Written by Sixth Generation
The fifth generation of video games consoles established the dominant companies in the 1990s. Those were companies were Sony and Nintendo, although between these two, Sony was the major player. Sega had one last attempt at breaking into the console
Sega Dreamcast
market in 1999 with the Dreamcast – the first sixth generation console – and despite a high profile advertising campaign (notably sponsoring English Premier League team Arsenal), the console was discontinued by 2001 following mediocre sales. The Dreamcast contained a modem – the first console to do so with the ability to play online games.
Sony released it’s own sixth generation console – the PlayStation 2 – in 2000 and it was a spectacular success. It’s powerful hardware and ability to play DVDs ensured it sold in huge quantities; it has since become the best
Sony PlayStation 2
selling console of all time. In the decade that followed it’s release, the quality of games improved immeasurably as developers got to grips with the challenging programming environment. Grand Theft Auto and God of War are two examples of games which introduced jaw dropping graphics and (in the case of GTA) a truly open, explorable environment. The PS2 also included backwards compatibility – the ability to play PS1 games – and this helped uptake massively.
2001 saw the introduction into the market of Microsoft’s Xbox, an impressive piece of
Microsoft Xbox
hardware which included a built-in hard drive and an ethernet connection for online gaming. It lacked the PlayStation’s DVD player but what helped it gain a foothold was Halo – the first person shooter which has since become a successful franchise.
Nintendo was still trying to sustain a foothold in the console market and in 2001 released the GameCube which, although completely overshadowed by its competitors, managed to retain loyal Nintendo supporters, of which there were no small number. The GameCube just about counted as a success, although Nintendo never really managed to compete for the more mature gamer, as the PS2 and Xbox did.
The PS2 completely dominated the era and was still being manufactured in 2010, five years after the launch of the PlayStation 3. The Xbox was discontinued in 2005 and the GameCube in 2007.