The fourth generation of games consoles, also known as the 16-bit era, started in 1987 with the release of NEC’s PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) in Japan. This generation was marked by intense competition between Nintendo and Sega, who released their flagship consoles, the Super Famicom (SNES) and the Mega Drive (Genesis), respectively.
A notable console of this generation was the Neo Geo AES, which was a home version of SNK’s arcade system. The Neo Geo AES offered high-quality graphics and sound, but was very expensive and had a limited library of games. The Neo Geo AES was the longest-lived console of this generation, lasting until 2004.
Some of the popular games of this generation were Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Street Fighter II.
