Your guide to video game console generations

Do you have trouble figuring out what people are talking about when they mention First-Generation consoles, Second-Generation consoles, etc.? Well today, I'm going to give you a small (yet very useful) history of video game consoles lesson. Listed below is every video game console generation and some of the most popular consoles you might know of from that time. And if you have one or more of these, now you can be sure what generation they're from.

Note: I'm not listing every single console from all generations, since there are many most people haven't heard of. If you own one that isn't listed, you can cross-reference when it's from by the year.

First Generation (1972-77)
Magnavox Odyssey/100/200
Atari/Sears Telegames "Pong"
Coleco Telstar

Second Generation (1976-84)
Consoles
Fairchild Channel F
Atari 2600
Magnavox Odyssey
Mattel Intellivision
Atari 5200
ColecoVision
Handhelds
Milton Bradley Microvision
Nintendo Game & Watch

Third Generation (1983-92)
Nintendo Entertainment System
Sega Master System
Atari 7800
Commodore 64 Games System

Fourth Generation (1987-96)
Consoles
TurboGrafx-16
Sega Genesis
Super Nintendo
Neo Geo
Sega CD
Sega 32X
CD-i
Handhelds
Nintendo Game Boy/Pocket
Atari Lynx
Sega Game Gear
TurboExpress

Fifth Generation (1993-2002)
Consoles
3DO
Amiga CD32
Atari Jaguar
Sega Saturn
Sony PlayStation
Nintendo 64
Virtual Boy
Neo Geo CD
Handhelds
Sega Nomad
Game Boy Light/Color
Neo Geo Pocket

Sixth Generation (1998-2006)
Consoles
Sega Dreamcast
PlayStation 2
Nintendo GameCube
Microsoft Xbox
Handhelds
Neo Geo Pocket Color
Game Boy Advance/SP
Game Boy Micro
Nokia N-Gage/QD

Seventh Generation (2004-present)
Consoles
Xbox 360
Nintendo Wii
PlayStation 3
Handhelds
Nintendo DS/Lite
PlayStation Portable/Slim/Lite