--- description: Take a look back at the early generations of video game consoles in part one of TIME's three-part video series. title: The History of Video Game Consoles: Part One image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3936d6738ddfb8fd/69868cd2169ab07638279093/historyofgamingtout.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The History of Video Game Consoles: Part One by [Doug Aamoth](/author/doug-aamoth/) and [Corey Protin](/author/corey-protin/) Dec 19, 2013 7:50 PM CUT  Everything you wanted to know about the video game consoles from your childhood. Everything you wanted to know about the video game consoles from your childhood.TIME / Corey Protin by [Doug Aamoth](/author/doug-aamoth/) and [Corey Protin](/author/corey-protin/) Dec 19, 2013 7:50 PM CUT Take a look back at the early generations of video game consoles in part one of our three-part video series ([click here for part two](http://time.com/79419/the-history-of-video-game-consoles-part-2/ "undefined"); [click here for part three](http://time.com/79403/the-history-of-video-game-consoles-part-three/ "undefined")). Hosted by yours truly, this installment features insight from [Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo](http://kotaku.com/5312465/stephen-totilo-bio "undefined"), [IGN’s Greg Miller](http://www.twitter.com/gameovergreggy "undefined"), [Sony’s Scott Rohde](https://twitter.com/RohdeScott "undefined"), and [Video Games New York’s Giulio Graziani](http://www.videogamesnewyork.com/ "undefined"). Check back for part two, which launches Thursday, December 26. **Related:** * [The History of Video Game Consoles: Part Two](http://time.com/79419/the-history-of-video-game-consoles-part-2/ "undefined") * [The History of Video Game Consoles: Part Three](http://time.com/79403/the-history-of-video-game-consoles-part-three/ "undefined") * [Behind the Scenes: Xbox One Launch Event](http://content.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,2866444662001%5F0,00.html "undefined") * [Behind the Scenes: The Launch of PlayStation 4](http://content.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,2849047321001%5F0,00.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/79379/the-history-of-video-game-consoles/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/79379/the-history-of-video-game-consoles/"},"headline":"The History of Video Game Consoles: Part One","datePublished":"2013-12-19T19:50:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:02:05.755Z","description":"Everything you wanted to know about the video game consoles from your childhood.","url":"https://time.com/79379/the-history-of-video-game-consoles/","keywords":["Tech","Gadgets","Video Games","Sony","Videos","Nintendo","Microsoft","consoles"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3936d6738ddfb8fd/69868cd2169ab07638279093/historyofgamingtout.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Doug Aamoth","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/doug-aamoth/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Corey Protin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/corey-protin/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3936d6738ddfb8fd/69868cd2169ab07638279093/historyofgamingtout.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The History of Video Game Consoles","caption":"Everything you wanted to know about the video game consoles from your childhood.","creditText":"TIME / Corey Protin","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/79379/the-history-of-video-game-consoles/","name":"The History of Video Game Consoles: Part One"}}]}] ```