Τρίτης γενιάς κονσόλες (1983-1995) (8-bit)
In 1985, the American Video Game Console market was revived with Nintendo’s release of its 8-bit console, the Famicom (a contraction of "Family Computer"), known outside Asia as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). In its original release it was offered in three tiered bundles: the Control Deck bundle came in two versions, one with no game and priced at $89.99, and one with Super Mario Bros. priced at $99.99, and both including two controllers. The third version offered was the Deluxe Set, retailing at US$199.99, and included R.O.B., a light zapper, two controllers, and two game paks: Gyromite, and Duck Hunt. More packages were offered in the following few years including The Action Set released in 1988 for US$149.99, which came with the console, two game controllers, an NES Zapper, and a dual game pack containing Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt, and the Power Set was released in 1989 and came with the console, two game controllers, a NES Zapper, a Power Pad, and triple game pack containing Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, and World Class Track Meet. The NES instantly became a success, dominating the North American and Japanese home console gaming markets until the rise of the next generation of 16-bit consoles in the early 1990s. Other markets were not as heavily dominated by Nintendo, because of heavy competition from PC's like the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC andCommodore 64 preventing the NES having much success in Europe, or lack of marketing, allowing other consoles to find an audience like the Master System in Australia and Brazil (the Master System was sold in North America as well, but was less successful).
In the new consoles, the gamepad or joypad, took over for joysticks, paddles, and keypads as the default game controller included with the system. The gamepad design of an 8 direction Directional-pad (or D-pad for short) with 2 or more action buttons became the standard. This generation also marked a shift in the dominance of home video game console and game production from the United States to Japan.[97]
The Legend of Zelda series made its debut in 1986 with The Legend of Zelda. In the same year, the Dragon Quest series debuted with Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior), and has created a phenomenon in Japanese culture ever since. The next year, the Japanese company Square was struggling and Hironobu Sakaguchi decided to make his final game—a role-playing game (RPG) modeled after Dragon Quest and titled Final Fantasy—resulting in the Final Fantasy series, which would go on to become the world's most successful RPG franchise spawning 15 main series titles to date and a host of spin-off games, movies and other media. 1987 also saw the birth of the stealth game genre with Hideo Kojima’sMetal Gear series' first game Metal Gear on the MSX2 computer—ported to the NES shortly after. In 1989, Capcom released Sweet Home on the NES, which served as a precursor to the survival horror genre.
In 1988, Nintendo published their first issue of Nintendo Power magazine.[98]
In 1990, Commodore and Amstrad entered the console market with their C64GS and GX4000 game machines respectively. These were both based on the 8-bit computers of their manufacturers, and had only limited success due to a lack of software support and the arrival of 16-bit machines. Amstrad's GX4000 sold just over 15,000 units, with only 25 officially released game cartridges. Even though it was technically superior to the Master System and Nintendo Entertainment System, it was discontinued after 6 months.
This generation ended with the discontinuation of the NES in 1995.
In the new consoles, the gamepad or joypad, took over for joysticks, paddles, and keypads as the default game controller included with the system. The gamepad design of an 8 direction Directional-pad (or D-pad for short) with 2 or more action buttons became the standard. This generation also marked a shift in the dominance of home video game console and game production from the United States to Japan.[97]
The Legend of Zelda series made its debut in 1986 with The Legend of Zelda. In the same year, the Dragon Quest series debuted with Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior), and has created a phenomenon in Japanese culture ever since. The next year, the Japanese company Square was struggling and Hironobu Sakaguchi decided to make his final game—a role-playing game (RPG) modeled after Dragon Quest and titled Final Fantasy—resulting in the Final Fantasy series, which would go on to become the world's most successful RPG franchise spawning 15 main series titles to date and a host of spin-off games, movies and other media. 1987 also saw the birth of the stealth game genre with Hideo Kojima’sMetal Gear series' first game Metal Gear on the MSX2 computer—ported to the NES shortly after. In 1989, Capcom released Sweet Home on the NES, which served as a precursor to the survival horror genre.
In 1988, Nintendo published their first issue of Nintendo Power magazine.[98]
In 1990, Commodore and Amstrad entered the console market with their C64GS and GX4000 game machines respectively. These were both based on the 8-bit computers of their manufacturers, and had only limited success due to a lack of software support and the arrival of 16-bit machines. Amstrad's GX4000 sold just over 15,000 units, with only 25 officially released game cartridges. Even though it was technically superior to the Master System and Nintendo Entertainment System, it was discontinued after 6 months.
This generation ended with the discontinuation of the NES in 1995.