars" is a term used to refer to periods of intense competition for market share between video game console manufacturers. The winners of these "wars" may be debated based on different standards: market penetration and financial success, or the fierce loyalty and numbers of the fans of the system's games. The term itself does not strictly denote a clear winner in each case, though. The outcome of a console war may however determine whether or not a manufacturer remains a part of the video games industry.

Due to different manufacturers releasing consoles at different times, the wars described below are not exact definitions and do not necessarily have firm beginning and ending dates. Also, these wars had different years and combatants on different continents, since traditionally the four main markets—Europe, Japan, Australia and North America—have been treated as separate entities, with machines and games released at different times or even completely different games being released. This situation is not as apparent as it was in the past, but remains in some respects, particularly with regards to Japan when compared to the other three markets.

In the mid-1980s, home computers from various manufacturers were used primarily for gaming purposes by consumers worldwide (in the absence of comparable consoles following the video game crash) and are included here as well.

Contents

[edit] Early console wars

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In North America in the late 1970s and early 1980s (peaking between 1980 and 1984) an early sales battle between three companies which bears quite a resemblance to later console wars developed. The pyrrhic outcome and virtual bankruptcy of all the major combatants set the stage for Japanese dominance of video game console manufacturing by eliminating competition and discouraging American and European investment. When Nintendo brought console gaming back to North America in 1985, the discredited market segment held no American-based competition.

The Atari Video Computer System (VCS) was introduced in 1977 at a price point of US$199, after two years of research and $100 million in investment. Its name was changed to the Atari 2600 in 1982 when Atari introduced the "next generation" Atari 5200. By 1980, sales were doubling annually and three million homes had Atari consoles.

Seeing this success, toy company Mattel began work in 1978 on its own console, the Intellivision, which debuted in 1980 with a price tag of $299 and a pack-in game, Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack. The system was an immediate success. Though not the first system to challenge Atari (systems from Fairchild Semiconductor, Bally, and Magnavox were already on the market), it was the first to pose a serious threat to Atari's dominance. A series of Intellivision TV ads featuring women in bikinis mercilessly attacked the Atari VCS's lesser capabilities with side-by-side game comparisons. Nevertheless, Atari held exclusive rights to most of the popular arcade game conversions of the day, and used this key segment to support its older hardware in the market.

This game advantage and the difference in price between the machines meant that each year Atari sold more units than Intellivision, lengthening its lead despite inferior graphics. This need for price parity has influenced every console war in the quarter century since Atari and Intellivision faced off.

The ColecoVision was introduced by Coleco in 1982 and sold 500,000 units its first year, further dividing the marketplace. It was priced similarly to the Intellivision and had a decisive technological edge over its rivals, being the first true 8-bit console ever, meaning it could duplicate coin-operated arcade games almost to a "T"; Coleco licensed several major arcade games for its system - including Donkey Kong, which was the pack-in game for the console - to rival Atari's technically inferior 'ports'.

This "first console war" ended with the video game crash of 1983, when huge oversupplies of games and competition from personal computers caused game prices to drop precipitously.[1]

[edit] Home computer wars

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Although these wars are grouped under one category here, there were many different minor wars between Home computer brands that ran from the mid 80s until the mid 90s. All of the computers involved had many upgraded versions released over their lifetimes, which usually included increased RAM and improved CPUs, but rarely a reduction in size due to their integrated keyboards. These wars mainly took place in the United Kingdom, which during the late 80s was the centre of the world computer game industry, having been unaffected by the crash that took place in Japan and the US. This period is also renowned for being the time of the 'bedroom programmer', and many companies formed by such people have lasted until the current day.

[edit] ZX Spectrum vs. Commodore 64

In the UK, the Atari vs. Intellivision war never reached the major scope and impact that it did in North America. Instead, the Spectrum vs. Commodore wars of the mid 1980s were the true originator of the console wars. This was due to the start of single format computer game magazines and the far greater entry into mainstream youth culture of these computers than the previous consoles. The Commodore 64 was generally far more technically advanced than the Spectrum, but it usually sold for double the price.

[edit] Spectrum & C64 vs. Acorn(BBC): Games Vs Education

A parallel micro war raged in the UK, between the perceived games oriented Spectrum & C64 micros with the educationally marketed and more expensive Acorn (BBC micro) offering. On unit sales the more competitively priced Spectrum and Commodore won, and Acorn lost - though Acorn's tie in with the BBC's "The Computer Programme" and the associated "Government Computer Literacy" and "Computer for schools" programs ensured steady sales post the bursting of the home micro bubble. A fair proportion of the 1.5m[2] 8-bit BBC micros were still in regular use in UK schools well into the 90’s.

This fight for market dominance was portrayed in the BBC 4 drama Micro Men.

[edit] Amiga vs. Atari ST

The Amiga vs. Atari ST wars took place in the late 1980s. In Britain and France where ST was relatively stronger compared to other areas the war lasted well into the early 1990s. Eventually Amiga clearly outsold ST in Britain. The Amiga had the better graphics and sound, and a built-in double-sided floppy disk drive. The ST was cheaper and had built-in MIDI ports. Many early games were developed for the ST and simply ported to the Amiga, using the same code and graphics but remaking the music and sound.

[edit] 8-bit era

Main article: History of video game consoles (third generation)

In what is known as the "8-bit era", the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) came out on top in North America and Japan (where it was known as the Nintendo Famicom), partially due to its earlier release, but mostly because Nintendo banned developers from releasing their games on other systems if their games were released on the NES.[3] This put a damper on third party support for the Master System and the rest of Nintendo's competition. In Europe and Brazil, however, the Master System sold much better than the NES in those territories.[4] Australia had similar success with the Master System in its early days, though when the NES was released there by Mattel, Master System sales started to slow down.

Nintendo of Japan continued to repair Famicom systems until October 31, 2007, attributing the decision to discontinue support to an increasing shortage of the necessary parts.[5][6][7]

[edit] Worldwide sales figures

  1. Nintendo Entertainment System – 61.91 million[8][9]

[edit] First handheld war

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In the handheld wars, Nintendo's Game Boy came out well on top and far outlived the Sega Game Gear and Atari Lynx, becoming one of the most successful consoles of all time. The Game Boy's victory is generally attributed to its greater battery life, cheaper price tag, and wider third party support over the Sega Game Gear and Atari Lynx, despite the Game Gear and Lynx's having color screens. However, Nintendo continued to research into improving the screen and first released the Game Boy Pocket, with a true black-and-white screen. Later, Nintendo created the Game Boy Color, with near-total backward compatibility.

The Game Boy had many ports of games from popular Nintendo franchises. It was also launched with the extraordinarily popular puzzle game Tetris as a pack-in.

Many other companies attempted to get in on the handheld market and they could also be added into this category. These included the Neo Geo Pocket and the WonderSwan (though the latter was in Japan only).

[edit] Worldwide sales figures

  1. Game Boy and Game Boy Color combined – 118.69 million[9][10] (Japan: 32.47 million, the Americas: 44.06 million, other: 42.16 million)[9]
  2. Sega Game Gear – 11 million[11]

[edit] 16-bit era

Main article: History of video game consoles (fourth generation)

The "16-bit era" is mostly known for the rivalry between the Mega Drive (known as the Sega Genesis in North America due to trademark reasons) and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (often abbreviated to SNES or Super NES; known as the Super Famicom in Japan). The Mega Drive/Genesis came out about two and a half years earlier than the SNES; however, it did not perform well at retail until the release of Sonic the Hedgehog, which drove sales.[12] A Sony focus group found that teenage boys would not admit to owning a SNES rather than a Genesis.[13] Neither console could maintain a definitive lead in market share for several years.

In early 1991, Sega revealed the Sega Mega-CD add-on, and announced its release in Japan in late 1991 and in North America (as the Sega-CD) in 1992. While this add-on did contain a faster CPU, more memory and some enhanced graphics capabilities over the Mega Drive/Genesis itself, the main focus of the device was to expand the size of games; cartridges of the day typically contained 8-16 megabits of data, while a CD-ROM would hold 640 megabytes (5120 megabits). While it became known for several games, including Sonic CD and Night Trap, the expansion only sold 6 million units worldwide.[14]

At June 1994's Consumer Electronics Show, Sega showed off the 32X as the "poor man's entry into 'next generation' games."[15] Although the 32X was originally conceived as an entirely new console by Sega of Japan.[16] Sega of America R&D head Joe Miller convinced Sega of Japan to strengthen the console and convert it into an add-on to the existing Genesis, but they would not make it a competitor to the forthcoming Sega Saturn. Although this add-on contained two 32-bit CPU chips and a 3D graphics processor, it failed to attract either developers or consumers as the superior Saturn had already been announced for release the next year. Originally released at US$159, Sega dropped the price to $99 in only a few months and ultimately cleared the remaining inventory at $19.95;[16] at least 600,000 units were sold.[17]

Also, NEC and Hudson Software entered the market with their PC Engine/Turbografx-16, another 16-bit system. Hudson, attempting to reach the same level of popularity as the Super Famicom/SNES and Mega Drive/Genesis, designed their own mascot to stand beside Mario and Sonic, named Bonk the Caveman. While NEC did not have as big an impact in the market as Nintendo or Sega, they still sold more copies than expected for an all-new hardware system. The PC Engine further weakened Sega's position in Japan, with the Mega Drive remaining in third place in Japan behind the Super Famicom and PC Engine throughout the 16-bit era.[18]

[edit] Worldwide sales figures

  1. Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom – 49.10 million (Japan: 17.17 million, the Americas: 23.35 million, Other: 8.58 million)[9][19]
  2. Mega Drive/Genesis – 40 million (United States: 20 million,[20] Rest of the world: 15 million,[21] Tec Toy: 2 million,[22] Majesco: 2 million,[22] Sega Nomad: 1 million[23])
  3. TurboGrafx-16 – 10 million (US: 2.5 million)[24]

[edit] 32-bit era

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Main article: History of video game consoles (fifth generation)

In the "32-bit era," the Sega Saturn was released first and despite success in Japanese markets, it ultimately lacked in sufficient third party support. Sega's decision to use dual processors has been roundly criticized, and some believe the second CPU was added as a knee-jerk reaction to the PlayStation's specifications. It has been said that only Sega's first-party developers were ever able to utilize the second CPU effectively. The Sega Saturn was the more difficult console to program for with some titles being dropped during the development process (STI's Sonic X-treme for example), and therefore the 3-D graphics on its third party games often lacked the luster of the PlayStation or Nintendo 64 (N64), a severe disadvantage at the dawn of 3-D games on home consoles.

Sega was also hurt by the plan to have a surprise four month early US launch of their console.[25] This head start failed for several reasons. One of the major reasons being there were few software titles ready. The Sega Saturn was also US$100 more expensive than the PlayStation at its launch, and only available at four retailers.

Sony took an early advantage by initiating an expensive ad campaign and appealing to an older demographic who had grown up playing video games. The PlayStation was positioned as a necessity alongside the TV and VCR. The securing of this demographic is widely credited as the key to the system's success. Sega and particularly Nintendo's offerings were characterized as appealing more to children (both companies, for instance, featured mascots that appeared in Saturday morning cartoons). With Sony's greater hardware sales came greater third party support; ultimately the PlayStation won the era virtually unopposed. Sony carried this momentum over into the release of the PlayStation 2. The Saturn was discontinued in 1998, as Sega again tried to gain a head start over Sony with the Dreamcast.

Although this era is known as the "32-bit era," the 64-bit Nintendo 64 was released later than the other two consoles with which it was originally meant to compete directly. By the time of its release, Sony had already established their dominance and the Saturn was struggling to keep momentum. Its use of cartridge media rather than compact discs alienated developers and publishers due to the space limits and the relatively high cost involved (compare US$3.50 for an N64 cartridge to 35¢ for a PS1 disc), though the Nintendo 64 had much faster load times because of its cartridge media. Despite this, Nintendo managed to carve out a profitable niche in this era selling over 30 million consoles.

[edit] Worldwide sales figures

  1. PlayStation – 102.49 million shipped (Japan: 21.59, US: 40.78, Europe: 40.12)[26]
    including PS one – 28.15 million shipped [26]
  2. Nintendo 64 – 32.93 million[27] (Japan: 5.54 million, the Americas: 20.63 million, other: 6.75 million)[9]
  3. Sega Saturn – 9.5 million[24] (Japan: 6 million, North America: 1.5 million, Europe: 1.5 million)

[edit] Sixth generation

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Main article: History of video game consoles (sixth generation)

Sega’s Dreamcast, the first sixth-generation console, debuted in Japan on November 27, 1998. As the first console to feature a built-in modem, the Dreamcast offered players a new console gaming experience; users were able to play games with one another via the Internet. The Dreamcast was the sole sixth-generation console for over a year, until Sony released the PlayStation 2. In early 2001, however, Sega announced its discontinuation of the Dreamcast; it adjusted its company strategy to abandon the console industry and focus on third-party development.[28] Therefore, the Dreamcast left the market as the sixth-generation competition began to increase.

On March 4, 2000, Sony released the PlayStation 2 in Japan. The console featured a 294.912 MHz processor—an improvement over the Dreamcast’s 200 MHz processor—and promoted backward compatibility with PlayStation games. Unlike previous consoles, the PlayStation 2 could play DVDs, creating additional value for consumers interested in purchasing both a DVD player and gaming console. Within two days of the PlayStation 2’s release, Sony set a new record by selling 1 million consoles.[29] The initial supply did not meet the demand; there was a shortage even among those who preordered, which led to inflated reselling and reported thefts.[29] Although the PlayStation 2 did not originally focus on Internet connectivity, Sony developed an external adapter that enabled online gaming for select titles after the Xbox’s release.

Nintendo released the GameCube in Japan on September 14, 2001. Unlike previous Nintendo consoles, which used game cartridges, the GameCube used optical discs similar to MiniDVDs. The size of the discs, however, restricted users from playing regular DVDs and CDs on the console. With an introductory price of $199, the GameCube cost approximately $100 less than the PlayStation 2 and Xbox—a selling point for price-conscious consumers. The console offered signature family-friendly games, such as Luigi’s Mansion, in addition to third-party titles, including the more mature games Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem and Resident Evil 4.

On November 15, 2001, Microsoft entered the console industry by releasing the Xbox in North America. The Xbox featured internal storage capacity, allowing users to save games and download content directly to the console. Like the PlayStation 2, the Xbox also played DVDs; however, it required an external add-on. The release of Xbox Live, a subscription-based online gaming service, allowed users to play compatible titles online. Within two months of Xbox Live’s release, 250,000 users had subscribed, exceeding the company’s projections.[30]

Overall, the sixth generation expanded gaming consoles into a broader entertainment experience, whether through online gaming or the ability to play DVDs. As seventh-generation consoles overtook the market, Nintendo and Microsoft discontinued the GameCube and Xbox. Sony, on the other hand, continued to produce the PlayStation 2 after the PlayStation 3’s release in 2006. In 2009, Sony announced that PlayStation 2 production would continue until demand decreases.[31] Therefore, sustained PlayStation 2 purchases continue to increase the console’s lead in sales.

[edit] Worldwide sales figures

  1. PlayStation 2 – 150 million as of 31 January 2011 (2011 -01-31)[32][33]
  2. Xbox – 24 million as of 10 May 2006 (2006 -05-10)[34]
  3. GameCube – 21.74 million as of 31 December 2011 (2011 -12-31)[9]
  4. Dreamcast - 10.6 million as of 6 July 2002 (2002 -07-06)[35][36]

[edit] Seventh generation

Main article: History of video game consoles (seventh generation)

[edit] Home systems

All three consoles have had major shortages both at their launches and directly afterwards, with the Xbox 360's continuing for months after release and Wii's still continuing after two holiday seasons; the PlayStation 3 saw high demand for its first week of release, but it did not continue, being in stock at most major retailers shortly after release.

[edit] Home Entertainment

The seventh generation is best known for major consoles branching out into other types of media rather than solely focusing on games, making them "true" entertainment systems. All three consoles offer basic abilities such as photo-viewing, listening to music and browsing the web, as well as the ability to connect to external memory such as USB flash drives and SD cards. The Xbox 360 originally boasted a higher quality DVD player and music player, and over the years has released other features such as an external HD-DVD drive (now a dead standard), Zune downloadable content, Netflix streaming and Last.fm internet radio. PlayStation 3, on the other hand, has Blu-ray, Netflix streaming,and Qriocity which has unlimited music.

This new generation for the first time has all of the major consoles focusing on online integration. All three have their own connection services: Wii's Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network. Competition has branched now from simply offering the best games to the best online content; smaller games can now be purchased and downloaded from online stores within the consoles, and extra applications such as Netflix streaming and Facebook connectivity are heavily supported. Almost all games sold in retail have online support, including online multiplayer and downloadable content for bug patches and new features, potentially increasing replay value in certain games for even years.

Another notable feature in current-gen gaming is the use of avatar characters. Nintendo first introduced Miis with the Wii console, caricatures of players that could be created and used in flagship titles such as Wii Sports; however they lack the ability to customize that Xbox's avatars have, as clothes and accessories can be purchased online or unlocked in games played. PlayStation 3, instead of an in-game character, offers PlayStation Home, a social simulator where avatars can talk and explore, and customize their homes based on games played.

[edit] Backward compatibility

Initially only the Wii was 100% backward compatible with its previous counterpart, the Nintendo GameCube, while the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 only offered partial support. The firmware update that first came with Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction allowed all PS3 revisions to have the entire PS1/PS2 library in playable condition. The PS3's built-in Emotion Engine PS2 emulation solution used on previous North American consoles has been taken out of the European release and is achieved through less-perfect but cheaper software emulation of the Emotion Engine CPU (but still needed the PS2's Graphics Synthesizer GPU); however, the 40 GB PS3 SKU has taken out PS2 backward compatibility altogether, to help lower prices. The Xbox 360 uses software emulation for backward compatibility via game-specific patches automatically downloaded from Xbox Live or downloaded and burned to a CD or DVD from the Xbox website.[37] Some titles are now available for download via Xbox live, completely eliminating the need for the original Xbox disc. The Wii remains fully backward compatible with the Nintendo GameCube in Japan, also offering the Virtual Console service, which provides the ability to emulate various older gaming platforms (NES, SNES, N64, Arcade, Commodore 64, NEOGEO, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System and TurboGrafx 16); each game can be purchased on the Wii Shop Channel and saved to the console's internal memory or an SD card. As of October 2011 in North America and November 2011 in Europe a revised version of the Wii was released and had its ability to play Gamecube games removed, along with both the controller ports and memory card ports.

[edit] Worldwide sales figures

  1. Wii – 94.97 million as of 31 December 2011 (2011 -12-31)[9]
  2. Xbox 360 – 57.6 million as of 4 November 2011 (2011 -11-04)[38]
  3. PlayStation 3 – 56 million as of 2 November 2011 (2011 -11-02)[39]
[edit] Japan sales figures
  1. Wii – 11,534,590 as of 1 April 2011 (2011 -04-01)[40]
  2. PlayStation 3 – 6,341,950 as of 1 April 2011 (2011 -04-01)[40]
  3. Xbox 360 – 1,448,665 as of 1 April 2011 (2011 -04-01)[40]
[edit] Europe sales figures
  1. Wii – 24.9 million as of December 2010[41]
  2. PlayStation 3 – 19.7 million as of December 2010[41]
  3. Xbox 360 – 13.7 million as of December 2010[41]
[edit] United States sales figures
  1. Wii – 30 million as of 10 August 2010 (2010 -08-10)[42]
  2. Xbox 360 – 18.6 million as of 31 December 2009 (2009 -12-31)[43]
  3. PlayStation 3 - nearly 12 million as of 14 April 2010 (2010 -04-14)[44]

[edit] Second handheld war

Although Nintendo and Sony originally denied competing with each other with their handheld products, it was widely believed that a new handheld war had begun with the releases of the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable (PSP) in late 2004 and early 2005, respectively (the Nintendo DS Lite, a smaller and sleeker version of the Nintendo DS, was released in late 2006). As of the 2006 E3 press conference, however, Nintendo attacked Sony's handheld console, announcing that the Nintendo DS had been outselling the PSP. This could be taken as recognition of a new handheld war.

The Nintendo DS's power is comparable to that of Nintendo 64[citation needed]. It is notable in its use of two screens, one of them being a touch screen. It also sports a microphone input. It has shown considerable early success, particularly in branching out from the usual core demographic of video game players due to the intuitiveness of the touch screen control system. The DS is the less expensive of the two systems, and has longer battery life. The DS is backward compatible with Game Boy Advance games, but not with games for prior Game Boy systems. The GBA slot is also used for DS Option Paks.

Sony's PSP is more powerful than the Nintendo DS, with graphical power comparable to being in between the original PlayStation and the PlayStation 2. It is advertised as a portable multimedia system, as well as a handheld console (much in the same way as the PS2). Numerous movies have been released on the PSP's UMD format, and the system can play video and audio from the Memory Stick PRO DUO port. The PSP also supports a large high-resolution display, an analog stick, as well as standard controller buttons. Other features include the ability to make internet phone calls using Skype,[45] and a Global Positioning System.[46]

Both the DS and PSP support Wi-Fi networking, and have free online systems. The PSP has had online games since its launch in December 2004 in Japan, and the DS has had online games since mid-November 2005. Nintendo has also worked with McDonald's and Hilton Hotels to set up Wi-Fi access points across the USA, Europe and Australia.

[edit] Worldwide sales figures

  1. Nintendo DS – 151.06 million, as of 31 December 2011 (2011 -12-31) (Japan: 32.96 million, the Americas: 57.48 million, other: 60.61 million)[9]
    including Nintendo DS Lite – 93.74 million, as of 31 December 2011 (2011 -12-31) (Japan: 18.20 million, the Americas: 36.37 million, other: 39.16 million)[9]
    including Nintendo DSi – 26.55 million, as of 31 December 2011 (2011 -12-31) (Japan: 5.89 million, the Americas: 10.72 million, other: 9.94 million)
    including Nintendo DSi XL – 11.98 million, as of 31 December 2011 (2011 -12-31) (Japan: 2.33 million, the Americas: 5.09 million, other: 4.56 million)
  2. Game Boy Advance – 81.51 million, as of 31 December 2011 (2011 -12-31) (Japan: 16.96 million, the Americas: 41.64 million, other: 22.91 million)[9]
    including Game Boy Advance SP – 43.57 million, as of 31 December 2011 (2011 -12-31) (Japan: 6.51 million, the Americas: 24.00 million, other: 13.05 million)[9]
    and Game Boy Micro – 2.42 million, as of 31 March 2007 (2007 -03-31) (Japan: 0.61 million, the Americas: 0.95 million, other: 0.87 million)[47]
  3. PlayStation Portable – 71.4 million, as of 14 September 2011 (2011 -09-14)[48]
[edit] Japan sales figures

Based on figures from Famitsu/Enterbrain, as of 1 April 2011 (2011 -04-01)[40]

  1. Nintendo DS – 32,598,870
  2. PlayStation Portable – 16,867,853
[edit] United Kingdom sales figures

Based on figures from GfK Chart-Track

  1. Nintendo DS – 10 million as of 11 December 2009 (2009 -12-11)[49]
  2. PlayStation Portable – 4.9 million as of 3 January 2009 (2009 -01-03)[50]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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  2. ^ "PCW: 18-Apr-2008, Clive Akass 'How the BBC Micro helped conquer the world'". Computeractive.co.uk. http://www.computeractive.co.uk/pcw/news/1926214/how-bbc-micro-helped-conquer-world. Retrieved 2011-12-15. 
  3. ^ GaZZwa. "History of Videogames (part 2)". Gaming World. Archived from the original on March 2, 2004. http://web.archive.org/web/20040302033704/http://www.gamingw.net/articles/74. Retrieved 2005-01-07. 
  4. ^ Travis Fahs. "IGN Presents the History of SEGA: World War". IGN. p. 3. http://uk.retro.ign.com/articles/974/974695p3.html. Retrieved 2011-05-21. 
  5. ^ "初代「ファミコン」など公式修理サポート終了" (in Japanese). ITmedia News. ITmedia. 2007-10-16. http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/0710/16/news102.html. Retrieved 2008-01-20. 
  6. ^ RyanDG (2007-10-16). "Nintendo of Japan dropping Hardware support for the Famicom". Arcade Renaissance. http://www.arcade-renaissance.com/2007/10/nintendo-of-japan-dropping-hardware.html. Retrieved 2008-01-20. 
  7. ^ "Nintendo's classic Famicom faces end of road" (Reprint). AFP. 2007-10-31. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jAJfrC1k8lDKLOCGJu4VonjOYxBg. Retrieved 2007-11-09. 
  8. ^ "A Brief History of Game Console Warfare: Nintendo Entertainment System". BusinessWeek. McGraw-Hill. http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/game_consoles/source/4.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-28. 
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Consolidated Sales Transition by Region" (PDF). Nintendo. 2012-01-26. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e1112.pdf. Retrieved 2012-01-26. 
  10. ^ "A Brief History of Game Console Warfare: Game Boy". BusinessWeek. McGraw-Hill. http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/game_consoles/source/7.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-28. 
  11. ^ Blake Snow (2007-07-30). "The 10 Worst-Selling Handhelds of All Time". GamePro.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20071012194600/http://gamepro.com/gamepro/domestic/games/features/125748.shtml. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  12. ^ Kent, Steven L. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. Roseville, California: Prima Publishing. pp. 424–431. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4. 
  13. ^ Kent, Steven L. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. Roseville, California: Prima Publishing. p. 449. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4. 
  14. ^ Blake Snow (2007-07-30). "The 10 Worst-Selling Consoles of All Time". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2008-09-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20080905175406/http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/111822/the-10-worst-selling-consoles-of-all-time/. Retrieved 2008-05-20. 
  15. ^ Kent, Steven L. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. Roseville, California: Prima Publishing. p. 493. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4. 
  16. ^ a b Kent, Steven L. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. Roseville, California: Prima Publishing. pp. 493–496. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4. 
  17. ^ "32X North American Launch". http://www.allgame.com/platform.php?id=35. 
  18. ^ Kent, Steven L. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. Roseville, California: Prima Publishing. p. 447. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4. 
  19. ^ "A Brief History of Game Console Warfare: Super Nintendo Entertainment System". BusinessWeek. McGraw-Hill. http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/game_consoles/source/9.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-28. 
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