The history of gaming

Platforms.

Ellie New.

Brown Box.1967.

The Brown Box was the first video gaming platform invented. It is a bulky, heavy rectangular wooden brown box with two controllers attached either side. It was invented by by Ralph H. Baer, he created the console so it could be connected to any TV set. It was programmed with six simple games such as; Tennis, Ping-Pong, Handball, Volley Ball, Chase games and a Light Gun game.

the 60’S.

Magnavox

Odyssey. 1972. The 70’s.

Magnavox Odyssey is classed as the worlds ‘first video gaming platform’ also created by Ralph H. Baer team. Released in August of 1972. Odyssey was poorly marketed and consumers were lead to believe that Odyssey would only work on a Magnavox TV set. Baer created the first ever putting game on Odyssey using the joystick as a putter. Odyssey was the first platform that required the user to insert cartridges enabling them to play different games. Research suggests that the console selling cost was between £70 to £100.

Nintendo

Entertainment

System. The 80’s.1985.

The Nintendo System, shortened to NES was released in 1985 by Nintendo. It very popular in most of Asia including Japan where it was initially released, China and Vietnam Singapore the Middle East and Hong Kong. NES was an 8-bit platform and the best selling platform of its time. NES also had two controller ports allowing two players. It had a retail price of £180. Masayuki Uemura designed the system, users would purchase cartridges with games such as; Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, Yard Fight, Pinball, Tennis and many others.

SegA MASTER SYSTEM. The 90’s.

1990.

The SEGA Master System known as SMS was released in 1990. SEGA were trying to compete with Nintendo’s Entertainment System, the Master System was superior to NES. SEGA released SMS to a wider range of countries and continents allowing SMS to outsell NES. SEGA also made SMS with cartridge games, it also had attachments such a Light Gun, 3D glasses and a control stick. Which was not attached to the controller provided with the game.

Gaming PLATFORMS IN

2000.

PlaySTATION 2.

Sony released the Play Station 2 on the 4th of March 2000. Play Station 2 is the best selling console of all time having reaching 150 million plus users. Sony claims that there over 10,828 games produced for Play Station. Sony was facing new rivals such as Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo’s GameCube. The software for PS2 is stored on disks, as well as playing games Play Station 2 also allows the user to insert DVD disks and watch them via the console. PS2 also allows 2 controllers and includes add-ons such as, Singstar microphones. An EyeToy (a motion detecting camera). Play Station 2 was revolutionising gaming as we know it, Play Stations initial launch price for PS2 was between £200-£299.

The 2000’s .2000.

XBOX.The 2000’s .

2001.

Microsoft produced Xbox in 2001, a year later in 2002 Xbox produced an online service called Xbox live, this allowed the users of the Xbox to play their friends and people all around the globe this made Xbox extremely popular. Xbox live had been described to be a better online service than Play Station 2’s online service. Even though Play Station’s was free and Xbox required a subscription. The Xbox was the first video game platform to feature a built-in hard disk drive, used for storing saved games and content downloaded from Xbox Live. This disregarded the need for memory cards. Xbox also allowed its user to download music from their Cd disks and apply and listen to the music in the game they are playing. Microsoft sold Xbox for £299. Furthermore, Xbox was discontinued in late 2006.

Nintendo Gameboy

Advance.

The GameBoy Advance was Nintendo’s second handheld gaming platform after the Nintendo GameBoy Colour. Nintendo GameBoy Advance known as GBA is a small handheld and operated platform allowing the user to play games whenever and wherever they wanted. The GBA would last approximately 15 hours battery life. The GameBoy Advance is also compatible with GameCube. Allowing the user to take their gaming experience to a new level. Gameboy Advance also came in a wide range of colours.

The 2000’s .2001.

Nintendo GameCube.The 2000’s .

2001.Nintendo GameCube was released in 2001, Nintendo was the first platform to use mini disks instead of full sized DVD disks. Nintendo was the first console to allow four players to play the same game as it was built with four controller ports. Nintendo like the Nintendo 64 released multiple colours of the GameCube. Colours included, Indigo, Black, Orange and Silver which was brought out as ‘limited edition’. Other colours were also released in Japan but thanks to internet sites such as EBay, users were able to purchase their desired colour online. Nintendo intended to sell the GameCube for a retail cost of £169.99, however a day before GameCube was released Microsoft reduced the price of it’s Xbox to £200. Which forced Nintendo to reduce the price of it’s GameCube before it was even released to £129.99, making it the cheapest platform of its era.

Nintendo

Gameboy sp.The 2000’s .

2003.

Nintendo released the GameBoy SP in February 2003. The launch price was £99.99. The Gameboy SP has a less pixelated clearer LCD screen compared to the GameBoy Advance. It is also lighter and half the size of GBA making it not nearly as bulky. The SP also had a wider range of colours such as; Onyx, Flame, Platinum, Cobalt Blue, Pearl Pink, Pearl Blue, Graphite, Midnight Blue, Charizard Fire Red, Torchic Orange, Venusaur Leaf Green, Classic Design and Pikachu Yellow. There was also a limited edition Gold SP released as well.

Xvavix Port.The 2000’s .

2004.XvaviX Port was created by a company called SSD Company Limited. The platform uses cartridges and special wireless controllers. The console uses infrared sensors that can detect the players movement. The games ‘controllers’ are used in the form of sports equipment such as Golf Clubs, Tennis Rackets, Baseball Bats, Bowling, Weights and board to stand on to practise exercises such as Yoga.

PlayStation PORTABLE.

The 2000’s.2004.

Play Station released Play Station Portable in 2004. The PSP allows the user to watch DVDS and listen to Cd’s as it has a disk drive. It has a large viewing screen and like other Play Stations has the ability to connect to the internet. The PSP is available from £129.99. The Play Station Portable sold out in the UK in the first three hours of its release.

Nintendo DS.The 2000’s.

2004.

In 2004 Nintendo releases the Nintendo Ds in an attempt to integrate wider range of functions into its handheld gaming consoles. The Ds has two screens, one is touch sensitive and has similar features to a PDA or Tablet. Also, like the GameBoy advance it features a backwards compatibility for older GameBoy games. The DS allows users to connect to one another via WIFI, it also comes with a chat room which allows users in the area to talk to one another via Piczo Chat, it was sold for £99.99.

Xbox 360.The 2000’s.

2005.

Microsoft returns and releases the Xbox 360 in 2005. The 360 is a more developed version of the original platform. Records show that over 70million Xbox 360’s have been sold worldwide. The console sold out completely upon release in all regions expect in Japan. Xbox still continued with its Xbox Live service that allows players to compete online, it also added services such as; allowing its users to download arcade games, game demos, trailers, music, TV shows, and also has Windows multimedia capabilities. Xbox live was adjusted slightly allowing third party media streaming applications like Netflix, and Sky Go. Xbox sold at £299 or £399 for the premium addition.

PlayStation 3.The 2000’s.

2006.

PlayStation 3 is the third home console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment. PS3 is the successor to PS2, PS3 is popular due to its multimedia capabilities and connectivity with the PlayStation Portable. It also has a built in Blu-ray player, 81,639 PS3 systems were sold within 24 hours of its introduction in Japan. PlayStation 3 gives a clear un-pixelated picture it also still uses it’s original features such as a DVD and Cd input. PS3 competed with other consoles such as Xbox and Nintendo Wii.

Nintendo Wii. The 2000’s.

2006.

The Nintendo Wii was released in 2006, Nintendo called the platform Wii as in ‘we’ meaning we play or we are connected. The Nintendo Wii is similar to that of the XvaviX port. Featuring the idea of multiplayers and wireless controllers allowing the user to move freely when playing games such as; Bowling, Tennis, Baseball, Bowling. Other Add-ons include the Wii Fit providing a board for the user to stand on whilst the platform measure the users weight and body mass. Wii was designed to ‘get people off the sofa’ and a fun way to keep fit. There has been many cases of people loosing weight due to playing simple Wii games. The Wii also allows the user to play other classic games such as Mario Bros. And it’s disk drive will also accept disks sold for Nintendo GameCube back in 2001. the Nintendo Wii sold more copies than Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3. It sold at a price of £179, Nintendo sold 1.8 million Wii consoles each month prior to it’s release through 2006 through to 2007.

Mattel

HyperScan. The 2000’s.

2006.

The Mattel HyperScan uses Radio Frequency Identification along with traditional video game technology. It was marketed toward boys between the ages of five and nine, who are not ready for high end video games. Or the mature themes that some of them posses and their expenses. The platform comes with two controller ports and the consoles launch price was £69.99.

Nintendo 3DS.The 2000’s.

2011.Nintendo 3Ds was released in 2011, Nintendo have stuck with the same style as the Ds. But they have made the screens 3D without the use of glasses or additional accessories. The 3Ds also comes with a built in camera. It also runs off the original Nintendo Dsi software. The 3Ds was the most successful of the series of Ds’. The 3DS was in competition with PlayStations Sony Vita. The original launch price was £169.99.

PlayStation

Vita. The 2000’s.2012.

Sony recently brought out the PlayStation Vita in early 2012. The PlayStation Vita has a multi-touch capacitive touchscreen it also supports Bluetooth, WIFI and 3G. It also includes two analogue sticks. It allows solo and online gaming, access to Twitter and Facebook. It also has front and rear facing cameras. Sold from £229.99.