 a video game console is a device that outputs a video signal or visual image to display a video game. the term "video game console" is used to distinguish a console machine primarily designed for consumers to use for playing video games in contrast to arcade machines or home computers. it includes the home video game consoles, the handheld game consoles, the microconsoles and the dedicated consoles. although ralph baer had built working game consoles by 1966, it was nearly a decade before pong made them commonplace in home theaters. through evolution over the years, game consoles have expanded to function as cd players, dvd players, web browsers, set-top boxes and more. == history ==  === first generation ===    although the first video games appeared in the 1950s, they were played on massive computers connected to vector displays, not analog televisions. ralph h. baer conceived the idea of a home video game in 1951. in the late 1960s while working for sanders associates he created a series of video game console designs. one of these designs, which gained the nickname of the "brown box", featured changeable game modes and was demonstrated to several tv manufactures ultimately leading to an agreement between sanders associates and magnavox. in 1972 magnavox released the magnavox odyssey, the first home video game console which could be connected to a tv set. ralph baer's initial design had called for a huge row of switches that would allow gamers to turn on and off certain components of the console (the odyssey lacked a cpu) to create slightly different games like tennis, volleyball, hockey, and chase. magnavox replaced the switch design with separate cartridges for each game. although baer had sketched up ideas for cartridges that could include new components for new games, the carts released by magnavox all served the same function as the switches and allowed gamers to choose from the odyssey's built-in games. the odyssey only initially sold about 100,000 units, making it moderately successful, and it was not until atari's arcade game [[po
American_inventions Video_game_consoles Video_game_terminology