The 1990s was the third decade in the industry's history. It was a decade of marked innovation in video gaming. It was a decade of transition from sprite-based graphics to full-fledged 3D graphics and it gave rise to several genres of video games including, but not limited to, the first-person shooter, real-time strategy, survival horror, and MMO. Arcade games, although still relatively popular in the early 1990s, began to decline as home consoles became more common. The fourth and fifth generation of video game consoles went on sale, including the Super Nintendo, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color. Notable games released in the 1990s included Sonic the Hedgehog, Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, GoldenEye 007, Unreal Tournament, Half-Life, Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario 64, Pokémon Red and Blue, Daytona USA, Ridge Racer, Gran Turismo, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Super Metroid, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Virtua Fighter, Final Fantasy VII, Sega Rally Championship, Nights into Dreams, Panzer Dragoon, Gunstar Heroes, Battletoads, Micro Machines, Donkey Kong Country, Wipeout, Lemmings, Banjo-Kazooie, PaRappa the Rapper, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Soulcalibur, and Dance Dance Revolution.
Fourth generation of video game consoles
Starting in 1987 and ending in 1996, the fourth generation of video game consoles consisted primarily of games and systems programmed for the 16-bit era. During this generation, 2D graphics had improved over the previous generation and experimentation began to occur with 3D graphics, although 3D games were more prevalent on the PC at the time. The fourth generation also was the first time compact discs were considered a viable port for video game retail sales with the CD-i. Some of the most notable systems released during this generation were the Mega Drive/Genesis (1988), the Super NES (1990) and the Neo Geo (1991). Nintendo's Game Boy was also released during the fourth generation, which would later become the most popular series of handheld gaming systems during the 1990s.