History Of Console Games

The Smithsonian has recognized video games as a form of art and the video game industry has become a powerhouse when it comes to revenue.  Modern video games are created by teams of programmers and artists, led by a host of management and corporate committees, with games being designed based on market information and test groups.  It wasn’t always like this and the fact that has happened is a testament to the profit to be made from video games these days. 

Originally, video game design took place in basements or garages, with one or two programmers working late into the night to create their works of art.  They may be made by people who weren’t even employed to produce video games, but rather, created them because they enjoyed doing so.  These would often be sold as shareware on the internet or at computer clubs helping the first generation of video game designers to make enough money to escalate the gaming scene into the gaming industry.  There have been many companies to make console games systems over the years, today, only the biggest 3 remain active.

Technology

Originally, consoles were designed with 8 bit code.  This was fine for most 2d side scrolling and platform games, but the graphics were limited to 256 colors and the amount of memory they could utilize was very limited.  By the late 90’s 32 bit processors were in use and graphics had a come a long way.  With full 3-D rendering and high quality sound, the games were beginning to take a hold in the living rooms across the world.

The current generation of consoles uses 64 bit processors, combined with the most realistic yet 3-D rendering, along with high definition video output designed to be used with today’s HDTV’s.  They also often feature digital audio output to decode surround sound audio to match up with the home theaters that many of these consoles are used in.  For most the life of console games a gamepad, or a small control device with both analog and digital controls was the main method of controlling the gaming experience.  There were other options such as the light gun or power fist from Nintendo®.

It wasn’t until recently however, that a viable and interesting alternative to the gamepad has come into being.  The Nintendo WII® uses a wireless “nun chuck” to direct action on the screen by using the motion of the controller in the air.  This was then followed by a very similar control system from Sony® which was supposed to offer a better experience in the same format as that of the Wii as well as being able to take advantage of the better graphics hardware of the play station 3.  Microsoft has recently raised the bar another level by doing away with the controller all together and using a sophisticated set of cameras and sensors to make the human body the controller, with movements  made in the real world reflected by the characters on screen. 

Who Makes Video Game Consoles?

Over the years, there have been many large and smaller companies who have made console games and the systems to play them on.  The history of video games has been one of contracting space, with only the most competitive staying in favor.  Some of these remaining competitors are listed here. 

Sony

One of the largest makers of electronics in the world, the play station was Sony’s entry into the game console world.  It was based on a DVD system with a powerful CPU and graphics processor.  At least it was what was powerful for the time.    This console made a huge hit with is versatility and the huge number of “A” list titles that were available for it.  This was one of the first entries into the 32 bit consoles.       The play station 2 continued this tradition and of the play station and sold very well, but the technical advances were relatively few.  The Play station 3 was a wholly different platform with the ability to play blu ray discs and its games were put on blu rays.  This allows the game to utilize up the 50 megabyte limit the blu ray discs provide as well as including bonus audio and video features. Sony’s main page for information about its play station consoles and the games they play can be found at http://us.playstation.com/.

Nintendo

One of the grandfathers of the console gaming world, Nintendo came to the united states with an 8 bit console in the 80’s that changed the history of video games and a great deal of families and the way that they were entertained.  The original Nintendo cartridge used a plug in cartridge that soon stacked up on shelves around the TV’s of many families.  The Nintendo consoles to follow were very much evolutionary steps when it came to models like the Nintendo 64 and GameCube.  However, with the newer Wii, Nintendo has made a rather revolutionary design, while not featuring the eye popping high definition graphics of its competitors in the current market; it maintains a high level of fun that people are flocking to these days. The Wii is the current Nintendo console and its homepage is found at http://www.nintendo.com/wii.

Microsoft

A relative late comer to the console game world, the Xbox was simply a mid level PC in a Microsoft case.  The graphics processor was specially designed for the console and it brought the inevitable and not very flattering comparisons with PC gaming.  The next console they devised the Xbox 360, would have a short lived but significant lead in the hardware race beyond their pc competitors.  They were still using a relatively PC like platform. The Xbox 360 is the current Microsoft console.  Its homepage is located at http://www.xbox.com/en-US/.