The best video game systems of the 90's

The 32-bit and 64-bit revolution arrived in the 1990s.

The so-called fourth generation of video game consoles in this decade of the 90s, a generation that took us to 1996 with some remarkable facts, will still live a few years.

As in 1990 appeared the first Nintendo portable, the Game Boy, a year later appeared the most exclusive console to date, the Neo Geo, a console that was designed for the wealthiest families because its price was clearly prohibitive.

The Neo Geo was a console directly inspired by the best arcade machines that inhabited the arcades and its graphics, sound and gameplay was far above what had been seen so far.

However, and although this is not something that concerns the hardware and therefore the consoles themselves, it failed to succeed beyond fighting games and space killers, or at least was not able to overshadow Nintendo and Sega who had taken some magnetic characters up their sleeves, such as Mario and Sonic respectively.

In 1993 and until 1999 the so-called fifth generation of consoles burst into the market, which represented a remarkable leap in the computing power of the consoles.

This extra power made possible the transition from two-dimensional games to three-dimensional games.

These consoles also incorporated CD reader units, which began to leave behind the limited concept of cartridges seen in previous consoles, but which in turn greatly facilitated the copying of games and the pirating of consoles when the first CD burners for computers came onto the market later on.

Some consoles of this fifth generation are mythical, such as the PlayStation, the first, the original, which was released in 1994, as well as the more unknown Sega Saturn, a console prized by collectors today.

We can not forget 1996 with the Nintendo 64 at the head, a console that still retained the cartridge format, and for which came out some titles and iconic characters that today still remain one of the most leading and best-selling franchises of Nintendo.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System was the second home console released by Nintendo.

PlayStation

Sony's first video game console established the PlayStation brand. It dominated the 32/64-bit era and was the best-selling home console up until the PlayStation 2.

Neo Geo

The Neo Geo was a console released by SNK in 1990, featuring a 16/32-bit 68000 CPU with an additional 8-bit Z80 CPU and custom 24-bit GPU chipset. An arcade-based console considerably powerful for a home system at the time, the Neo Geo was notoriously expensive (costing 0 at launch) and aggressively marketed as an Advanced Entertainment System (AES).

Dreamcast

The Dreamcast is the fifth and final console developed by Sega and the first of the sixth-generation of consoles to release. As the first 128-bit system, it was the first to offer truly arcade-quality 3D graphics. It is famous for being the first console to include worldwide online capability, its game library, and its unexpectedly short life span.

Nintendo 64

The successor to the SNES was Nintendo's entry in the fifth home console generation, as well as the company's first system designed specifically to handle polygonal 3D graphics.

Game Boy Color

Nintendo's successor to the Game Boy, featuring a color screen and backwards compatibility for all previous Game Boy titles.

Sega CD

The Sega CD was one of the first CD-ROM based gaming consoles. The extra storage space this medium allowed gave rise to inclusion of full motion video, higher quality audio, and improved graphics in games.

Game Gear

Sega's first hand held video game system. It was the portable version of the Master System.

3DO

3DO was a video game console manufactured by Panasonic, Goldstar, and Sanyo. Despite the initial hype surrounding the system, the console's 0 price tag proved to be the ultimate kiss of death for the system.

CD-i

The CD-i was the first CD-based game console. Produced by Philips, it was intended to be a computer for your living room.