Microsoft's Xbox 720 is rumored to be released in 18 months, perfectly timed for 2013's holiday season.
But the year-and-a-half delay has gotten industry execs flustered—because the year-and-a-half delay is actually an eight-year delay between the release of the last Xbox and the new Xbox. Decades in the world of technology.
The delay is so drastic it has some people, including Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, claiming that the age of video game consoles has finally run its course, giving way to the faster, more convenient mode of online and mobile games.
So from Atari to the Xbox, we're honoring the consoles of past—the iconic machines that paved the way for Angry Birds and other highly addictive mobile and online games.
Atari Pong
Release Date: 1972
The Console: This early console was certainly not the first of its kind (both the "Brown Box" and "Odyssey" pre-dated the Atari) but Nolan Bushnell's Pong single-handedly defined the video game industry (and its future) with his ping-pong themed arcade game. Named after the sound the ball made on the paddle ("Ping-Pong" had already been taken), Pong marked the beginning of Atari's legacy as a video game legend.
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Release Date: 1985
The Console: Designed to look like a household appliance (and not like a video game console), the NES was the first console released post 1984-tech crash. The console was sold in the USA with the classic games, Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt, along with the accompanying lightgun, robotic operation buddy (R.O.B.), and original controllers. Reaching its height of popularity during the '80s, the NES paved the way for the Japanese gaming giant.
GameBoy
Release Date: 1989
The Console: When Nintendo's GameBoy first hit American markets, it came pre-loaded with a relatively unknown PC game called "Tetris." During the first holiday season post-launch, Nintendo went on to sell over one million GameBoy consoles. Today Nintendo has sold nearly 120 million GameBoys worldwide, making GameBoy and GameFreak's beloved "Pokemon" franchise for GameBoy an icon in the handheld market.
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