Consoles and Devices

GAME BOY ADVANCE

The Game Boy Advance (ゲームボーイアドバンス Gēmu Bōi Adobansu^?, often shortened to GBA) is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China on June 8, 2004 (excluding Hong Kong).

(for more information check out GBA - Wikipedia )

NINTENDO DS

The Nintendo DS (ニンテンドーDS Nintendō DS^?) is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and released by Nintendo. The device went on sale in North America on November 21, 2004. The DS, short for "dual screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld gaming: anLCD screen working in tandem with a touchscreen, a built-in microphone, and support for wireless connectivity. Both screens are encompassed within a clamshell design similar to the Game Boy Advance SP. The Nintendo DS also features the ability for multiple DS consoles to directly interact with each other over Wi-Fi within a short range without the need to connect to an existing wireless network. Alternatively, they can interact online using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service.

Prior to its release, the Nintendo DS was marketed as a "third pillar" in Nintendo's console lineup, meant to complement the Game Boy Advance and GameCube. However, backward compatibility with Game Boy Advance titles and strong sales ultimately established the new handheld console as the successor to the Game Boy series. On March 2, 2006, Nintendo launched the Nintendo DS Lite, a slimmer and lighter redesign of the original Nintendo DS with brighter screens. On November 1, 2008, Nintendo released the Nintendo DSi, another redesign with several hardware improvements and new features. As of March 31, 2013, all Nintendo DS models combined have sold 153.87 million units, making it the best selling handheld game console to date, and the second best selling video game console of all time behind the PlayStation 2.

(for more information check out Nintendo DS - Wikipedia )

PLAYSTATION PORTABLE

The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console made by Sony. Development of the console was announced during E3 2003,and it was unveiled on May 11, 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004. The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004,in North America on March 24, 2005, and in the PAL region on September 1, 2005.

The PlayStation Portable is the only handheld video game console to use an optical disc format, Universal Media Disc (UMD), as its primary storage medium. Other distinguishing features of the console include its large viewing screen, robust multi-media capabilities, and connectivity with the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, other PSPs and the Internet.

After the release of a slimmer, lighter, remodeled version of the PlayStation Portable (the PSP-2000/"Slim & Lite") in early September 2007, sales quadrupled in the United Kingdom the following week and increased by nearly 200% in North America for the month of October. This model was later replaced by another remodeling, the PSP-3000, which included a new screen and an inbuilt microphone. Since then, a complete redesign called the PSP Go has been released, which was sold alongside the PSP-3000. In 2011 a budget model, the PSP-E1000, was released. The PSP line was succeeded by the PlayStation Vita, released in December 2011 in Japan, and in February 2012 in North America, Europe and Australia, respectively.

(for more information check out Playstation Portable - Wikipedia )

PLAYSTATION

The PlayStation (Japanese: プレイステーション Hepburn: Pureisutēshon^?, officially abbreviated as PS; sometimes referred to as PS1 or unofficially as the PSX to maintain the three-character identifier common to the PS2, PS3 and PSP) is a 32-bit video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, 1994, with Western releases from September 1995. The PlayStation was the first of thePlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices.

As part of the fifth-generation of gaming, it primarily competed with the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn. In 2000, a re-designed, "slim" version was released, called the PSone, replacing the original grey console, and also being renamed to avoid confusion with its successor, thePlayStation 2.

The PlayStation was the first "computer entertainment platform" to ship 100 million units, which it had reached 9 years and 6 months after its initial launch. The last PSone units were sold on Christmas 2004 before it was finally discontinued, for a total of 102 million units shipped since its launch 10 years earlier. Games continued to sell until Sony ceased production of PlayStation games on March 23, 2006; over 11 years after it was released,^[11] and just over half a year before the release of the PlayStation 3.

The PlayStation was the best selling console of all time from 1998 until 2006, when it was surpassed by its successor the PlayStation 2.

(for more information check out Playstation - Wikipedia )

PLAYSTATION 2

The PlayStation 2 (Japanese: プレイステーション2 Hepburn: Pureisutēshon Tsū^?, officially abbreviated as PS2) is a video game console manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of the PlayStation series. It was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan, October 26, 2000 in North America, and November 24, 2000 in Europe. As part of the sixth-generation of console gaming, its primary competitors were theDreamcast, Xbox, and GameCube.

The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling video game console of all time to date, having sold over 150 million units as of January 31, 2011. Sony stated in 2011 that 1.52 billion PS2 titles have been sold since launch. With 3,857 games, the PlayStation 2 also has the largest library of games of any console. Succeeded as Sony's flagship console by the PlayStation 3 in 2006, the PlayStation 2 continued to be produced with revisions released in 2006 and 2007.

On January 4, 2013, Sony announced the discontinuation of the PlayStation 2 after 13 years of production. This came just the month before Sony unveiled the PlayStation 4 console on February 20, 2013.

(for more information check out Playstation 2 - Wikipedia )

NINTENDO WII

The Wii (pron.: /ˈwiː/) is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others. As of the first quarter of 2012, the Wii leads the generation over PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in worldwide sales; in December 2009, the console broke the sales record for a single month in the United States.

The Wii has many advanced features compared to previous Nintendo consoles. For example, the primary wireless controller (the Wii Remote) can be used as a handheld pointing device and detects movement in three dimensions. Another notable feature of the console is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode. Furthermore, it is the first console to offer theVirtual Console service, with which select emulated games from past systems can be downloaded.

It succeeds the Nintendo GameCube, with early models being fully backward-compatible with all GameCube games and most accessories. Nintendo first spoke of the console at the 2004 E3 press conference and later unveiled it at the 2005 E3. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 Tokyo Game Show. At E3 2006, the console won the first of several awards. By December 8, 2006, it had completed its launch in the four key markets.

In late 2011 Nintendo released a reconfigured model, the "Wii Family Edition", which removed Nintendo GameCube compatibility; this model was not released in Japan. Its successor, the Wii U, was released during the fourth quarter of 2012.The Wii Mini, Nintendo's first major console redesign since the compact SNES, succeeded the standard Wii model on December 7, 2012 in Canada. The Wii Mini can only play Wii optical discs, as it omits GameCube and online game capabilities.

(for more information check out Nintendo Wii - Wikipedia )