I absolutely love it when fans take a grand slice of videogame history and condense it into a fun, colorful infographic. Not only does it result in a handy guide that can be produced whenever you have a desire to confirm a date or statistic, it also makes for an eye-catching spread that would look great printed on a poster and slapped up on any geek’s bedroom wall! That’s why I’m super pleased that the folks of English games room merchant Home Leisure Direct have sent us this little creation — a vertigo-inducing beast that illustrates the birth and evolution of home console gaming.
I would have cropped a sample for the header image, but the only way to do it justice is to view it in its entirety. The way he stylized the progression as a grand space odyssey is just amazingly clever! From the Big Bang (1958’s Tennis for Two) at the center of the universe, we hurtle through the cosmos past the first fruit of Creation (Magnavox Odyssey), break through the planetary atmosphere (NES), pass by the more recently cast-off products of mankind’s ingenuity (the PS2 era), and finally land on the surface we stand upon today (the current generation).
Granted, the chart isn’t perfect. Major events are glossed over (Crash of 1983), many consoles are omitted (no Intellivision, TurboGraphx-16, etc.), certain software picks for console representation are curious (Final Fantasy VIII over Final Fantasy VII for the PS1), and some information is inaccurate (Atari 2600 wasn’t the first console with programmed cartridges, Fairchild Channel F was). Nonetheless, the presentation as a whole is top-notch, and it’s fun to see how the specific details are rendered.
If you haven’t yet hit the link above to view the full image, do so already, or hit the gallery below.
