Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

Ggame consolesGame consoles are computer devices dedicated to (or primarilyused for) playing video games. The earliest suchdevices appeared in the 1970s from Magnavox and thenAtari, and could only play simple games like Pong (a crudesimulation of ping-pong). Slightly later systems began tofeature cartridges that allowed them to play a greater varietyof games.After a shakeout in the late 1970s, Atari revived thevideo game industry with its hit game Space Invaders.However, this was followed by another industry crash asthe market became glutted by often imitative and inferiorgames. The next leader was Nintendo, with its own hit,Super Mario Brothers. By the end of the 1980s another Japanesefirm, Sega, had entered the American market.During the 1990s consoles grew in power and graphicsophistication. CDs (and later DVDs) replaced cartridgesand allowed for larger, more complex games. By the end ofthe decade the main competitors were the Sony Playstation2 and the Nintendo 64 (indicating a 64-bit processor) andGameCube. Meanwhile Microsoft entered the game consolemarket with its Xbox, which featured a more PC-like architectureincluding a built-in hard drive (soon also adoptedby Sony).New TechnologiesA technology with applications far beyond games is the“cell chip” technology introduced by Sony in its Play-Station 3, introduced in late 2006. The Sony cell chiphas seven cores and can reach nearly supercomputer-scalespeeds (and in fact is being used to create impromptusupercomputers).Sony also opted to include a high-definition “Blu-ray”DVD player in the PS3, strengthening its application as amedia device as well as a gaming device, with Microsoftand its Xbox 360 initially opting for the ultimately unsuccessfulHD DVD.Nintendo’s Wii, the third major competitor as of 2007,innovates in a different area: the user interface. The Wiicomes with a controller that can track both where it ispointing and how it is being used, allowing for rather realisticsports and combat simulations.Further ReadingAmirch, Dan. PlayStation 2 for Dummies. New York: HungryMinds, 2001.Farkas, Bart G. The Nintendo Wii Pocket Guide. Berkeley, Calif.:Peachpit Press, 2007.Forster, Winnie. The Encyclopedia of Game Machines. Utting, Germany:Game Plan, 2005.Johnson, Brian. Xbox 360 for Dummies. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley,2006.Kent, Steven L. The Ultimate History of Video Games. New York:Three Rivers Press, 2001.Kim, Ryan. “New Era of Game Devices Arrives: Sony and NintendoMeet the Challenge of Microsoft’s Xbox.” San FranciscoChronicle, November 13, 2006, p. F-1. Available online. URL:http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/11/13/BUGS1MAGAN1.DTL. Accessed September 21, 2007.Nintendo. Available online. URL: http://www.nintendo.com.Accessed September 21, 2007.Playstation (Sony). Available online. URL: http://www.us.playstation.com/. Accessed September 21, 2007.205