50 Years of Video Game Consoles – answers and explanations
Here are the answers to all 15 questions in the 50 Years of Video Game Consoles quiz, each with a short explanation. From Atari to Switch: the machines, mascots and best-sellers that shaped gaming. Haven't played yet? Take the quiz first and compare your score.
Play the quiz · 15 questions1. Which 1977 Atari console made swappable game cartridges a household hit?
Answer: Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, launched in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System, popularized microprocessor-based consoles with swappable ROM cartridges. It shipped with nine games, bundled with Combat, and later consoles like the 5200 (1982) and Jaguar (1993) followed.
2. Which character served as Sega's mascot before Sonic the Hedgehog arrived?
Answer: Alex Kidd
Alex Kidd, who debuted in Alex Kidd in Miracle World in 1986, served as Sega's mascot until Sonic the Hedgehog took over in 1991. He was created as Sega's answer to Nintendo's Mario and starred on the Master System and Mega Drive.
3. How many grip handles does the unusual Nintendo 64 controller have?
Answer: Three
The Nintendo 64 controller, released in 1996, has a three-pronged "M" shape nicknamed the Trident, offering three handles so players could grip it two ways: left and right prongs for D-pad games, or center and right for analog-stick 3D games.
4. Which title is the best-selling game on the Nintendo Switch?
Answer: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Nintendo Switch game, with 71.53 million copies sold as of June 30, 2026, according to Nintendo's own sales data. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is second at about 50 million.
5. Which red-and-black 3D Nintendo system flopped badly after its 1995 launch?
Answer: Virtual Boy
Nintendo's Virtual Boy, released in July 1995 in Japan and August 1995 in North America, displayed stereoscopic 3D games in red-on-black only and sold roughly 770,000 units before being discontinued in 1996 amid complaints of headaches and eye strain.
6. Released in 1972, which machine was the first home video game console?
Answer: Magnavox Odyssey
The Magnavox Odyssey, designed by Ralph Baer's team at Sanders Associates, reached US stores in September 1972 as the first commercial home video game console; it used plastic TV overlays and sold about 350,000 units before being discontinued in 1975.
7. Which sci-fi shooter was the flagship launch game for the original Xbox in 2001?
Answer: Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved, developed by Bungie, launched alongside Microsoft's Xbox in North America on November 15, 2001, and is widely credited with establishing the console; Gears of War and Doom 3 came years later.
8. Which PlayStation controller added two analog sticks and built-in vibration?
Answer: DualShock
Sony's DualShock, released in Japan in November 1997, combined two analog sticks with vibration feedback and later replaced the original PlayStation pad in the console bundle, becoming the best-selling gamepad ever.
9. Which system holds the record as the best-selling home console of all time?
Answer: PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2, launched in 2000, has sold over 160 million units and still leads all consoles; the Nintendo Switch is the closest challenger at roughly 156 million units shipped as of mid-2026.
10. Which 1993 Atari console, hyped as '64-bit', became a famous commercial flop?
Answer: Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar arrived in 1993 billed as the first 64-bit console, but a weak game library and awkward numeric keypad controller doomed it, making it Atari's last home console.
11. Which 1982 Atari 2600 game flopped so badly its cartridges were buried in a landfill?
Answer: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Atari's rushed 1982 tie-in game E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial sold so poorly that truckloads of unsold cartridges were crushed and buried in a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico, in September 1983; a 2014 excavation confirmed the long-rumoured burial.
12. Which grey light-gun accessory let NES players shoot birds in Duck Hunt?
Answer: The NES Zapper
The NES Zapper light gun, used for Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley and Wild Gunman, launched in grey in 1985; Nintendo of America recoloured it orange in 1989 so it would not be mistaken for a real firearm.
13. Nintendo's scrapped SNES CD add-on deal with which firm led to the PlayStation?
Answer: Sony
Nintendo and Sony jointly developed an SNES CD-ROM system nicknamed the Nintendo PlayStation, but Nintendo publicly switched to Philips at the June 1991 CES; a humiliated Sony turned the project into its own PlayStation, launched in Japan in December 1994.
14. Which sports game was bundled with the Wii in most regions at its 2006 launch?
Answer: Wii Sports
Wii Sports shipped as a pack-in game with the Wii in every territory except Japan and South Korea, starting with the North American launch on 19 November 2006, and its five motion-controlled sports helped it sell about 83 million copies.
15. What are the Nintendo Switch's detachable side controllers called?
Answer: Joy-Con
The Nintendo Switch, released in March 2017, uses two detachable Joy-Con controllers that slide onto rails on the console's sides and can also be used separately or in a grip; the Wii Remote and Nunchuk belong to the earlier Wii.