Naming edit

Manufacturers placed emphasis on what the console was and what it could do to differentiate the console. The most common elements were usually:

• TV – Indicating the device utilized television to display its output.
• Color – Indicating the machine was capable of outputting color.
• Game – Indicating a game that could be played.
• Sport(s) – Indicating a sports genre game could be played.
• A number – Usually indicating the quantity of games available on the system.

Identical consoles edit

Many^[quantify] consoles were copies of others, had very similar form factors with different inputs, or were distributed under different names in different regions. An example is the Binatone line that was released simultaneously under the names "Mentor" and "Tokyo". Name changes are most commonly exemplified by the Sears Tele-Games line, which consisted of existing Coleco, APF and Atari Consoles. The only difference was the Sears branding.

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  Binatone TV Master Mk IV (1977)
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  Mentor Colour TV Game (1977)
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  Tokyo Colour 4
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  The original version of Home PONG
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  The Sears Tele-Games version

   Background shading indicates transition to second generation.

The following is a list in alphabetical order of the manufacturers, followed by the name of the console, release year, integrated chip if it had one, and whether it came with a light gun or the option to buy one separately. This list is in no way complete, as there are hundreds of consoles, some with color, name, or hardware variations. This list contains 963 consoles.

For comparison, there are 103 home platforms starting with the second generation, and 51 handheld consoles, totaling 154.^{[note 1]}

Released systems edit