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105-731: The franchise was relaunched in 2005 and there are currently over 3,000 different pet toys that have been created since. Hasbro, alongside various digital media developers, has produced video games for consoles such as the Nintendo DS , Wii and PlayStation 3 . A second animated television series was produced by Hasbro Studios for Discovery Family , a U.S. cable network partially owned by Hasbro. This series premiered in 2012 and concluded in 2016 after 104 episodes. Hasbro has created virtual pets to 'adopt' and play with online. These websites were Littlest Pet Shop VIPs, and Littlest Pet Shop Online. In 2010, Hasbro released their version of Blythe as

210-505: A mouse and keyboard devices. Some older consoles such as 1988 Sega Genesis aka Mega Drive and 1993 3DO Interactive Multiplayer , supported optional mice, both with special mice made for them, but the 3DO mouse like that console was a flop, and the mouse for the Sega had very limited game support. The Sega also supported the optional Menacer , a wireless infrared light gun, and such were at one point popular for games. It also support BatterUP ,

315-407: A Littlest Pet Shop game was launched on Roblox . Players would be able to virtually collect the bobble-head animals. Video game console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller . These may be home consoles , which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to

420-460: A baseball bat-shaped controller. A controller may be attached through a wired connection onto the console itself, or in some unique cases like the Famicom hardwired to the console, or with a wireless connection. Controllers require power, either provided by the console via the wired connection, or from batteries or a rechargeable battery pack for wireless connections. Controllers are nominally built into

525-541: A button, and the Blythe Loves Littlest Pet Shop line, which introduces Blythe as a smaller-scale doll which comes with a pet as part of a themed pack. Even more licensed Nintendo games were released in this era. Littlest Pet Shop: Friends, released in 2009, came with both a Wii release and three versions of the DS release: City, Country, and Beach. In 2010 came the release of Littlest Pet Shop: Biggest Stars, which

630-460: A fee to Microsoft to register one intent to do so. Since the release of the Nintendo Famicom / Nintendo Entertainment System, most video game console manufacturers employ a strict licensing scheme that limit what games can be developed for it. Developers and their publishers must pay a fee, typically based on royalty per unit sold, back to the manufacturer. The cost varies by manufacturer but

735-494: A few exceptions such as the PlayStation TV and OnLive Game System , are Android -based digital media players that are bundled with gamepads and marketed as gaming devices. Such microconsoles can be connected to the television to play video games downloaded from an application store such as Google Play . Handheld game consoles are devices that typically include a built-in screen and game controller in their case, and contain

840-421: A five–seven year cycle called a generation, with consoles made with similar technical capabilities or made around the same time period grouped into one generation. The industry has developed a razor and blades model : manufacturers often sell consoles at low prices, sometimes at a loss, while primarily making a profit from the licensing fees for each game sold. Planned obsolescence then draws consumers into buying

945-468: A friend and began using it to practice her photographic skills. She began taking her Blythe everywhere with her and took hundreds of photos. In 1999, she was introduced to Junko Wong of Cross World Connections (CWC) by artist and illustrator, Jeffrey Fulvimari. Junko Wong brought Blythe to the attention of Parco, a client of CWC as a possible virtual model for promotion. In 2000, Gina published her first book of Blythe photography with Chronicle Books , This

1050-471: A handheld unit, though some newer ones allow for separate wireless controllers to also be used. While the first game consoles were dedicated game systems, with the games programmed into the console's hardware, the Fairchild Channel F introduced the ability to store games in a form separate from the console's internal circuitry, thus allowing the consumer to purchase new games to play on the system. Since

1155-491: A hexagon inside the hole (except for birds with a rectangular slot for them to perch on playsets). A C-031 marking also showed up (except for birds). The most recent releases did not have the eye symbols, and had a redesign of the LPS logo. This era of the toyline also introduced video games developed by Electronic Arts and licensed by Nintendo , one game for the Wii and four versions for

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1260-402: A licensing agreement to gain access to the console's proprietary storage format for the media as well as to use the console and manufacturer's logos and branding for the game's packaging, paid back through royalties on sales. In the transition to digital distribution, where now the console manufacturer runs digital storefronts for games, license fees apply to registering a game for distribution on

1365-567: A part of the Littlest Pet Shop toyline. In 2021 the last Takara Neo Blythe was produced. In 2022 Good Smile Company became the manufacturer of Blythe dolls under the production helm of Cross World Connections. There are three sizes of Blythe dolls: the original 28 cm (1/6 scale) full-sized dolls, the 11.2 cm "Petite Blythe" from Takara and the "Middie Blythe" of about 20 cm. Only full-sized dolls have color-changing eyes. The first Petite dolls were keychains, and after some time

1470-411: A part of this toy line. A wide variety of Littlest Pet Shop products have been produced. The first series was created in 2005, the second release in 2008, the third release in 2012, the fourth release in 2014, and the most recent release in 2017. Around the world, they are known to have code toy numbers on either the side of them or the bottom, or otherwise have them on the box which it sometimes comes with

1575-403: A raindrop (sportiest), a flower (cuddliest), heart (friendliest), mud splotch (messiest), clover (funniest), star (sassiest) and a wind symbol on some Comic Con-exclusive pets, although there were also glossy-eyed pets with no eye symbols. They also came in a more wide variety of colors, rather than just realistic colors. From 2008 onwards, the pets didn't have a magnet, but a circle with a shape of

1680-564: A rechargeable battery or battery compartment. This allows the unit to be carried around and played anywhere, in contrast to a home game console. Examples include the Game Boy , the PlayStation Portable , and the Nintendo 3DS . Hybrid video game consoles are devices that can be used either as a handheld or as a home console. They have either a wired connection or docking station that connects

1785-514: A rotating basis. Examples of such services include the Xbox network , PlayStation Network , and Nintendo Switch Online . Certain consoles saw various add-ons or accessories that were designed to attach to the existing console to extend its functionality. The best example of this was through the various CD-ROM add-ons for consoles of the fourth generation such as the TurboGrafx CD, Atari Jaguar CD , and

1890-500: A single chip, otherwise known as a system on a chip (SoC), which is a further reduction in size and cost. In addition, consoles tend to focus on components that give the unit high game performance, such as the CPU and GPU, and as a tradeoff to keep their prices in expected ranges, use less memory and storage space compared to typical personal computers. In comparison to the early years of the industry, where most consoles were made directly by

1995-455: A smaller blue magnet with no pawprint which didn't have a specified location on the bottom. This series of sets were released as single packages, in pairs, in packs of twenty, and with playsets. The eyes changed to a glossy polish rather than with a matte polish as it was in G1. These pets have symbols in their eyes, such as a snowflake (chilliest), a diamond (fanciest), a cookie with a bite (hungriest),

2100-471: A sought-after feature across many consoles that followed. Backward compatibility functionality has included direct support for previous console games on the newer consoles such as within the Xbox console family, the distribution of emulated games such as Nintendo 's Virtual Console , or using cloud gaming services for these older games as with the PlayStation Now service. Consoles may be shipped in

2205-435: A special incentive for its fans. Pack-in games are typically first-party games, often featuring the console's primary mascot characters . The more recent console generations have also seen multiple versions of the same base console system either offered at launch or presented as a mid-generation refresh. In some cases, these simply replace some parts of the hardware with cheaper or more efficient parts, or otherwise streamline

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2310-446: A television or other display devices and controlled with a separate game controller, or handheld consoles , which include their own display unit and controller functions built into the unit and which can be played anywhere. Hybrid consoles combine elements of both home and handheld consoles. Video game consoles are a specialized form of a home computer geared towards video game playing, designed with affordability and accessibility to

2415-540: A tradition in Japan, and this had already proven successful in arcade games like Pac-Man . Mario was used to serve as an identity for the NES as a humor-filled, playful console. Mario caught on quickly when the NES released in the West, and when the next generation of consoles arrived, other manufacturers pushed their own mascots to the forefront of their marketing, most notably Sega with

2520-431: A turtle named Bev (voiced by Rhona Rees), a cat named Jade (voiced by Ingrid Nilson), a dog named Roxie (voiced by Diana Kaarina ), a hamster named Trip (voiced by Travis Turner ), a goat named Quincy (voiced by Kyle Rideout ), and a parakeet named Edie (voiced by Lili Beaudoin ). The series premiered on April 14, 2018 and ran for 52 eleven-minute episodes. The show was canceled after only one season. In December 2023,

2625-481: A variation of buttons to perform other in-game actions such as jumping or interacting with the game world. Though controllers have become more featured over the years, they still provide less control over a game compared to personal computers or mobile gaming. The type of controller available to a game can fundamentally change the style of how a console game will or can be played. However, this has also inspired changes in game design to create games that accommodate for

2730-454: A variety of configurations, but typically will include one base configuration that include the console, one controller, and sometimes a pack-in game . Manufacturers may offer alternate stock keeping unit (SKUs) options that include additional controllers and accessories or different pack-in games. Special console editions may feature unique cases or faceplates with art dedicated to a specific video game or series and are bundled with that game as

2835-510: Is Blythe . In 2001, Hasbro (the current trademark and license owner) gave Takara of Japan and CWC a license to produce the New Edition of Blythe (Neo Blythe). Blythe was used in a television advertising campaign by Parco, the fashion branch of Seibu Department Stores in Japan and was an instant hit. In 2003 Blythe was the subject in a segment on the VH1 special, I Love the ' 70s , where she

2940-528: Is a fashion doll , about 28 cm (11 inch) tall, with an oversized head and large eyes that change color with the pull of a string . It was created in 1972 and was initially only sold for one year in the United States by toy company Kenner (later purchased by Hasbro ). In 2001, the Japanese toy company Takara began producing new editions of Blythe dolls. There is a network of hobbyists who customize

3045-458: Is also known by collectors as "Generation 2", and is considered to be divided into three parts. The Littlest Pet Shop toy line had molds that looked more unrealistic compared to the 1990s incarnation of the franchise, and had realistic colors that blended in. They had bobble-heads and they came with a round pink or blue magnet with a pawprint on it, this is located on the bottom of their feet (2004–2005 versions). Some pets were fuzzy. Later ones had

3150-493: Is also often known by collectors as "Generation 1", as it is the first iteration of the toyline to be released. The line includes: Note: Sets produced in 1992 are depicted. The same set released in 1992 was also remade in 1993 with different colors. Other sets are also released in 1994. Each set came with 5 babies and a mother. Two of the babies had magnets inside and would suckle the mother and play with toys. Each set seems to have used multiple variations in colour. Based upon

3255-598: Is exclusive to the DS and also came with three different versions: Blue Team, Pink Team, and Purple Team. Some of these releases also came with exclusive pets. The line was revamped to coincide with the release of the 2012 TV series . The style and design of the toy pets was changed significantly, which garnered significant backlash from fans and collectors of the toys. Later on, they added the Sweetest Pets series (pets themed after sweets), Rolleroos (pet friends that are shaped like small balls), pets that came with Blythe , and

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3360-506: Is legal, Nintendo is recognized to be highly protective of any attempts to emulate its systems and has taken early legal actions to shut down such projects. To help support older games and console transitions, manufacturers started to support backward compatibility on consoles in the same family. Sony was the first to do this on a home console with the PlayStation 2 which was able to play original PlayStation content, and subsequently became

3465-458: Is universally accepted, one breakdown of generations, showing representative consoles, of each is shown below. Home video game consoles are meant to be connected to a television or other type of monitor, with power supplied through an outlet. This requires the unit to be used in a fixed location, typically at home in one's living room. Separate game controllers, connected through wired or wireless connections, are used to provide input to

3570-613: The Bally Astrocade and APF-M1000 using tape drives, as well as the Disk System for the Nintendo Famicom, and the Nintendo 64DD for the Nintendo 64, but these had limited applications, as magnetic media was more fragile and volatile than game cartridges. In addition to built-in internal storage, newer consoles often give the consumer the ability to use external storage media to save game date, downloaded games, or other media files from

3675-621: The Littlest Pet Shop toy line, with Blythe dolls as petsitters for their animal toys in the aforementioned toy line. Blythe stars as a protagonist in the Littlest Pet Shop Presents animated shorts that were produced by Cosmic Toast Studios and released online by Hasbro (voice unknown). Another incarnation of the character, named Blythe Baxter (voiced by Ashleigh Ball ), stars in the 2012 Littlest Pet Shop animated television series, as well as its related shorts (not to be confused with

3780-522: The Magnavox Odyssey and the home console version of Pong , and more recently have been used for retro style consoles such as the NES Classic Edition and Sega Genesis Mini . Dedicated consoles were very popular in the first generation until they were gradually replaced by second generation that use ROM cartridges . The fourth generation gradually merged with optical media . During

3885-542: The Microvision in 1979 and Game & Watch in 1980, and the concept was fully realized by the Game Boy in 1989. Both home and handheld consoles have become more advanced following global changes in technology. These technological shifts include improved electronic and computer chip manufacturing to increase computational power at lower costs and size, the introduction of 3D graphics and hardware-based graphic processors for real-time rendering, digital communications such as

3990-507: The NES Classic Edition , Sega Genesis Mini and also handheld retro consoles such as the Nintendo Game & Watch color screen series. Early console hardware was designed as customized printed circuit boards (PCB)s, selecting existing integrated circuit chips that performed known functions, or programmable chips like erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) chips that could perform certain functions. Persistent computer memory

4095-459: The Nintendo DS : Garden, Jungle, Winter, and Spring. Some releases for the DS came with exclusive pets. In this era, the eye symbols were no longer used, and more bright colors were used for the color schemes of the figurines. This era also introduced collector stickers found in packs, and an even more variety of gimmicks, such as the Walkables, battery-powered figurines which can move at the push of

4200-679: The Sega CD . Other examples of add-ons include the 32X for the Sega Genesis intended to allow owners of the aging console to play newer games but has several technical faults, and the Game Boy Player for the GameCube to allow it to play Game Boy games. Consumers can often purchase a range of accessories for consoles outside of the above categories. These can include: Console or game development kits are specialized hardware units that typically include

4305-523: The Xbox One family, Microsoft released the mid-generation Xbox One X as a higher performance console, the Xbox One S as the lower-cost base console, and a special Xbox One S All-Digital Edition revision that removed the optical drive on the basis that users could download all games digitally, offered at even a lower cost than the Xbox One S. In these cases, developers can often optimize games to work better on

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4410-425: The movie series , there was a number of playsets featuring the infamous Saint Bernard dogs with Beethoven and Missy with Tchaikovsky, Chubby, Dolly and Mo. Kenner also produced sets in 1995 and 1996 ranging from "Shimmering Mer Pets" to plush "Dazzling Hair Pets", diverging further from their original pet shop sets. It featured several SeaWorld stars like Baby Shamu. It also includes O.P. Otter. This incarnation

4515-611: The 1970s and 1980s were about US$ 200−300 , and with the introduction of the ROM cartridge, each game averaged about US$ 30−40 . Over time the launch price of base consoles units has generally risen to about US$ 400−500 , with the average game costing US$ 60 . Exceptionally, the period of transition from ROM cartridges to optical media in the early 1990s saw several consoles with high price points exceeding US$ 400 and going as high as US$ 700 . Resultingly, sales of these first optical media consoles were generally poor. When adjusted for inflation,

4620-727: The BL mold, the Excellent mold, or EBL, and the Superior mold, or SBL, in 2003. In 2006, a new face mold, the Radiant mold or RBL, was introduced to look more Kenner-like, including slightly wider eyes. In 2009 another new face mold, the Fairest mold or FBL, was released with matte texture and smaller eye holes. The BL and EBL mold are actually the same mold. The difference in the EBL mold were important internal changes to make

4725-480: The Channel F, nearly all game consoles have featured the ability to purchase and swap games through some form, through those forms have changes with improvements in technology. While magnetic storage , such as tape drives and floppy disks , had been popular for software distribution with early personal computers in the 1980s and 1990s, this format did not see much use in console system. There were some attempts, such as

4830-477: The Coleco Telstar , which led other third-party manufacturers, using inexpensive General Instruments processor chips, to make their own home consoles which flooded the market by 1977. The video game crash of 1983 was fueled by multiple factors including competition from lower-cost personal computers, but unregulated competition was also a factor, as numerous third-party game developers, attempting to follow on

4935-554: The Fairies series. The pets now had different molds and a new eye style. Later on, Hasbro reissued the Totally Talented set from G1, and Blythe was also given a makeover. Hasbro received many complaints about the G3 line. This iteration also introduced mobile games for the toyline, including one developed by Gameloft in 2012, which included the use of tokens which came in purchased packs of

5040-461: The Internet, wireless networking and Bluetooth, and larger and denser media formats as well as digital distribution. Following the same type of Moore's law progression, home consoles are grouped into generations; each lasting approximately five years. Consoles within each generation share similar specifications and features, such as processor word size . While no one grouping of consoles by generation

5145-446: The UK, Australia and Japan, during 1972. Over time the original "Kenner" Blythe dolls acquired a cult following of collectors and eventually, photographers. In mid-1991, Hasbro purchased Tonka , which acquired Kenner Parker Toys, Inc. in 1987. Since then, all the intellectual properties are owned by Hasbro. In 1997, New York TV and video producer Gina Garan was given a 1972 Kenner Blythe by

5250-518: The box design were completely different from the ones released in other countries and are extremely rare. They were also sold in the UK by Palitoy and in Australia by Toltoys, both sister companies to Kenner under General Mills Beginning in 2001, Takara first released new Blythe dolls sporadically, but then began releasing new versions of Blythe each month. Under the creative direction of Junko Wong, CWC has produced 207 Neo Blythes, 211 Petites, and 17 of

5355-405: The company itself. Microsoft and Nintendo both use this approach to their consoles, while Sony maintains all production in-house with the exception of their component suppliers. Some of the commons elements that can be found within console hardware include: All game consoles require player input through a game controller to provide a method to move the player character in a specific direction and

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5460-447: The company selling the console, many consoles of today are generally constructed through a value chain that includes component suppliers, such as AMD and NVidia for CPU and GPU functions, and contract manufacturers including electronics manufacturing services , factories which assemble those components into the final consoles such as Foxconn and Flextronics . Completed consoles are then usually tested, distributed, and repaired by

5565-552: The comparatively limited controls available on consoles. Controllers have come in a variety of styles over the history of consoles. Some common types include: Numerous other controller types exist, including those that support motion controls , touchscreen support on handhelds and some consoles, and specialized controllers for specific types of games, such as racing wheels for racing games , light guns for shooting games , and musical instrument controllers for rhythm games . Some newer consoles also include optional support for

5670-466: The console to install additional functionality, voiding the manufacturer's warranty. Plug-and-play consoles usually come with the console unit itself, one or more controllers, and the required components for power and video hookup. Many recent plug-and-play releases have been for distributing a number of retro games for a specific console platform. Examples of these include the Atari Flashback series ,

5775-538: The console unit to a television screen and fixed power source, and the potential to use a separate controller. However, they can also be used as a handheld. While prior handhelds like the Sega Nomad and PlayStation Portable , or home consoles such as the Wii U , have had these features, some consider the Nintendo Switch to be the first true hybrid console. Most consoles are considered programmable consoles and have

5880-399: The console's design for production going forward; the PlayStation 3 underwent several such hardware refreshes during its lifetime due to technological improvements such as significant reduction of the process node size for the CPU and GPU. In these cases, the hardware revision model will be marked on packaging so that consumers can verify which version they are acquiring. In other cases,

5985-427: The console's design, and will be sold at a high cost to the developer as part of keeping this confidentiality. Newer consoles that share features in common with personal computers may no longer use specialized dev kits, though developers are still expected to register and purchase access to software development kits from the manufacturer. For example, any consumer Xbox One can be used for game development after paying

6090-526: The console. Early iterations of external storage were achieved through the use of flash-based memory cards , first used by the Neo Geo but popularized with the PlayStation. Nintendo continues to support this approach with extending the storage capabilities of the 3DS and Switch, standardizing on the current SD card format. As consoles began incorporating the use of USB ports, support for USB external hard drives

6195-455: The consumer, all related to Moore's law of technological improvements. For the consoles of the 1980s to 1990s, these improvements were evident in the marketing in the late 1980s to 1990s during the "bit wars", where console manufacturers had focused on their console's processor's word size as a selling point. Consoles since the 2000s are more similar to personal computers, building in memory, storage features, and networking capabilities to avoid

6300-462: The creative production of the Blythe series. There is no major changes to the specifications or designs of the dolls, but there will be a few other changes such as Face and body parts will be manufactured using new molds, "Blythe" products will be recommended for ages 15 and up. Ashton-Drake Galleries produced nearly exact replicas of the 5 original Kenner dolls in 2005-2006, along with replicas based on

6405-458: The design was changed so the Petite eyes would close when the doll was laid down. The Middie Blythes eyes can turn to the sides and her head can twist around. Older dolls are sought after in the collectors market, and can sell for as high as several thousand dollars for an original Kenner doll to a thousand dollars or more for the first edition Neo dolls from Takara. In 1972, Kenner released versions of

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6510-428: The display device. Even with more advanced integrated circuits (IC)s of the time, designers were limited to what could be done through the electrical process rather than through programming as normally associated with video game development . Improvements in console hardware followed with improvements in microprocessor technology and semiconductor device fabrication . Manufacturing processes have been able to reduce

6615-593: The doll for resale and create clothing and shoes for Blythe. Enthusiasts share photographs of their work and other types of dolls on the Internet. Blythe was created in the early seventies by designer Allison Katzman at Marvin Glass and Associates and bought and produced in the United States in 1972 by the now-defunct toy company Kenner . Blythe dolls were only sold for one year in the U.S. (produced in Hong Kong ) and also in

6720-410: The doll with four hair colors in the U.S., a brunette with chunky bangs, a sidepart brunette, a darker brunette with thinner bangs, a sidepart blonde, a red head with bangs, and a sidepart redhead. Twelve different outfits were released as well, along with four brightly colored wigs. The dolls were also released in Japan in 1972 by Tomy under the brand name Mahou no Hitomi Ai Ai Chan . The outfits and

6825-462: The early 1970s. Ralph H. Baer devised the concept of playing simple, spot-based games on a television screen in 1966, which later became the basis of the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. Inspired by the table tennis game on the Odyssey, Nolan Bushnell , Ted Dabney , and Allan Alcorn at Atari, Inc. developed the first successful arcade game , Pong , and looked to develop that into a home version, which

6930-703: The end of the collaboration between the brands, despite the doll still being called Blythe, the Blythe logo was no longer used. In December 2012, Takara/CWC released the Petite Blythe Suri Tebya Lyublyu after 2 years since the Petite Blythe Birthday Party Surprise. From July 2021, Good Smile Company began manufacturing and distributing "Blythe" doll products. The copyright and license (intellectual property rights) for Blythe will continue to belong to American toy manufacturer Hasbro and Cross World Connections will continue to handle

7035-530: The eye mechanism more resistant. In 2013, due to wearing in the Radiance mold, or RBL, a new mold called Radiance+, or RBL+, was released and it's supposed to look exactly like the Radiance mold. Some changes were made in the eye mechanism as well, it became a lot lighter and easier to change the eyes compared to older releases. By 2013, Hasbro left the Petite Blythes behind to new redesigned doll which seemed to be

7140-444: The feature size on chips (typically measured in nanometers ), allowing more transistors and other components to fit on a chip, and at the same time increasing the circuit speeds and the potential frequency the chip can run at, as well as reducing thermal dissipation . Chips were able to be made on larger dies , further increasing the number of features and effective processing power. Random-access memory became more practical with

7245-585: The game. Early examples include the Atari 2600 , the Nintendo Entertainment System , and the Sega Genesis ; newer examples include the Wii U , the PlayStation 5 , and the Xbox Series X . A microconsole is a home video game console that is typically powered by low-cost computing hardware, making the console lower-priced compared to other home consoles on the market. The majority of microconsoles, with

7350-677: The general public in mind, but lacking in raw computing power and customization. Simplicity is achieved in part through the use of game cartridges or other simplified methods of distribution, easing the effort of launching a game. However, this leads to ubiquitous proprietary formats that create competition for market share. More recent consoles have shown further confluence with home computers, making it easy for developers to release games on multiple platforms. Further, modern consoles can serve as replacements for media players with capabilities to play films and music from optical media or streaming media services. Video game consoles are usually sold on

7455-405: The hardware changes create multiple lines within the same console family. The base console unit in all revisions share fundamental hardware, but options like internal storage space and RAM size may be different. Those systems with more storage and RAM would be marked as a higher performance variant available at a higher cost, while the original unit would remain as a budget option. For example, within

7560-423: The hardware lockout chips and sell without paying any royalties to Nintendo, such as by Atari in its subsidiary company Tengen . This licensing approach was similarly used by most other cartridge-based console manufacturers using lockout chip technology. With optical media, where the console manufacturer may not have direct control on the production of the media, the developer or publisher typically must establish

7665-460: The hardware of older consoles that allow games from that console to be run. The development of software emulators of console hardware is established to be legal, but there are unanswered legal questions surrounding copyrights , including acquiring a console's firmware and copies of a game's ROM image , which laws such as the United States' Digital Millennium Copyright Act make illegal save for certain archival purposes. Even though emulation itself

7770-409: The hardware, either by being programmed via the circuitry or set in the read-only flash memory of the console. Thus, the console's game library cannot be added to or changed directly by the user. The user can typically switch between games on dedicated consoles using hardware switches on the console, or through in-game menus. Dedicated consoles were common in the first generation of home consoles, such as

7875-402: The higher density of transistors per chip, but to address the correct blocks of memory , processors needed to be updated to use larger word sizes and allot for larger bandwidth in chip communications. All these improvements did increase the cost of manufacturing, but at a rate far less than the gains in overall processing power, which helped to make home computers and consoles inexpensive for

7980-473: The higher-performance console with patches to the retail version of the game. In the case of the Nintendo 3DS , the New Nintendo 3DS , featured upgraded memory and processors, with new games that could only be run on the upgraded units and cannot be run on an older base unit. There have also been a number of "slimmed-down" console options with significantly reduced hardware components that significantly reduced

8085-442: The later part of video game history, there have been specialized consoles using computing components to offer multiple games to players. Most of these plug directly into one's television, and thus are often called plug-and-play consoles. Most of them are also considered dedicated consoles since it is generally impossible to access the computing components by an average consumer, though tech-savvy consumers often have found ways to hack

8190-464: The limitations of the past. The confluence with personal computers eased software development for both computer and console games, allowing developers to target both platforms. However, consoles differ from computers as most of the hardware components are preselected and customized between the console manufacturer and hardware component provider to assure a consistent performance target for developers. Whereas personal computer motherboards are designed with

8295-419: The means for the player to switch between different games. Traditionally, this has been done by switching a physical game cartridge or game card or by using optical media . It is now common to download games through digital distribution and store them on internal or external digital storage devices. Some consoles are considered dedicated consoles , in which games available for the console are "baked" onto

8400-618: The median household income, based on the United States Census data for the console's launch year. Since the Nintendo Entertainment System, console pricing has stabilized on the razorblade model , where the consoles are sold at little to no profit for the manufacturer, but they gain revenue from each game sold due to console licensing fees and other value-added services around the console (such as Xbox Live ). Console manufacturers have even been known to take losses on

8505-571: The needed tools for free after validating the small development size and needs of the team. Similar licensing concepts apply for third-party accessory manufacturers. Consoles, like most consumer electronic devices, have limited lifespans. There is great interest in preservation of older console hardware for archival and historical purposes, as games from older consoles, as well as arcade and personal computers, remain of interest. Computer programmers and hackers have developed emulators that can be run on personal computers or other consoles that simulate

8610-417: The needs for allowing consumers to add their desired selection of hardware components, the fixed set of hardware for consoles enables console manufacturers to optimize the size and design of the motherboard and hardware, often integrating key hardware components into the motherboard circuitry itself. Often, multiple components, such as the central processing unit and graphics processing unit, can be combined into

8715-515: The newest addition to the Blythe line: the Middie Blythe dolls. Every one of these Blythes were exhibited at Parco Factory at the 10th Anniversary from June–July 2011. Newer releases of the Petite Blythe dolls have "sleepy eyes" and bendable bodies. The Middies' heads tilt and their eyes look left and right without changing color. The bodies of the full-size dolls vary depending on the time of

8820-558: The next console generation. While numerous manufacturers have come and gone in the history of the console market, there have always been two or three dominant leaders in the market, with the current market led by Sony (with their PlayStation brand), Microsoft (with their Xbox brand), and Nintendo (currently producing the Switch console). Previous console developers include Sega , Atari , Coleco , Mattel , NEC , SNK , Fujitsu , and 3DO . The first video game consoles were produced in

8925-403: The original Kenner outfits. The first release had skin-tones with a slight green tint. A second release in 2007 was less green and more peach-pink. Both releases have a matte surface texture. Ashton Drake in total released 12 different full-sized Blythe dolls, but ceased production in 2008. In 2010, Hasbro released the Blythe Loves Littlest Pet Shop line as a part of their 2004 incarnation of

9030-629: The pets and scanned to win prizes, and another, Littlest Pet Shop: Your World, which included the use of "zap codes", codes similar to QR codes which are found in the pets themselves. These pets have molds that more closely resemble the style of the TV series and were given names. Hasbro released the Pets Pawsabilities collection during this time, and in 2016, the Pets in the City collection, which more closely resembles

9135-444: The pets released in G2. Due to popular demand and fan outcry over the G3 line, Hasbro brought the bobble-head pets back, which included pets from the 2012 TV show and used the same molds as the pets from the G1 and G2 lines. But it was also short-lived, as the bobble-head style was retired in mid-2014. The Littlest Pet Shop toys were revamped in 2017, with new molds and rounded eyes similar to

9240-436: The price of consoles has generally followed a downward trend, from US$ 800−1,000 from the early generations down to US$ 500−600 for current consoles. This is typical for any computer technology, with the improvements in computing performance and capabilities outpacing the additional costs to achieve those gains. Further, within the United States, the price of consoles has generally remained consistent, being within 0.8% to 1% of

9345-547: The price they could sell the console to the consumer, but either leaving certain features off the console, such as the Wii Mini that lacked any online components compared to the Wii , or that required the consumer to purchase additional accessories and wiring if they did not already own it, such as the New-Style NES that was not bundled with the required RF hardware to connect to a television. Consoles when originally launched in

9450-470: The production of game cartridges with its lockout chips and optical media for its systems, and thus charges the developer or publisher for each copy it makes as an upfront fee. This also allows Nintendo to review the game's content prior to release and veto games it does not believe appropriate to include on its system. This had led to over 700 unlicensed games for the NES, and numerous others on other Nintendo cartridge-based systems that had found ways to bypass

9555-521: The release. Early releases in 2001-2002 used the body of the Licca doll. In June 2002, in commemoration of 1 year of Blythe releases by Takara/CWC, the doll Miss Anniversary was released featuring the "Excellent Body" that was quite similar to the original Blythe released by Kenner. Early dolls also had a glossy surface texture, but some had matte face too. The earliest face molds of the reproduction Blythe dolls are referred to as BL. Two more face molds followed

9660-498: The sale of consoles at the start of a console's launch with expectation to recover with revenue sharing and later price recovery on the console as they switch to less expensive components and manufacturing processes without changing the retail price. Consoles have been generally designed to have a five-year product lifetime , though manufacturers have considered their entries in the more recent generations to have longer lifetimes of seven to potentially ten years. The competition within

9765-480: The same components as the console and additional chips and components to allow the unit to be connected to a computer or other monitoring device for debugging purposes. A console manufacturer will make the console's dev kit available to registered developers months ahead of the console's planned launch to give developers time to prepare their games for the new system. These initial kits will usually be offered under special confidentiality clauses to protect trade secrets of

9870-451: The same game on a different console for a period of two years. This served as one of the first means of securing console exclusivity for games that existed beyond technical limitation of console development. The Nintendo Entertainment System also brought the concept of a video game mascot as the representation of a console system as a means to sell and promote the unit, and for the NES was Mario . The use of mascots in businesses had been

9975-686: The second generation pets. Some of the toys released under this line include the Black and White Pop collection and the Rainbow collection. The pets in this line come in three sizes: teensie, mini, and classic (the largest of the three). It was also during this time that a new show premiered on Discovery Family called Littlest Pet Shop: A World of Our Own . The animated shorts , produced by Cosmic Toast Studios, were released online by Hasbro. The 2018 animated series, produced by Hasbro Studios and Boulder Media Limited for Discovery Family . Its main cast includes

10080-419: The sticker. Hasbro made a deal with Basic Fun! to relaunch the toys in 2023, but in the following year Basic Fun filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company will use bankruptcy proceedings to repay its creditors while remaining in operation. Introduced in 1992, each set comes with certain actions, such as a movable part. Most included magnets or simple mechanisms, such as flapping wings. This line

10185-617: The storefront – again gaining access to the console's branding and logo – with the manufacturer taking its cut of each sale as its royalty. In both cases, this still gives console manufacturers the ability to review and reject games it believes unsuitable for the system and deny licensing rights. With the rise of indie game development , the major console manufacturers have all developed entry level routes for these smaller developers to be able to publish onto consoles at far lower costs and reduced royalty rates. Programs like Microsoft's ID@Xbox give developers most of

10290-664: The success of Activision in developing third-party games for the Atari 2600 and Intellivision, flooded the market with poor quality games, and made it difficult for even quality games to sell. Nintendo implemented a lockout chip, the Checking Integrated Circuit , on releasing the Nintendo Entertainment System in Western territories, as a means to control which games were published for the console. As part of their licensing agreements, Nintendo further prevented developers from releasing

10395-477: The use of Sonic the Hedgehog . The Nintendo and Sega rivalry that involved their mascot's flagship games served as part of the fourth console generation's "console wars". Since then, manufacturers have typically positioned their mascot and other first-party games as key titles in console bundles used to drive sales of consoles at launch or at key sales periods such as near Christmas. Blythe (doll) Blythe

10500-514: The video game console market as subset of the video game industry is an area of interest to economics with its relatively modern history, its rapid growth to rival that of the film industry, and frequent changes compared to other sectors. Effects of unregulated competition on the market were twice seen early in the industry. The industry had its first crash in 1977 following the release of the Magnavox Odyssey, Atari's home versions of Pong and

10605-537: Was also added, such as with the Xbox 360. With Internet-enabled consoles, console manufacturers offer both free and paid-subscription services that provide value-added services atop the basic functions of the console. Free services generally offer user identity services and access to a digital storefront, while paid services allow players to play online games, interact with other uses through social networking, use cloud saves for supported games, and gain access to free titles on

10710-434: Was estimated to be about US$ 3−10 per unit in 2012. With additional fees, such as branding rights, this has generally worked out to be an industry-wide 30% royalty rate paid to the console manufacturer for every game sold. This is in addition to the cost of acquiring the dev kit to develop for the system. The licensing fee may be collected in a few different ways. In the case of Nintendo, the company generally has controlled

10815-403: Was expensive, so dedicated consoles were generally limited to the use of processor registers for storage of the state of a game, thus limiting the complexities of such titles. Pong in both its arcade and home format, had a handful of logic and calculation chips that used the current input of the players' paddles and resisters storing the ball's position to update the game's state and send it to

10920-600: Was released in 1975. The first consoles were capable of playing only a very limited number of games built into the hardware. Programmable consoles using swappable ROM cartridges were introduced with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976, though popularized with the Atari 2600 released in 1977. Handheld consoles emerged from technology improvements in handheld electronic games as these shifted from mechanical to electronic/digital logic, and away from light-emitting diode (LED) indicators to liquid-crystal displays (LCD) that resembled video screens more closely. Early examples include

11025-507: Was said to look like either " Barbie with encephalitis " or " Christina Ricci " among other things. The success in Japan led Hasbro to issue a license to Ashton-Drake Galleries in 2004 to sell Blythe replica dolls in the United States, where the doll became a niche product in a marginal market, selling largely to adults. In spring 2009, Alexander McQueen launched a fashion line for Target with an ad campaign featuring Blythe dolls. In 2010, Hasbro began releasing their version of Blythe as

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