Peggasus988’s Weblog

FUTURE-CASTING
CONSOLE GAMING

Firstly I am going to be commenting on where computer games and computer consoles came from, in knowing where the technology started, one can estimate where it may be going. At this point I should note that the first computer company to use the word “Console” was a company named Fairchild with their computer the “VES” (video entertainment system) in 1976, however it should be noted that this was not the first gaming console.

The first gaming console to date according to my research was the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972, this console used cartridges, which at this point was a bit of an innovation as this technology upped the user interaction on more than one level. They could now pack more content into their games and they could make the games more playable. Magnavox later brought out two more consoles, the Odyssey 100 and the Odyssey 200 both in 1975.

1976 saw the rise of the VES that adapted a programmable microprocessor that could enhance the form of cartridges, simply meaning that games could store more content because the carts themselves needed only a single rom chip to store instructions. The majority of information now was beginning to be stored on the consoles themselves.

At the time of 1977 Atari and Magnavox were the only companies developing computer consoles.1980 saw a boost in sales after the release of Space Invaders, the first game to be taken seriously. Just as the market began to expand, 1983 saw the game industry crash due to a majority of poorly made games. As an attempt to combat the crash newcomer Nintendo released their first home entertainment system the Famico, this system supported high-resolution sprites and tiled backgrounds with more colours.

By the year of 1985 Nintendo brought a newer console to the U.S in the form of the NES (Nintendo entertainment system) with the release of Super Mario, it became a sure hit and began to boost sales back up. Around this time the Sega Master system was released to combat the sales of the NES.

By 1988 Sega had created the Sega Mega Drive and was releasing it in Japan, it made its later debut in the U.S and Europe by the year of 1990. Sega was trying to win over audiences by sporting a mega cd/sega cd provider to increase storage on their console, they also added a polygon – processing functionality to gain a hold of the market but failed due to the lack of software support. Their downfall was their provider being that programmers found it difficult and eventually stopped making games for the console.
Also during 1988-1990 Necs “Turbografx-16” and Snk Playmores “Neo Geo” consoles were released.

The fifth generation of consoles as it is referred to sets the mark for the biggest innovation in console gaming; this was the beginning of 3D gaming (Tomb Raider, The Legend of Zelda and Mario 64) up until this time all games had been 2D based. At the beginning of the fifth generation Atari Jaguar and 3DO were still supporting 2D based sprites however they had upped their console software to the systems so they were the most powerful to date. However by the year 1996 both consoles were discontinued due to cost and programming difficulties. This was one of the biggest problems consoles in the fifth generation had, to keep their software from getting copied, companies created programs to develop their games, often being obscenely hard to use and difficult to teach and pass on.

Sony’s Playstation, Nintendo’s N64 and Sega’s Saturn were released in 1994 however the Saturn was discontinued in 1998, disappointing really as the Saturn was the first console to implement the use of cd rom. Sony later made a smaller Playstation named the PSone.
All of these consoles used 3D interfaces for their games and it was at this point that computer consoles began to become widely popular.
The sixth generation came swiftly and at the same time so did Sega’s last console the Dreamcast, it was seen ahead of its time and used a software known as GD-rom to stop software piracy, however it was also the first sixth generation console to be discontinued, coming off selves in 2001, this was also the first console to use online-play capabilities which has been said to be why the console failed, the community weren’t ready for it.

Sony followed up their highly successful Playstation with the Playstation 2 in 2000; this was the first console to play DVDs and is still the best selling console to date.
Nintendo moved on from the N64 to the Gamecube in 2001 making that Nintendo’s fourth video game console. Newcomer Microsoft brought its first console to the table in 2001with the Xbox; this was also the first console to use a hard drive to save games on, this was a huge innovation in gaming, gamers could now save their progress right to the console. This innovation would later be used on every console to date.

The seventh and current generation of consoles consists of the Xbox 360 by Microsoft, the Nintendo Wii by Nintendo and the Playstation 3 by Sony. Each of these consoles is on the cutting edge of technology and are all looking at new ways for us as gamers to approach the console. Now knowing a brief history I plan to talk about the progression of console gaming from present to future, to focus on the adaptations that will take the market of computer games from singular to multi sensory gaming. I plan to comment on how and why I believe computer games to be evolving, where they are at the moment and where they will be in the not to distant future, while making note of the present day innovations that are currently changing the way we play.

I will also be suggesting how we can get to multi sensory gaming and how long I believe it will take for us to get there in terms of technology and game play.
In console gaming Nintendo has always been at the forefront of any development so it is only fair that I start in analyzing them. As I have stated already Nintendo were the first company to use high-resolution sprites and tiled backgrounds with more colours. This hasn’t just been the only advance Nintendo have started in console history; they were also the first company to create the “hand held” console. The first ever hand held console was infact the “game and watch” although many people are under the impression that the first was the “game boy”, this is a important issue because many computer based inventions are normally based on longevity, meaning that usually the first console has a lot of problems I.e. poor graphics, slow loading times. So the second model would work on sorting out these problems to eventually produce a well-rounded gaming unit.

The Game boy was just that, it wasn’t just a well made hand held console, it changed the way many people played computer games, you now didn’t have to stay home in your living room or bedroom, you could now play on the train journey to work, play on the bus journey to school or even play in the garden, Nintendo were finding ways to take gamers away from the norm and with the hand held this was a great start.

Since then Nintendo have continually updated their hand held unit making it better and better however only up until recently was it really updated to the 21st century. Nintendo’s current hand held computer console is the Nintendo DS (DS meaning dual screen) The Nintendo DS now has two screens for gamers to play on, and because of this the games can now be wider, pack more content and also be more visually striking. However this isn’t just it, the hand held itself folds upon its lower half to save space meaning its not heavy, easy to store and can be pretty much taken anywhere. Once more though this is not all, the biggest invention to the dual screened console is the use of the bottom screen as it is touch sensitive.
Because of this development into touch sensitivity Nintendo has really pushed the gaming market forward, before this companies hadn’t really considered any of the new age technology in games but thanks to Nintendo, other gaming companies have woken up to the idea of implementing new age technology into games meaning a more exciting future for gamers.

The touch screen invention isn’t just a good gadget because it woke up the market; it’s a great invention for gamers too. It truly challenges the way we play letting us, as individuals get more interactive with the console. From my own personal perspective I have already seen aspects where the gamer will have to use the touch screen to do a rubbing of an artefact, then in closing the DS and opening it up again the image will be copied to the top screen.
Aspects like this in games are truly exciting just for the sheer fact that it is so enjoyable to see an individual playing in a first person sense not a third.

By this I mean you find yourself acting out the actions rather than playing as a character acting out the actions. This ideal is but one of the ways Nintendo is making the games industry more interactive.
Going back to Nintendo’s home entertainment console the Wii.
It is apparent once again that Nintendo are really trying to push the market forward, being that they have made a first in interactive game play. The Wii uses weight sensitive controllers meaning that dependant on the way you hold them and in what angle, is portrayed likewise on the screen. This aspect to gaming has totally redefined some games. For instance AI characters no longer play tennis games, you holding the Wii remote as an individual play them. The concept of smacking the tennis ball as it comes into your court with the Wii remote truly defines what I was saying earlier about first person emersion into computer games. This is truly exciting, even without the sense of virtual reality we are still getting some of the benefits of it; being able to play tennis as well as other games whenever you want, touch sensitivity meaning you can truly control anything the games industry has to offer and unmentioned up until this point, wireless controllers. Which Nintendo also created, let us truly relax when playing computer games, not having to worry about wires.

It would seem that Nintendo are truly the pioneers of next-gen gaming not only in innovation but in comfort as well.
Since hitting the market the Xbox 360, the newest instalment from Microsoft, has also been setting the scene for next-gen gaming. One of the biggest new aspects to hit computer gaming has been the concept of online play, although Sega’s Dreamcast had done it before, it hadn’t been done since at least not with such great success.
Online playing simple means playing with anyone around the world. Microsoft were the first computer company to fully understand this and implement this into games, which for gamers is a huge step in the right direction, being able to play with anyone in the world especially your friends is a great invention.

Microsoft have since taken this further, they now offer an online marketplace where you can purchase older games or content for current games, they also operate a friends section where you can look up your friends and chat to them, or join in with the current game they are playing. You can even look into the current game you are playing and see how you are ranked. Microsoft also operates online leader boards to rate how you play as a worldwide gamer, this whole concept of online play and online leader boards is a good one, the issue here is that it brings people together and can give games a longer replay value. For instance Halo 3 is a first person shooter but is widely held as the best online game for gameplay, the offline game won’t take long to finish while the online game is never ending due to the amount of matches you can have with friends or just random people, there is also the aspect that Bungie (the creators of the game) are continuously making new content for the online play.

The Xbox 360 has also taken the hard drive system further making it now a must have piece of kit for any next gen console, this is due to the amount of information that is now stored on computer consoles due to online content, game content and multimedia capabilities. In Short without having a data unit (hard drive) we cannot progress into the next generation of console gaming.

The main issue with Microsoft is that online gaming is defiantly a progression into the future however only as long as the games develop, if Microsoft keep making games that don’t fully recognise their market as a 21st century one or don’t begin to use next gen technology they will surly lose the market and the fan base they have with it. Microsoft has done well to boost interactivity in online gaming but now needs to boost it in the games themselves.

The Playstation 3 (the current Playstation to date) in terms of innovation or ingenuity seems rather lacking. They may have wireless controllers and the hard drive system and incorporate the weight sensitive system too, but this is nothing new, Nintendo and Microsoft has done both. It would seem that Playstation are struggling to make a console for the 21st century and in dong so are having to rely on other multimedia aspects. The only innovation that the Playstation has to date is the concept of blueray, which doesn’t really relate to console gaming in the slightest, the blueray function is merely for watching DVDs and is an alternative towards HD. If I was to suggest anything that would perhaps show the Playstation 3 as a next-gen console it would be that the console itself is a multimedia unit meaning that it plays DVDs, music, connects to the internet and connects to the Playstation portable (their own hand held console).

Although all this is good as it becomes very accessible to gamers and people alike in terms of interactivity and basic entertainment use, it has all been done before, by either Nintendo or Microsoft.
The biggest problem with Sony as I can see isn’t that they aren’t making their consoles next-gen because they are, it is simply this, they aren’t developing any new ideas themselves, they are regurgitating the ideas of Microsoft and Nintendo which from my opinion won’t work forever, if Sony don’t begin to bring some new ideas to the market they may find themselves left behind. The big name companies need to find new ways of making gamers interactive, multi sensory and entertaining. Sony aren’t doing this and if they carry on in this manner they may find themselves losing out to not only Nintendo and Microsoft but to the consumer as well.

I now plan to future cast where I believe computer consoles will go, in terms of what I have researched and what I have said.
In looking back over what I have written it is very clear to me that if the future is anything like the past Nintendo will pave the way in terms of ingenuity, innovation, inventiveness, and interactivity. Nintendo have been at the forefront of all big changes to the market and statistically are spending more money on research than the U.S army. So then where do Nintendo go from here, I would speculate that Nintendo and Microsoft have vested interests in the future of gaming consoles as Microsoft now have their foot very well in the door. I would say that Nintendo and Microsoft will firstly develop a console that would blend what their individual consoles do already, meaning it would be a console that could harbour internet interactivity while using weight sensitive and touch sensitive controllers. This console would be around for four to five years. I say four to five years because this is the average time for a console to be on the market plus at the time of this console becoming available Microsoft and Nintendo would be working on the next one, which would use totally new functions and truly develop the way we play.

Its no lie to say that it would take some time for a virtual reality gaming unit to be put into motion, if you just look at the history of gaming you can see that all great developments take time and there a usually a number of stepping stones to hit, before you can upgrade to a console like this.
Firstly Nintendo or Microsoft will have to incorporate the other senses into gaming, at the moment it is all to visual based to certainly develop. Once the issue of incorporating other senses into gaming has been tackled, they will then need to look at testing and cost, testing to see how people will react or indeed be taken with the new multi sensory consoles. Price is important too; to see how mass-producing the consoles will cost the consumer, if either of these two subjects is taken lightly it could prove the downfall of any new multi sensory consoles as well as the companies that are backing them.

I also believe that at a certain point in the future Microsoft may buy out Nintendo and Sony to form one unified company to which they can control the market, if this happens however it would show a sharp decline in the variety in games made because if the game in hand wasn’t liked by the companies that be it wouldn’t get made. Alternatively though if this were to happen I believe we would arrive at virtual reality console a lot quicker due to the effort this one unified company would put in to developing the console. If you can’t mass-produce loads of games, produce a highly successful console so you won’t need to. This in short means in producing a superior next gen console, the games would not need to be rushed out because the games that were already out would be astounding.

In conclusion we can only speculate where the games industry is going, however by looking at how it started we can begin to form a better idea of how it may proceed. We are living in a time of great new technological enhancements that can only make our consoles more entertaining and interactive and it is clearly only a matter of time before we hit virtual reality gaming. The big question to me isn’t when are we going to hit V.R gaming but what comes after, I guess only time we tell.

Research and Bibliography

Magazines

Edge, issue 187, videogame culture, April 2008, Editor; Tony Mott, Future publishing ltd, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, BA1 2BW

Xbox 360 the official xbox magazine, issue 32, April 2008, Editor; Jon Hicks, Future Publishing ltd

Games, issue 68, April 2008, Editor Rick Porter, Imagine publishing ltd

Nintendo the official magazine, April 2008, Editor Chandra Nair, Future Publishing ltd

The Playstation 3 magazine, issue 31, April 2008, Editor Daniel Dawkins, Future Publishing ltd

Books

The ultimate history of video games by Steven L. Kent, Published by Prima life, 2002, England

Power up: How Japanese video games gave the world an extra life by Chris Kohler, Published by Brandy Games, 2004, New York

The encyclopaedia of game machines: Consoles, Handhelds and Home computers 1972-2005 by Winnie Foster, Translated by Rafael Dyll and David McCarthy, Published by Hagen Schmid, 2005, New York

Game on!: From Pong to Oblivion – The greatest video games of all time by Simon Byron, Ste Curran and David McCarthy, Published by Headline book publishing, 2006, Leicester

Websites

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/gamesconsoles/

http://www.thegameconsole.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_console

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060612/murdey_01.shtml

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4756625.stm