The most popular consoles are the Gamma and the Epsilon, both produced Silicon Technologies, better known as SilTech™, are the most popular home consoles. The Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Wii U systems are all available and also popular, but they are less powerful than the new Epsilon console and cost much more than the Gamma.
The Gamma has been sold since the mid-nineties, originally competing with the Sony PlayStation, the Sega Saturn and the Nintendo 64. The first Gamma used ROM cartridges and from a technical aspect, it wasn't very different from its opposition. The Gamma became popular thanks to its relatively low price compared to the other consoles, and because it was easy to make bootlegs of Nintendo games; you can still find Super Mario 64 as a bootleg version, in a Gamma cartridge. The console itself has a large range of very popular and successful official games. In 1999, a new version of the Gamma was launched. The GammaCD is technically a separate console. It was designed to compete with the Sega Dreamcast, and eventually with the PlayStation 2, the GameCube and the Xbox. However, there were two different GammaCD: a standalone console with entry ports for cartridges and CD-ROM, and as an add-on for the first model, which was more economic. The new GammaCD was the first console that could connect to the Internet and allow players to play online by providing a subscription-based service which was later imitated by Microsoft for their Xbox. It was also the first console to feature a proper user interface; the main menu allows the player to change the console's settings and to chose between playing a cartridge game or a CD game. It was also the first console whose operative system could be updated; updates are sold every month as separate CD-ROM; originally, they only included system updates. Nowadays, the update CDs are sold in most stores and include a selection of mini games, demos and trailers for new games (for both the Gamma and the Epsilon consoles), along with selected articles taken from the official SilTech Gaming Monthly. Updates for the Epsilon are free and available online.
In 2003, SilTech began developing a new console that could support limited high-definition graphics (up to 720p). SilTech developed a special reader that could play normal CDs and DVDs, along with their own HD-gaming optical disc (HD-GD). The result was the Delta console, which was released in 2004 as the first console of the seventh generation. Again, two versions of this console were sold; one as a standalone console, and the other as yet another add-on for the Gamma; this add-on was able to be installed in GammaCD. This time, the standalone version wasn't successful due to its lack of a cartridge port, but the add-on was. However, in 2006, a new version of the GammaCD was released; the console is technically a standalone Delta with a cartridge slot that allows backward compatibility, but it's still marketed as the latest version of the GammaCD.
The original Gamma was phased out in 2005, while the first GammaCD model was phased out in 2011. The add-on version of the Delta is still manufactured and sold, but it will be discontinued in early 2016.
In 2010, SilTech began the development of the eventual 'official successor' of the GammaCD. SilTech developed a console capable of competing with high-end gaming PCs, while still being available for a lower price. The result was released in late 2013 as the Epsilon. Fans of the Gamma were worried about the future of their console, since the Epsilon only allowed backward compatibility for Delta HD-GDs; however, SilTech stated that the Gamma console would still see new games and would receive support and updates.
The GammaCD is currently marketed as an economic alternative to the Epsilon, which is marketed as a high-end console; SilTech announced that most games for Epsilon will also be available for the GammaCD (albeit with more limited graphics and content), and that there were many third-party developers designing new games for the cartridge, CD and HD-GD ports.
Currently, most new games available as cartridges and CDs for the Gamma are indie games. Some of them are very popular and generate good profits; most new releases from larger companies are only available on HD-GDs (for both the Delta/GammaCD and Epsilon systems).
