From the Magnavox to the PS5 Pro, gaming gifts that have been the kings of Christmas for 50 years

Christmas is here. And although it has never been the most important thing, it is clear that gifts play a very important role in it. For years, many of us woke up wanting to see what was under the Christmas tree. This has made me nostalgic and think of other times. It has even made me go further and think...

What could we find under the tree depending on the decade and what would we have liked to see? Of course, this question has thousands of possible answers, so today I will focus on what, as gamers, we would have liked to see: what consoles and video games were in fashion, which were the most outstanding, and so on. So today we offer you a review ofChristmas from a gamer's perspective.

In the 1970s, the Christmas tree had a retro feel

The 1970s was the golden age of arcade video games, so the most outstanding titles were not usually accessible in many homes. It was the era of Space Invaders, Galaxian and Asteroids, for example, three legendary games that marked a whole generation.

However, it was possible to enjoy some video games at home, as the first generation of consoles was born between 1972 and 1980. Many of them are now relics, and it is very possible that you have not even heard of them, as they are extremely rare.

I'm talking about the Magnavox Odyssey and the Coleco Telstar, for example, or the Color TV-Game and the Home Pong. And although video games were still little more than a newborn child, seeing any of these under the tree was a dream for many. Today, the Atari 2600 is ed with special fondness, a console that lived its heyday in the 1980s.

The 1980s, a very special decade in the world of video games

For many, the 1980s is one of the most special decades, as during this time we saw the birth of a good number of consoles that are now considered classics. It was also the time of the first great boom in gaming. It was a beautiful time full of consoles that we would all have liked to see under our Christmas tree.

A good example of this was the NES, a truly historic console alongside which games such as Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda and Metroid were born. We could even enjoy Mega Man, one of the most revolutionary platformers of its time.

Of course, it's not the only console we would have loved to see under our tree. Sega Master System is another console that hit hard in the 80s along with Alex Kidd and Phantasy Star. We also enjoyed the Intellivision, ColecoVision, Game and Watch or TurboGrafx, among many others. It was a good time.

The wonderful 90s

In the 90s, many of us dreamed of seeing any of these consoles and/or video games under our Christmas tree, although the most anticipated by many children was PlayStation. Sony's first console marked a before and after in the lives of many people, being the first console in history to exceed 100 million.

And if you did, seeing a CD-shaped package with a Resident Evil, Final Fantasy or Metal Gear (among the many great games that were released on it) was something priceless. It was a real rush of joy and a perfect excuse to skip family plans and spend all day playing on the console.

Of course, the fact that the PS1 was released in the 90s does not mean that we can forget about the SNES, the Mega Drive, the Nintendo 64, the Sega Saturn, the Dreamcast, the Neo Geo or the Game Boy Color. In fact, the latter was the star gift in many homes along with Pokemon Red, Pokemon Blue or Pokemon Yellow. What a time to be alive.

The 2000s, the origin of today's trident

In the 2000s, competition between brands decreased, but only if we look at it from the number of manufacturers. Many dropped out of the race, as the weight of the industry was borne by three names: Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo.

Each with its own strategy, they left quite a few consoles that anyone would have liked to unwrap under the tree. Sony, for its part, launched PlayStation 2 along with FFX, Shadow of the Colossus and GTA: San Andreas, PSP with God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core and PlayStation 3 along with the first TLOU and GoW 3, among many others.

Microsoft decided to break the balance and the fight with its first Xbox, which arrived in 2001. Over time it launched Xbox 360, one of the most serious competitors to PS3 and one of the consoles with the best catalog of its generation thanks to sagas such as Gears of War and titles such as Halo 3.

Nintendo also did its thing, and GameCube did not leave anyone indifferent. It did not come alone, as the big N launched Game Boy Advance in 2001, Nintendo DS in 2004, Nintendo Wii in 2006 and Nintendo DSi in 2008. Among revisions and home consoles, it launched quite a few consoles and made Christmas a happy time for more than one person.

2010, a time with a Christmas full of power

From 2010 onwards, Christmas trees were divided between nostalgics and power lovers, although belonging to one group did not exclude you from the other. Pulling on the nostalgia, a handful of publishers decided to bring back their first consoles through re-releases such as NES and SNES Classic Edition or PS1 Classic.

More than one adult shouted for joy when they saw them under their Christmas tree, for sure, although they were not the ones that marked the decade. The 2010s left us with a truly revolutionary generation in of power, leaving us with such powerful names as PS4, Xbox One and PSP Vita.

And although many do not it, Nintendo Switch belongs to this decade, as it was launched in 2017. For many, any of these consoles was the best they could find under the tree. Of course, they are not the only ones.

If we go back to the early years of the decade, in addition to the PS4 and Xbox One, we highlight releases such as the much-maligned PSP Vita, the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS.

The class of 2020: the rise of the laptop

There's no need to rely on memory here, since most of the consoles that brightened up Christmas in many homes were born less than five years ago. Indeed, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S were launched in 2020, being the gift that many would have loved to see under their tree.

They did not arrive alone. Thanks to the success of the Nintendo Switch, which also returned with its OLED model in 2021, many manufacturers dared to develop their own handhelds. Most of them came in PC format, such as Steam Deck or Asus ROG Ally.

There was also room for virtual reality lovers, as Meta Quest 2 and 3 made their mark in 2020 and 2023. Likewise, new classic consoles began to arrive, making it a rather special decade. This year, in all likelihood, the PS5 Pro is the console many would like to unwrap under their tree.