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47-588: The arcade game was commercially successful in Japan and the United States. Atari published home versions–in color–for most of its consoles and computers and was the pack-in game for the 1982 release of the Atari 5200 console. The fundamental gameplay—use a paddle to bounce a ball into a wall of destructible bricks—is the same as Breakout , but Super Breakout contains three different game modes: Double gives

94-422: A battery or battery pack. Earlier home consoles were typically built from a selection of standard and highly customized integrated computer chips, packaged onto circuit boards and cases. Over time, home console design has converged to a degree with personal computers , using similar component and system design, including standardization with main computer chip architecture. Consoles remain as fixed systems, lacking

141-475: A few fully working prototype 5100s were made before the project was canceled. The controller prototypes used in the electrical development lab employed a yoke-and-gimbal mechanism that came from an RC airplane controller kit. The design of the analog joystick , which used a weak rubber boot rather than springs to provide centering, proved to be ungainly and unreliable. They quickly became the Achilles' heel of

188-446: A more authentic arcade experience than any previous game cartridge. In its list of the top 25 game consoles of all time, IGN claimed that the main reason for the 5200's market failure was the technological superiority of its competitor, while other sources maintain that the two consoles are roughly equivalent in power. The 5200 received much criticism for the "sloppy" design of its non-centering analog controllers. Anderson described

235-516: A presence in the game development and licensing space. Nintendo remains the only competitor having taken a blue ocean strategy by offering more original console concepts such as motion sensing in the Wii and the hybrid design of the Nintendo Switch . Within the home video game console market, the leading consoles have often been grouped into generations, consoles that were major competitors in

282-522: A series of home video game consoles begins in a generation and lasts to another generation, it is listed in the generation the series began. This list does not claim to be complete. 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; retro style consoles ; or dedicated consoles past

329-528: Is 100% identical to the Atari 5200 do exist, but are extremely rare. The initial 1982 release of the system had four controller ports, compared to two in most other consoles. The controllers have an analog joystick , numeric keypad, two fire buttons on each side of the controller, and game function keys for Start, Pause, and Reset. The 5200 also featured the innovation of the first automatic TV switchbox, allowing it to automatically switch from regular TV viewing to

376-492: Is a home video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari, Inc. as a higher-end complement for the popular Atari Video Computer System . The VCS was renamed to Atari 2600 at the time of the 5200's launch. Created to compete with Mattel 's Intellivision , the 5200 wound up a direct competitor of ColecoVision shortly after its release. While the Coleco system shipped with the first home version of Nintendo 's Donkey Kong ,

423-499: Is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television , and an external power source as to play video games . While initial consoles were dedicated units with only a few games fixed into the electronic circuits of the system, most consoles since support the use of swappable game media, either through game cartridges , optical discs , or through digital distribution to internal storage. There have been numerous home video game consoles since

470-408: Is a predesigned piece of electronic hardware that is meant to be placed at a fixed location at one's home, connected to a display like a television screen or computer monitor, and to an external power source, to play video games on using one or more video game controllers . This differs from a handheld game console which will have a built-in screen, controller buttons/features, and a power supply like

517-425: Is at least as good as many other controllers", and wondered why Super Breakout was the pack-in game when it did not use the 5200's improved graphics. Critical to the plot of the 1984 film Cloak & Dagger is an Atari 5200 game cartridge called Cloak & Dagger . The arcade version appears in the movie. In actuality the Atari 5200 version was started but never completed. The game was under development with

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564-418: The 5200 included the 1978 arcade game Super Breakout , which had already appeared on previous Atari home platforms. The system architecture is almost identical to that of the Atari 8-bit computers , although software is not directly compatible between them. The 5200's controllers have an analog joystick and a numeric keypad along with start, pause, and reset buttons. The 360-degree non-centering joystick

611-600: The 5200 port uses the system's analog joysticks. An Atari ST version developed by Paradox was published by Atari UK in 1987. Majesco released Super Breakout for the Game Boy in 1998 and Game Boy Color in 1999. Both the Atari ST and Game Boy versions have sculpted bricks similar to those of the Breakout -inspired Arkanoid . All of the home ports also include a version of the original Breakout game. In Japan, it

658-548: The Atari 2600. While it touted superior graphics to the 2600 and Mattel's Intellivision , the system was initially incompatible with the 2600's expansive library of games, and some market analysts have speculated that this hurt its sales, especially since an Atari 2600 cartridge adapter had been released for the Intellivision II . (A revised two-port model was released in 1983, along with a game adapter that allowed gamers to play all 2600 games.) This lack of new games

705-430: The Atari 5200 has two controller ports instead of four, and a change back to the more conventional separate power supply and standard non-autoswitching RF switch. It also has changes in the cartridge port address lines to allow for the Atari 2600 adapter released that year. While the adapter was only made to work on the two-port version, modifications can be made to the four-port to make it line-compatible. In fact, towards

752-542: The Pro-Line Trak-Ball controller, which is used for games such as Centipede and Missile Command . A paddle controller and an updated self-centering version of the original controller were also in development, but never made it to market. Games were shipped with plastic card overlays that snapped in over the keypad. The card would indicate which game functions, such as changing the view or vehicle speed, were assigned to each key. The primary controller

799-535: The U.S. market. The NES helped to revive the console market and gave Nintendo dominance during the late 1980s. Sega took advantage of the newfound U.S. growth to market its Sega Genesis against the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in the early 1990s in the so-called "console wars" and emphasized the notion of " bits " as a major selling point for consumers. The consumer adoption of optical discs with larger storage capacity in

846-474: The ability to connect and interface with a particular handheld game system, which certain games can leverage to provide alternate control schemes, second screen gameplay elements, exclusive unlockable content or the ability to transfer certain game data. The first commercial video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey , developed by a team led by Ralph H. Baer and released commercially in 1972. It

893-474: The controllers as "absolutely atrocious". David H. Ahl of Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games said in 1983 that the "Atari 5200 is, dare I say it, Atari's answer to Intellivision, Colecovision, and the Astrocade ", describing the console as a "true mass market" version of the Atari 8-bit computers despite the software incompatibility. He criticized the joystick's imprecise control but said that "it

940-562: The customization options that personal computer components have, and most consoles include customized components to maximize space and reduce power consumption to provide the best performance for game playing, while lowering costs with reduced storage and memory configurations. Home video game consoles typically can play a multitude of games, offered either as game cartridges (or ROM cartridges), on optical media like CD-ROM or DVD, or obtained by digital distribution . Early consoles, also considered dedicated consoles, had games that were fixed in

987-511: 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. This list only counts the first iteration of each console's hardware, because several systems have had slim, enhanced or other hardware revisions, but they are not individually listed here. The list also includes unreleased systems. If

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1034-480: The electronic circuitry of the hardware. Some facets may be controlled by switching external controls on the console but the games could not be changed themselves. Most home consoles require a separate game controller, and may support multiple controllers for multiplayer games. Some console games can only be played with special, unconventional game controllers, such as light guns for rail shooters and guitar controllers for music games . Some consoles also possess

1081-418: The end of the four-port model's production run, there were a limited number of consoles produced which included these modifications. These consoles can be identified by an asterisk in their serial numbers. At one point following the 5200's release, Atari planned a smaller, cost-reduced version of the Atari 5200, which removed the controller storage bin. Code-named the "Atari 5100" (a.k.a. "Atari 5200 Jr."), only

1128-519: The first commercial unit, the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. Historically these consoles have been grouped into generations lasting each about six years based on common technical specifications. As of 2024, there have been nine console generations, with the current leading manufacturers being Sony , Microsoft , and Nintendo , colloquially known as the "Big 3." Past console manufacturers have included Atari , Fairchild , Mattel , Coleco , Sega , NEC , 3DO , Fujitsu and SNK . A home video game console

1175-399: The first generation, 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. The list omits the more than 900 home video game consoles known to have been released in the first generation of video game consoles , those that were generally game consoles for

1222-477: The game system signal when the system was activated. Previous RF adapters required the user to slide a switch on the adapter by hand. The RF box was also where the power supply connected in a unique dual power/television signal setup similar to the RCA Studio II 's. A single cable coming out of the 5200 plugged into the switch box and carried both electricity and the television signal. The 1983 revision of

1269-532: The higher resolution of the 5200 to great advantage. The screen, for example, has the same number of bricks as Super Breakout on the Atari VCS. However, users of the VCS will like the much better representation of alphanumerics on the 5200. In 1995, Flux magazine ranked Super Breakout 93rd on their "Top 100 Video Games". For Kid Stuff Records , John Braden recorded a 7-in 33 1 ⁄ 3 RPM record telling

1316-398: The layers of the force field. With his life support systems failing, what follows is a test of endurance turned game as he strives to break through the barrier in space. Glu Mobile released a licensed cellular phone version. In 2008, Atari released the game for the iPhone and iPod Touch via Apple's App Store . Atari 5200 The Atari 5200 SuperSystem or simply Atari 5200

1363-460: The marketplace. There have been nine generations of consoles since the 1970s, with a new generation appearing about every five years. There are more than 1000 home video game consoles known to exist, the vast majority of which were released during the first generation: only 103 home video game consoles were released between the second and current generation, 15 were canceled. This list is divided into console generations which are named based on

1410-541: The mid-1995 led many console manufactures to move away from cartridges to CD-ROMs and later to DVDs and other formats, with Sony's PlayStation line introducing even more features that gave it an advantage in the market; the PlayStation 2 , released in 2000, remains the best-selling console to date with over 155 million units sold. Microsoft, fearing that the PlayStation 2 was threatening the competitive edge of

1457-411: The original was constructed with discrete logic instead of a microprocessor, Super Breakout uses a MOS Technology 6502 CPU. Like Breakout , Super Breakout uses a black and white display with overlays to simulate color. Super Breakout appeared as a cartridge for Atari 8-bit computers in 1979 with support for up to 8 players taking turns. A port for the Atari VCS (later renamed the Atari 2600 )

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1504-500: The other, but source code can be mechanically converted unless it uses computer-specific features. Antic magazine reported in 1984 that "the similarities grossly outweigh the differences, so that a 5200 program can be developed and almost entirely debugged [on an Atari 8-bit computer] before testing on a 5200". John J. Anderson of Creative Computing alluded to the incompatibility being intentional, caused by Atari's console division removing 8-bit compatibility to not lose control to

1551-403: The personal computer, entered the console space with its Xbox line in 2001. Internet connectivity had become commonplace by the mid-2000s, and nearly all home consoles supported digital distribution and online service offerings by the 2010s. With Sony and Microsoft's dominance in hardware capabilities, most other major manufacturers have since dropped out of the hardware business, but maintain

1598-569: The player control of two paddles at the same time—one placed above the other—with two balls in-play simultaneously. Cavity also has two paddles, but initially only one ball. Two others are contained in pockets inside the wall and can be freed. Progressive advances the entire wall downward step by step, gaining in speed the longer the ball is in play. The game was written by Ed Rotberg, who later designed Battlezone (1980) for Atari. Rotberg developed Super Breakout after hearing that Atari founder Nolan Bushnell wanted Breakout updated. While

1645-496: The release of the Video Computer System in 1977, Atari began developing hardware for a next generation game console. Instead, it was used as the basis for the Atari 400 and 800 home computers. Atari later decided to re-enter the console market using the same technology. Prototypes were called the "Atari Video System X – Advanced Video Computer System". Actual working Atari Video System X machines, whose hardware

1692-491: The rising popularity of the personal computer and the economic recession of the early 1980s, led to the video game crash of 1983 in the U.S. market. Nintendo , which had released its Family Computer console in Japan that year, took several cautionary steps to limit game production to only licensed games, and was able to introduce it, rebranded as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985 into

1739-539: The rival computer division. Besides the 5200's lack of a keyboard, the differences are: In 1987, Atari Corporation released the XE Game System console, which is a repackaged 65XE (from 1985) with a detachable keyboard that can run home computer titles directly, unlike the 5200. Anderson wrote in 1984 that Atari could have released a console compatible with computer software in 1981. The Atari 5200 did not fare well commercially compared to its predecessor,

1786-471: The second generation and led to a second boom in the video game industry in the United States and around the globe. During this time, Atari Inc. had been sold to Warner Communications , and several programmers left the company and founded Activision , becoming the first third-party developer. Activision's success led to a rush of new developers creating games without any publishing controls for these systems. The market became flooded with games, and combined with

1833-524: The story of Super Breakout . This science fiction story dealt with NASA astronaut Captain John Stewart Chang returning from a routine mission transporting titanium ore from Io to space station New California. He encounters a rainbow barrier, presumably a force of nature, that seems to have no end on either side. He has three lobbing missiles of white light that he can bounce off the hull of his shuttle, and they prove able to break through

1880-479: The system due to the combination of an overly complex mechanical design and a very low-cost internal flex circuit system. Another major flaw of the controllers was that the design did not translate into a linear acceleration from the center through the arc of the stick travel. The controllers did, however, include a pause button, a unique feature at the time. Various third-party replacement joysticks were also released, including those made by Wico. Atari Inc. released

1927-565: The title Agent X when the movie producers and Atari learned of each other's projects and decided to cooperate. This collaboration was part of a larger phenomenon, of films featuring video games as critical plot elements (as with Tron and The Last Starfighter ) and of video game tie-ins to the same films (as with the Tron games for the Intellivision and other platforms). Home video game console A home video game console

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1974-523: Was available at the end of 1981, initially as a Sears exclusive release under the Tele-Games branding. An Atari branded version was then released in January 1982. The VCS port includes two "Children's Version" games that require less skill to play. Four years after release, Super Breakout became the pack-in game for the then-new Atari 5200 console in 1982. Prior home versions use paddle controllers;

2021-506: Was due in part to a lack of funding, with Atari continuing to develop most of its games for the saturated 2600 market. Many of the 5200's games appeared simply as updated versions of 2600 titles, which failed to excite consumers. Its pack-in game, Super Breakout , was criticized for not doing enough to demonstrate the system's capabilities. This gave the ColecoVision a significant advantage as its pack-in, Donkey Kong , delivered

2068-488: Was ranked the 10th worst video game controller by IGN editor Craig Harris. An editor for Next Generation said that their non-centering joysticks "rendered many games nearly unplayable". David H. Ahl in 1983 described the Atari 5200 as "a 400 computer in disguise". Its internal design is similar to that of Atari 8-bit computers using the ANTIC , POKEY , and GTIA coprocessors. Software designed for one does not run on

2115-497: Was shortly followed by the release of the home version of Pong by Atari Inc. in 1975 based on the arcade game. A number of clones of both systems rushed to fill the nascent home console market and the video game industry suffered a small recession in 1977 due to this. The Fairchild Channel F , released in 1976, was the first console to use game cartridges , which was then used by the Atari VCS and several other consoles of

2162-425: Was the ninth-highest-earning arcade video game of 1978 . In the United States, it was the eighth-highest-earning arcade video game of 1979 . Atari sold a total of 4,805 Super Breakout arcade cabinets . In regard to Super Breakout being included with every Atari 5200, David H. Ahl of Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games , wrote in 1983: We thought this a somewhat curious choice since it hardly uses

2209-461: Was touted as offering more control than the eight-way Atari CX40 joystick of the 2600, but was a focal point for criticism. On May 21, 1984, during a press conference at which the Atari 7800 was introduced, company executives revealed that the 5200 had been discontinued after less than two years on the market. Total sales of the system were reportedly in excess of 1 million units, far short of its predecessor's sales of over 30 million. Following

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