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In the History Of Video Games , the 8-bit era was the '''third generation''' of Video Game Console s, but the first after the Video Game Crash Of 1983 and considered by some to be the first "modern" era of console gaming (sometimes known as the "silver age" of video game consoles). It began in 1983 with the release of the Famicom in Japan and lasted until 1992. Although the previous generation of consoles had also used 8-bit processors, it was in this time that home game systems were first labeled by their "bits". This came into fashion as 16-bit systems like the Mega Drive/Genesis were marketed to differentiate between the generations of consoles. In the U.S this generation in gaming was primarily dominated by the Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom . OVERVIEW During the era, the Famicom (short for Family Computer) became very popular in Japan. The Famicom's American counterpart, the Nintendo Entertainment System , dominated the gaming market in North America, thanks in part to its restrictive licensing agreements with developers. Though the NES dominated the market, the Sega Master System (which was popular in Brazil and Europe) and the Atari 7800 were also major players during this era. The Sharp X68000 began its niche run in Japan with its first iteration in 1987. '']] The latter part of the third generation (argued by some as part of the 4th generation) introduced the Game Boy , which single-handedly gelled and proceeded to dominate the previously scattered handheld market for 15 years. While the Game Boy product line has been incrementally updated every few years, until the Game Boy Micro and Nintendo DS , and partially the Game Boy Color , all Game Boy products were Backwards Compatible with the original released in 1989. The post-crash 8-bit era saw the first console role-playing video games, and was the birth of the Side-scroller . Editing and Censorship of video games was often used in Localizing Japanese games to North America. It is the era when many famous video game series, and the characters starring in them, originated. Some notable examples include '' Super Mario Bros. '', '' Final Fantasy '', '' The Legend Of Zelda '', '' Dragon Quest '', '' Metroid '', '' Mega Man '', '' Metal Gear '', '' Castlevania '', '' Phantasy Star '', and '' Bomberman ''. This generation is often mislabeled as the "First Generation" as it is the start of video gaming as it is today (although the grouping of generations is arbitrary). THE FIRST SEGA VS NINTENDO CONSOLE WAR In the later 8-bit era, the NES/Famicom came out on top in North America and Japan, partially due to its earlier release, but mostly because of Nintendo's strict licensing rules that forbade developers from releasing their games on other systems if their games were released on the NES. This put a damper on third party support for the Master System and the rest of Nintendo's competition. However, the Master System was far more popular in Europe, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, which were markets first covered by Sega. Many more games were released in Europe and Brazil than in North America, and the Master System had a very long shelf-life in Brazil and New Zealand, finally being discontinued in the late 1990s. This competition is most likely responsible for the internet phenomenon of Super Mario and Sonic Hedgehog's rivalry. Worldwide sales standings THIRD GENERATION (LATE 8-BIT ERA) SYSTEMS Consoles Add-ons Famicom Disk System Handhelds SOFTWARE See Also: List of console game franchises REFERENCES SEE ALSO |
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