Technical Trend - Handheld Consoles

Handheld consoles are portable game consoles with built-in screen, controllers and speakers, allowing the user to play anywhere at any time.

The earliest handheld consoles were seen in the 1970s and users were only capable of playing one game on them. The first all-digital handheld game is known to be Auto Race, manufactured by Mattel Electronics and released in 1977. The game had LED light and simple sound, and it used about 512 bytes on memory.

Figure 1 - Mattel's Auto Race game consoe

Handheld consoles became popular after the release of the Game Boy by Nintendo in 1989, which included some of the most popular games, like Tetris and Pokémon. The Game Boy used four AA batteries that needed to be replaced after 20 hours of gameplay. Nintendo is still the most popular company for handheld game consoles, with the Nintendo 2DS and 3DS.

Figure 2 - Nintendo's Game Boy handheld console

Even though handheld consoles are being replaced by mobile phones for gaming, they are still very popular nowadays. In fact, new versions of classic consoles are being produced and released to this day. The PlayStation Vita is the handheld game console released by Sony in 2011. It features a 5-inch touchscreen with two analog sticks, two cameras, speakers, microphone and also Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth connectivity.

Figure 3 - Sony's PlayStation Vita handheld game console

One of the latest handheld consoles released is the New Nintendo 3DS, developed by Nintendo and put on the market on October 2014. This console features additional processor cores, an increase to 256 MB of RAM, Micro-SD cards for data storage, that can be transferred wirelessly using a PC.

Handheld game consoles made such a huge impact on the industry, that now certain games are specifically developed for mobile phones. In fact, John Geleynse, a director at Apple has even called the iPhone a “gaming console” and that “it’s not a phone, it’s a console experience.”  

Bibliography:

Wikipedia.org, (2015). PlayStation Vita. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Vita [Accessed 24 May 2015]

Wikipedia.org, (2015). Mattel Auto Race. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattel_Auto_Race [Accessed 24 May 2015]

Wikipedia.org, (2015). New Nintendo 3DS. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Nintendo_3DS [Accessed 24 May 2015]

Wikipedia.org, (2015). Handheld game console. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handheld_game_console [Accessed 24 May 2015]

Engadget.com, (2008). Apple: "the iPhone is a gaming console". [online] Available at: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/12/apple-the-iphone-is-a-gaming-console/ [Accessed 24 May 2015]

8th Generation - Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart 8 is the best-selling game of the Wii U game console, with over 5 million copies sold to date. The game is a kart racing game published by Nintendo and released in 2014.

The game has characters from the Mario franchise, where the player controls them to win kart races. Unlike the previous Mario Kart games, Mario Kart 8 introduces the feature of anti-gravity, where the player is allowed to drive on walls, ceilings and also up waterfalls. This was possible because of the powerful Wii U console, which also gave way to a 3D environment instead of the usual 2D plane featured in the other Mario Kart games. The game has the feature of multiplayer mode, and also supports online multiplayer gaming supported by Nintendo Network.

Digital Foundry states that the game is “near perfection” and that it has “phenomenal attention to detail” and also a “magnificent visual package”. The game has smooth animations, amazing HD graphics and a high performance of up to 60 frames per second that makes it the best game in the Mario Kart series yet.

Figure 1 - Mario Kart 8

Some updates of the game have been released to improve the online experience and also add more features to the game, like compatibility with amiibo figures, and the possibility of playing in 200cc engine class mode. 

Bibliography:

Mariowiki.com, (2015). Mario Kart 8. [online] Available at: http://www.mariowiki.com/Mario_Kart_8 [Accessed 23 May 2015]

Nintendo.com, (2015). Mario Kart 8. [online] Available at: http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/RCjxReZwSFsFfyaXGGxYdozPmEqZOkwq [Accessed 23 May 2015]

Wikipedia.org, (2015). Mario Kart 8. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Kart_8 [Accessed 23 May 2015]

8th Generation - Wii U

The successor of the Wii, the Wii U, is a video game console created by Nintendo and first released in November 2012. The Wii U was the first console to be in the eight generation of the gaming industry, and it competes with the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.

The idea to create the Wii U began due to some limitations of the Wii console, such as limited network, and because Nintendo wanted to bring back the element of core gaming.

Figure 1 - Wii U game console 

The Wii U has a 1.24 GHz Tri-Core IBM PowerPC CPU, 2 GB DDR3 memory and a custom-designed AMD Radeon HD GPU at the speed of 550 MHz. This console has an output of up to 1080p and 1080i and as for audio it makes use of 5.1 Linear PCM, Analog stereo.

Some of the special features of the Wii U console are the built-in accelerometer, speakers, front-facing camera, and a 6.2 inch touchscreen. It also features a new controller that is compatible with all games, and which includes motion control and also enable video chat and internet browsing.

Since it came out the Wii U has sold about 9 million units, while its competitors, the PS4 and the Xbox One have each sold 20 million and 11 million units respectively.  One of the main reasons that the Wii U did not sell as well as the other consoles is because of the console’s low horsepower when compared to the other consoles that were capable of an output up to 4K.

One of the best-selling Wii U game is Mario Kart 8, with over 4.77 million copies sold, ad as of March 2014 about 32 million Wii U games has been sold worldwide.

Some of the many games that can be played on the Wii U include Mario Kart 8, Splatoon, Disney Infinity, Nintendo Land, Hyrule Warriors and Bayonetta 2. 

Bibliography:

Gaming.wikia.com, (2015). Wii U. [online] Available at: http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Wii_U [Accessed 23 May 2015]

Wikipedia.org, (2015). Wii U. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_U [Accessed 23 May 2015]

7th Generation - Assassin’s Creed

Assassin’s Creed is a fiction action-adventure video game series, developed by Ubisoft Montreal originally for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and released in 2007, but it was also released for PC later on.

As any other game, Assassin’s Creed received some positive and also negative reviews. ESPN’s Aaron Boulding called the game “fairly original” but also that “Visually, the developers nailed it.” GamePro video game magazine stated that Assassin’s Creed is one of the “finest gaming experiences ever created” but that it lacks in fast-paced action. Darren Wells from Hyper magazine says that the game has “great story, great graphics and intuitive controls”.

Overall this first game in the Assassin’s Creed series had decent animation for its time, and better lightning and design style than most of its successors.

Figure 1 - Assassin's Creed

Several sequels and versions of the game were released, including Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles launched in 2008 for the Nintendo DS, and later on was also ported for iPhone and iPod Touch. Assassin’s creed III was released in 2012, and it is one of the best games in the series due to its great animations and realistic movements. 

Bibliography:

Forums.ubi.com, (2013). Assassin's Creed series graphics comparison. [online] Available at: http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php/773583-Assassin-s-Creed-series-graphics-comparison-Forums [Accessed 23 May 2015]

Wikipedia.org, (2015). Assassin's Creed (video game). [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassin%27s_Creed_(video_game) [Accessed 23 May 2015]

7th Generation - Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is a video game console developed by Microsoft. The development of this console began in February 2003, the same month the former president of Sega, Peter Moore, joined Microsoft. It was first released for sale on November 2005, in the United States and Canada, and then later on in Europe and Japan, and in just one year it was already launched in 36 countries.

The console has a 3.2 GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon CPU, 512 MB of GDDR3 RAM at the speed of 700 MHz, and a 500 MHz ATI Xenos graphics chip. The console made use of a maximum of 512MB hard disk, and also included detachable hard drives of 20 up to 250 GB. It had a USB storage device of 1GB up to 32GB and a cloud storage of 512MB, which required a Gold Membership. As for sound it supports 48khz 16-bit audio, 256 audio channels, and makes use of Analog stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo LPCM.

One of the most known problem with the hardware of the Xbox 360 was overheating which was usually represented by the Red Ring of Death, which is the name given to the power button of the console that flashes red when there is some sort of hardware failure.

Figure 1 - Xbox 360's Red Ring of Death

There are several accessories which ae available for the console, such as wireless controllers, headsets and webcam for chatting, dance mats and various sizes of memory units and hard drives.

Microsoft has released several updates since the Xbox’s release. These updates add new features to the console, such as cloud storage to save games, new accessories, and voice search.

Although the Xbox 360 was not the best-selling console of the seventh generation of gaming, it sold around 84 million units as of June 2014, which is much better than its predecessor, the Xbox. This console was especially important since it strengthened Microsoft’s force in the console market.

Figure 2 - Xbox 360 game console

Games that can be played on this console include Grand Theft Auto V, Assassin’s Creed, Minecraft and Destiny. 

Bibliography:

Wikipedia.org, (2015). Xbox 360. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360 [Accessed 23 May 2015]

Gaming.wikia.com, (2015). Xbox 360. [online] Available at: http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Xbox_360 [Accessed 23 May 2015]

6th Generation - Phantasy Star Online

Phantasy Star Online is an online role-playing game developed by Sonic Team and released by Sega for the video game console, the Dreamcast, in 2000. The game was created to show the Dreamcast’s power for online gaming. In fact, the game features real-time combat.

Figure 1 - Phantasy Star Online 

This 3D graphics game was a great success, and therefore they developed new versions to allow the game to be played on other gaming devices apart from the Sega’s Dreamcast, such as Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst, released in 2004 for Microsoft Windows. The Blue Burst featured new items and enemies and also had improved graphics and controls. A sequel of the game was also released, called Phantasy Star Online 2, which was also released for PlayStation Vita in 2012.

One was also able to play the game in offline mode, which features four levels in different areas; forest, caves, mines and ruins. The game also had a communication system where players could communicate with each other since the game used an online system. Another option for playing is the battle mode, where the players can attack each other.

The visual quality of the game was so good for that time that even IGN (Imagine Games Network) stated that “This is among the best games, visually, across all platforms. There’s really nothing that compares to the visual quality of PSO.”

Bibliography:

Wikipedia.org, (2015). Phantasy Star Online. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasy_Star_Online [Accessed 6 May 2015]

6th Generation - Dreamcast

The Dreamcast video game system was released in 1998 by Sega and it was the first to make part of the sixth generation of game consoles. The console was also the last home console developed by Sega and it was discontinued in 2001, although in Japan service to repair the console was still available until 2007.

Dreamcast had a Hitachi SH-4 32-bit CPU running at 200MHz, 128 Kb VMU storage, main memory RAM of 16MB, video RAM of 8 MB and sound memory of 2 MB. The system could display about 16.77 million colors simultaneously on a screen of 640x480 pixels. The Dreamcast was the first console to be sold with a built-in 56k modem, and broadband adapters were available later on, which allowed the console to connect to the internet.

The Dreamcast was built with already made components, including the CPU and the GPU, in order to reduce the cost of the system. When it was first released in Japan, the system was a great success, given it was the very first 128-bit console. In fact, in the first two weeks after its release it sold about 500,000 units, which led to some hardware shortages. Business Week Magazine also said that the Dreamcast was one of the “Best products of 1999” for its advanced technology and original games. But as Sony released the PlayStation 2 sales started to decrease for Sega. Until the Dreamcast was discontinued, 10.6 million units were sold.

Figure 1 - Sega Dreamcast console

Some of the video games that could be played on the Dreamcast home console where specifically made to show the console’s online capabilities, like Phantasy Star Online. Other games that could be played on this console include Rez, Resident Evil 2, Virtua Tennis and Chicken Run. 

Bibliography:  

Shinforce.com, (2015). Business Week Award. [online] Available at: http://www.shinforce.com/dreamcast/Awards-Business_Week_12_11_1999.htm [Accessed 6 May 2015]

Venturebeat.com, (2013). Consoles that won’t die: The Sega Dreamcast. [online] Available at: http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/17/consoles-that-wont-die-the-sega-dreamcast/ [Accessed 6 May 2015]

Wikipedia.org, (2015). Dreamcast. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamcast [Accessed 6 May 2015]

Segaretro.org, (2015). Sega Dreamcast. [online] Available at: http://www.segaretro.org/Sega_Dreamcast [Accessed 6 May 2015]

5th Generation - Nights into Dreams

The action game Nights into Dreams was created by Sonic Team and released in 1996 by Sega on the Sega Saturn console. The main story of the game is based on two children who enter a dream world, where they are able to fly. The sensation of flight is achieved by the 3D graphics and a mix of 2D and 3D gameplay. 

The game has great animation and music, and the character is always in the center of the screen to keep the viewer more focused and included in the action. The environments in the game are unique since given that the story is set in a dream world it increased the possibilities for the designers to create a creative and surreal place. It used a 524MB ROM, a high color count and a 3D Control Pad as a controller.

Figure 1 - Nights into Dreams gameplay

Sega released a remake of the game for the Sony PlayStation 2 in 2008 which includes an option for playing with the original graphics of the Sega Saturn or with enhanced graphics which were made specifically for the PS2. The game also has a sequel called Nights: Journey of Dreams, which was released for the Wii console in 2007.

Bibliography:

Wikipedia.org, (2015). Nights into Dreams... [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nights_into_Dreams... [Accessed 5 May 2015]

Racketboy.com, (2006). Review: NiGHTS Into Dreams – Saturn [online] Available at: http://www.racketboy.com/retro/review-nights-into-dreams-saturn [Accessed 5 May 2015]

5th Generation - Sega Saturn

The Sega Saturn video game console was developed by Sega and released in 1994 at the price of $399, although the development of the game started in 1992 under the name Giga Drive. This 32-bit console came out after the Sega Genesis 16-bit console of 1988.

The Sega Saturn was a great success in Japan, but in the United States it was not so popular with the consumers and therefore it did not sell as many units as it was expected, especially after the Nintendo 64 was launched in 1996. The Sega Saturn sold 9.5 million units worldwide and is considered to have been a commercial failure.

Figure 1 - Sega Saturn game console

Sega added a 3D processor to the console to compete with the PlayStation, but having two processors made the Saturn a lot more challenging for game developers, so the games ended up going on the PlayStation.  But even if 3D was not one of the Saturn’s strengths, it had one of the best 2D processors in gaming ever released and it also included a 4MB ram cartridges to give the console more graphical capabilities over the PlayStation.

The console used two Hitachi SH-2 32-bit RISC processors of 28.6 MHz each, a Yamaha Saturn Custom Sound Processor YMF292 and a total internal memory of 5156 KB. It was able to display 16.77 million colors simultaneously on a screen which had a resolution up to 704x224 pixels.

The Sega Saturn was discontinued in 1998 and replaced by the Sega Dreamcast which was released in November 1998 in Japan and in 1999 in North America. Games that were being developed for the Sega Saturn, such as Sonic Adventure and Virtua Fighter, were cancelled and moved to the Sega Dreamcast, due to the Saturn’s commercial failure and hardware limitations.

Some games that could be played on the Sega Saturn where; Nights into Dreams, Virtua Fighter, Sonic R and Mortal Kombat II. 

Bibliography:

Wikipedia.org, (2015). Sega Saturn. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Saturn [Accessed 5 May 2015]

Racketboy.com, (2013). Sega Saturn: The Beginner’s Guide. [online] Available at: http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega-saturn-101-beginners-guide [Accessed 5 May 2015]

Segaretro.org, (2015). Sega Saturn. [online] Available at: http://segaretro.org/Sega_Saturn [Accessed 5 May 2015]

4th Generation - Splatterhouse

Splatterhouse is a beat ‘em up game developed by Namco and released in 1988 on the TurboGrafx-16 video game home console. The game on the console included a parental advisory warning which read “The horrifying theme of this game may be inappropriate for young children… and cowards” due to the gory graphics it included, like melted flesh and bloated corpses.

In this 2D side-scrolling game, the player controls a character named Rick, a student who has to fight creatures to save his girlfriend. The game was inspired mainly by the western horror movies Friday the 13th and Evil Dead II. In fact, the color of the mask of the main character was changed in the United States version so that it would not look too similar to the mask of Jason Voorhees, the serial killer in Friday the 13^th.

Figure 1 - Splatterhouse gameplay

The screen orientation of the game was horizontal having a 288x224 pixel resolution and a 24-bit RGB palette. When ported on the home console the game lost some of its graphical detail and some sounds were removed due to the less powerful hardware.

The game also had some changes when it was ported on the home console from the arcade game, such as the arcade game starts with an animation of the characters to narrate the background story, where as in the video game it simply shows the exterior of the mansion before the game begins. Then there are some minor changes, such as different weapons used and some death scenes, like in stage 6.

In 2007 the TurboGrafx-16 version of the game was released on the Wii’s Virtual Console and a remake was made in 2010 to be ported on iPhones and iPads. 

Bibliography:

Imdb.com, (2015). Splatterhouse (1988). [online] Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457486/ [Accessed 5 May 2015]

Wikipedia.org, (2015). Splatterhouse. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splatterhouse [Accessed 5 May 2015]

4th Generation - TurboGrafx-16

The TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment System was launched in Japan in 1987 as the PC Engine. This video game console was developed by Hudson Soft and NEC and it was the first console to be released during the 16-bit era even though it still used an 8-bit CPU. The console was originally created to compete against NES, but it ended up competing against other major gaming console, such as the Sega Mega Drive and the Neo Geo AES.

The console made use of a Hudson Soft HuC6280 8-bit CPU running at 7.16mhz and a dual 16-bit GPU (Graphics processing unit). It was able to display 482 colors onscreen, had a screen resolution of up to 565x242 pixels and was capable of producing a 6-channel PSG stereo audio. The system had an upgradable CD Add-on which provided the CD ROM with more data so that levels could be longer, animations were improved and included more sound effects.

Figure 1 - TurboGrafx-16 console

Being the first console to be released in a new generation, later competitors make use of better hardware, but the console still remained in the competition due to its design and its CD ROM, which was the first of its kind as a game medium for home consoles.

Later on, the Turbo Express was released as the PC Engine GT which was hand-held version of the TurboGrafx-16 and ran the same games as the original.

The TurboGrafx-16 was advertised as a 16-bit CPU console even though it used two 8-bit processors instead. This type of advertisement gave the console a sales advantage in the game market, and it was in fact the top-selling console in Japan for a period of time. But even though the console was a success in Japan, it did not sell very well in Europe and North America, were Sega and Nintendo were more popular amongst the consumers.

Some games that could be played on the TurboGrafx-16 were: Splatterhouse, Neutopia, Bonk’s Adventure, and Bomberman. 

Bibliography:

Wikipedia.org, (2015). TurboGrafx-16. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TurboGrafx-16 [Accessed 5 May 2015]

Racketboy.com, (2013). TurboGrafx-16 101: The Beginner’s Guide. [online] Available at: http://www.racketboy.com/retro/turbografx-16/tubrografix-16-tg16-101-beginners-guide [Accessed 5 May 2015)