1997-1999: Looking toward the new millennium

In the popularity and relevancy in the home console market, Sega had faceplanted with the Sega Saturn. However, they were the out of the gate with the Saturn. this meant that while the competition was catching up with their own console releases, Sega had years to plan their next move. The Saturn was a failure, but they still had the goodwill of gamers from their success in the early 90s with the Sega Genesis.

They had one last shot, and on September 9, 1999 Sega threw their Hail Mary pass: the Sega Dreamcast.

Once again, Sega was ahead of its competitors. Sony and Nintendo wouldn't end up releasing their own follow-up consoles until 2001. The Dreamcast was a thing to marvel at, with cutting-edge hardware and graphical capabilities. The PlayStation and Nintendo 64 looked severely outdated by comparison.

The Dreamcast was well-liked and successful, ending the decade on a high note for Sega. Ultimately though, the early 2000s would see the upcoming Nintendo and Sony consoles eclipsing the Dreamcast in both sales and popularity. The damage of past missteps had been done, and 1999's Dreamcast would ultimately be Sega's final console.

1994-1996: The jump to 3D

After the success of the early 90s 16-Bit consoles, video game companies had their eyes on the next milestone: making the leap from flat, 2D games to 3D!

2D games are graphics made up of colored pixels. Shifting to 3D, games could now have depth. Characters can move in any direction, not just left or right!

Instead of pixels, 3D games are made up of polygonal graphics.

Virtua Fighter (1993)

These games look crude and simple now, but it was very impressive at the time!

There was now a race between game companies to release a new console with better hardware, and the ability to handle 3D, polygon-based games.

1994

Sega was the first, with their follow-up to the Genesis: the highly anticipated Sega Saturn.

Sega Saturn

In their rush to be the first system in stores before the 1994 holiday season, the announced a surprise release date of November 22. They had initially announced a later release date, so this confused consumers and hurt the console's sales. Some speculate that this fumble was the beginning of Sega's decline in popularity and eventual exit from producing consoles.

1995

In 1995, consumer electronics company Sony released their first ever console, the PlayStation.

PlayStation

The kids who grew up with Nintendo and Sega were now entering high school and college. Sony marketed their console as a more "mature" alternative, and it worked. the PlayStation was the new hot thing, and Sega was left behind in popularity.

1996

Anticipation had been building for Nintendo's follow-up to the Super Nintendo since its announcement in 1994. The Nintendo 64 was finally released in 1996.

Nintendo 64

While the PlayStation was aimed at teens and young adults, the Nintendo 64 had a broader appeal. Ultimately, the Sega Saturn flopped and the market centered its focus around Sega and Nintendo. 

1990-1993

1990 saw the release of the Super Nintendo. It was cutting edge 16-Bit technology, compared to the 8-Bit consoles of the 80s.

8-Bit games looked like this:

16-Bit games looked like this!!

To modern eyeballs, the difference might seem minimal. But at the time, it was big upgrade! The color palette was tripled, the sound chip was better, and there was more storage available in cartridges which allowed for more complex games. 

Sega had released their follow-up to the Master System in 1989, the Sega Genesis. They had beaten Nintendo to the punch with the first 16-Bit console, but the Super Nintendo quickly closed the gap and was immediately a must-buy. Everyone had to have one!

Nintendo and Sega were now the biggest names in video games, and were in direct competition. Stakes were high! Sega played dirty with their ads and commercials, but it worked. The Super Nintendo was a huge success, but Nintendo no longer had a monopoly on video games.

An example of a Sega Genesis ad:

The beginning of the decade

At the end of the 80s, the most popular video game company was Nintendo. The Nintendo Entertainment System, their first home console, was released in 1985 and was a huge success. By 1989, it was practically as common of a household item as a VCR!

The Nintendo Entertainment System

There were a lot of video game companies at the time trying to create their own successful console, but Sega was Nintendo's closest competitor, with the Sega Master System released in the US in 1986. It was a minor success, but it couldn't come close to the NES in terms of popularity and brand recognition.

The Sega Master System

Some American video game companies, such as Atari, had successes in the early 80s with arcade games and home consoles. By the end of the decade, the most popular game companies and video game developers were Japanese. This trend, and the competition between Nintendo and Sega, would continue and grow even bigger into the 1990s.

Hello!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Jacob Hopper, and this blog is all about the history video games in the 1990s. How they developed and grew over time, and what they're all about.