The in-home game systems of today are considered fifth-generation which means that people have been able to play games in their homes since the 70s. From the time of the first in-home gaming system to today’s there has been a challenge in the gaming market to make the systems appeal to more and more people. How do the gaming companies plan to do this? How do the gaming systems change to meet the competitors system? These are all relevant questions when studying the history of in-home gaming. Throughout the history of gaming, programmers have tried to make games more lifelike by producing better graphics and programs for their games.
In the first generation of in-home gaming systems graphics were mainly pixel imaging on a screen with very little details. At that time gaming was still mainly for the arcade, which had parts that were bulky and heavy, even though these game systems were only eight bit systems and graphics. These systems were the only way to game at the performance of an eight bit system. According to “A History of Video Game Consoles” (2012), “… [the Magnavox Odyssey was] the first commercial video-game console” (“A History of Video Game Consoles”, 2012).
With introduction of the Magnavox Odyssey, the public now had a choice to go to the arcade or to buy an in-home system and enjoy gaming without having to pay for ever session. A few years after the Magnavox Odyssey a new system was introduced to the public, this system was the Atari 2600 VCS. The Atari had the same performance system that the Odyssey. At this time cartridges were the only way to store game data for the gaming systems.
The Essay on Cynthia Cooper “She Got Game: My Personal Odyssey” summary and how it affects your life
Womens basketball is often overlooked and judged, little do people know how much of an impact it can have on a lady playing the sport. Most people think of basketball as a mans sport, and could never interpret the game from a female players perspective. In the autobiography "She Got Game: My Personal Odyssey" by Cynthia Cooper it shows the reader just that, the dedication being brought by a woman ...
Out of the two first generation in-home gaming systems Atari was the dominate console with the most sales (“Classic Gaming”, 1996-2011).
The second generation of in-home gaming systems was the Nintendo which had an eight bit system still and the Sega Genesis which had a 16 bit system and graphic card which made the graphics for the system better than the systems before them. The first of these two systems to come out was the Nintendo which had taken over the market from the Odyssey and the Atari. After five years of being the best on the block the Nintendo was challenge by the development of the Sega Genesis (“Classic Gaming”, 1996-2011).
Sega was to be better than the Nintendo, and as predicted it dominated the market. Each system had its fans and choice of games. For the Nintendo it was games like Metroid, Link, the Mario set, and others classics. The Sega had games like Sonic the Hedgehog and sports games (“Classic Gaming”, 1996-2011).
Both gaming systems were considered to have the latest graphics of its time, the Sega was considered to be advanced because of its better system card, which Nintendo did not have at the time.
This did give Sega a jump over Nintendo, so Nintendo went to a company called Sony for help to take back the market (G4, 2011).
In the beginning of the third generation of when Nintendo first went to Sony for help they turned them down, but after getting a designer that was willing to take the chance Sony agree to help Nintendo (G4, 2011).
Because of a disagreement between Sony and Nintendo, Sony dropped the deal with Nintendo and started its own project (G4, 2011).
Even without Sony’s help Nintendo went on to create the Super Nintendo, a 16 bit system with 2-D graphics like the Sega. Nintendo reigned for a few years until Sony released its system, the PlayStation. The new in-home gaming system was a 32 bit system and used CD-ROM technology. The PlayStation also had 3-D graphics which helped its marketing and sales. PlayStation was the first of any game systems to the CD-ROM technology for gaming. To try take back the market Nintendo came out with the Nintendo 64.
The Term Paper on Nintendo Video Game
... Nintendo's Gaming Worlds will showcase the latest in technology from interactive theme rides, internet cafes directly linked to Nintendo's web site, games ... fields such as multimedia, computer graphics, virtual reality, and high ... once the next generation systems were fully on line ... playstation did not come out until 1995. Before 1996, SEGA and Nintendo had 90% of the market share of the video game ...
Like the PlayStation the Nintendo 64 had a 32 bit system. Unlike the PlayStation the Nintendo 64 stuck to using cartridge data holders. Both the Nintendo 64, and the PlayStation were very popular and had many fans which kept them in a very close tie as the dominate system. Skipping forward to this generation of in-home gaming systems, there are three systems that is in the race to dominate the gaming world. In first is the PlayStation Three, second is the Xbox 360, and last is the Nintendo Wii. The PS3 is a 264 bit system that plays data disc that is CD-ROM/Blu-ray technology and has semi-realistic graphics that is better played on a HD TV screen. The Xbox 360 is a 250 bit system that plays data disc that is CD-ROM/Blu-ray technology and semi-realistic graphics. The 360 can be played on either the HDTV screen or just a basic TV screen and it does not affect the quality as much as the PS3 does. The Wii is best played on the basic TV screen because it is 164 bit system and uses CD-ROM technology to store data.
The Wii’s graphics are cartoon styles with 3-D imaging that makes it appeal to the younger crowd. All three systems have the ability to be exercise compatible in the sense that the systems have add-on devices that allow the player to control the character of the game by moving around his or her limbs and body. This fitness add-on that the games have was first used by Nintendo with the Nintendo Wii. Nintendo also has a new system that will be coming out soon called the Nintendo WiiU, and this system is supposed to be a little more advanced with all of its features than both the 360 and the PS3. Each generation of the in-home gaming systems have brought new graphics and newer technologies to bring entertainment to people with convince of staying in their homes. The gaming companies did this by upgrading the processors each generation to help better the graphics and developing games to draw more people to the market. This helps the companies establish fans and dedicated players that would be sure to play on the systems and buy the new ones as they came out. After 5 generations of in-home gaming systems the companies are still coming out with new programs and games to increase sales as well as to give the players entertainment that is worth their money.
The Essay on Nintendo 64 Vs Playstation
In the two years of 1995 and 1996, the video game world was taken into another gaming dimension. The releases of the Sony Playstation in September of `95 and the Nintendo 64 in September of `96 has given the gaming world an enormous boost of technological advances in the home entertainment system. Sony and Nintendo soon became heated rivals as each company tries to out sell each other in the ...
References
A History of Video Game Consoles. (2012).
Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,2029221,00.html Classic Gaming. (1996-2011).
Retrieved from http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/genesis/ G4 (2011, February 20).
The Complete History of the Sony PlayStation [Video file]. Retrieved from YouTube website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ryi1QBA6XyI#!
