Sixth Generation of Video Consoles

The sixth-generation era (sometimes referred to as the 128-bit era) began with the release of the Sega Dreamcast (1998), which was seen as the most revolutionary video console of its time. It offered a controller with a screen in the top and an Internet connection; however, this connection was originally by dial-up, so was slow and of little practical value. The impending and much-hyped release of the PlayStation 2 in 2000 competed with the Dreamcast before it was even released, keeping Sega from securing a dominant position in the market. Comparisons with its unsuccessful predecessor, the Saturn, also made many people wary of the Dreamcast, all of which led the console to an early demise. Sega decided to discontinue the Dreamcast in 2001, withdrawing entirely from the console hardware business, becoming a third-party developer and publisher for all other current machines and the PC.

The Sony Playstation 2 was released in 2000, and its ability to play DVDs and audio CDs in combination with the fact it was backwards-compatible with the original PlayStation games made it an instant hit, becoming the fastest selling and most popular gaming console in history, selling nearly twice the number of all its competitors combined.

The Nintendo GameCube released in 2001 (2002 in Europe) did not supply DVD or audio CD support, primarily to reduce copyright infringement and provide faster loading times. This was a disadvantage to many consumers, who turned to the Playstation or the Xbox to provide these features. However, its wide range of games and loyal fan base meant that it was still popular, becoming the second best selling console of the era in Japan, and the third (after the Playstation and Xbox) in Europe and North America.

The fourth major console of the sixth generation era was the Microsoft Xbox, released in the US in 2001 and the rest of the world the following year. However, despite being more powerful than the PlayStation 2, it failed to significantly threaten its place of as market leader. The Xbox came close to dropping out of the market altogether, but was saved from obscurity by the release of a number of highly popular games such as Halo. It went on to attract a loyal fanbase in both Europe and North America, becoming the second highest selling console of the era. This was partly due to the online services for the console, 'Xbox Live', which offered considerably more to users than Playstation 2's online system and Nintendo GameCube's almost total lack of online games. However, sales of the Xbox in Japan were lower, partly due to Microsoft's inability to acquire many major Japanese developers for their franchises as exclusives for the platform.

Games

Notable games of the era include Halo for the Microsoft Xbox, and its sequel Halo 2 which became the fastest grossing release in entertainment history.

Grand Theft Auto III and its sequels for PlayStation 2 (later Xbox) brought potentially objectionable content such as violence into the mainstream spotlight, thus reviving the video game controversy. The series remains the highest selling franchise in the US for the past ten years.

Soul Calibur for the Sega Dreamcast is widely considered to be one of the greatest fighting games of all time, and is the only game of its genre, on any platform, to have ever received a perfect score from a number of highly esteemed gaming reviewers.

More information about the consoles released during the sixth generation (1998-2004) can be found by selecting an item from the list below.