Game Consoles

Game Consoles Time line of game consoles (1st Generation Gaming)

Magnavox Odyssey

The 1st ever mass produced video game console was produced in 1972 by an electronics company called Magnavox and they produced a games console called the Magnavox Odyssey and was to become the 1st ever games console to connect direct to a TV and use that as a display monitor, and thanks to the fluctuation of the game pong, which help to make games consoles more popular, Magnavox company cancelled the production of the Magnavox Odyssey to produced less powerful model's which became called the Odyssey 100 and later produced the Odyssey 200 which was a more higher end model's. 

The game console Odyssey used the 1st ever produced analog controller which had one joystick as the movement for the game. 

Cartridge board

And to produce the games on the Odyssey console the company designed a cartridge type game which was called the printed circuit board which had interlocking circuits which would link to the console and produce the desired game on the screen.

Game Consoles Time line of game consoles (2nd Generation Gaming)

The 2nd generation of gaming was introduced by a company called Fair child who later produced a game console called the Fair Child Video Entertainment System which was released in 1976 and became the 1st ever games console to incorporate the use of CPU also know as a Central Processing Unit, Robert Noyce who worked on the Fair child F8 later disbanded from the company and produced the company called Intel and this move would later be the down fall of the company Fair child.

Fair Child Video Entertainment System 

this generation of game console was better in the limitations of the previous generations console because it used cartridge based games which had all the information stored on a cartridge and compare this to the previous console (Magnavox Odysseys) used a cartridge based system but it was used to make up part of the game because the other connectors were inside the console meaning you were limited to the games you could play.

Also the Fair child would later be the rise in the production of the cartridge based game, to store the information making consoles slightly more powerful due to less components being used for the consoles production. and thanks the to the company Atari, who later capitalised on the use of cartridge games, they produced games quicker before the market got filled cartridges and practically stole most of the money from Fair child over the cartridge sales and then Fair child console later became unpopular because of Atari stealing the lime light.

Video game crash in 1977

In 1977 the older companies that produced games console later sold the old stocks of consoles at a loss and the market later dropped in sales and most companies would later close down leaving the likes of Atari company and Magnavox Odyssey still producing games for the nation.

And due to the 2 companies being left in the battle, both companies later produced there own cartridge based systems out and the market took another high again, and with the introduction of the arcade version space invaders on arcade machines and then later produced it for there consoles and the market soon took a high for sales.

Video game crash in 1983

In 1983 the market when into another depression on sales of game consoles because of most companies  producing mass game consoles and very low quality games which soon put people of buying game consoles from even the likes of Atari who produced a flop game called E.T. which valuable customers of there sales.

Game Consoles Time line of game consoles (3rd Generation Gaming)

Nintendo Famicom

In 1983 Nintendo Later released the family computer or a.k.a the Famicom consoles, and with the introduction of this new console by Nintendo the new console could support higher resolutions, more sprites, and even more tiled backgrounds.

Light Zapper

typical features of this console were the introduction of 60 pin cartridge system which was used to make the consoles smaller in size, and what made this console better than the previous console was included with the console was a light zapper giving more interactions with games, also came with two controller pads and also two games making it more desirable than the Fair Child games console.



Game Consoles Time line of game consoles (4th Generation Gaming)

Sega Mega Drive/Genesis 

In 1988 Sega released the next generation of console called the Sega mega/genesis drive, which revolutionised the storage capacity of games because they Incorporated the new CD drive or compact disc. and Sega later released the newer model of the console called the 32X version which add more polygon functions and increased graphic quality.

and because of the introduction of the 32 Bit system gaming, it meant game consoles were stepping up in the market from the previous console, which used a 16 Bit system which limited the graphics and performance of the previous console. and the resolutions of the screen were also limited, but were better than the last because the Sega 32X system had a resolution of 320 x 480 screen resolutions which added better display for gaming.

Also Nintendo released there console called the super Nintendo Entertainment System which would rival most companies in the game console market.

Game Consoles Time line of game consoles (5th Generation Gaming)

PlayStation 1

Between 192 and 1995 there were multiple consoles released which made composition harder between companies, and the console that rivalled all consoles during this era was the Sony PlayStation console which was the best selling console and sold over 100 million copies. The PlayStation was the eventual result of a breakdown of a business partnership plan between Sony and Nintendo to create a CD add-on for the SNES. Nintendo changed the deal and went to Philips and Sony later finished the product and only adding there name to the mix and Sony would later become one of the best game console companies going in future times.

now when the PS1 games console came around, there was a whole new bench mark set for how gaming would be done, and with PS1 the graphics content would be better than the last consoles for example the processing chip inside the PS1 was nearly 4x times the power of the previous console which was the Sega mega drive system yet it still ran on 32 Bit system and also had better graphics quality which the PS1 could support 640 x 480 resolutions compared to the Sega drive which supported 480 x 320 resolutions and this being the case this was why Sony and there PS1 was the best game of its generation.

Game Consoles Time line of game consoles (6th Generation Gaming)

Sega Dreamcast

during this era of gaming, the world began to see in change in consoles for example PC  began to hit the markets with the introduction of flash memory devices and hard drive memory systems and even on line gaming on the PCs.

Sega's dream cast was later to be their last console because they couldn't keep continuing the console production with the likes of Nintendo and Sony with their consoles.

early in 2000 Sony later released newest console called the PlayStation 2 which would later be the rise of Sony computer entertainment, and was the first game console to have a DVD player inside to play films on the console, and Sony later redesigned the console and made it smaller, and as of July 2008 over 140 million copies were sold.

Game Consoles Time line of game consoles (7th Generation Gaming)

PlayStation 3

in 2005 Microsoft later entered the gaming market with the introduction of xbox 360 which would later incorporate the use of a HDD or hard disc drive and later in the future the xbox would later be fitted with a device called Kinect which was motion control unit, and later that year Sony introduced there new line of consoles called the PlayStation 3 console, PlayStation 3 was the first console to introduce the use of HDMI output and utilised all the resolutions on the screen.

also with the new Sony console, it could have up to seven controls connected to the console via blue tooth and used a new revolutionised disc storage media called Blue Ray disc which tripled the number of storage layers on the disc increasing storage for games significantly. and compare the on line service to xbox, the on line service by Sony was free unlike Microsoft where you had to pay a fee to play on there on line servers.

Game Consoles Time line of game consoles (8th Generation Gaming)

Nintendo next home console, the Wii U was officially announced on June 7, 2011. The Wii U is Nintendo first console to support high definition graphics up to 1080p and will be the first console to use a controller with a built-in touchscreen. The Wii U will also be backwards compatible with all of the original Wii controllers and input devices.

and will soon revolutionise gaming in the future because of the introduction of the built in touch screen controller.

Failed Game consoles

Fair child

Failed game consoles: the Fair child video entertainment system this was due to the company Atari who later sore how well the cartridge based storage system, they soon started making more cartridges than Fair child and were soon stealing the market from them which caused Fair Child to loose customers and soon couldn't compete with Atari and later went out of business.

Sega Master System

The second failed game console was the Sega master system was designed to compete with the likes of Nintendo Famicom but got no real market share in the north America region and japan, but when introduced in to European market it out sold the Falcon system but still couldn't compete the likes of Nintendo consoles.

3DO Interactive Multiplayer

The third failed game console was the 3DO interactive multilayer system which was more powerful than both sega and Nintendo latest console combined and also cost twice as much, but could never really compete with the market, and then soon after Sony came out with the PlayStation 1 and then the 3DO soon became an outcast of generation consoles.

Atari Jaguar

The Fourth failed game console was the Atari jaguar which was released to give gamers a superior advantage in the technology market but soon faded in the market because it is was very hard to program the software, and due to the years before with other dominating companies, the market didn't open up for Atari and its new console and soon faded out. 

Sega Dream Cast

And another failed games console was the Sega dream cast, which failed because of one major reason, which was Sega introduced a new storage media device which would be use to combat the piracy market of games, but soon after the software was cracked and Sega later began software making and publishing only and discontinued there console career.



Hardware that has changed gaming media

Typical storage of a CD-ROM at the time of it being introduced

Two specific hardware devices that changed the game market for futures to come was the introduction of the CD or compact disc which helped increase the size the storage for games, making game graphics better and with the introduction of the CD laser which helped scan the new media format which also made the reading of information of the game quicker making games render quicker giving smoother game play.

Example of the compact disc being useful was CD-ROM drives employ a near-infrared 780 NM laser diode, The laser beam is directed onto the disc via an opto-electronic tracking module, which then detects whether the beam has been reflected or scattered and the reflection or the scatter would show the specific binary coding for games and helped the game be read quicker.

And this type of hardware made the PS1 very successful was due to the storage of games on media storage devices was increasing and meant there could be more information stored on the CD at anyone time making graphics and game play longer.

And the second hardware that made a change in the gaming market was the introduction of the HDMI output cable, and this made a huge change in the gaming media because the game consoles introduced with this like the PS3 was able to utilise the full resolution of a HD screen which is 1080p resolution and if it wasn't the introduction of this consoles that was later introduced may never have been having top resolution graphics and the consoles may never have been fully utilised.

Latest games consoles

The latest games consoles available in present day games console markets are the PS3, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and the Nintendo wii, and all these consoles have very different gaming markets but still appeal to a huge audience.

PS3 Controller

For example the PS3 when Sony released there console, it set the bench mark for new features of gaming consoles and how each game would play, and comparing these features from older generation consoles you can see how much technology has risen from each generation. for example the ps3 game console uses a new designed games controller called the ps3 wireless six-axis controller, which with certain games sold for the PS3 you could control the character using motion movement, hence the name six axis because you could control the character on six different axis and also because of the capabilities of a wireless controller, it meant the player wasn't limited to the position of his games console when wanting to play games because he could use the controller wireless. and when playing flight simulations games you can actually control the full movement of the aircraft using the six axis function.

PS1 Controller

Now when comparing these game controllers from older generation, you will find a huge difference in controllers, for example the PS1 games controller used a controller with no wireless capabilities and also had to be constantly connected to the games console limiting the position of the games console and also limiting the position of player, and you were also limited on the number of controllers being connected at any one time, for example the PS1 could have only 2 games controllers being connected at anyone time, but compare this to Sony's latest games console you can fit up to 7 game controllers wireless allowing more people to play the game console.

Blue-Ray Disc

For example the Xbox 360 when Microsoft released there console, the capabilities you could do with it was in competition with Sony and there console, for example, Microsoft had the wireless capabilities of wireless controllers like Sony but couldn't  as many controllers as Sony, and also the game console was limited to the size of the disc and data stored, for example Sony used a new generation of DVD storage called the blue Ray disc which depending on the disc could hold up to 10x more data than Microsoft with there disc storage which gave Microsoft major limitations because the size of the games them selves had to be reduced in size compromising in the graphic and mass content of games.

Now when you compare the Xbox 360 to older generation consoles Microsoft did have the upper hand over older consoles but was still limited for example Sony with there older models of consoles like the PS1 and PS2 Microsoft didn't have much more than what these consoles offered, apart from the wireless controller units, and better Internet gaming experience, but with the arrival of the PS2 you could play on line thanks to the introduction of the Internet, and the PS2 could hold up to 4 controllers at any one time thanks to an adaptor alloying extra controllers being connected, but when comparing these games console you will find Microsoft and there game console is not much different to the PS2 which is why there is still a market for Sony in there games consoles because they offer more for less.

Wii Remote

Now when we look at the features of the Nintendo Wii console, the features for this console was in heard of, and this was because Nintendo didn't want people to just play games using a controller they actually wanted the player to interact with the games and use the body movement as the controller by using a wireless infra red controller which when the player made a movement, the movement would be shown on the display device. and thanks to Nintendo using this, the audience for Nintendo was in serious competition with Sony and Microsoft because people began to like the idea of interacting with there games making them enjoy the games they play.

Now when comparing the WII console with older generations of console there not far from being the same apart from the interactions with game, for example the graphic quality of the wii console is no better than graphics seen on PS1 and PS2 and this was due to the fact the size of interactions of the character in the game. now when you compare features of the wii you will find it uses the same storage capacity as Microsoft meaning the game and game data are limited to what you can make.

Still making Sony the better console in the market because you can do more than Microsoft and wii consoles combined, for example Sony has motion capabilities same as wii, and the Sony console has same graphics if not better on certain games than Microsoft, and Sony offer a free on line service unlike Microsoft where you have to pay a fee each year to play on line. and Sony being the company there are they have always lead the way in technology advancements for example the introduction of the CD or compact disc which revolutionised storage of games since. and offered better graphics per generation console thanks to more advancement in technology in the microchip production.

On line capabilities of the modern Console

The on line capabilities of modern game consoles can vary because each console has different features available when on line gaming, for example the PS3 has on line gaming and offers there customers free on line gaming compared to the Xbox 360 which charges there users for the use of on line gaming but some of the customers do rival the issues that xbox 360 servers are better than Sony servers. now when comparing the Wii which has on line gaming, but there on line gaming is completely different to the likes  of Microsoft with the xbox 360 and Sony's PS3 and this is because wii uses the motion movement as the player interaction which means there on line capabilities have to be redesigned to accommodate the motion movement making wii rival most game console on line capabilities when playing on line.

PS3 on line capabilities and uses:

PS3 Software update Menu

The PS3 on line capabilities can vary from what you are actually wanting. for example the multiple uses that PS3 offer for on line are, software updates to keep you systems software up to date and get new features on the XMB software for the PS3 console.

Playstation store Menu

You also have the use of the PlayStation store which allows the user to download new content for their console like films, games and applications, and also the user can download content for portable devices such as the PS vita and PSP.

Multiple Account holders Per Console

You also have the option to create a PlayStation account which allows the user to make an account name of the choosing and play other users from around the world on games which have multiplayer capabilities.






Predictions of Eighth Generation gaming would be:

In my personal opinion, i believe that the next generation of gaming would begin to rival the likes of PC capabilities and this is because as technology progresses so does the size and quality of gaming, for example the PS3 console uses a processing chip which is twice as powerful and twice as quick at processing information that the most GPU's are used in PC's so i believe that if Sony were to create anew generation of gaming consoles, the graphics and processing capabilities of the GPU would be up to 4x the speed and power of a general PC of today.

Xbox kinect

But because of the limitations involved when making consoles, the consoles in the future may only have the gaming quality of computers today, also with the introduction to motion movement being used on TVs and with Xbox and wii consoles, i believe as gaming becomes more popular motion movement will be a huge break through in gaming, you could have the introduction of leg and hand straps which would be used for the characters leg and arm movement and as technology advances improve so does the information that can be processed from the motion movement software and hardware.

PRS-T2 3D Viewer

Also I believe with Sony just releasing there new visor unit which has two 2.5" inch 3D screens at the correct distance from the eye this new design in gaming has set a bench mark for the consoles because it allows the player to immerse them self in the action more and become 'one with game' and with this visor unit most players could use the word virtual reality when gaming because this visor unit would be something you would see in fiction films. but when combining the use of motion movement and a visor unit as complex and technologically advance you could be looking at more of virtual gaming than ever seen before.

And with the introduction of portable gaming devices like the PS Vita i believe in the next generation of consoles, Sony would have designed a way where you can play actual games from your console on to your portable device through wi-fi and have the joy of most top rated games on the console being played on the portable devices as-well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7vcGqha6xJ0