The history of video game consoles, both home and handheld, began in the 1970s. The first console that played games on a television set was the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey, first conceived by Ralph H. Baer in 1966. Handheld consoles originated from electro-mechanical games that used mechanical controls and light-emitting diodes (LED) as visual indicators. Handheld electronic games had replaced the mechanical controls with electronic and digital components, and with the introduction of Liquid-crystal display (LCD) to create video-like screens with programmable pixels, systems like the Microvision and the Game & Watch became the first handheld video game consoles.
Chicken Little is a 2005 action-adventure game developed by Avalanche Software for GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox and by Artificial Mind and Movement for the Game Boy Advance; both were published by Buena Vista Games. Based on the 2005 film Chicken Little, they were released in October 2005.
Uno is a video game based on the card game of the same name. It has been released for a number of platforms. The Xbox 360 version by Carbonated Games and Microsoft Game Studios was released on May 9, 2006, as a digital download via Xbox Live Arcade. A version for iPhone OS and iPod devices was released in 2008 by Gameloft. Gameloft released the PlayStation 3 version on October 1, 2009, and also released a version for WiiWare, Nintendo DSi via DSiWare, and PlayStation Portable. An updated version developed by Ubisoft Chengdu and published by Ubisoft was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in August 2016, Microsoft Windows in December 2016 and for the Nintendo Switch in November 2017.
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja, known in Japan as the Naruto: Narutimate Series, is a series of fighting video games, based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. It was developed by CyberConnect2, and published by Bandai and later Bandai Namco Games. The first game was released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2, and was followed by four more titles for the system, as well as five spinoffs for the PlayStation Portable. A follow-up for the PlayStation 3, titled Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, was the first to feature three-dimensional battles, and began the long-running Storm sub-series. While starting out as a series exclusive to the PlayStation family of systems, the series has also been present on Xbox and PC platforms since the release of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 for the Xbox 360 and Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst for Windows, respectively. Latest releases were also ported to the Nintendo Switch. The Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series sold over 20 million copies worldwide as of December 2019.
Platform exclusivity refers to the status of a video game being developed for and released only on certain platforms. Most commonly, it refers to only being released on a specific video game console or through a specific vendor's platforms—either permanently, or for a definite period of time.
Sonic Colors is a 2010 platform game published by Sega. It follows Sonic's quest to stop his nemesis Doctor Eggman from enslaving an alien race and taking over the world. The gameplay is similar to prior Sonic games, with players collecting rings and defeating enemies; the camera perspective often switches from third-person to side-scrolling perspectives. The game also introduces Wisps, power-ups the player can use to increase attack power and reach new areas.
The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017.
Online console gaming involves connecting a console to a network over the Internet for services. Through this connection, it provides users the ability to play games with other users online, in addition to other online services.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, known in Japan as Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Storm 4, is a fighting game developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows in February 2016. It is the sixth installment and the final main installment in the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm series inspired by Masashi Kishimoto's manga Naruto, and the sequel to the 2013 game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst.
Tetris Ultimate is a puzzle video game developed by American studio SoMa Play and published by Ubisoft. Ubisoft partnered with The Tetris Company to develop the game to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Tetris franchise.
The Escapists is a strategy game played from a top-down perspective. The game was developed by Mouldy Toof Studios and following a Steam Early Access release in 2014, was released in 2015 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It was released on iOS and Android in 2017. A Nintendo Switch version of the game containing all downloadable content was released in 2018. The game was launched on the Epic Games Store on 23 September 2021, with the weekly free game campaign of Epic Games. Players assume the role of an inmate and must escape from prisons of increasing difficulty.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a puzzle video game developed and published by Canadian studio Steel Crate Games. The game tasks a player with disarming procedurally generated bombs with the assistance of other players who are reading a manual containing instructions. It was designed around virtual reality support, with availability first on Android-driven Samsung Gear VR, with later ports to supported devices on Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4, and Linux; though could be played without virtual reality in some cases. An update for the game released in August 2018 removed the virtual reality requirement for these existing systems, as well as included releases for the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. Non-VR ports for iOS and Android were released in August 2019.
Super Mega Baseball is a baseball video game series developed by the independent studio Metalhead Software in Victoria, BC, Canada.
In video games with online gaming functionality, also called cross-compatible play, cross-platform play, crossplay, or cross-play describes the ability of players using different video game hardware to play with each other simultaneously. It is commonly applied to the ability for players using a game on a specific video game console to play alongside a player on a different hardware platform such as another console or a computer. A related concept is cross-save, where the player's progress in a game is stored in separate servers, and can be continued in the game but on a different hardware platform.
Just Dance 2017 is a 2016 dance video game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was unveiled on June 13, 2016, during its E3 press conference as the eighth main installment of the series, and was released in October 2016 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii, Wii U, and Microsoft Windows; and on March 3, 2017, for Nintendo Switch. The game was the only title of the series to be released on Microsoft Windows, and was released as a launch title for Nintendo Switch.
The Escapists 2 is a strategy role-playing video game developed by Mouldy Toof Studios and published by Team17. It is the sequel to The Escapists (2015) and it was released worldwide for Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in August 2017. Nintendo Switch and mobile phones versions were released in 2018 and 2019, both iOS and Android respectively.
Brawlout is a fighting game developed and published by Angry Mob Games for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The game was revealed at EVO in July 2016, and went into closed beta in December 2016. The game was initially released as early access for Microsoft Windows on April 20, 2017. Various outlets, such as Engadget, have compared Brawlout to the Super Smash Bros. series.
Assault Android Cactus is a twin-stick shooter developed and published by Witch Beam. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux in 2015, PlayStation 4 in 2016, Xbox One in 2017 and Nintendo Switch in 2019. An enhanced version for the Switch was released in 2019 as Assault Android Cactus+.
Bayonetta is a series of action-adventure games created by Hideki Kamiya, developed by PlatinumGames, and owned by Sega. The franchise was introduced in 2009 with Bayonetta. Two sequels were released, Bayonetta 2 (2014) and Bayonetta 3 (2022), as well as a spinoff, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (2023). In the games, players control a witch nicknamed Bayonetta as she wields dual pistols, shooters in her high heels, and long, magically transforming hair which becomes a deadly weapon.
