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Gaming generation from 1993 to 2006 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The fifth generation era (also known as the 32-bit era, the 64-bit era, or the 3D era) refers to computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld gaming consoles dating from approximately October 4, 1993, to March 23, 2006.[note 1] The best-selling home console was the Sony PlayStation, followed by the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn. The PlayStation also had a redesigned version, the PSone, which was launched on July 7, 2000.
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Some features that distinguished fifth generation consoles from previous fourth generation consoles include:
This era is known for its pivotal role in the video game industry's leap from 2D to 3D computer graphics, as well as the shift in home console games from being stored on ROM cartridges to optical discs. This was also the first generation to feature internet connectivity: some systems had additional hardware which provided connectivity to an existing device, like the Sega Net Link for the Sega Saturn. The Apple Pippin, a commercial flop, was the first system to feature on-board internet capabilities.
For handhelds, this era was characterized by significant fragmentation, because the first handheld of the generation, the Sega Nomad, had a lifespan of just two years, and the Nintendo Virtual Boy had a lifespan of less than one. Both of them were discontinued before the other handhelds made their debut. The Neo Geo Pocket was released on October 28, 1998, but was dropped by SNK in favor of the fully backward compatible Neo Geo Pocket Color just a year later. Nintendo's Game Boy Color (1998) was the most successful handheld by a large margin. There were also two minor updates of the original Game Boy: the Game Boy Light (released in Japan only) and the Game Boy Pocket.
There was considerable time overlap between this generation and the next, the sixth generation of consoles, which began with the launch of the Dreamcast in Japan on November 27, 1998. The fifth generation ended with the discontinuation of the PlayStation (specifically its re-engineered form, the "PSOne") on March 23, 2006, a year after the launch of the seventh generation.
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The 32-bit/64-bit era is most noted for the rise of fully 3D polygon games. While there were games prior that had used three-dimensional polygon environments, such as Virtua Racing and Virtua Fighter in the arcades and Star Fox on the Super NES, it was in this era that many game designers began to move traditionally 2D and pseudo-3D genres into 3D on video game consoles. Early efforts from then-industry leaders Sega and Nintendo saw the introduction of the 32X and Super FX, which provided rudimentary 3D capabilities to the 16-bit Genesis and Super NES. Starting in 1996, 3D video games began to take off with releases such as Virtua Fighter 2 on the Saturn, Tomb Raider on the PlayStation and Saturn, Tekken 2 and Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation, and Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64. Their 3D environments were widely marketed and they steered the industry's focus away from side-scrolling and rail-style titles, as well as opening doors to more complex games and genres. 3D became the main focus in this era as well as a slow decline of cartridges in favor of CDs, due to the ability to produce games less expensively and the media's high storage capabilities.
After allowing Sony to develop a CD-based prototype console for them and a similar failed partnership with Philips,[3] Nintendo decided to make the Nintendo 64 a cartridge-based system like its predecessors. Publicly, Nintendo defended this decision on the grounds that it would give games shorter load times than a compact disc (and would decrease piracy due to a certain chip in the ROM cartridge).[4][5] However, it also had the dubious benefit of allowing Nintendo to charge higher licensing fees, as cartridge production was considerably more expensive than CD production. Many third-party developers like EA Sports viewed this as an underhanded attempt to raise more money for Nintendo and many of them became more reluctant to release games on the N64.[citation needed]
Nintendo's decision to use a cartridge based system sparked a debate in the video game magazines as to which was better. The chief advantages of the CD-ROM format were (1) larger storage capacity, allowing for a much greater amount of game content;[6][7] (2) considerably lower manufacturing costs, making them much less risky for game publishers;[7][8] (3) lower retail prices due to the reduced need to compensate for manufacturing costs;[6][7][9] and (4) shorter production times, which greatly reduced the need for publishers to predict the demand for a game.[10][11] Its disadvantages compared to cartridge were (1) considerable load times;[6][8][10] (2) their inability to load data "on the fly", making them reliant on the console RAM;[6] and (3) the greater manufacturing costs of CD-ROM drives compared to cartridge slots, resulting in generally higher retail prices for CD-based consoles.[6][8] A Nintendo Power ad placed a Space Shuttle (representing cartridges) next to a snail (representing a CD), as an analogy for their respective speeds, stating that "the future doesn't belong to snails".[12]
Almost every other contemporary system used the new CD-ROM technology. Consequent to the storage and cost advantages of the CD-ROM format, many game developers shifted their support away from the Nintendo 64 to the PlayStation. One of the most influential game franchises to change consoles during this era was the Final Fantasy series, beginning with Final Fantasy VII, which was developed for the PlayStation instead of the N64 due to storage capacity issues;[13] prior Final Fantasy games had all been published on Nintendo consoles – either the NES or Super NES, with the only other entries being on the Wonderswan, or computers like the MSX.
The fifth generation was characterized by an unusually high number of console formats. More competing consoles comprised this generation than any other since the video game crash of 1983, leading video game magazines of the time to frequently predict a second crash.[14]
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was one of the earliest fifth generation consoles and was released in October 1993. Despite having massive third-party support and an unprecedented amount of hype for a first-time entrant into the industry, it had early difficulties due to software development delays and its high price. For its initial release, the 3DO had a $700 retail price tag and only a single available game ready for market. The 3DO would be discontinued only three years later. While generally regarded as a failed system, the 3DO was this generation's fourth best-selling console in a crowded field with sales of 2 million units.
The Sega Saturn was Sega's entry into the stand-alone 32-bit console market. It was released in Japan simultaneously with the 32X in November 1994, although it would not have a North American release until six months later.[3] It became Sega's most successful console in Japan. In America and Europe however, a disastrous launch and an MSRP of $399 compared to the PlayStation's $299 caused it to be a commercial failure,[15] selling far fewer units than the Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis before it.
The PlayStation, released in early December 1994, was the most successful console of this generation. With attention given by third-party developers and a more mature marketing campaign aimed at the 20–30 age group enabling it to achieve market dominance, it became the first home console to ship 100 million units worldwide.[citation needed]
The Nintendo 64, originally announced as the "Ultra 64", was released in 1996. The system's delays and use of the expensive cartridge format made it an unpopular platform among third-party developers.[citation needed] Several popular first-party titles allowed the Nintendo 64 to maintain strong sales in the United States, but it remained a distant second to the PlayStation.[citation needed]
The Amiga CD32 was released in September 1993 and sold in Europe, Australia, Canada and Brazil. It was never released in the United States due to Commodore's bankruptcy and court-ordered import restrictions.[16][17] Despite promising initial sales, the console was hampered by poor software quality with many titles being simply re-releases of older games.[18] Production of the Amiga CD32 was discontinued after only eight months.[17]
The Atari Jaguar was released in November 1993 and was marketed as the world's first 64-bit system. However, sales at launch were well below the incumbent fourth generation consoles, and a small games library rooted in a shortage of third-party support made it impossible for the Jaguar to catch up, selling below 250,000 units. The system's 64-bit nature was also questioned by many. Its only add-on, the Jaguar CD, was released in 1995 and was produced in limited quantities due to the low install base of the system.[citation needed] The 32-bit Atari Panther, set to be released in 1991, was canceled due to unexpectedly rapid progress in developing the Jaguar.[19]
The Sega 32X, an add-on console produced by Sega for the Genesis, was launched in November 1994. The Sega Neptune, a standalone version of the 32X, was announced but ultimately canceled. Sega failed to deliver a steady flow of games for the 32X platform. With customers anticipating the PlayStation on the horizon, and with Sega's more technically advanced Saturn already competing on the market in Japan, sales of the 32X were poor.[20]
NEC, creator of the TurboGrafx-16 of the previous generation, entered the market with the PC-FX in late December 1994. The system had a 32-bit processor, 16-bit stereo sound, and video capability. Despite its impressive specifications, it did not have a polygon processor and was marketed as a platform for 2D and full motion video games. The PC-FX game library was criticized for being low in quality, and having titles that relied more on animation than gameplay.[21][22] Due to low expected sales, it was never released outside of Japan.
In 1995, Nintendo released the Virtual Boy, a supposedly portable system capable of displaying true 3D graphics, albeit in monochromatic red and black. Despite being marketed as a portable system, it is not actually portable in practice due to the lack of a head strap.[23] Also, because of the nature of its display, the system reportedly caused headaches and eye strain.[23] It was discontinued within a year,[24] with fewer than 25 games being released for it.[23] Although it sold over 750,000 units, Nintendo felt that it was a failure compared to consoles such as the Super Nintendo, which sold over 20 million.[24]
By the end of the 1995 Christmas shopping season, the fifth generation had come down to a struggle between the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, and the upcoming Nintendo 64. The Amiga CD32 had already been discontinued; the Jaguar and Genesis 32X were still on the market but were considered a lost cause by industry analysts; the Neo Geo CD had proven to appeal only to a niche market; and industry analysts had already determined that the yet-to-launch Apple Bandai Pippin was too expensive to make any impact in the market.[25] Moreover, even the leading fifth generation consoles were still facing sluggish sales. Combined sales for the PlayStation, Saturn, and 3DO barely topped 1 million units for the Christmas shopping season, as compared to combined sales of 4 million for the Sega Genesis and Super NES.[26] Focus groups showed that most children under 12 years old were equally happy playing on fourth generation consoles as they were playing on fifth generation consoles, making the fourth generation consoles more appealing to adults buying gifts for children, since they were cheaper.[8] Industry analysts began putting forth the possibility that the fifth generation of consoles would never overtake the fourth generation in sales, and become superseded by a new generation of DVD player consoles before they could achieve mass acceptance.[27]
1996 saw the fifth generation consoles' fortunes finally turn around. With the Saturn, PlayStation, and Nintendo 64 all showing dramatic increases in sales over the previous year, they claimed a combined 40% of the retail market for hardware and software, putting them in position to finally overtake the fourth generation consoles in 1997.[28]
The Sega Saturn suffered from poor marketing and comparatively limited third-party support outside Japan.[3] Sega's decision to use dual processors was roundly criticized, as this made it difficult to efficiently develop for the console.[29] Sega was also hurt by the Saturn's surprise four-month-early U.S. launch of their console; third-party developers, who had been planning for the originally scheduled launch, could not provide many launch titles and were angered by the move. Retailers were caught unprepared, resulting in distribution problems; some retailers, such as the now defunct KB Toys, were so furious that they refused to stock the Saturn thereafter.[30]
Due to numerous delays, the Nintendo 64 was released one year later than its competitors. By the time it was finally launched in 1996, Sony had already established its dominance, the Saturn was starting to struggle, and the 3DO and Jaguar had been discontinued.[citation needed] Its use of cartridge media rather than compact discs alienated some developers and publishers due to the space limits, the relatively high cost involved, and a considerably longer production time.[citation needed] In addition, the initially high suggested retail price of the console may have driven potential customers away, and some early adopters of the system who had paid the initial price may have been angered by Nintendo's decision to cut the price of the system by $50 six months after its release.[31] However, the Nintendo 64 turned out to be a commercial success, particularly in the United States, where it sold 20.63 million units, nearly two thirds of its worldwide sales of 32.93 million units. It was also home to highly successful games such as Star Fox 64, Mario Kart 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, and Super Smash Bros. While Nintendo 64 sold far more units than the Sega Saturn, Atari Jaguar, and 3DO combined, it posed no challenge to the PlayStation's lead in the market.
By 1997, 40% to 60% of American homes played on video game consoles.[further explanation needed] 30% to 40% of these homes owned a console, while an additional 10% to 20% rented or shared a console.[32]
After the dust settled in the fifth generation console wars, several companies saw their outlooks change drastically.
Atari Corporation, which was not able to recover its losses, ended up merging into JTS Corporation in 1996.[33][34] This caused the Atari name to virtually disappear from the gaming market until 1998, when Hasbro Interactive purchased the Atari assets from JTS for $5 million.[35]
On May 14, 1999, Hasbro Interactive announced that all rights to the Atari Jaguar were released into the public domain,[36] thus declaring the platform open; this allowed anyone to freely create and publish games for the Jaguar without endorsement or licensing from Hasbro Interactive. Since then, homebrew developers began to release uncompleted Jaguar games as well as several brand new titles to satisfy the system's cult following.[37]
Sega's loss of consumer confidence (coupled with its previous console failures), along with their financial difficulties, set the company up for a similar fate in the next round of console wars.
Name | 3DO Interactive Multiplayer | Sega Saturn | PlayStation | Nintendo 64 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Manufacturer | The 3DO Company | Sega | Sony (SCE) | Nintendo | |
Image(s) | |||||
Top: Panasonic FZ-1 R·E·A·L Bottom: GoldStar GDO-101M |
Top: North American Saturn Model 1 and controller Bottom: Japanese Saturn Model 1 and updated controller |
Top: Original PlayStation with controller Bottom: Revised PSOne with DualShock controller |
Top: Nintendo 64 with controller and game cartridge Bottom: Nintendo 64DD | ||
Release date | |||||
Launch price | US$ | US$699.99 (equivalent to $1,480 in 2023) | US$399.99 (equivalent to $800 in 2023) | US$299.99 (equivalent to $600 in 2023)[38] | US$199.99 (equivalent to $400 in 2023) |
GBP | £399.99[39] (equivalent to £970 in 2023) | £299[40](equivalent to £730 in 2023) | |||
A$ | |||||
JP¥ | ¥44,800 (equivalent to ¥46,530 in 2019) | ¥39,800 (equivalent to ¥41,330 in 2019) | |||
Media | Type | CD-ROM |
|
CD-ROM |
|
Regional lockout | Unrestricted | Region locked | Region locked | Region locked | |
Best-selling game | Gex, over 1 million[41][42] | Virtua Fighter 2, 1.7 million in Japan[43] | Gran Turismo, 10.85 million shipped (as of April 30, 2008)[44][45] | Super Mario 64, 11.62 million (as of May 21, 2003)[46][47] | |
CPU | ARM60 (32‑bit RISC) @ 12.5 MHz (8.75 MIPS[48]) |
|
|
NEC VR4300 (64‑bit RISC) @ 93.75 MHz (125 MIPS)[54][55]
| |
GPU |
|
|
Reality Co-Processor (64‑bit MIPS R4000 based, 128‑bit vector register processor) @ 62.5 MHz | ||
Sound chip(s) | 13 channel unnamed custom 20‑bit DSP embedded in the CLIO chip[59] |
|
Sony SPU (sound processing unit) | Reality Signal Processor (DSP) | |
Memory | 3 MB RAM | 4.5 MB RAM
|
3587 KB RAM
|
4 MB RDRAM (8 MB with Expansion Pak) | |
Video |
|
|
|
| |
Audio | Stereo audio, with:
|
Stereo audio, with:[60]
|
Stereo audio, with:
|
Stereo audio, with:
| |
Accessories (retail) |
|
|
|
| |
Online services | None |
|
These consoles are either less notable, never saw a worldwide release, and/or sold particularly poorly, and are therefore listed as 'Other'.
Name | Atari Jaguar | 32X | Virtual Boy | Pippin | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Manufacturer | Atari | Sega | Nintendo | Apple/Bandai | |
Image(s) | |||||
Top: Atari Jaguar and controller Bottom: Atari Jaguar CD connected to the console and ProController |
32X connected to a model 2 Genesis with Sega CD and controller | Virtual Boy with controller | Japanese Pippin Atmark with a wireless AppleJack controller. The model released in America was named @WORLD and was colored black. | ||
Release date | |||||
Launch price | US$ | US$249.99 (equivalent to $530 in 2023) | US$159.99 (equivalent to $330 in 2023) | US$179.95 (equivalent to $350 in 2023) | US$599 (equivalent to $1,160 in 2023) |
GBP | |||||
A$ | A$700 (equivalent to $1,460 in 2022) | ||||
JP¥ | ¥29.800 (equivalent to ¥30 in 2019) | ||||
Media | Type |
|
|
|
CD-ROM |
Regional lockout | Unrestricted | Partial | Unrestricted | Unrestricted | |
Best-selling game | Alien vs Predator, more than 50,000[69] | Unknown | Mario's Tennis (US pack-in game) | Unknown | |
GPU | 32x Specific:
Megadrive:
Sega CD Add-on:
|
Video Image Processor | Taos 8/16-bit VGA | ||
Sound chip(s) | "Jerry" chip: DSP, 2× DAC (converts digital data to analog signals) | 32x Specific:
Megadrive: Sega CD Add-on: |
VSU (Virtual Sound Unit) chip | ||
Memory | 2 MB FPM DRAM (4× 512 KB chips) | 32x Specific:
Megadrive: Sega CD Add-on:
|
|||
Video |
|
32x Specific:
Megadrive:
|
|
| |
Audio | Stereo audio, with:
|
Stereo audio with:
Sega CD Add-on:
|
Virtual Sound Unit with:
|
16-bit, 44 kHz | |
Accessories (retail) |
|
Megadrive peripherals supported |
|
| |
Online services | Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator 19.2k modem (no mass production) (1995–present) | No online service held. | No online service held. | Atworld.Net |
System | Units sold |
---|---|
PlayStation | 102.49 million shipped (74.34 million PlayStation, 28.15 million PSone) (as of March 31, 2005)[73] |
Nintendo 64 | 32.93 million (as of March 31, 2005)[74] |
Sega Saturn | 9.26 million[75][76] |
3DO | 2 million |
32X | 800,000[77] |
Virtual Boy | 770,000 |
PC-FX | 400,000 |
Atari Jaguar | 250,000 (as of May 15, 2007)[78] |
Amiga CD32 | 100,000 |
FM Towns Marty | 45,000 (as of December 31, 1993)[79] |
Apple Bandai Pippin | 42,000 (as of May 4, 2007)[80] |
From 1996 to 1999 (when the PlayStation, N64 and Saturn were the major 5th-generation consoles still on the market) Sony managed a 47% market share of the worldwide market, followed by Nintendo with 28% (with a percentage of that figure from the 16‑bit Super NES), while Sega was third with 23% (with a percentage of that from the Dreamcast).[81]
Production of the Sega Saturn was discontinued in 1998. Its demise was accelerated by rumors that work on its successor was underway; these rumors hurt the systems' sales in the west as early as 1997.[citation needed] The N64 was succeeded by the GameCube in 2001, but continued its production until 2004; however, PlayStation production was not ceased as it was redesigned as the PSone, further extending the life of the console around the release of the follow-up PlayStation 2. The PlayStation console production was discontinued in 2006, the same year that the PlayStation 3 was released in Japan and North America.
Name | Genesis Nomad | Game Boy Color | Neo Geo Pocket | Neo Geo Pocket Color | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Manufacturer | Sega | Nintendo | SNK | ||
Console | |||||
Release dates |
|
|
|||
Launch price | US$ | US$180 (equivalent to $360 in 2023) | US$79.95 (equivalent to $150 in 2023) | US$69.95 (equivalent to $130 in 2023) | |
GBP | £59.99 (equivalent to £130 in 2023) | ||||
A$ | |||||
JP¥ | ¥7,800 (equivalent to ¥7,910 in 2019) | ||||
Discontinued |
|
|
|
||
Media | Type | ROM cartridge | Game Boy Game Pak Game Boy Color Game Pak |
ROM cartridge | |
Regional lockout | Region locked | Unrestricted | Unrestricted | Unrestricted | |
Backward compatibility | Sega Genesis | Game Boy | — | — | |
Best-selling game | Sonic the Hedgehog (15 million) | Pokémon Gold and Silver (approx. 23 million units) | ? | ||
CPU | Motorola 68000 | Sharp SM83 @ 4 / 8 MHz |
| ||
Memory | 32 KB RAM, 16 KB VRAM |
| |||
Display | 3.25-inch backlit LC display | 2.3-inch (diagonal) TFT LCD 32,768 colors, up to 56 simultaneously |
Monochromatic | 4,096 colors, up to 146 simultaneously | |
Audio | Yamaha YM2612 | Mono speaker, stereo audio (using headphones), with:
|
Stereo audio (using headphones), with:
| ||
Resolutions | 384 × 224 | 160 × 144 | 160 × 152 | ||
Battery life | 4 hours | Up to 10 hours | 40 hours | ||
Units sold | 1 million | 118.69 million, including Game Boy units | 2 million |
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