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CES: Hits and misses of the last 45 years

Video games have been a big part of CES, which has seen the debut of Pong (1975), Tetris (1988), the original Nintendo (1985) and X-box (2001). (Copyright: Getty Images)

Getty Images Video games have been a big part of CES, which has seen the debut of Pong (1975), Tetris (1988), the original Nintendo (1985) and X-box (2001). (Copyright: Getty Images) — Video games have been a big part of CES, which has seen the debut of Pong (1975), Tetris (1988), the original Nintendo (1985) and X-box (2001). (Copyright: Getty Images)

One of the world's largest technology shows kicks off this week in Las Vegas. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) brings together 150,000 people and 20,000 new products.

The annual fair has been running for 45 years, in which time it has seen the introduction of many of the consumer technologies we now take for granted.

However, not every launch has met with the same level of acclaim or success.

Explore our gallery of some of the big CES debuts of the last four decades ...and decide whether they were a hit or a miss.

More stunning image galleries:

Gruesome tools and intimate views

Christmas treats and the end of the world

Bathing snow monkeys, a tweeting pope and elephant dung coffee.

Architectural giants and a new way of seeing the Moon

Red pandas, Saturn and Nature’s unstoppable forces

The world's largest bloom, the world's largest aquarium and the world's fastest sailing boat

Venice under water, a total eclipse and a pedestrian-avoiding car

Space shuttle, Baumgartner and Hurricane Sandy

The best of 2012 galleries:

A year in space

The year in technology

A year of discovery

People of the year

The year in weather

The year in wildlife

Weird and wonderful

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