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Curated category

Backward-compatible video game consoles

  • PlayStation 3The PlayStation 3 launched in Japan on the 11th of November 2006, and within 24 hours Sony had sold more than 81,000 units.
  • GameCubeThe GameCube launched in Japan on the 14th of September, 2001, with roughly half a million units shipped to retailers across the country.
  • PlayStation 5PlayStation 5 launched on the 12th of November 2020 in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North America, and South Korea, with the rest of the world following a…
  • WiiOn the 19th of November 2006, Nintendo launched a home console that came bundled with a controller shaped like a television remote.
  • Sega GenesisIn October 1988, Sega released a machine called the Mega Drive into a Japanese market already dominated by Nintendo's Famicom.
  • PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 sold 160 million units worldwide, a number so large it nearly triples the combined sales of every rival console it competed against.
  • Xbox 360On the 22nd of November 2005, Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 in the United States and Canada, kicking off what would become one of the most consequential…
  • Xbox Series X and Series SIndustry rumors of new Xbox hardware had started as early as June 2018, with Microsoft's Phil Spencer confirming they were deep into architecting the next…
  • Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy Advance arrived in Japan on the 21st of March, 2001, at a price of $99.99 in North America, and within its first week in the United States it became…
  • Nintendo 3DSThe Nintendo 3DS arrived in Japan on the 26th of February 2011, carrying a promise that sounded almost impossible: three-dimensional visuals on a handheld…
  • Game Boy ColorThe Game Boy Color arrived in Japan on the 21st of October 1998, carrying a question that had nagged Nintendo for nearly a decade: how do you add color to…
  • Nintendo DSThe Nintendo DS launched in North America on the 21st of November, 2004 - a device its own maker described as an experimental "third pillar", neither…
  • Master SystemThe Sega Master System was born twice. First as the Mark III in Japan on the 20th of October 1985, and then reborn under a new name chosen by employees…
  • Wii UIn 2008, Nintendo began a quiet internal debate about the future of its home console business. The company recognized that the Wii had become associated…
  • Nintendo Switch 2Nintendo began pre-production of its next console shortly after the Switch's release, with a team reviewing the performance limitations of the original unit.