How Important Are Gaming Consoles?
Written by: Tom Sawyer
I’m not old enough to remember when Pong first came out, but I’m definitely part of the generation that enjoyed countless hours playing Destroyer, Space Invaders and Centipede. For those of you too young, or too ashamed, to admit to knowing about these video games of years gone by, this is what an old Atari system looked like. As you can tell, these systems had simple controllers: a joystick with one button. I had to go to my friend Tony’s house to play, but boy did we have some fun.
Current game systems, sometimes called next-generation systems, play games much, much more complicated than those we played as children. In fact, current game systems aren’t just for kids anymore. Connecting one of these systems to a high-speed data connection to play online or receive updates is a given. They do so much and vary in their specialties to the point of asking what we would do without them. Oh, what would we do without them? 
Nintendo Wii
The Nintendo Wii seemed to come out of nowhere. It wasn’t taken seriously at first due to Nintendo’s recent failures at console systems and the offerings of Sony and Microsoft. But when it hit, boy did it hit big! I think the system has been out for about two years and it is still hard trying to find one – a PS3 or Xbox 360 can be picked up whenever.
The big draw is the controllers that force the players to actually get involved and move. Taking this one step further, Nintendo came out with the Wii Fit (pictured). The Fit is a way to further get involved and lose weight while having fun. I don’t own a Wii so I can’t really speak as to wether it works or not, but the Fit is a hit too.
The Wii’s specialty: player physical involvement.
Sony PS3
It was ridiculous how successful the Playstation and Playstation 2 have been. People are still playing them like they just came out. Unfortunately for Sony, the Playstation 3 (PS3) hasn’t been as successful. Microsoft is partly to blame, but Sony must take a hit on this one too. The system price was too high (some parents think it is still too high) when it came out and it has yet to get enough game titles to make most happy.
Putting aside its shortcomings, the PS3 plays Blu-ray discs. As a matter of fact, it is still considered one of the best Blu-ray players out. Blu-ray, conveniently a Sony thing, has yet to totally catch on, but the picture is better than DVD and the only gaming console to play the discs is the PS3. How about a two-in-one device?
The PS3′s specialty: Blu-ray player.
Microsoft Xbox 360
This is the system I own so I’m sort of biased. The Xbox took a while to take off, but like everything Microsoft, we get comfortable with a Microsoft product and it almost becomes the standard. The Xbox 360 improved on the original Xbox and there are no signs of a slowdown any time soon.
If you want to play games online or be part of a community Xbox Live is the preferred method. The funny thing about it is the fact that Microsoft thrives on a $50 online community which should be free. Hey, I happily pay my money so I can’t really complain right? The graphics are great, I can play with my nephew who lives in Indiana and there is much more.
In November Microsoft updated the dashboard for the 360 and along with it came the ability to watch movies from Netflix. The user must have a Netflix account and only movies available for instant viewing can be watched but it is still a neat feature. A Netflix user without a 360 will have to purchase an additional piece of hardware to watch movies instantly so this is another reason to buy a 360.
The Xbox 360′s specialty: streaming Netflix movies.
It is much more than simply playing Donkey Kong or Astroids with the current crop of gaming consoles. I didn’t even touch on the day Madden Football comes out – basically a holiday for gamers.
The point of this all is to get us closer to one device that does all we want it to. One device that allows us to play, watch and browse whenever we want to seems to be within reach. Now if the ISPs will play along and not apply download limits. Another subject for another day.
Tags: blu-ray, game consoles, PS3, Sony, Wii, Wii Fit, xbox 360
December 29th, 2008 at 7:16 am
As a kid my family got the Intellivision game console. Atari was seen as inferior. Haha. But when the first hobby computers came out, I traded Intellivision for a BBC computer. My school got the ZX81 and later the ZX Spectrum which I learnt how to program on, but I hated the small keyboards.
I haven’t played on any of the modern game consoles. My game platform is my PC. I think the consoles and the games made for them are too expensive. And forget online game play – my ISP only allocates 5GB of broadband speed per month before I drop down to 64Kbps (slightly higher than a 56K modem). I usually enjoy broadband speed for only 15 days of each month. Unlimited I would probably consume 15 – 20GB each month, perhaps more if I watched movies online.
Richard Cattos last blog post..Domain Name System (DNS) tweaks
December 29th, 2008 at 9:20 am
I had an Atari and loved it! Space Invaders was my favorite. I don’t play the new games, although I would like a Wii – that seems interesting. And I still play Ms. Pac-Man and Gallaga, when I go to the movies. My husband can never beat me at Ms. Pac-Man:–)
December 29th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Richard, there are many people who feel your pain when it comes to your ISP. I’ve heard Comcast puts limits on users.
There is a huge debate concerning what media, if any, the next gaming consoles will use. Microsoft backed HD-DVD and Sony owns Blu-ray so since the HD-DVD/Blu-ray battle went to Blu-ray Microsoft doesn’t want to pay Sony. That being the case, it is possible to have no media in the future and force users, of the XBox (possibly called the 720) anyway, to download games. If this were to happen download limits would be reached quickly.
Downloading content (more) is the future, but the ISPs have to cooperate.
Isn’t this similar to the way cell phone plans used to be?
Tom Sawyers last blog post..How Important Are Gaming Consoles?
December 29th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Ouch! Richard I feel very bad for you. Do you have HughesNet? I warn everyone about their F.A.P. but I guess when you don’t have any other options you take what you can get. 5gb is easy to reach if you do some downloading.
Ryan Kazinecs last blog post..12 iPhone Apps That Would Dominate (pt. 2)
December 29th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
@Ryan Kazinec: No, I have iBurst in South Africa. I pay nearly US$70 per month too! There are cheaper alternatives now, but the trick that SA ISPs use is to lock people into 24 month contracts so they don’t have to worry about losing customers until their contracts expire. Without a contract, I’d have to pay an exorbitant amount for hardware that only works with their networks.
@Tom: it is very similar to the lock in that cell phone companies use.
Richard Cattos last blog post..Domain Name System (DNS) tweaks
December 29th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Richard, Ouch once again. $70 If you’re anything like me having high speed internet is like having air to breathe. Okay not really but you know what I’m saying.
Ryan Kazinecs last blog post..12 iPhone Apps That Would Dominate (pt. 2)
December 29th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
As far as game consoles I have to agree with Richard in saying, they are too pricy. I have an original xbox and would love to have a PS3 but the price is holding me back. I remember the original nintendo when I was a young lad. I would play Mario brothers for hours. I actually miss pulling the cartridges out and blowing on them just to get them to work.
Ryan Kazinecs last blog post..12 iPhone Apps That Would Dominate (pt. 2)
December 29th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Ryan, do you think the price is too high as a PS3 and Blu-ray player? For me personally, I’m a Xbox 360 person, but if the PS3 was my thing I would gladly pony up the money since it would play my movies too.
Don’t you think game consoles offer more than just the gaming experience and this is bringing us one step closer to devices that do it all?
Speaking of devices that do it all, how many people think it necessary to have a server at home? That question is a little bit of a tease – I will talk more about it later.
December 29th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I admit to being part of the Atari generation. I loved playing Tetris and Frogger. So many families enjoy playing Wii together. It beats having Uncle Harry tell old stories. LOL
December 29th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Tom, IMO it is still too high even with the advanced functionality. I have a beautiful 60 inch Sony xbr that is just waiting for a blu ray player but I can’t justify $400 for a PS3 and I won’t budge for a blu ray until a Sony drops below $200. Especially now, with the way the economy is going It’s just too risky to spend that kind of money.
Ryan Kazinecs last blog post..Is Job Security Becoming More Significant Than Compensation and Benefits?
December 30th, 2008 at 9:48 am
This was a VERY interesting post with VERY interesting comments! I don’t understand all the computer jargon, but I am getting closer with each of these new posts that try to educate me!
I loved ms. pacman and tetris! I still go online and play tetris!
January 3rd, 2009 at 5:01 am
Speed Up My Pc 3.5…
Written by: Tom Sawyer Who am I? diggtitle = ‘How Important Are Gaming Consoles?’;I’m not old enough to remember when Pong first came out but I’m definitely part of the generation that enjoyed countless h…
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