History of Video Games (Seventh Generation Era)

The seventh generation era (sometimes referred to as the HD era or the Touch! Generation) is a video game era in the history of computer and video games that began towards the end of 2004, but is not set to really take off until late 2005/early 2006 with the release of new video game consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony, the three current major console manufacturers.

For video game handhelds, the seventh generation began roughly with the release of Nintendo's Nintendo DS, a system based on a design fundamentally different from the Game Boy and other video game systems where the user is able to control the movement of characters and the action in a game through the use of a touch screen and dual screens, and also use his own voice through the microphone controller. It was released in late 2004. In late 2004 Sony released their first handheld in Japan, the PlayStation Portable, trying to challenge Nintendo's long time dominance in the handheld market, but unable to overtake it. However, it breached the handheld market with a high-tech-gadget concept, providing not only games, but also movies and music, to the owners. It subsequently was released in North America and remaining regions in 2005. Also in 2005 was the release of the Gizmondo from Tiger Telematics and the GP2X from Gamepark Holdings.

The HD era

Microsoft has dubbed this era, at least for their video game console, as the high-definition (HD) era. Both consoles by Sony and Microsoft will support HD output in 720p and 1080i optimized for 16:9 aspect ratio. In addition, Sony has announced that the PlayStation 3 will have support for 1080p, a higher-level HD resolution that has not yet been fully realised. Nintendo on the other hand has said they will not support HD.

Video game systems

Video game consoles

The seventh generation of video game consoles began with the Xbox 360, which was released November 22, 2005. The next Nintendo unit (codenamed Nintendo Revolution) and the PlayStation 3 are due out in 2006. No specific release dates have been announced for the PS3 or the Nintendo Revolution, although it is commonly speculated that the PS3 may be released as early as the spring in Japan.

While Microsoft and Sony are clearly in the move to achieve technological supremacy, Nintendo is holding back, using innovation as fighting banner.