32-bit era

The fifth-generation era (also known as the 32-bit era, the 64-bit era and the 3D era) refers to computer and video games, video game consoles and video game handhelds from approximately 1993 to 2001. For home consoles, the best-selling console was the PlayStation by a wide margin, followed by the Nintendo 64 and then the Sega Saturn. For handhelds, this era was characterized by significant fragmentation, because the first handheld of the generation, the Genesis Nomad, had a lifespan of just two years, and the Virtual Boy had a lifespan of less than one. Both were discontinued before the other handhelds made their debut. The Neo Geo Pocket was released in 1998, but was dropped by SNK in favor of the fully backwards compatible Neo Geo Pocket Color just a year later. Nintendo's Game Boy Color was the winner in handhelds by a large margin. There were also two updated versions of the original Game Boy: Game Boy Light (Japan only) and Game Boy Pocket.

The era is known for its pivotal role in the video game industry's leap from 2D computer graphics to 3D computer graphics, as well as the shift from home consoles using ROM cartridges to optical discs. The development of the Internet also made it possible to store and download tape and ROM images of older games, eventually leading 7th generation consoles (such as the Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DSi) to make many older games available for purchase or download. There was considerable overlap between this and the sixth generation of consoles, which began with the launch of the Dreamcast in Japan on November 27, 1998. The fifth generation officially ended with the discontinuation of the PlayStation (known in its re-engineered form as the "PSOne") in March 2006, a few months after the launch of the seventh generation.

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