Fourth Generation of Video Consoles

The launch of the NEC PC Engine in 1987 in Japan (and later in 1989 as the renamed NEC TurboGrafx-16 in North America and Europe) began the fourth generation (16-bit era) of video consoles. The Sega Mega Drive (known in the US as the Sega Genesis) was released in North America in 1989 and in Europe the following year. Nintendo soon responded with its own 16-bit console, releasing the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1990, followed by a US release in 1991 and a European release in 1992.

Although initially popular in Japan, the PC Engine failed to maintain its initial sales momentum or to make a strong impact in Europe or North America, partly due to a limited library of English games. It became unavailable by 1994, and as a result, the market became largely divided between Nintendo and Sega.

However, other consoles did exist, such as SNK's Neo-Geo, which was capable of 2D graphics in a quality level years ahead of other consoles. The console contained the same hardware that was found in SNK's arcade games, enabling users to enjoy a true-to-the-arcade experience at home. However, Neo-Geo was also the most expensive console on the market when it was released in 1990, remaining so for years.

Games

Many of the franchises that had started during the third generation (8-bit era) of consoles continued their popularity during the new 16-bit era, such as Zelda (SNES), Dragon Quest (SNES) and Final Fantasy (SNES). Many more were introduced, including Sonic the Hedgehog, an immensely popular character designed by Sega to complete with Nintendo's Mario series. Sonic the Hedgehog went on to became Sega's official mascot and continues to be one of the company's most important franchises.

Star Fox was the first SNES game to feature the Super FX chip in 1993, which provided basic 3D graphics with flat-shaded polygons. The same processors were also included in game cartridges such as Virtua Racing.

The Metal Gear series made its debut with the release of Metal Gear (1987) on the MSX2 computer, giving birth to the stealth-based game genre. The game was ported to the NES shortly after.

To find out more about the fourth generation of video consoles released during this period (1987-1994) select an item from the list below.