Mobile and TV platforms and their limitations

Mobile and TV platforms and their limitations

This will be my final post on this blog. This post will cover both handheld and TV plaftforms, along with their advancements and their limtations.

Mobile Platforms

A mobile platform, often referred to a handheld platform, is a platform which is self-powered (inbuilt, rechargeable battery) and self-contained, and can be taken/transported anywhere, hence the name.
Mobile platforms are easy and flexible to access, and allow people to play on the go. They are not restricted with movement. They can be taken almost anywhere due to the size and weight, which is really handy. Some mobile platforms also have other functions apart from gaming, and some have gaming as a secondry function. There is quite a variety of mobile platforms out there.
To make things easier to understand, when going on towards specifics, I will use the term "mobile" for phones and pads (gaming as secondry) and the term "handheld" for the actual gaming platforms (gaming as primary).

Handhelds started off with the early LED (Light Emitting Diode) devices, like the ones that the company Mattel used to make, and compared to the more modern handhelds of today (which are now LCD), were really basic, but one has to admit, they were very successful. Some of the reasons why they were so successful back then is because they were (mostly) cheap, they didn't need to be attached to a wall in order to play, you could take it with you through town and so forth.

Handhelds started off in the 70's as rudimentary games where the a game displayed flashing lights and one had to advoid the lesser lights. Keeping to the principal that these handhelds used LED, or flashing light, other games like racing and sports simulaters were made.

In the 80's, there was a huge advancement in the technology of handhelds and the handheld game market with the introduction of devices, or handhelds, with LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) technology. One of the most famous of these (then) newer devices was Nintendo's Game & Watch series, which, like all of the handhelds before it, had the games pre-installed. However, the Game & Watch had, instead of one, two games installed. These were just labeled "Game A" and "Game B", with "Game B" being either a different (as in similar) game or a harder version of "Game A".
These devices used "sprites", or still images, that would move around the screen ("sprite" are not animated, instead the image/sprite is switch with another in the image array) giving the illusion of actual movement. These newer handhelds would soon bring about new innovations like the D-Pad (Directional Pad), and handhelds like the Game & Watch also told the time.
These (then) newer handhelds were immesely popular and swept (hit and dominated) the market very quickly, and comapared to consoles, they had better graphics, but, movement was limited to the pre-set available destinations and the backgrounds in the games were all static (still).

In 1989 was the next major advancement handheld technology. It was the Game Boy, developed by Nintendo. The Game Boy changed the handheld industry to such an extend that it's almost immeasurable. Not only was it the first handheld to feature a "Start" and a "Pause" button, but it also had two action buttons (A and B) which allowed games to be more complex, and, what in my opinion revolutionised handhelds the most, was that it had a slot for game cartidges. Up until the Game Boy came out, you had to get yourself a new handheld if you wanted a different game, because games were pre-installed. The Game Boy was the first generalised handheld, meaning that you could play many games on it, through the use of interchangable cartridges, without having to to buy a new handheld. These game cartridges themselves were a huge advancement in technolodgy. Cartridges were cheaper to make than a handheld with a pre-installed game, and cartridges can also be kept in pocket to be used on the go. As an additional bonus, the Game Boy, with the use of a link cable, allowed network play between other players, for games like Pokémon. Three hugely successful games that most people have played on a Gameboy are; Pokémon (Nintendo), Super Mario Land (Nintendo) and Tetris (created by Alexey Pajitnov).

Many companies soon after followed suit and made handhelds similar to the Game Boy, however, these weren't at the same quality as the Game Boy. For example, Sega made the Game Gear a year after Nintendo brought out the Game Boy, and even though the Game Gear had a colour screen, it lacked quality software (and the games weren't as good as that of the Game Boy). In the same year as the Game Gear came out (1990), Atari, still trying to keep its hand in the games industry, brought out the Lynx, which, even though it had superior hardware, lacked good titles and had a bad battery life. The Neo Geo Turbo Express (1990. The name should've been thought-over better) was, out of all of them, the most powerful, and the design resembled the Game Boy a bit, however, it was badly marketed, poorly designed and it was extremely expensive (they obvious didn't do their research properly).
Everyone who knows Nintendo well enough will know that when they bring a product onto the market, they make upgraded models of the original and tweek the later versions only a bit to make them better, keeping it almost the same and just improving it at an expert level. This is why Nintendo is, most likely, the best company when it comes to handhelds. They are exert marketers and they prolong a platforms life, as said before, expertly. The Game Boy, with all of the competition it was already getting, proved to be the best on the market then.

In 2004, handhelds evolved, with the arrival of the (then) next-gen handhelds, like the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable (PSP). With these, gaming on handhelds went to new heights. The big cartridges found with Game Boy are replaced for the DS with smaller cartridges, and the PSP had UMD's (Universal Media Discs) as a storage medium, which could also contain media other than games (like films and songs).
And as to expect, quite recently, newer and more powerful installments (devices/handhelds) hit the market. The PS Vita (2011. The old PSP upgaded), the PS Vita Slim (2014. Redesign of the PS Vita), Nintendo 3DS (2011. Upgrade of the DS, with 3D capabilities.) and the Nintendo 3DS XL (2012. Larger model of the 3DS with slight redesigns).

Lets touch onto the other type of mobile gaming, mainly those on phones.
One could say that mobile games began when Nokia got the Finnish game developer, Taneli Armanto, to make Snake. Snake was a very simply game, that was hellishly addictive though (kind of showing that even simple games can be very fun). Every one of Nokia's 3310 phones had Snake already installed onto them (and compared to a lot of modern phones, the Nokia 3310 take years to break, whereas most modern smart phones only require you to sit on them or drop them).

Some games these days on phones are actually either cut down versions of popular console games, or independent games of a popular console game series. This has all become possible because phones are becoming more and more powerful every year. Some of the most modern phones are a bit like small computers now.

However, cut down versions of console games are the only kind of games found on phones these days. Most games on a phone are actually made to be used only on a phone, meaning that they are mobile exclusive games. Games like these include Cut the Rope and Angry Birds.

TV Game Platforms

So, what is a TV games platform? Very basically put, the TV itself is a platform. With early, and a lot of modern, TV's, there would be small games (like Tetris) installed on the TV and the remote, with its coloured buttons and its select buttons, was the conroller. Ceefax is an early example of this. It was an extremely basic information system which had some very basic and simple games.
But recently, there has been a surge in interest in TV games platforms. Apparently, so many people are wanting games on Smart TV's, that it's going to cut out consoles altogether. But personally I don't think that that is true. It is true that there has been a rise of interest in games on Smart TV's, however, I do not believe that a console gamer is going to give up consoles for games, like Angry Birds, on a Smart TV, because a Smart TV can't replace the things that a console gives you. In my opinion, and that of a lot of my friends, if Smart TV's are going to have games on them, then they should stick with casual games.
Apart from gaming, Smart TV's have an internal operating system along with the ability to connect to the internet, allowing them to download and launch apps like Youtube or Netflix.

Because of the increase in Smart TV popularity, many companies out there are now competing with each other to get a good share of the increasingly popular TV games platforms market (please keep hardcore games of them, because it'll just ruin a good game series experience. Go full on with the casual games though). Smart TV's, because they have an internal operating system, are able to download software and games either directly to the TV or to the set top box, but for a price.
Most TV's, including Smart TV's, have USB ports. These are usually for USB sticks with various different types of media files on them (like videos and music). But the USB ports on a Smart TV are able to support controllers, and even today, the technology for Smart TV's has increased to the point where android phones, iPhones, iPads and the like a able to be wirelessly connected to the Smart TV to be used as a wireless motion controller.

Limitations

Like with all the other platforms previously covered in this blog, even mobile/handheld and TV games platforms have their limitations.

• Mobile (phone) limitations: Phones these days have a battery life of about 20 or so hours, but games take up a lot of processing power, cutting a phones battery life (while playing the game) to maybe 4 hours, depending on how much the game needs on processing power. The graphics on mobile games won't really be a good as on consoles, because a phone's graphics card wouldn't be as powerful, nor would the phone's hardware. Another limitation is that games and software on phones tend to "out-date" your phone after about 3 years. What I mean with that is that you can buy a brand new phone, but after about 3 years, certain types of softwares and games are no longer compatible with your phone after some updates. Meaning that no matter if you de-install, you wont be able to install the software of game again, which forces you to buy a new phone. For example, the Samsung Galaxy Young (2013) is no longer compatible with Snapchat because the phone is "out-dated" (too old).
• Handheld limitations: Handheld may offer easy access and can be taken anywhere, but, there is still the matter of battery life. Without access to a charging station, 3DS will last about 3 days in sleep mode, 3-5 hours when playing a 3DS game and 5-8 hours while playing a normal DS game, and most people tend to play 3DS games these days so that means that if you are travelling long distance, at one point you'll be bored because the battery will have run out (in other words, the limitation here is access to charging places/wall socket). Handhelds are also partially limited by how you care for them (sitting on them could break them, pressing too hard on the screen can cause the touch sensors to not work anymore, etc.).
• Smart TV limitations: Like with mobile platforms, some Smart TV's may have problems processing fast paced, high quality games. Also, the use of phones and pads may prove to have some problems at some points, as connectivity does degrade depending on the distance and the age/model of the phone/pad. Probably a (somewhat) amusing limitation is a users arm strength, because like in the Angry Bird video with the Smart TV, as soon as the player lowers their hand/arm, the Smart TV's sensor wont be able to pic it up, so a user is also limited to how long they can keep their arms up. However, the most painstaking limitation on this are the prices. Some range from £698.98 to £1,299.

We have covered enough in all the posts on this blog to know just about how big and competative the games industry really is. There is a lot of money to be gained there is one does their research right and has good ideas. But this blog doesn't just show us about how profitable the games industry is. It has shown us the advancements in technology we have made (LCD isn't just used in handhelds, but also in TV's), but also how it has changed the way the some people think and how they used to, and now, spend a lot of their free time. There is so much which can be taken from here and used for many things.
With this this blog is concluded (finished) and I want to thank all who've taken the time to read this.

The History of Arcade and PC platforms and their features and limitations

The History of Arcade and PC platforms

 
Hey everyone.

This post (as you can tell) will be about the history of Arcade and PC platforms. In the previous post I wrote about the history of games consoles, with some arcade games being in there too, like Pong and Donkey Kong.

Before I continue, I will briefly talk a bit about arcade machines and PC platforms themselves, before I start on the history.

I bet a lot of you have been to an arcade before, and you all should then know that arcades are a lot more fun if you are with friends. It doesn't just become a session of playing arcade games with friends, but it also becomes a social gathering.

In the 70's and 80's, they were extremely popular and were at their peak then. There wouldn't be a day when there wouldn't be groups of kids playing together in there. But from the 80's onwards, their popularity has decreased. And even though their popularity has deceased a lot, every year there are competitions between pro's to determine who is the best arcade gamer. Watch "The King Of Kong" if you are interested in learning a bit more about that. It's interesting to see how much arcades mean to some people. For some people seeing an arcade machine is like travelling back to there teens.

So, what are some of their features? Here are 3:

1. An arcade machine is a stand-alone unit. It may be big and (to some people) chunky, but who wants an arcade where people just sit and slouch, instead of going from machine to machine with your friends and competing with each other? Sometimes you'll get into competition with strangers and make friends. If you want to slouch, watch some TV. (This is me not being concise. I'm sorry :) )
2. They are coin/token operated. This means that you either pay for tokens, or you use your own money. Some arcades have arcade machine that will even print tickets depending on your score. This means you can win prizes with enough tickets. That also means that it makes a social/competitive meeting more fun with the chance of prizes you can get from the counter.
3. Arcade halls are available to the public, which means anyone and everyone has access to arcade games, whereas not everyone had access to computers or home consoles in the 70's and 80's.
   
   
   

PC's are completely different from arcade machines and home consoles all together. Their range of specs can vary immensely. On top of that, they are more powerful (depending on what type of PC you have. The range of games available for PC is a lot more than by console and arcade platforms.

There are 2 big (and a few more not so big) reasons as to why a PC is different from consoles and arcade platforms. I will only list a few though, starting with the 2 big ones. Here they are:

1. PC's are more powerful than arcade machines and consoles. This is because PC's can be upgraded and customized to the users needs, whereas you cannot upgrade or customize a console or an arcade machine (apart from the visual that is). In turn this means that the specs on a PC are only limited by how much the user is willing to spend. This also means that PC's are more flexible than the other platforms. What I'm trying to get at is that a PC's hardware can be more powerful than that of a console or an arcade machine.
2. PC's can be used for work and social life. There isn't much of a limit for that. You can play games, talk to friends and do fun things over the PC. You can also connect more with people. A PC can be used for researching things, writing documents or even presentations and the best thing about it is that you can switch between you social and work stuff quickly and efficiently, without any worries of extra electricity bills or even worrying about hassling from one room to another.
3. PC's can multitask. I don't just mean that you can have multiple windows open at a single time and use them simultaneously. What I really mean is that you can listen to music while playing games without blocking out audio from the game, and you can pause your game, open a new window (without completely exiting the game), do something for a while and then get back to playing from where you left off. Consoles can't do that. If you were to play music on your console while playing a game, the game will be played muted while you listen to music, because the consoles processor can't cope with all the work.
   
   
   

So lets get on with some history. It will be mostly about computers though, as I have already covered some arcade history in a previous post.

1971: Gaming on a PC became possible with the invention of the microprocessor, and this can be seen as the beginning of the PC gaming era.

1975: The microprocessor was released so that people would be able to buy it off the shelf. Buyers could also add the relevant peripherals and memory to the CPU, which allowed it to be turned into a general purpose computer.

The first microprocessor to hit the market was the Altair 8800, which was sold as a kit.

After this, many pre-assembled computers started to appear on the market, meaning that computers weren't a “hobbyist-only” thing. Before pre-assembled units started to appear, people had to buy each computer component separately and then build it together, hence the “hobbyist-only”, because one had to have enough knowledge regarding computers in order to build one, but this was eliminated with the coming of pre-assembled computers, meaning that anyone could buy a computer at a store.

Soon after that, when platforms were stable enough, people started to write basic games for these platforms. The Commodore PET and the Shack's TRS-80 were the first to run these types of basic games. However, like with what happened during the Atari Crash in the 80's, games were not protected against copying and piracy, meaning not all games back then were original.

Keep in mind that the programming language for games in those days was very basic compared to modern programming languages like C++, C# and Java. After a game was programmed and fully developed, it would often be copied onto a floppy disc and then traded, or sold, along with home printed instructions. And so began the home PC games market. However, it should be noted that at the beginning, computers were very expensive (so not everyone could afford one) and they were only able to display poor/rudimentary graphics or just text, meaning that games were either text-based games or were simple games with very low graphics.

The home PC market saw a larger growth with the introduction of the Commodore 64, the Apple 2 and the Amiga, because these computers were able to run games that are closer to those that one can experience in an arcade and on console. But, as said earlier, these games were still very simple and basic, in both their graphics and their gameplay.

Even so, computers were seen in many different ways depending on their price tags. If someone had a PC that was bought cheaply, then it was considered a toy (if it breaks, just buy a new one), and if it was an expensive PC, then it was considered to be a luxury.

1982: However some things changed in 1982, especially for IBM, with the release of its Microcomputer. Because it had an open standard, it could be adapted by all, and this is why it differed from other computers in its day, but it was a bad computer for gaming, as it had had very weak colour graphics, which caused some difficulties for newer games on the market, and the Microcomputer had no speakers, other than one that could only beep.

Late 1980's: Better sound and graphics cards were being made, improving gaming in the 80's.

CD's, interactive movies, 3D and the early Macintosh

Compared to other computers of its time, the macintosh (later referred to as the Mac) had a superior hardware architecture, but was ill cut for gaming in its time due to it having a larger price tag than other computers and a black and white screen, compared to the coloured screens other computers of its time had available to them. Even to this day, the Mac has little games that can be played on it, but it makes up for this with its media capabilities.

1990's: Gaming changed with the introduction of the CD-ROM (or just the CD). CD's could hold more data than the latest floppy disc. The CD was a vastly improved storage medium for games and could hold 650 times more data than a floppy disc (floppy discs could hold about 1MB of data).

The CD revolutionised gaming and the games market at the time, because it killed casual piracy (there was a lot of piracy back then) as it was, at the time, un-writeable. This created a then universal solution to piracy and common game storage.

On top of the fact that it killed piracy back then, photo-realistic games started to rise because CD's were able to contain that kind of data. But CD's didn't just enable developers to make games with better graphics, it was even able to contain higher quality sounds, immensely improving gaming experience and opening slowly opening a path for more complex and higher quality games. CD's could even hold small movies as a stand-alone and even games could have small movies within them, with The 7^th Guest being the most famous and popular of the these early games on CD.

However, interactive-movie games like The 7^th Guest, though popular at the time, were short-lived, because the production costs were a lot higher than normal games in those days, as on top of the costs for the production of the game came the costs of the production of the movie footage. There were games though that used short movie cutscenes, mostly acting as short messages between missions, that outlived interactive-movie games. The best example, and my favourite, is the game series Command & Conquer.

Many developers in the 90's had tried to create 3D games, but because true 3D environments put a massive strain onto the processor, many games, like Doom, had “cheated” 3D. This was also due to the fact that developers were getting ahead of technology at the time, but luckily, in the mid-late 90's, there were some advancements to GPU's, known then as a 3D accelerator, that allowed them to take off more of the work that the CPU was doing to render graphics, and by freeing up the CPU from that load, games were able to have more content in them, or have more 3D graphics. This basically means that 3D games of good quality finally became a reality, and there wasn't much of a need to “cheat” 3D anymore.

At that time, the most famous First Person Shooters were Half-Life and Quake. Even to this day, Half-Life (created by Valve) is extremely popular, and people still play the first game regardless of graphic comparisons with more modern games.

Network Games and the Internet

Success in the PC market increased with advancements in networking, especially for the PC games market. Network play was a feature that quickly caused a hype in games, and today, there are people who only buy games for their network features (online story gameplay, online competitive gameplay, etc.). However, early games were only able to support 2 players on a network, and networking 2 players together required one to physically set up a 2-way modem, meaning you to either be in the same room as the other player, or in the room next door, because both computers (and at that time, consoles slowly came into networking) had to be connected to the 2-way modem with Ethernet cables. There were however some games that were able to work over LAN (Local Area Network), but at the time these were very rare, as networking technology wasn't very advanced then.

With time, when networking technology was advanced enough, games developers had to worry less about creating their own networks with the introduction of the internet. The internet made things a lot easier for games companies, by offering a common world-wide standard.

The next big step with network/online gaming, were Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (now most commonly known as MMORPG's). MMORPG's allowed players to interact with each other in a virtual. These games started off as games which were text-only, but later became games with 2D/3D environments. MMORPG's were a huge success, and they later evolved into games like Asheron's Call and World of Warcraft (WoW).

Limitations

In the present, there has been a shift within the popularity and sales of arcade, PC and console platforms. In the 70's and 80's, arcades dominated the market (as in arcades were the most popular platforms at the time), with consoles taking over the market between the 80's and early 2000's. However, the PC games market is currently dominating (just slightly).

But even though gaming platforms are very popular, and most people own at least one type of platform, there are various limitations to them.

• Arcade limitations: There are various limitations encountered with arcade machines, and some of these factors have stunted their dominance, popularity and development within the games market. These include that they were big and “chunky”, and that they could only have one game (which was pre-installed) per machine. It was hard to move arcade machines around due to their size and their weight, compared to the other two platform types. The graphics quality wasn't as good as with consoles in the late 80's. Compared to console and PC games, arcade games were mostly 2D and simple in gameplay and graphics (even though to this day, they are still popular to some degree). Probably one of the biggest limitations with arcade games was the production costs (not the production costs of the game itself, but the costs of producing/manufacturing the machines themselves).
• Console limitations: Consoles, even to this day, have some limitations. These include that each console can't be upgraded (modified) like a PC, games run at a set (unchangeable) resolution, and some consoles have a poor hardware architecture (like the Xbox 360. Please see the Hardware Technologies blog for more detail). Another limitation is the amount of consoles available, especially during the 80's (which caused the infamous Atari crash), with their exclusive games. In the late 70's and during the 80's, there were too many different consoles available for purchase and each console had its own brand of exclusive games, which limited the sales and popularity of console, but was mostly solved from the 80's onwards, to the point where there are only 4 major home console out (ca. 2009 onwards). There is another limited, that is more towards to games themselves. Console games have to be tailored to the console specs, which means that developers have to be careful about what assets, and how many assets, they can have in their game. This includes their poly budget and data quality.
• Computer limitations: The most obvious, and major, limitation for computers is their hardware and their build. A computer user is mostly limited by how much they are willing to spend on the hardware and casing (if building a computer themselves) or on a pre-assembled computer. So money is really the biggest limit for computers. So yeah, the price tags are the largest limitation. You can get some cheap computers that are about the same price as a console, and then there are the moderately expensive computers and are about £6000 (I say moderate because there are graphics cards that cost just as much as the previous example). There is also the matter of external components (like monitors, speakers, etc.), which is another limitation. A high-end graphics card will hardly do you any good if you have an old, or a rubbish, monitor, just as much as a high-end sound card will do when you have bad speakers.

So, no matter what platform it is, every platform has some form of limitations.

Not only did we learn about storage development and the evolution of networking, but we also learned some things about arcade machines and computers themselves. And so, this concludes this post. Thank you for sticking by this far and I hope that this post was helpful for you.

The History of Game Consoles

Hey everyone.
This blog is about the history of games and their effects on the industry. I hope you'll find the information helpful.


Types of platforms

There are currently 5 types of gaming platforms out there. These are:

• Console (eg. Xbox's, PlayStation's, Wii's, etc)
• Mobile/Handheld (phones, tablets, Gameboy's, DS Light's, etc.)
• PC (Windows, Mac's, Linux, etc.)
• TV (TV's, Smart TV's, etc.)
• and Arcade.

These are the 5 types of platforms you can currently play games on.

Consoles are unique in that they are a combination of hardware and software.  Consoles are therefore tailored to run games within a certain spec parameter. Also, when a person says "platform" (in context to gaming platforms), they are actually referring to a specific combination of hardware and software that is required to operate a game.
The difference therefore between a PC and a console platform is that for consoles (Xbox's, PlayStation's, etc.) the games are made to run at the specs of the console (tailored to the console), whereas with a PC you could say that the PC is made to fit the game, because a PC is upgradeable/customizable.
Another difference (related to the last paragraph) is that when people go to buy a game in a shop, PC gamers will always check the back of the game box, to check, for the required operating specs. Whereas someone who, lets just say, plays on a PlayStation console won't check for the specs on the back of the game box, because they know that their console will run the game.
So you could say that a PC gamer is limited only by how much he/she is willing to pay.


The history of console games

Ok everyone. Here comes the part I'm sure all of you will love: history *enthusiastic cheer*.
To be honest, I know that only half of you are interested in history, so I will try to make this as exciting as possible for you, so please hang in there (because it gets a lot more exciting after the history post).

Here we go.

1889: Nintendo was founded in Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi. Nintendo (which roughly means "leave           luck to heaven") started off as a playing cards company and it wasn't until the 1960's that they             started to change directions from playing cards and ventured further.
          Marty Bromley imports slot machines to military bases in Hawaii, founding Sega.

1961: Physicist William Higinbotham invented an interactive table tennis game.
          Steve Russel made an interactive 2 player game called Spacewar. In the video below, you will             find Steve Russel talking about his game Spacewar.

         The next video will show what some of the gameplay was like. Note the difference between                then and now.

1972: The company Magnavox brought out the console Odyssey in 1972. When it was brought out it            had 12 cartridges, containing a total of 28 games all together.

         Atari is formed and Al Ancorn creates the classic Pong.

1973: Three big companies enter the games industry. These are; Taito (Bubble Bubble and Space                  Invaders) , Williams (not the betting company hahaha they made Doom and Mortal Kombat 3)            and last, but not least, Midway (Pac-Man and Rampage). Please note: Midway did not                          originally make Pac-Man. Pac-Man was created by Namco (a Japanese company) in 1980, and            Midway was the company licensed to distribute it in the US in the same year.

1977: Atari releases its first home console system, the Atari 2600. The 2600 was very popular                       because it was one of the first home consoles that used cartridges, which was more efficient                 than previous consoles, because previous to consoles with cartridges, you had to buy a new                 console every time you wanted a new game, as the game was built into the system. Consoles               like the Atari 2600 raised the popularity to its former glory and beyond.

       In the same year, Shigeru Miyamoto (the creator of Mario, Donkey Kong and The Legend Of              Zelda) joins Nintendo.

1980: Atari released (in my opinion) one of the greatest classic games in history: Space Invaders.                 This hit landed on many consoles across the US. Another thing that changed the games                       industry was the start of porting.
          These next facts are more in the arcade direction and not console, but still relevant as a                         contrast.
          By 1980, about 7 million coins had been inserted into round-about 400 000 Pac-Man machines           worldwide. I don't know about you, but that is a lot.

1981:Also, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong (arcade not console. But it is note worthy).

1983: 1983 marks probably the darkest chapter in gaming industry. It was the "North American                     Video Game Crash of 1983" (known in Japan as the "Atari Crash"). The games industry was so           badly impacted that its revenue fell by about 97% by 1985 and many analysts claimed that the             games industry wouldn't recover (luckily it did). This crash was caused by multiple factors like           a flooded console market (there where too many consoles on the market), inflation, the loss of             publishing control and high profile failures. These were just some of the reasons,
          At that time Activision was still a 3rd party developer and most publishing companies                         continued to refuse/avoid crediting game designers for there games and if they had interviews,             on the companies behalf, they had to change their names (for their protection).
          Nintendo releases the Famicom (Family Computer0 in Japan. This is a success.

1985: Russian mathematician Alex Pajitnov designs Tetris, which is an awesome game (even though           I don't think I got passed the first level when I was a kid).

         The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was released in Japan in 1983 under the                  name of Famicon, was released in North America and had an immense impact in saving the                games industry. Also to note, the NES is a different version of the Famicon, as you can see                  below.

1986: SEGA releases the Master System.

1987: Nintendo publishes The Legend Of Zelda and SEGA unveils the Mega Drive (one thing SEGA           and Atari have in common is that they like to make there consoles sound... well... big.)

1989: Nintendo releases the Game Boy (the Game Boy started off my gaming life). SEGA brought               out the Genesis the same year.

1994: The Genesis 2 is released.

1995: Sony brings out one of their most successful products; the PlayStation 1. Sony quickly becomes a big competitor in the games industry. I loved the Rayman games.

1996: Nintendo finally brings out the N64. Which (to me) had a weird looking controller.

1998: SEGA brings out 2 consoles. The SEGA Dreamcast and the Genesis 3.

2000: It's the start of the new millennium and Sony brings out the PlayStation 2 (releasing a slim                   version of it in 2004).
          Nintendo also brings out the Pikachu N64 (basically pikachu themed).

2001: Microsoft releases the Xbox and quickly becomes a big competitor like Sony. This also marks the big rivalry between Sony and Microsoft.

2005: Microsoft releases its next platform in the Xbox series: the Xbox 360 (and releases the                         slim/elite version of it in 2010). As you can see below, some people liked having various                     themes.

2006: In 2006 you had 2 big consoles come out. One was for gamers of various cores (hardcore,                   casual,etc.) and the other was more for casual gamers. Theses 2 giants are (respectively) the                 PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. I really liked the Uncharted series and I just loved Mario             Kart Wii. Both are really amazing.

2013: These 2 are the most recent consoles to come out. They are the Xbox One and the                                 PlayStation 4. They are the next gen of consoles, but for how long?

Looking back at all of these, we have moved so far with technology in the last 50 years that maybe, in another 50 years our current next gen console will be no more than retro. And maybe in the future we'll have a platform that will be able to run virtual reality. Who know? We'll just have to wait for the next gens to come and help make history.

My next post will be about the history of arcade and computer platforms. I know some of you are already bored at this point, but you can just skip the history sections.

To finish off, here is a 3 minute video that will sum up that history in a graphically exciting way. Enjoy.