The Nintendo 64 (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was the last major home console to use cartridges as its primary storage format until the Nintendo Switch in 2017. As a fifth-generation console, the Nintendo 64 primarily competed with the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn.
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania and 1993 in South America. In Japan, it is called the Super Famicom (SFC). In South Korea, it is called the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993, by Playtronic. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent cartridges for one version from being used in other versions.
The fifth generation era refers to computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld gaming consoles dating from approximately October 4, 1993, to March 23, 2006. The best-selling home console was the Sony PlayStation, followed by the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn. The PlayStation also had a redesigned version, the PSone, which was launched on July 7, 2000.
Earthworm Jim 2 is a 1995 run and gun platform video game and the sequel to Earthworm Jim, and the second and final game in the Earthworm Jim series developed by original creators Doug TenNapel, David Perry and Shiny Entertainment. It was released in late 1995 and early 1996 depending on region and video game console, initially being released for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, before being ported to other platforms.
Patrick Leonard Sajak is an American retired television personality and game show host. He is best known as the host of the television game show Wheel of Fortune, a position which he held from 1981 to 2024. For his work on Wheel, Sajak has received 19 nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host, winning three times. In 2019, he was recognized by Guinness World Records for having the longest-serving career as a game show host for the same show, surpassing previous record holder Bob Barker.
Vanna Marie White is an American television personality and game-show hostess, best known as the co-host of the game show Wheel of Fortune, a position she has held since 1982. She began her career as a model while studying fashion, competing in Miss Georgia USA in 1978. In addition to her work on Wheel of Fortune, she has played minor characters or appeared as herself in many films and television series, and is the author of the 1987 autobiography Vanna Speaks. She also participates in real-estate investment, owns the yarn brand Vanna's Choice, and is a patron of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
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.
1995 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest VI, Mega Man 7, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and Tekken 2, along with new titles such as Mario's Picross, Battle Arena Toshinden, Chrono Trigger, Rayman, Soul Edge, Twisted Metal, Star Wars: Dark Forces, Destruction Derby, Wipeout and Jumping Flash!
Puzzle Bobble 2 is a tile-matching video game by Taito. The first sequel to Puzzle Bobble, it is also known in Europe and North America as Bust-A-Move Again for arcades and Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition for home consoles. Released into the arcades in 1995, home conversions followed for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, and Windows platforms. The game was included in Taito Legends 2, but the US arcade version was included in the US PS2 version instead. Further ports for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One were released by City Connection alongside Puzzle Bobble 3 in February 2023.
The Virtual Console is a defunct line of downloadable video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
The video game series based on the game show Family Feud began with ShareData's 1987 release on the Apple II and Commodore 64 consoles. In 1990 GameTek released a version on the NES. GameTek later released four more Feud games for the Super NES, Sega Genesis, 3DO, and PC between 1993 and 1995. Hasbro Interactive, Global Star, and Ubisoft have also released versions starting in 2000.
The history of Nintendo is from 1889 to the present, starting as a playing-card company to eventually becoming a multinational video game conglomerate. It has always remained headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is a 2007 crossover sports and party game developed by the Sega Sports R&D Department. It is the first installment on the Mario & Sonic series. It was published by Nintendo in Japan and by Sega in other regions, and released on the Wii in November 2007 and the Nintendo DS handheld in January 2008. The first official video game of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, it is licensed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through exclusive licensee International Sports Multimedia (ISM), and is the first official crossover game to feature characters from both the Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog series.
Sega Superstars Tennis is a sports video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It is the second title in the Sega All-Stars series, preceded by Sega Superstars (2004), and crosses over characters, locations, and soundtracks from several Sega franchises, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Space Channel 5, and Super Monkey Ball.
Hasbro Family Game Night is a series of video games that adapt board games manufactured by Hasbro.
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show has aired continuously since January 1975. It features a competition in which contestants solve word puzzles, similar to those in hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival wheel. The current version of the series, which airs in nightly syndication, premiered on September 19, 1983. Wheel of Fortune was hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White from its inception until Sajak's retirement from the show in June 2024; Ryan Seacrest is scheduled to replace Sajak beginning in September 2024.
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.
The Super NES CD-ROM is an unreleased add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) video game console. It was built upon the functionality of the cartridge-based SNES by adding support for a CD-ROM-based format known as Super Disc.
Jeopardy! is an American media franchise that began with a television quiz show created by Merv Griffin, in which contestants are presented with clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in the form of a question. Over the years, the show has expanded its brand beyond television and been licensed into products of various formats.
In the video game industry, a console war describes the competition between two or more video game console manufacturers in trying to achieve better consumer sales through more advanced console technology, an improved selection of video games, and general marketing around their consoles. While console manufacturers are generally always trying to out-perform other manufacturers in sales, these console wars engage in more direct tactics to compare their offerings directly against their competitors or to disparage the competition in contrast to their own, and thus the marketing efforts have tended to escalate in back-and-forth pushes.
