Video games are very popular today, and the market has grown almost continuously since the end of the video game crash of 1983.

The video game market changes over the years as new video game consoles are introduced. This has happened in cycles of about 5 years or so, in which multiple manufacturers release their consoles usually within about a year of each other. Then, the console producers and the video game publishers enjoy several years of game sales until the technology and the market is ready for a new generation of consoles.

New console launch... the next-generation's conception

Years 1 and 2 of the console lifespan

Console producing companies such as Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony are usually prepared to build the next generation (aka next-gen) of its product (see below) at the time its current one is released. Companies wait for a variety of reasons. First and foremost is quality assurance. The technology that each company aims to use is normally cutting-edge and highly untested, therefore the first 2-3 years are consumed by engineering the design and working out bugs in the hardware.

The new console's prime... the next-generation approaches readiness

Years 3 and 4 of the console lifespan

After the hardware is ready to be used, companies send out development kits to software producers, so that the console has a strong "launch line-up" (or the set of games that launch simultaneously with the system). Those producers who are not obligated, or aiming to release games at launch still need these "dev-kits" so that they can become acquainted with the new hardware and release games as quickly as possible thereafter. The video game market is driven by quality as well as quantity so the faster a company gets games out the better. The companies have now perfected their design and begun work on getting games on the shelves at launch, why wait for another year or or two for launch? These final months leading up to the release of a new system are quite frenzied, all the companies are trying to build up as much media hype and exposure as possible, the hardware side releasing small details in small quantities to the world about their console, the software companies working furiously to beat the launch deadline.

The new console becomes the old console... next generation launches

Year 5 and the beginning of a new cycle

This extra year also gives the old hardware time to get its last few blockbusters out and get as much profit as possible before it is slowly taken out of the mainstream. After the launch of the new console the market hits a boom, consoles are released at or near Christmas time as a rule of thumb, The last two generations of consoles enjoyed sell-outs at every store (the good kind of sell-out) and encountered major shipping problems, for the first month of console sale most, if not all, sales are done in preorder and mail-order fashion, attempting to buy a major new console off the shelf will almost never happen in that time period.

A common misconception people have about old hardware is that it just dies at the end of its life cycle. In 1994, in the 16-bit era to those of you gamers out there, this was more or less true, when new hardware came out production of the console and games for it ceased. However, today systems continue to be produced and continue to get new games for years after the beginning of a new cycle. For example, the top-selling system of the 1995-2000 cycle of systems, the PlayStation One, continued production (and even got a face-lift) after the release of its console brother, the PlayStation 2. (Its production was called to a halt in 2004, to take effect in 2005, after selling over 100 million units worldwide.) Sony has announced that it will also continue the production of the PlayStation 2 far into the next-generation's cycle as well, this is largely due to the inclusion of "backward-compatibility," a large consumer draw that means a consumer can play games not only for the new system that he just bought but games made for that system's predecessor as well. This quality was exclusive to the mobile (read: Game Boy) systems until Sony adapted it to the PlayStation 2, and is key to selling old hardware in the new market. The current major consoles are:

Sony's PlayStation 2

Nintendo's GameCube

Microsoft's Xbox

Nintendo's Game Boy Advance SP (portable console)

Nintendo's Nintendo DS (portable console)