Classic Video Game Consoles From the Odyssey to the Wii

The home consoles that shaped video gaming, from the Magnavox Odyssey of 1972 to the Wii and PlayStation 3 of 2006, roughly in the order they launched. A machine earns its place by changing what people played in the living room: a library that defined a generation, a hardware idea others copied, or an expensive flop the industry learned from. Each photo shows the console itself, usually an original or launch-era model. Handhelds and add-ons such as the Sega CD and 32X are left out.