8-bit era

In the history of video games, the 8-bit era was the third generation of video game consoles, but the first after the video game crash of 1983. Although the previous generation of consoles had also used 8-bit processors, it was in this time that home game systems were first labelled by their "bits". This came into fashion as 16-bit systems like the TurboGrafx 16 entered the market to differentiate between the generations of consoles.

During the era, the Famicom became very popular in Japan. The NEC PC Engine also gained a large following, enough to support several versions of the hardware. The Famicom's American collary, the Nintendo Entertainment System, highly dominated the gaming market in North America. This was thanks in part to its restrictive licensing agreements with developers. The Sega Master System, which was popular in Brazil and Europe, and the Atari 7800 were also part of this era.

The post-crash 8-bit era was considered "the stone age of console role-playing video games" and was the birth of the side-scroller. Editing and censorship of video games was often used in localizing Japanese games to North America. It is the era when some famous video game series like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mega Man, Castlevania, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest began (but not necessarily on the NES). The Mario and Luigi characters were born before the video game crash.

Consoles of the 8-bit era

Nintendo Entertainment System (1985–1995: U.S.; 1987–1996: Europe)
Nintendo Famicom (1983–2003: Japan)
Sega Master System (1986–1988: Japan, U.S.; 1987–1996: Europe)
Atari 7800 (1986: U.S.)
NEC PC Engine (1987–1993: Japan)
Nintendo Game Boy (handheld) (1989–1996: Japan, U.S.; 1990–1996: Europe)
Atari Lynx (handheld) (1989–1991: U.S.)
Amstrad GX4000 (1990–1991: Europe)

8-bit era

Consoles of the 8-bit era

Video game franchises established during this time

See also