A video game console is an interactive home entertainment computer. The term is used to distinguish a machine designed for consumers to buy and use solely for playing video games from a personal computer, which has many other functions, or arcade games, which are designed for businesses to buy and then charge others to play.
The concept of what a console is has evolved over successive generations of hardware, and the lines between consoles and other types of computers has blurred in some areas. Since the Sony PlayStation arrived with the ability to play music CDs, latter-generation consoles have expanded on their original functionality as simple game machines to allow users to engage in a much broader range of activities. With examples such as DVD playback[1], digital image viewing[2], and web browsing[3], modern consoles are no longer dedicated to solely playing games.
History edit
- Main article: History of video game consoles
Although the first computer games appeared in the 50s[4], it was not until 1972 that Magnavox released the first video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, designed by Ralph Baer. The success of the Odyssey laid the foundations for a new industry of interactive home entertainment, and paved the way for companies such as Atari and Coleco to release newer consoles, with features such as interchangable game cartridges, and advanced controllers like the Coleco Telstar Marksman's light gun.
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), released in Japan in 1983 and the US in 1985, was the first console to successfully bridge the Japanese and American markets, and also perform well In Europe. This period also saw the release of the Sega Master System, sparking off competition between Nintendo and Sega, both of which were driving forces behind console development and fierce rivals. While the Master System failed to produce the same level of sales as the NES, Sega regained market share by releasing their next-generation console, the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, in 1988, two years before Nintendo could release theirs, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).
Bits edit
Each new gerenation of console hardware made use of the rapid development of processing technology. Newer machines could output a greater range of colours, more sprites, and introduced graphical technologies such as scaling, and vector graphics. One way this increase in processing power was conveyed to consumers was through the measurement of "bits". The TurboGrafx 16, Genesis, and SNES were among the first consoles to advertise the fact that they contained 16-bit processors. This fourth generation of console hardware was often referred to as the 16-bit era, and the previous generation as the 8-bit.
The bit-value of a console referred to the word length of a console's processor (the TurboGrafx had an 8-bit CPU, but a 16-bit dedicated graphics processor). As the graphical performance of console hardware is dependant on many factors, using bits was a crude way to gauge a console's overall ability, but served better to distinguish between generations.
The next generation of consoles continued to use bits as a means to advertise the latest technology, but
The leap to 3D edit
3D graphics handling appeared on consoles as early as the ???, but limited processing power meant its use was restricted. The fifth generation of console hardware allowed for more 3D stuff.
Sony entered the market with their Playstation in YEAR. Didn't use bits, decided to go with more in-depth technical details. 3D performance: triangles, polygons, etc. Possibly because the PSX used a 32-bit processor while the N64 featured a 64-bit one (although it only used 32-bit instructions most of the time).
N64? Playstation, Sony am the best. Saturn = hi plz look at me. Dreamcast = gg wp.
Modern consoles edit
The up and coming seventh generation of consoles sees a different approach from hardware manufacturers over marketing. Having pushed increased performance and graphical ability as the main selling points, the newest range of consoles are being advertised not just as grapical powerhouses. Microsoft is pushing their online gaming service Live, plus the 360's ability to act as a media center. Sony has followed suit, and is developing an online service to counter Live, plus the PS3 will have some stuff to do with media cards or something lol. Nintendo is taking a slightly different approach, and often quotes itself as not being in competition with sony and MS. Nintendo have decided to do some crazy shit with a whack controller. lol.
Battle for the living room edit
It has been said that console manufacturers are seeking to entrench themselves in the living rooms of their userbase by reducing the need for other home media equipment[5].
The development of the PC gaming market has seen the reverse happen too; emerging products like the Evo: Phase One and other Home Theatre PCs are being branded as competitors to dedicated video game consoles, despite being much more multi-functional.
Common traits edit
Despite these convergences, modern consoles still share similar traits with their more dedicated predecessors:
- A unique storage medium. Games released for a particular console are usually sold as data stored on a proprietary format. Early generations often used cartridges; electronic boards containing ROM chips, sealed in a plastic case with an exposed length of metal contact points to allow a physical connection to the console's cartridge port. Later generations have seen the use of more convenient media such as CDs and DVDs, albeit usually with some form of copy protection or proprietary data storage format.
- A unique controller. Most consoles only support input devices specifically designed for that platform. Often with a proprietary connector, these controllers feature a series of buttons, and more recently, more advanced input methods such as analogue switches.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ PS2 Specifications
- ^ Xbox 360 specifications
- ^ Opera for Nintendo devices
- ^ Computer Games - Beginnings
- ^ Book of Xenon, Xbox 360's strategy document, written by J Allard