TWC Paper
Title of paper: Technology
& Gaming: Evolution of Game Console
Executive Summary
The gaming experience
advances together with the advancement of technology. This paper would look into how the game
consoles have evolved over the years from William Higinbotham’s Tennis for Two (Mark, 2008) to PlayStations to XBOX360
Kinect. It would also discuss about the possible future considerations and the
impacts of these game consoles on the economy and society.
There
is no limitation to the future of gaming consoles that leads to the boundless
imagination of future gaming experience. Who knows? We might be able to create
a whole new 3d game play or bring the game into our dreams.
Introduction
The first game console was
called “Tennis for Two”, invented by William Higinbotham. Players served and volleyed using controllers
with buttons and rotating dials to control the angle of an invisible racquet
swing. This was in 1958. And now in 2010, we see game consoles like XBOX360
Kinect and Wii, which are able to take in player’s motion to play the same
tennis game. Over half a century, even though it is still the game old game of
tennis, technology has advanced tremendously. Better graphics, more user
interactions, nothing is impossible.
Technology, defined as the
branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and
their interrelation with life, society and the environment, drives the
evolution of video games and gaming consoles.
Evolution can be seen as any
process of formation or growth, or simply development. Video games and gaming
consoles evolve over time, improving for the better. From vector games like
PacMan to high-resolution graphic role-playing game (RPG) like Final Fantasy
XIII.
As an avid fan of RPG
series “Final Fantasy”, I saw how the
player’s game play improve overtime, be it the graphics, from pixelated
characters to those that look like real humans on screen. With the introduction
of Kinect and Wii, which are able to take in motions and even sound, there is just
so much more we can expect from the future of video games and the gaming
consoles.
This paper will bring you
through the time passage of the evolution of game console where we would look
at the how the gaming consoles and video games are like in the past before year
2000, how things are like from start of 2000 to 2010, and how things would be
in the future.
Historical Perspective
Game consoles and gaming
experience have gone through the harsh passage of time before what we see now.
The forerunner of the modern
video game was an electronic tennis game called “Tennis for Two”. It was first
introduced on October 18,1958, at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Two players
would play the electronic tennis games with separate controllers that are connected
to an analog computer and used an oscilloscope for a screen. William
Higinbotham, a nuclear scientist and also the creator of the game, realized how
static and non-interactive most science exhibits were and wanted to change this
impression. With this new invention, the Brookhaven National Laboratory livens
up as hundreds of visitors lined up for a chance to play the electronic tennis
game.
Game consoles like Atari
2600, released by Atari Inc. in October 1977 and Magnavox Odyssey, released in
1978 started to appear. As more competition arise, game companies announced yet
another generation of consoles in order to win the consumers’ heart. Competition from home computers and the loss
of publishing control played a part in saturating, and then imploding the video
game industry. Finally in 1983, the video game industry crashed.
It was only until 1985, when
Nintendo released Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), a new version of its
Famicom, that the industry crash ended.
Nintendo also released Super Mario Bros., which becomes one of the
best-selling games of all time.
The gaming experience in the
past was less graphic intensive. Most of the video games have 2d avatars, or
vector graphics. It was a common sight
to see pixelated characters in game and simple controls over the game.
Game consoles were simple
too, with a main body frame and controllers. There were also smaller versions
of game consoles such as the GameBoy. Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn made
their debut in 1995.
Overtime, game play has made
tremendous improvement, and we can see the vast difference between the
graphical displays. Images were of better quality and resolution.
As we move towards the 21st
century, game consoles continue to improve and become better.
Current Situation
The start of the new century
makes a new chapter in the history of the game industry. Sony released
PlayStation2, a sixth-generation game console. PlayStation2 is also one of the
best selling game console of all times, hitting a sales record of 150 million
in 2011.
XBOX appeared around the same
period together with Nintendo’s GameCube. It was a tough fight among these
three companies and each has its competitive edge. Newer and smaller versions
of consoles like PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS were introduced to see
which company would emerge winner at the end.
From year 2000 to 2005, the
gaming experience did not have much break through other than improvement in
graphics. Players still have to depend on the controller to navigate around.
However with the enticing game content, there is still a huge demand for such
game consoles. In order for the game companies to really win over the market,
they would have to come up with something different. And soon came the birth of
Nintendo Wii in 2006.
A distinguishing feature of
the Wii console is the wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used
as a handheld pointing device and detects movement in three dimensions. Another
distinctive feature would be WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages
and updates over the Internet while in standby mode. Wii focused on new
gameplay experiences and new forms of interactions with games.
With the introduction of Wii,
game players are now able to play “sports” with their controller-racquets and
have friendly matches to compete with each other, increasing the interactivity
of the games.
Not long after, XBOX360
Kinect is introduced to the public. Kinect took away the controller and game
players are able to navigate with motion. Kinect is the product of Project
Natal. It is a motion sensing input device by Microsoft for the Xbox360 video
game console and aims to broaden the Xbox360’s audience base. The new way of
interaction with the game is done through a natural user interface using
gestures and spoken commands.
Future Considerations
Now that we are able to take
player’s motion, there is so many different possible futures for video games
and game consoles. We would look at three different future gaming namely mind
control, in-sleep gaming and real-time live game. We would also look at the
impact the future considerations socially and economically.
In the future, I believe that
we would be able to create out the whole gaming environment. Putting on
three-dimensional glasses, we would be able to see the 3d version of the
environment.
Mind Control
If we were to combine the
brain-computer interface (BCI), which is a direct communication pathway between
the brain and an external device, with gaming technologies, we would be able to
create controller-less environment. Our brains would be the one that is
navigating around the game. (more
elaboration will be included)
In-Sleep Game
We might even be able to play
games while we are sleeping! With the help of special goggles, we would go into
the game world instead of dreamland. We can live as a different character in
game. This would be a whole new level for role-playing games. (more elaboration
will be included)
Real Time Live Game
Game players will be able to
play online multiplayer games and interact in the game world. They can even
talk to each other while in game. It would be like one huge conference in the
game area. (more elaboration will be included)
Social Impact
If such games were to be
introduced in the future, people might get caught up with the games so much
that they do not care about what is happening in their real life. This would further impair the social
interaction between people.
(more elaboration will be
included)
Conclusion
It is fascinating to see how
technology has driven the evolution of game consoles and video games. From a
simple “Tennis for Two” game, we see how technology has helped to improved the
gaming experience drastically to what we have now and I am excited to see what
would be done in the future.
References
(Have yet formatted properly!)
The video game explosion: a history from PONG to
Playstation and beyond
By
Mark J. P. Wolf
(2008)
The First Video Game?
Meaning of technology
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