Nintendo's first foray into the home console market. Only released in Japan. It sold three million units over it's life span. The game only came with 6 slight variations on the game Pong.
The Nintendo Entertainment system was a remodeled version of the eariler released 1983 model in Japan. Recognized as the console to revitalize the US video game crash of 1983, it has gone on to become an iconic part of the US's pop culture. Popular game franchises like Metroid and the Legend of Zelda were started on the NES.
Becoming the best-selling console of the 16-bit era, with its advanced graphics and sound chips, the SNES became a lasting influence well into the sixth generation of home game consoles. It rivaled the Sega Genesis which had been out on the market for at least 2 years beforehand. Though Nintendo released the console later than normal, many say with the release of Donkey Kong Country, the SNES was able to pull ahead in the video game market.
The Nintendo 64 being named after its 64-bit CPU was Nintendo's console of the fifth generation. It was the last major home console to use the cartridge system until flash memory was cheap and reliable again in the Nintendo Switch. There was big transition of many game studios to Sony's Playstation due to the cheaper development costs and more space. Even through these changes the N64 remains a top console with many popular games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Smash Bros.
The Nintendo GameCube was Nintendo's first console to use optical discs instead of cartridges. Many games that were going to be featured on the N64 were instead delayed and developed more fully on the GameCube. Though it was a popular console, many critized it for not having many features like the other consoles on the market, namely Xbox and the Playstation 2.
Nintendo's first console with motion controls. The Wiimote's functionality was actually first created during the the GameCube's development but was shelved due to the techonology not being cheap enough and the mechanics were not quite worked out. It has become the best selling console ever for Nintendo, outselling the NES. This was due in part to appealing to the "casual gamer" and featuring backwards compatibility with previous GameCube games.
A direct successor to the wildly successful Wii. Featuring a tablet like controller with a touch screen that is able to stream content from the console. Having a unique system, Nintendo encouraged developers to make games that potentially could have "asymmetric" gameplay. Unfortunately consumers and critics alike were not happy with the console. Part of this was due in part to the poor launch title line up and difficult third-party support. Many of the concepts first explored in the Wii U would be later perfected in their next console, the Nintendo Switch.
With the wider population shifting their focus to mobile games, Nintendo need to change its focus on to the growing demographic. Code named "Nintendo NX", the Nintendo Switch is a hybrid handheld and home console. Refining many of the concepts from the Wii U, the Switch is able to be docked to a TV at home or be taken on the go.The console also features removeable controllers called Joy-Cons that have a variety of sensors for maximum adaptibility. Wanting it to be accessible as possible Nintendo reached out to many third-party developers making it easier than ever for AAA studios and more importantly indie studios to publish their games.
Nintendo may not always have the bleeding edge hardware or software, but what they lack in power they make up for innovation in mechanics and new fun ways to enjoy games. Who knows what Nintendo is cooking up next? You can be sure that they have already begun research for the successor to the Switch and the world will be waiting.