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Consoles of the 2000s

Sega drops out, Microsoft steps up, Nintendo makes a comeback and Sony sells the most consoles EVER

Words: Shane Patterson, GamesRadar US


Console: PStwo
Manufacturer: Sony
Discontinued: Not yet

Released just before the launch of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the redesigned slimline PS2 was just that: smaller, thinner and quieter than the comparatively gargantuan original design. However, due to its new size, the PStwo lacks the expansion bay and thus, doesn’t support the internal hard drive used to play specific games like Final Fantasy XI. Also, there was no internal power source, hence the AC power brick that comes with the system. But even so, it was still way more attractive to display in homes. And in 2007, an even slimmer PS2 slim was released with a smaller motherboard.


Console: DS (Dual Screen - get it?)
Manufacturer: Nintendo
Discontinued: Probably never

Originally announced as the third pillar of Nintendo’s console line (has since replaced the GameBoy), the DS looks amazingly similar to the original Game & Watch’s. With two screens - the bottom of which is a touch pad that utilizes a stylus - the DS competes with the PSP in terms of innovation, not hardware. Since its release, the DS has been marketed to a broader audience - which is one reason why it’s sold over 70 million units (including the DS Lite). The DS is also compatible with GBA games, contains Wi-Fi service and is even known to have a large homebrew audience by playing SD cards that house emulated games.


Console: N-gage QD
Manufacturer: Nokia
Discontinued: Service still exists

Nokia’s second attempt at conquering the portable market corrected design flaws of the original, including the cartridge slot and earpiece issues. It's still a joke.


Console: Xbox 360
Manufacturer: Microsoft
Discontinued: No way, Jose

As the first console and forerunner of the “next-generation” of hardware, the 360 launched with a much-improved Xbox Live online service and high-definition support (although games are encoded on regular DVDs). The 360 is also known for launching with different retail options - Elite, Core, Premium and Arcade - and some of the highest failure rates we’ve ever seen in a console. Microsoft’s “red ring of death” problem was so bad that the company took a pretax charge of $1 billion to up everyone’s warranty to three years.
Even with all those returns and refurbishes, the 360 is amazingly popular and coupled with some of the best games on the market today, including Halo 3, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Ninja Gaiden II and Project Gotham Racing 4.


Console: GameBoy Micro
Manufacturer: Nintendo
Discontinued: Still out there

As the GBA’s second redesign, the GBM was released for people who loved extremely small things. The Micro omitted compatibility with the original GameBoy and GB Color, but added the headphone jack back in the design. Since release, it's sold about 2 1/2 million copies, but failed to meet expectations when going up against the newer, more powerful DS.

 
5 Comments
lynx987 - 2 months 16 days ago
i had most of these
JosephCh - 1 month 25 days ago
Excellent set of articles. Must've took a substantial amount of work. Great job :D.
Sukururu - 1 month 25 days ago
this has been one of the best things i have read on the internet.

out of all of these i still have some
gamerunleashed - 1 month 1 day ago
i hav the redesined blak PS2 i got last year 4 my bday
Shadowfan - 29 days 3 hours ago
Out of all of these, I have-
*GBA
*Game boy Advance SP
*Nintendo DS
*gamecube-still works! ^_^
*Wii
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