Nintendo released the Family Computer in Japan in 1883 to play old video games. The document discusses the history of video game consoles across seven generations from 1958 to 2006. Key consoles included the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972, the Sony PlayStation which became popular in the fifth generation in 1994, the Microsoft Xbox released in 2001 starting the seventh generation, and the Nintendo Wii which was a global success in 2006 with its motion controls.