The first game console on the market was a desktop console, and it was commercialized in 1972. It took until 1978 to see the launch of the first portable game console in history.
Mattel Electronics was the first to start marketing its Mattel Auto Race; the game console itself brought this game from the factory, so it was the only thing you could play
Already in the 80s and as the main representative of the second generation, the Game & Watch, (the famous little machines), a line of 59 portable game consoles, each of them, also, with a single game (Pinball, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Mario Bros., Mickey Mouse and Balloon Fight)… and they also had an LCD screen, a calculator and even a digital clock.
They had 40 million copies sold.
We go from generation to generation to the third, because in the late eighties and early 90s the first game boy arrives.
The Game Boy was released on November 21, 1988 by Nintendo , and it was a hit. The type of Game Boy console is currently the third best-selling console in the world (the nintendo comes out and we put a bronze medal on it) with no less than 200 million copies sold
Back then, the desktop Mega Drive was the console that dominated the market, but the fever for games like Tetris fueled laptops, and the Game Boy became a milestone. Its different versions begin to expand like foam (put a lot of consoles appearing little by little one on top of the other with effective sound).
Almost at the same time, in 1988, the Atari Lynx was born. Recall that Atari launched one of the first desktop consoles, in 1977. Although its sales are not even close to those of the Game Boy.
The 90s were the golden age of the Game Boy, like the pocket or the super Game Boy. We are already in the fourth generation.
In the 90s, the Sega Game Gear also appeared, with the mythical Sonic, which reached just over 10 million units sold.
What was strongly felt in the 90s was the fever of … (boy bands?). No, of virtual pets.
In 1996, what would be the true revolution goes on sale: the tamagotchi … Can a tamagotchi be considered a portable game console?
We placed the fifth generation of portable consoles in 1998 with an icon, the Game Boy Color, one of the best-selling consoles in history with 118 million units. This type of console, with interchangeable game cartridges, allowed you to play some of the best-selling titles in history. They are Pokémon Red, Green and Blue, which sold more than 31 million units, and Pokémon Gold and Silver, which sold more than 23 million units.
We also discovered Super Mario Land, of which some 18 million units were sold.
In the same year, Nintendo released the Game Boy light, a similar model, but with light on the screen. And it appeared, by the developer SNK, the Neo Geo Pocket. In it we could play Sonic in color, or King of Fighters R-1, to say some titles.
Already in the sixth generation, from 2001 to 2004, highlights the launch of the Game Boy Advance, (2001) with a new design with respect to Color, the addition of the L and R buttons, more resolution and more memory.
Do you remember the Super Mario Wolrd 2, the Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald , or the Metal Slug Advance?
The game boy advance SP, (from 2003) was a redesign of the Advance, and the Game Park 32, a modest competitor of the giant Nintendo, was also released.
In 2004, representing the seventh generation, the great Japanese giant gets a competitor. Sony arrives with its PSP models , which offered a much better screen resolution and improved memory; Nintendo fought back with its Nintendo DS, DS Lite and DSI models. As of 2015, some 80 million units of the PSP were sold.
Meanwhile, the South Korean company Gamepark continued trying to find its place in the market, launching the GP2X and GP2X Wiz.
The eighth and last generation of portable consoles is considered to have started in 2011, with the launch of the Nintendo 2DS and 3DS; and by Sony, the Play Station Vita.
Eighth generation is also considered a more recent release, but even more revolutionized: the Nintendo Switch, released in 2017.
