The list is divided into eras which are named based on the dominant console type of the era, though not all consoles of those eras are of the same type. Some eras are referred to based on how many bits a major console could process. The "128-bit era" (sixth generation) was the final era in which this practice was widespread.[citation needed]
This list does not include other types of video game consoles such as handheld game consoles, which are usually of lower computational power than home consoles due to their smaller size, microconsoles, which are usually low-cost Android-based devices that rely on downloading, or dedicated consoles which have games built in and do not use any form of physical media. Consoles have been redesigned from time to time to improve their market appeal. Redesigned models are not listed on their own.
Consoles of the early 1970s, such as the Pong consoles and the Magnavox Odyssey, were often inaccurately called "analog", but were actually discrete logic circuits.[1]
The Nintendo Switch (code name NX) was released during this period, on March 3, 2017, but has been referred to as a hybrid video game console combining features of home and handheld systems.
^"Earnings Release FY14 Q3". Microsoft. April 24, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2014. Microsoft sold in 2.0 million Xbox console units, including 1.2 million Xbox One consoles.
^"Earnings Release FY14 Q4". Microsoft. July 22, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014. We sold in 1.1 million consoles in the fourth quarter, as we drew down channel inventory, compared to 1.0 million consoles during the prior year.
^"Microsoft Annual Meeting of Shareholders". Microsoft. December 3, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2015. Finally, our gaming business is thriving with the Xbox One hitting 10 million units sold. I am thrilled to welcome Mojang and Minecraft community to Microsoft.
^Starting with Microsoft's fiscal quarter ending June 2014 (Q4), the company stopped divulging individual platform sales in their fiscal reports.[12][13] Microsoft stated it will shift focus to the amount of active users on Xbox Live starting in late 2015.[14] Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveiled at a December 3, 2014 shareholder presentation that 10 million units were sold.[15] Third-party estimates suggest sales reached approximately 25-30 million worldwide by late 2016.[16]