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The Japanese multinational video game company, Nintendo, has been manufacturing video game electronics and consoles for half a century. Due to their technologically marvelous devices, the company has earned its reputation as one of the most loved and recognized names in the gaming industry. If you’re interested in knowing all about the Nintendo consoles, and their generations and models released in order, this article has it all. So, let’s look at all the portable and home consoles that Nintendo has manufactured.
List of Nintendo Home Consoles, Generations, and Models
Nintendo has a huge catalog of home consoles dating all the way back to 1977. The company’s consoles had been a staple for gamers all around the world, placing Nintendo among the top tycoons of the gaming industry. To give you a blast from the past, we’ve listed all the Nintendo Home consoles, generations, and models in the order they were released.
Color TV-Game (1977 – 1980)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | 1 Core Model |
| Controller | Built-in/No Alternate Controller |
| WiFi Connectivity | No |
General Information
- Release Date: June 1977 to 1980
- Generation: First Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: ¥9,800 to ¥48,000
- Units Sold: 3 million units
Color TV-Game was a series of 5 home consoles released by Nintendo during the late 70s. These consoles included models like Color TV-Game 6, Color TV-Game 15, Color TV-Game Racing 112, Color TV-Game Block Breaker, and Computer TV-Game. They had built-in controllers and games like hokey, tennis, volleyball, and some racing games. Although the major sales of these consoles were limited to Japan, they became the stepping stone for Nintendo to reach international markets in the coming years.
Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom (1983)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | Ricoh 2A03/2A07 8-bit (1.79/1.66 MHz) |
| Memory | 2 KB RAM, 2KB VRAM, 256 bytes OAM |
| Media Drive | ROM cartridge |
| Video Output | RF, composite RCA, 12-pin “multi-out” composite |
General Information
- Release Date: July 1983
- Generation: Third Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: $179
- Units Sold: 61.91 million units
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), known in Japan as Family Computer (Famicom), was Nintendo’s first major home console launched worldwide. The NES was the first console to give birth to many of the classic Nintendo titles, including the likes of The Legend of Zelda and Metroid, with its best-selling game being Super Mario Bros. In 2016, Nintendo released a software-emulation version of NES, known as the NES Classic, with over 30 pre-loaded games.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom (1990 – 1991)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | Ricoh 5A22 16-bit processor (3.58 MHz) |
| Memory | 128 KB RAM, 64 KB VRAM |
| Media Drive | ROM cartridge |
| Video Output | RF, composite RCA, 12-pin “multi-out” composite |
General Information
- Release Date: November 1990
- Generation: Fourth Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: $199
- Units Sold: 49.10 million units
Moving onto the fourth generation of Nintendo home consoles, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) was launched in 1990, becoming the best console of the 16-bit era. With popular titles like Super Mario World and Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, SNES became a worldwide phenomenon. Like the NES Classic Edition, Nintendo went on to release an SNES Classic Edition in 2017 with 21 pre-loaded games, selling 5.28 million units.
Nintendo 64 (1996)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | 64-bit NEC VR4300 (93.75 MHz) |
| GPU | SGI RCP (62.5 MHz) |
| Memory | 4MB upgradable to 8MB |
| Storage | 4 – 64 MB Game Pak |
| Audio | 16-bit, 48 or 44.1 kHz stereo |
| Video Output | Composite video, S-Video |
General Information
- Release Date: June 1996
- Generation: Fifth Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: $199
- Units Sold: 32.93 million units
The first 64-bit console in this list, the Nintendo 64, launched with 3D capabilities and revolutionary graphics at the time. It introduced the joystick controller, designed specifically for greater camera control in 3D settings, with popular titles like Super Mario 64, Donkey Kong 64, and Banjo-Kazooie.
GameCube (2001)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | 32-bit IBM PowerPC 750CXe Gekko (486 MHz) |
| GPU | ATI Flipper GPU (162 MHz) |
| Memory | 24 MB 1T-SRAM as system RAM, 3 MB 1T-SRAM as VRAM |
| Storage | 4 – 64 MB Game Pak |
| Sound | Analog Stereo |
| Video Output | Composite video, S-Video (NTSC), RGB SCART (PAL) |
General Information
- Release Date: November 2001
- Generation: Sixth Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: $199
- Units Sold: 21.75 million units
Releasing with further enhanced graphics and an improved controller, the GameCube made a name for itself with popular titles like Super Smash Bros. Melee, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, and Metroid Prime. However, its success was overshadowed by another giant of that generation, the PlayStation 2, which, to this day, is the best-selling video game console of all time. A hybrid version of the GameCube with DVD compatibilities, Panasonic Q, was released exclusively in Japan.
Wii (2006)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | IBM PowerPC Broadway (729 MHz |
| GPU | ATI Hollywood (243 MHz) |
| Memory | 4 MB 1T-SRAM, 64 MB GDDR3 SDRAM |
| Storage | 512 MB NAND flash memory |
| Media Drive | Wii Optical Disc, GameCube Game Disc, Digital Distribution |
| Video Output | Proprietary AV Out Port |
General Information
- Release Date: November 2006
- Generation: Seventh Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: $249.99
- Units Sold: 101.63 million units
During the seventh generation of home consoles, Nintendo released the Wii, a console designed to appeal to a wider audience and compete with the likes of PlayStation 3. It offered backward compatibility with GameCube, having games like Wii Sports and Mario Kart. With 101.63 million units shipped worldwide, the Wii is the highest-selling Nintendo home console. A version without GameCube compatibility and revised body design, Wii Family Edition, was launched in 2011.
Wii U (2012)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | 1.24 GHz Tri-Core IBM PowerPC “Espresso” |
| GPU | 550 MHz AMD Radeon-based “Latte” |
| Memory | 2 GB DDR3 |
| Storage | SD Card (upto 32GB), USB (upto 2 TB) |
| Media Drive | Wii U Optical Disc, Wii Optical Disc, Digital Distribution |
| Video Output | Composite Video, Component Video, HDMI |
General Information
- Release Date: November 2012
- Generation: Eight Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: $299
- Units Sold: 13.56 million units
The successor of Wii, the Wii U, was launched in 2012 with a more compact design and new controller, the Wii U Gamepad. It saw a slow launch, but as more first-party exclusives like Mario Kart 8 were released, the sales of Wii U increased with time. An even smaller, almost handheld-like version of Wii, the Wii Mini, was also launched in 2012 without GameCube compatibility.
List of Nintendo Handheld Consoles, Generations, and Models
The handheld console devices are the facet of gaming consoles where Nintendo really shines and beats all of the other console manufacturers in the market by a large margin. In the past 43 years, Nintendo has released an enormous number of handheld consoles and models throughout the generations, listed below in order of their launch.
Game & Watch (1980-1991)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | Sharp SM5xx family |
| Display | Liquid-Crystal Display |
| Connectivity | USB Type-C |
General Information
- Release Date: 1980
- Generation: Second Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Units Sold: 43.40 million units
Game & Watch was a series of handheld consoles by Nintendo, first launched in 1980. Most of the consoles consisted of a single game that could be played on an LCD screen. These consoles are well-known for giving birth to the classic game franchise Donkey Kong and a Nintendo icon, Mr. Game and Watch.
Game Boy Series (1989-1998)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | Sharp LR35902 core (4.19/8.38 MHz) |
| GPU | 32 KB RAM, 16 KB VRAM |
| Display | STN LCD 160×144 pixels, 47×43 mm (Normal) TFT LCD 160×144 pixels, 44×40 mm (Color) |
General Information
- Release Date: 1989 – 1998
- Generation: Fourth Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: $89.99
- Units Sold: 118.69 million units
Game Boy became the first revolutionary 8-bit handheld console by Nintendo. Featuring interchangeable ROM cartridges, it was designed to run a number of games. Some of the best-selling games on this handheld included Tetris and Pokemon Gold & Silver, among others.
Following the success of the Game Boy, Nintendo launched various versions of this handheld console during the 90s. These included the Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, and Game Boy Color, collectively selling 118.69 million units worldwide.
Virtual Boy (1995)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | NEC V810 (20 MHz) |
| Memory | 64 KB work PSRAM, 128 KB graphics DRAM, 128 KB VRAM |
| Display | 384×224 |
| Media | Game Pak |
General Information
- Release Date: July 1995
- Generation: Fifth Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: $179.95
- Units Sold: 770,000 units
Virtual Boy was the first hybrid, acting as a handheld device and home console, being a controller-enabled console by Nintendo. It featured unprecedented 3D graphics for that time, utilizing the parallax effect by sending slightly different images into each eye which created 3D effects.
Although the concept of Virtual Boy was revolutionary, its technology wasn’t perceived well upon its launch. The virtual imaging caused headaches and nausea to people, resulting in low sales and discontinuation of the device only a year after launch.
Pokémon Mini (2001)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | S1C88 (4 MHz) |
| Memory | 4 KB RAM |
| Storage | 6 “files” on-board system memory |
| Media | ROM cartridge |
| Display | Monochrome LCD, 96 × 64 pixels |
General Information
- Release Date: November 2001
- Generation: Fifth Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: $45
As the name implies, Pokemon Mini was a compact handheld console by Nintendo, themed around the Pokemon franchise. It is still the smallest handheld Nintendo console with a changeable game cartridge. A total of 10 games were made available for Pokemon Mini, each costing $15, making it the cheapest Nintendo console.
Game Boy Advance (2001)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | ARM7TDMI (16.78 MHz) |
| Memory | 32 KB internal, 256 KB external, 96 KB VRAM |
| Media | Game Boy Normal, Color, Advance, Game Pak |
| Display | TFT LCD, 240 × 160 pixels, 40.8 × 61.2 mm |
General Information
- Release Date: March 2001
- Generation: Sixth Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: $99.99
- Units Sold: 81.51 million units
Game Boy Advance was a technological marvel during 2001 and an overall improvement to its predecessors in every aspect, including rechargeable batteries. It had backward compatibility with Game Boy Color, with some of the major titles under its belt, like Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire.
In the later years, Nintendo created multiple variants of the console’s generations. The Game Boy Advance SP and Game Boy Micro were launched, with design changes. Having a clam-like shape, Game Boy Advance SP’s body became the signature design for the next Nintendo handheld series, Nintendo DS.
Nintendo DS (2004)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | ARM946E-S (67 MHz), ARM7TDMI (33 MHz) |
| Memory | 4 MB RAM |
| Storage | 256 KB flash memory |
| Media | Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance Game Pak |
| Display | Two TFT LCDs, 256 × 192 pixels |
General Information
- Release Date: November 2004
- Generation: Seventh Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: $149.99
- Units Sold: 154.02 million units
Nintendo DS was first launched in 2004 and went on to become the highest-selling handled console series of all time. Built with a clamshell design, a touch screen, a microphone, and internet connectivity, these consoles became a staple of the Nintendo brand. Other variants were launched in the later years, with several re-designs of the original Nintendo DS, including versions like the Nintendo DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL.
Nintendo 3DS (2011)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | Dual-core ARM11 MPCore (268 MHz) |
| GPU | DMP PICA200 (268 MHz |
| Memory | 128 MB FCRAM, 6 MB VRAM |
| Storage | 2 GB Toshiba eMMC |
| Display | 2 TN LCD screens |
General Information
- Release Date: February 2011
- Generation: Eight Generation
- Status: Discontinued
- Release Price: $249.99
- Units Sold: 75.94 million units
Much like the Nintendo DS, its successor, the Nintendo 3DS, launched in 2011, had a clamshell design with a touch screen. However, this version introduced an autostereoscopic LCD for 3D imagining. Some of the widely popular games on this console were Mario Kart 7 and Xenoblade Chronicles 3D.
Following the success of the 3DS, Nintendo released more variants of the original version of the console. The new generations of the 3DS were re-design versions like the Nintendo 3DS XL, 2DS, New Nintendo 3DS, and New Nintendo 3DS XL.
Nintendo Switch (2017)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | ARM 4 Cortex-A57 cores (1.02 GHz) |
| GPU | 256 Maxwell-based CUDA cores Undocked: 307 MHz, 393 GFLOPS, Docked: 768 MHz, 500 GFLOPS |
| Memory | 4 GB LPDDR4 |
| Storage | 32/64 GB eMMC |
| Display | 6.2-inch, 1280 × 720 IPS |
| Sound | Undocked: Linear PCM 2.0 ch stereo speakers |
General Information
- Release Date: March 2017
- Generation: Eight Generation
- Status: Continued
- Release Price: $299.99
- Units Sold: 122.55 million units
The most successful Hybrid console, Nintendo Switch, acts as both a portable and a home device. Being the 3rd highest gaming console of all time, Switch pushed the technological limits of Nintendo devices. For instance, it is compatible with many major AAA game releases of its time. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are its best-selling games.
Nintendo Switch Lite (2019)
| Hardware | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | NVIDIA Tegra T214 (SOC) |
| GPU | 256 Maxwell-based CUDA cores Undocked: 307 MHz, 393 GFLOPS, Docked: 768 MHz, 500 GFLOPS |
| Memory | 4 GB LPDDR4 |
| Storage | 32 GB eMMC |
| Display | 5.5-inch, 1280 × 720p LCD (267 PPI) |
| Sound | Linear PCM 2.0 ch stereo speakers |
General Information
- Release Date: September 2019
- Generation: Eight Generation
- Status: Continued
- Release Price: $199.99
- Units Sold: 20.40 million units
Nintendo Switch Lite is essentially the same console as the base model Switch but with one key difference. It cannot be docked onto a larger display and has non-removable joy-cons, removing its home console capabilities and making it an entirely handheld device. In October 2021, a different Nintendo Switch and Lite variants were released, called Nintendo OLED. It utilizes an OLED screen instead of an LCD, improving minor display problems.
Thus, our list of Nintendo consoles, generations, and models in the launch order concludes. We hope now you have a solid understanding of how many commodities this giant tycoon of the gaming industry has produced over the past.
If you are interested in the Nintendo lineup, perhaps you will like to read our other articles on Nintendo games, such as Does Hogwarts Legacy Run Well on Nintendo Switch and Best Cozy Games on Nintendo Switch – Top 7 Cozy Games to Play.