Like most 80s kids, my first gaming system was an NES. But I became quite the rebel when I purchased my second system, a Sega Genesis. The console wars were in full force, and I was one of only a handful at my school to join the dark side of Sega, as opposed to the much more popular Super Nintendo. The Sega Genesis was my first big purchase as a kid, and I mowed yards all summer long (along with selling my NES in a garage sale) to place my $189.99 order from the Sears Catalog. I’m not much of a gamer nowadays (4 kids will do that to you), but I still have my old Sega Genesis stored away, just waiting to be re-discovered.
This list covers the second (1976) through eighth (present) generation consoles. According to Wikipedia, there were 687 first-generation consoles produced, so I decided that was a rabbit hole I didn’t want to enter. I had fun designing the page to look like an old video game ad or one of those posters that came in Nintendo Power. The TV screen borders even made me nostalgic for playing games on an old crappy 19-inch TV. As always, let me know if I missed something.
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3DO Interactive Multiplayer
1993
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Amstrad GX4000
1990
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APF Imagination Machine
1979
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APF-MP1000
1978
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Apple Bandai Pippin
1995
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Atari 2600
1977
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Atari 5200
1982
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Atari 7800
1986
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Atari XEGS
1987
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Atari Jaguar
1993
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Atari Jaguar CD
1995
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Bandai Super Vision 8000
1979
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Bandai Playdia
1994
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Capcom CPS Changer
1994
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Casio PV-1000
1983
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Casio Loopy
1995
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ColecoVision
1982
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Commodore 64
1990
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Commodore CDTV
1991
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Commodore Amiga CD32
1993
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Daewoo Electronics Zemmix
1983
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Emerson Arcadia 2001
1982
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Emerson Leisure Vision
1982
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Epoch Cassette Vision
1981
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Epoch Super Cassette Vision
1984
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Fairchild Channel F
1976
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Fujitsu FM Towns Marty
1993
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Funtech Super A’Can
1995
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Gakken Compact Vision TV Boy
1983
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Interton VC 4000
1978
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Konami Picno
1993
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Konix Multisystem
1989
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LJN Video Art
1985
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Magnavox Odyssey2
1978
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Mattel Intellivision
1980
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Mattel HyperScan
2006
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Memorex VIS
1992
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Midway Bally Astrocade
1977
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Microsoft Xbox
2001
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Microsoft Xbox 360
2005
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Microsoft Xbox One
2013
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Milton Bradley Vectrex
1982
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NEC PC Engine
1987
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NEC TurboGrafx-16
1987
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NEC Super CD-ROM2
1988
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NEC SuperGrafx2
1989
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NEC PC-FX
1994
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Nichibutsu My Vision
1983
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Nintendo Entertainment System
1983
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Nintendo Family Computer (Famicom)
1983
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Nintendo Super Nintendo
1990
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Nintendo Super Famicom
1990
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Nintendo Satellaview
1995
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Nintendo 64
1996
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Nintendo 64DD
1999
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Nintendo GameCube
2001
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Nintendo iQue Player
2003
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Nintendo Wii
2006
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Nintendo Wii U
2012
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Nintendo Switch
2017
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Philips Videopac G7400
1983
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Philips CD-i
1991
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Pioneer LaserActive
1993
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Pioneer LaserActive Mega LD
1993
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RCA Studio II
1977
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RDI Halcyon
1985
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Sega SG-1000
1983
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Sega Mark III
1985
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Sega Master System
1985
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Sega Tyco Video Driver
1988
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Sega Genesis
1988
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Sega Mega Drive
1988
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Sega CD
1991
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Sega Mega CD
1991
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Sega Mega CD 2
1993
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Sega Pico
1993
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Sega 32x
1994
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Sega Saturn
1994
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Sega Dreamcast
1998
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Sega Advanced Pico Beena
2005
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SNK Neo-Geo AES
1990
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SNK Neo-Geo CD
1994
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Sony PlayStation
1994
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Sony PlayStation 2
2000
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Sony PlayStation 3
2006
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Sony PlayStation 4
2013
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SSD Xavix PORT
2004
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Takara Video Challenger
1987
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Tomy Tutor
1983
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Ultravision Video Arcade System
1983
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View-Master Interactive Vision
1988
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VM Labs Nuon
2000
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VTech CreatiVision
1981
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VTech Socrates
1988
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VTech V.Smile
2004
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VTech V.Flash
2006
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Worlds of Wonder Action Max
1987
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ZAPiT Game Wave
2005
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Zeebo
2009