Connect & Play
A "Connect & Play" game generally refers to a plug-and-play video game system — a self-contained device that you connect directly to a TV (usually via HDMI, AV cables, or even wirelessly), which allows you to start playing games immediately without needing a separate console, disc, or long installation process.
Some Examples:
- Jakks Pacific "TV Games" series – Classic arcade games like Pac-Man or Frogger in a joystick-shaped unit.
- Bandai Namco’s "Connect & Play" Pac-Man – A yellow joystick you plug into your TV that plays several retro Namco titles.
- AtGames Legends Flashback – Preloaded games with HDMI output and simple menu systems.
Game Emulators
A video game console emulator is a type of emulator that allows a computing device to emulate a video game console's hardware and play its games on the emulating platform.
In fact, quite a few gaming consoles listed on this page are emulators or use software emulation.
A Few Less-known Gaming Console Companies
Try searching for handheld consoles online and here are some of the companies attached to them that come up (most of which are portable emulators): Aktougst, Anbermic, Balai, Baoruiteng, Beijue, BittBoy, EfunLife, E-mods Gaming, Faithpro, Family Pocket, Flyfish, Goolsky, Haberman / 360 Retro Games, Hangyuan, HigoKids, Hongxin, JadeTech, Jafatoy, JXD, Kalolary, Kobwa, Livoty, Losdz, Peedeu, qiaoniuniu, Qzc, Retro FC, RoJuicy, Skyrc, Sokolp, Tapdra, Topaty, Viki-Liki, Womdee, xinguo, and Zerone.
Hyperkin, Retro-bit and My Arcade, to name a few, are slightly larger and well-known gaming hardware and development companies who create unlicensed as well as licensed home and handheld gaming consoles.
Toys-to-life platforms
Collectible minifigures that use near field communication (NFC), radio frequency identification (RFID), or image recognition to interact with supported video game software, allowing data to be transferred in and out of games. Most of the minifigures are of specific characters for each game.
For the gaming platforms cited on this site and their acronyms see Gaming Platforms
-
U.B. Funkeys (2007)
PC
figures are characters for the game -
F.A.M.P.S. (2009)
PC (online download only)
desktop customization options, mini games, and social network -
Skylanders (2011)
iOS, Micro, 3DS, MacOS, PS3, PS4, Wii, WiiU, NS, X360, X1
A spin-off of the Spyro game series: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, Skylanders: Giants, Skylanders: Swap Force, Skylanders: Trap Team, Skylanders: SuperChargers, Skylanders: Imaginators, plus several spin-offs -
Telepods (2013)
AOS and iOS
Angry Birds Star Wars II, Angry Birds Go!, Angry Birds Stella games
-
Disney Infinity (2013)
X360, 3DS, Wii, WiiU, PS3, Micro, X1, PS4, PSV, iOS, AOS, ApTV
Disney Infinity, Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes, Disney Infinity 3.0 (Star Wars) -
Amiibo (2014)
WiiU, 3DS, NS
A LOT of games are compatable, check out Nintendo.com - Hero Plug and Play (2015)
Amiibo (2014)
- Sick Bricks (2015)
- Lego Dimensions (2015)
- Lightseekers: Awakening (2017)
- Starlink: Battle for Atlas (2018)
- Nintendo Labo (2018)
Lego Dimensions (2015)
Video Game Console Knock-offs (incomplete list)
Battman (Xbox ?) *the extra 't' is NOT a typo
Chintendo Vii (Wii)
Compact G (Nintendo DS)
Coolbaby mini console (NES)
Delightfully Small 'DS' Gaming Entertainment System (Game Boy Advance style emulator)
eXtreme Box (Xbox / NES ?)
FunStation (Polystation)
Game Joy (Game Boy)
Game Player (Polystation)
Game Theory Admiral (Game Boy Advance)
i-Dong (Kinect peripheral)
iQue (iQue Player controller)
K1 GBA (Game Boy Advance)
Kontorland KT-103 (NES / PlayStaion / Sega)
LTPS Handy Game (PSP Go)
Mega Drive Extreme (Sega Genesis / Xbox)
MiWi Extra (Wii)
Morphus X300 (Nintendo Switch)
Neo Double Games (Nintendo DS)
OBox (Xbox)
Ouye (PlayStation 4 / Xbox One)
Overlord Leaves His Wife (Street Fighter LCD clone)
PCP Station (PSP)
Play and Power (Polystation)
PolyStation (PlayStation)
Polystation 3 (PlayStation 3)
POP Station (PSP)
Power Play Super Joy III (N64)
PS-Kid (Polystation)
PSMan (Polystation)
PX-3600 (Xbox 360 ?)
PXP – 2000 (PSP Go)
Rambo TV Game (Atari 2600)
Revo K101 (Game Boy Advance)
Sport Vii (Wii)
Super Megason IV (SNES)
Super Polystation 2 (PlayStation 2)
Treamcast (Dreamcast)
WiiWii (Wii)
WLL (Wii)
Wu (Wii)
X-Changable LCD Game Pack (Xbox)
XGame 360 (Xbox 360)
Notable Events
Ah, video games. What would the modern world be like without video games? It's undeniable how much video games have made such an impact on our world not only in our personal lives but our social lives as well. Whether you play for fun or play to relieve stress from your everyday life, who can deny how awesome video games are?
| 1940 | Edward U. Condon designs a computer that plays the game Nim for the World's Fair |
| 1947 | Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann file a patent for a "cathode ray tube amusement device" which uses a cathode ray tube hooked to an oscilloscope display to fire a gun at a target |
| 1950 | Claude Shannon and Alan Turing create Chess programs |
| 1952 | A. S. Douglas creates OXO (Noughts and Crosses in the UK, Tic-Tac-Toe in the US) |
| 1954 | Alamos laboratories develop the first Blackjack game on an IBM-701 |
| 1955 | US military develops Hutspiel where NATO and Soviet commanders wage war |
| 1956 | Arthur Samuel writes a Checkers program on an IBM-701 |
| 1957 | Alex Bernstein writes the first complete Chess program on an IBM-704 |
| 1958 | Willy Higinbotham creates a tennis game on an oscilloscope and analog computer |
| 1959 | MIT students create Mouse in the Maze on MIT's computer TX-0 |
| 1960 | John and Paul Burgeson develop a baseball computer program on an IBM 1620 |
| 1961 | The Raytheon Company develops a computer simulation of the Cold War for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, later develops a more accessible analog version called "Grand Strategy" |
| 1962 | Steve Russell invents Spacewar!, the first computer-based video game |
| 1963 | US Defense Department develop a computer game known as STAGE(Simulation of Total Atomic Global Exchange) |
| 1964 | John Kemeny creates the computer time-share system and the BASIC programming language |
| 1965 | A Dartmouth student creates the first computer Football game |
| 1966 | Ralph Baer writes his ideas of playing a video game on television |
| 1967 | Ralph Baer develops the "Brown Box", the video game prototype |
| 1968 | Ralph Baer patents his television game |
| 1970 | Acientific American publishes Martin Gardner's "Mathmatical Games", inspiring hackers to implement them on their computers |
| 1971 | Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger create "Oregon Trail" |
| 1972 | Nolan Bushnell and Al Alcorn of Atari develop "Pong" |
| 1973 | David Ahl puplishes "101 BASIC Computer Games", a compilation of type-in computer games, which included, among others, Hamurabi and Super Star Trek |
| 1974 | "Maze Wars", the first-person shooter was introduced |
| 1975 | Atari introduces the home version of "Pong" |
| 1976 | Don Wood's version of "Adventure"(created by William Crowther), basically becomes the first role-playing game |
| 1977 | Atari releases the Atari 2600 |
| 1978 | "Space Invaders" hits arcades |
| 1979 | Milton Bradley Microvision created the first handheld game console that used interchange cartridges |
| 1980 | Namco creates Pac-Man |
| 1981 | Nintendo's "Donkey Kong" hits arcades, featuring a character known as Jumpman(which becomes Mario years later) |
| 1982 | Disney's Tron movie is released. Tron, the arcade game, becomes a hit. |
| 1983 | 3D Gamate, the first cartridge-based 3D console was released |
| 1984 | Alexey Pajitnov creates "Tetris" |
| Vectrex Light Pen, the first gaming console with touchscreen capability was released | |
| 1985 | The Nintendo Entertainment System(NES) is released |
| 1987 | "Legend of Zelda", "Street Fighter", "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out ", "Dungeons and Dragons", "Contra", " Leisure Suit Larry" just to name a few now popular titles gets released |
| 1988 | "John Madden Football" released |
| 1989 | Atari Lynx, the first handheld electronic game with a color LCD display was released |
| 1990 | Microsoft introduces Solitaire with Windows 3.0 |
| 1991 | Sega's "Sonic the Hedgehog" is released |
| 1992 | "Dune II" popularizes real-time strategy based games. "Mortal Kombat" hits arcades |
| 1993 | The United States Senate holds hearings on the violence of video games |
| 1994 | The still popular Warcraft game series is introduced with "Warcraft: Orcs and Humans" |
| 1995 | Sony's Playstation is released |
| 1996 | "Tomb Raider" is released, critics claim it's sexist |
| 1997 | IBM's "Deep Blue" Chess program defeats world champion Gary Kasparov in a match |
| 1998 | The ever so popular "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" is released |
| Unreal Engine (UE), a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased | |
| 1999 | Sony's "Everquest" releases, becoming the fisrt MMO(Massive Multiplayer Online) game. Konami's Dance Dance Revolution forces players to dance |
| 2000 | "The Sims" is introduced, becoming one of the most popular simulation games, especially among females |
| 2001 | Microsoft's Xbox is released, making "Halo" an extremely poplular game |
| The first 32-bit handheld, Game Boy Advance was released | |
| 2002 | The Wilson International Center for Scholars launches the Serious Games Initiative |
| Pixter, the first portable handheld touch screen drawing toy for children was created | |
| 2003 | Valve introduces Steam- a digital distribution platform online where people can download games on their PCs |
| 2004 | The Nintendo DS is released |
| 2005 | Microsft's Xbox 360 is released, becoming the first home gaming console with high-definition graphics |
| 2006 | Nintendo's Wii is released, a family-friendly console featuring games that force the user to get moving with their controllers with games such as "Wii Fit U" and "WarioWare: Smooth Moves" |
| 2007 | "Rock Band" is released featuring controllers in the form of guitars, drums, microphones, and basses |
| 2008 | "World of Warcraft", the MMO, surpasses 10 million subscribers |
| 2009 | iPhone makes portable games popular |
| 2010 | "Minecraft" is released |
| 2011 | The first augmented-reality game, "Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure", hits stores |
| 2012 | Kickstarter, a crowdfunding site, helps game creators raise money to produce their experimental game platforms |
| 2014 | "Free-to-play" becomes popular. Sales are achieved through microtransactions for in-game items and content |
| 2015 | Twitch, an online video streaming service, grows the popularity of eSports. "League of Legends" hits 36 million viewers |
| 2016 | The augmented reality game, "Pokemon Go" is released on mobile phones, letting people walk around in their neighbor hoods "catching" Pokemon |
| 2017 | Nintendo's "Switch" is released |
| 2020 | NVidia and AMD introduced graphics cards in 2020 with hardware support for real-time ray tracing (a rendering technique that can produce realistic lighting effects) |
| The gaming industry experienced significant shifts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the launch of new consoles and a surge in online gaming | |
| 2021 | Netflix launched a mobile gaming service and acquired a game development studio |
| 2022 | The "League of Legends" World Championship 2023 broke the record for the most-viewed esports event of all time, with a peak viewership of 6.4 million | 2023 | A 13-year-old nicknamed "Blue Scuti" became the first human to defeat "Tetris" by causing a killscreen at level 157 |
| 2024 | 2024 saw significant layoffs across the industry. This trend, which started in 2022, raised concerns about the industry's sustainability and reliance on big-budget games. |
| 2025 | The Galactus event, a Marvel themed event from "Fortnite" drew 15.3 million concurrent players, which is still a record for a live in-game event |
Most Game of the Year (GOTY) Awards
- Elden Ring (331 awards)
- The Last of Us Part 2 (321 awards)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (281 awards)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (262 awards)
- God of War (264 awards)
- The Last of Us (257 awards)