Consoles of the 2000s

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


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 alsoknown for launching with different retail options - Elite, Core, Premium and Arcade - and some of the highest failure rates we’ve ever seenin 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'ssold about 2 1/2 million copies, but failed to meet expectations when going up against the newer, more powerful DS.