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The Glory and Fall of Old Game Systems
The Glory and Fall of Old Game Systems
The seventh generation of video game systems is currently pushing its way to the gaming industry. In fact, Microsoft-produced Xbox 360 is the only video game system that has been released so far as far as the seventh generation of game consoles is concerned. Sony’s PlayStation 3, Nintendo’s Wii, and Evizions Computer Entertainment’s EVO: Phase One are all scheduled to be released at the last quarter of 2006. These video game systems have a long way to go and different game developers are on their way on creating the next generation of video game systems that will be released as soon as possible.
Beyond the new generation of video game systems, probably you already forgot its predecessors, particularly the first and second generations. Such generations became the “cream of the crop” of the gaming industry during its early years, and facilitated the development of subsequent video game systems until the seventh generation. What we do not realize is that new video game system becomes old video game system soon, and is soon forgotten in a dusty corner.
That is what exactly happened to the old game systems. Once, they have been glorified because of the extraordinary entertainment that it provides to the gaming public. But now, they are just within the sidesteps of our memory, being demolished by new game systems which, as previously mentioned, will soon become old technologies once newer systems will be introduced to the market.
At this point, we need to refresh our memories and take ourselves back to the time when old game systems were at the pedestal of excellent recognition during the first stretch of video game systems and rediscover why we loved these game systems in the first place.
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, which was released in October 1977, became the first successful video game system to use plug-in cartridges instead of the traditional built-in games. It was originally known as Atari VCS (Video Computer System), which was changed in Atari 2600 in 1982 after the release of the more advanced 5200. It is equipped with two conventional joystick controllers, a game cartridge, and an adjoined pair of paddle controllers.
The fundamental layout of Atari 2600 is similar to other game systems and home computer during the 80s. Its central processing unit (CPU) was the MOS Technology 6507, an 8-bit microprocessor capable of addressing 8 KB of game memory, which is considered to be a lot during the 70s era. It was running at 1.19 megahertz on the 2600 model. The game system contains 128 bytes RAM for runtime data, which included state of the game world and call stack. In the absence of a frame buffer (a video output device which drives a video display from a memory buffer that has an extensive data frame), the 2600 made use of 2 bitmapped sprites, single-pixel ball, 2 single-line missile sprites, and a playfield. On the other hand, its video hardware gave 2600 the reputation of being among the game machines in the world that is difficult to program.
Atari 7800 Prosystem
The 7800 Prosystem was released by Atari in June 1986, which is designed to reestablish the company’s market supremacy against two of the prominent video game system producer during that time (Colecovision and Intellivision) as well as to replace the unpopular Atari 5200. The 7800 Prosystem addressed the shortcomings of 5200, particularly the joysticks and the compatibility with 2600-enabled games.
The 7800 Prosystem was Atari’s first video game system designed by other company, particularly the General Computer Corporation (GCC). Since it was designed to be upgraded into a complete home computer, the game system made use of a keyboard which had an expansion port in addition to other peripherals such as printers and disk drives. Furthermore, GCC came up with a high-score cartridge, which is a battery-backed RAM game cartridge that is developed for saving high game scores.
However, the 7800 Prosystem faced a severe software drought that marked the crash of all Atari game systems. There were few title releases made by Atari and most of them were lacking in feature and was generally unpolished. There were also some 7800 games that were made which are already available in the previous Atari video game systems. It was also noted that there were no effort in recruiting third party game developers, aside from several game titles. Later on, Atari finally announced that they were formally abandoning the 7800 Prosystem.
These are just two of hundreds of old game systems which had been glorified on the early years of video gaming. Although most of them have sad endings, their contribution to the video gaming industry will be remembered and will serve as an inspiration for present video game system development.
Skins for Your Xbox Game System: Personalizing Your Xbox
Skins for Your Xbox Game System: Personalizing Your Xbox
In today’s modern world, quality entertainment is always on demand. People have been purchasing different home entertainment gadgets that they can use to entertain themselves, their family and their visiting friends. People even try to make a particular room as their home entertainment room filled with different state-of-the-art technology, such as surround sound speakers, large Flat Screen TV and of course, the latest game systems.
Today, there are different video game systems available in the market. All of it boasts of great graphics and sound technology. One of the companies that manufacture great technology in terms of gaming consoles or gaming systems is Microsoft.
It is a fact that Microsoft is more known for the software they develop and also the games they develop for Personal Computers. However, because of the demand for game consoles, Microsoft also entered the game systems industry and released their own game systems called the Microsoft Xbox.
Today, Microsoft Xbox is one of the most popular gaming systems available in the market. It offers great technology inside that attractive core and many people considers Xbox as one of the best innovation in game systems today.
Xbox doesn’t only offer state-of-the-art graphics and sound technology, but the appearance of the game system itself is very attractive. One look at the Xbox will really make you want to own one.
Xbox usually comes in color black once you purchase it. However, you can also personalize the color of the Xbox by replacing the faceplate. This is like replacing the appearance of your Xbox to suit your personality. The Xbox skins can be ordered in stores near you.
The faceplate is replaceable and you can match the Xbox with your personal style. The Xbox skins are available in silver, woody and hotrod. There are also special edition faceplates that you can purchase for your Xbox. There are different special edition Xbox faceplate designs that you can choose from. If you like a particular game, you can match the look of your Xbox with your favorite Xbox game.
Microsoft definitely thought of a way to let you personalize your Xbox by changing its appearance.
Xbox skins are made from high quality manufacturing that helps prevent cracking or peeling. It is also easy to change and will allow you to change the faceplate whenever you like.
Xbox skins are readily available for purchase online to be delivered to your home or you can purchase it from authorized Xbox retail outlet in your local mall or stores.
So, if you are looking for a game console that offers great games with great specifications, that you can personalize, you can consider purchasing an Xbox together with the Xbox faceplates.
There are other Xbox accessories that you can purchase to further improve the way your Xbox looks like and the way you play. For example, aside from the faceplate of your Xbox, you can also purchase a wireless controller. This particular controller can let you enjoy playing your favorite Xbox game even if you are 30 feet away from the game console and the TV. If you have a large flat screen TV, you can really enjoy playing with your Xbox game in style.
Microsoft Xbox offers people flexibility in the way they play their game and also offer people a chance to personalize it as well. With the Xbox, you can really make your Xbox show your own character. By changing the faceplate and the default controllers with wireless controllers, you can be sure that you will enjoy playing with your Xbox like you never played before in any other game consoles available in the market today.
With this kind of innovation, who knows what kind of other features that Microsoft will offer in their future game systems? You can only imagine what other features will be available in the next generation of Microsoft’s game systems.
For a great gaming experience, and a great way to impress your friends, replace your Xbox faceplate to reveal your true personality. With this benefit, you can really express who you are through your Xbox game system. Also, with the wide variety of Xbox skins available, you can change your Xbox faceplate if you get tired of the old one.
Play With Original Nintendo Games through Your Home PC or With the Latest Nintendo Game System
Play With Original Nintendo Games through Your Home PC or With the Latest Nintendo Game System
When you ask people about Nintendo, they will usually give you the same answer. They will usually tell you that Nintendo is the manufacturer of some the most popular gaming console ever made.
It is a fact that Nintendo is one of the most popular names in the gaming systems industry. The company is known to produce quality gaming consoles and is one of the biggest companies in the video gaming market. They have created different gaming consoles and almost each one of the consoles was very successful.
For example, in 1985, Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES. This particular video game system is the most successful game system ever made by Nintendo. Over 60 million NES units were sold worldwide and it is also considered that this particular unit revitalized the crashing video game system industry in the early 80s.
Nintendo is also popular for creating the most popular game in the world. To this day, nothing compares to the popularity that the Super Mario Bros. game has reached.
The NES game system also led the way to modern video game technology. It led different companies to develop new game systems and the competition in the video gaming industry became even more intense. With different video game developers popping out of nowhere, Nintendo realized that it also needed to evolve to compete with the other big companies.
Today, Nintendo remains one of the three dominant companies in the video game industry. They still produce and are still developing new game systems that can ultimately allow them to compete with the other companies. The company still produces quality game systems and quality games that entertain many households all over the world.
Because of the great advancement in video game technology and also in computer technology, old games have been rendered obsolete and Nintendo discontinued production of their original game systems and games to make way for newer games and newer game systems to compete in the intense video game industry.
However, because of the rapid development in the gaming industry, people have been suggesting that the video game manufacturers should integrate a backward compatibility feature in their new game systems. Nintendo considered this and are developing their new gaming consoles to be compatible with their old game titles.
Nintendo also has a website that you can easily access and play their old games online. You can also purchase different original Nintendo games through the internet, download it, install it in your home PC and play with it. You can choose from the different popular titles that Nintendo developed, such as Athena, Super Mario Bros. series, Castlevania and a lot more.
The upcoming Nintendo Wii also promises backward compatibility of Nintendo’s games. The release date for Nintendo Wii will be on November 2006 and a lot of people are awaiting its release. Aside from the promising features that Nintendo Wii offers, such as wireless internet access, great games, and others, Nintendo Wii will also be capable of letting the user play with Nintendo’s old original games.
Nintendo Wii is a promising gaming console and is expected to be a worldwide success. It claims to be able to change the way people will look at gaming consoles with features never before seen in a video game system.
So, if you want to play original Nintendo games, you can take your old game system out from your attic or basement, wipe off the dust that accumulated, set it up, and play your favorite original Nintendo games. Or, you can also play original Nintendo games by purchasing it and downloading it on the internet. You can easily install the original Nintendo games in your computer and play with it.
You can also wait for the upcoming release of Nintendo Wii with the capability of playing old original Nintendo game titles.
With all the different original Nintendo games available, you will surely have fun playing with your favorite games over and over again. So, if you feel like playing retro Nintendo games, you can consider the mentioned options. Nintendo really produces quality games that you can never get tired off even if you finished the games over and over again.
This just proves that Nintendo creates quality game systems and also develops quality games that you and your family can enjoy.
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Video Game Evolution – What Could Possibly Be Coming?
Video Game Evolution – What Could Possibly Be Coming?
A PC game is a game that is played on a computer just like it is played on a PSP or an Xbox. You just put the game in the system and start playing. If you do not play video games then you shouldn’t be reading this article. A computer game is just like a video game a do not know why other people tend to disagree. In a video game you have all the same things you have a processor that processes the game. Then you have your graphics card or cards. Yes graphics cards are in every gaming system so if you thought a computer was different then video games then you are wrong. The only reason that computers will get better graphics is because video games are limited to their upgrades and that is why you will get booted out of games because you are not supposed to upgrade a system that is already upgraded enough.
You all have probably heard all we had back in my day was pong. Well pong is long gone and the age of the video game has taken over. There are so many video game systems that you can buy to play video games on these days. Like you have the PS2, you have the Xbox, you have the Xbox 360 and now you have the PS3. Like what is going to come next after the PS3. I don’t think anything can come next. I mean I have heard something about a PS4 but I am pretty sure that wont happen anytime soon at least while I am in the video game era. All of these gaming systems are expensive but they are all worth the money if you like to play video games.
Today we live in the world of video games and fantasy. So you are going to have those games that are out there and are kind of crazy. You are also going to have those games that are fun to play and are hard at the same time. You are even going to have games that require you to use your brain and think through the game. Those types of games tend to be the types of games that you have to be sneaky in like the new splinter cell and those kinds of games.
The end of the 70’s is when you were seeing the first home based video game systems and systems that you could plug into the wall and start playing all you had to do was hook it up to the TV and the plug in the wall and you could start playing.
Soon came to be the PC the personal computer. That soon became the weapon of the future and everyone would soon be using one of these. If you didn’t have a computer by the 90’s you were still considered to be living in the dark ages.
There are all kinds of different games that you could have played. You had fighting. Shooting, shooter, racing, I mean you had all the games that you could think of to play and people chose to get computers and start playing computer games.
Even though video games are something that you like to do everyday and wish that you could skip school instead of going to your class you still have to go to school to get your work done so you just need to go to school and then when you get home you still have so many hours to play before you have to study for that test. You just need to focus on what you need to do, not what you want to do.
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First Video Game Systems to the Latest in Gaming Consoles
First Video Game Systems to the Latest in Gaming Consoles
The history of video games has come a long way. Today, you will see video game consoles integrated with state-of-the-art graphics technology and amazing sound quality that can rival your home entertainment systems. There are even gaming consoles that has different features that can rival your home PC.
For example, you will find that some gaming consoles available today have realistic graphics and Hollywood-like acting. Computer generated 3D characters even contains facial expressions and body movements almost similar to the real thing.
If you play with these consoles, you will see that the characters in it move very much like real people. But, in fact, these characters are the product of the latest 3D technology available. Not only that, characters in these games even have human like features. Some even have beards, different eye colors, and some even have hairs that moves just like the real thing.
Other integrated features that you will see in some gaming consoles available in the market today are the memory cards, where you can save your game progress, joysticks and steering wheels to add a little more realism to driving and flight simulation games, simulated guns to add realism to shooting games, and even vibration feedback to controls.
There are even gaming consoles available in the market today that can be connected to the internet. With these feature, you can join multiplayer games in the internet and play with other people from all over the world. So, if you get bored fighting AI (artificial intelligence) from regular games, you can buy a game that is available for massively multiplayer online role playing games or MMORPG.
However, before you go out and buy the real thing, you should know where all these games started. Just like any other invention, gaming consoles or gaming systems started out as having rough graphics, simple sounds and very simple game play.
In the early years of video game systems, you will find that it all started out in a simple game that was called “Tennis for Two”. This particular video game was introduced back in 1958 and was consisted of two horizontal lines across the screen, and a short perpendicular line that represented the net.
This particular game was the root of all video games and from here, video game developers started competing and producing different games and came to the point of having great graphics and sound quality.
In the mid 70s, a company called Atari came out with a video game system that revolutionized the world of video games. It was called the Video Computer System or VCS. This system became one of the hottest selling gaming systems in its day. As you see today’s latest gaming system, you will find it hard to believe that people even bought these things.
However, you have to consider the fact that in the past, because of the early technology in graphics and sounds, and 3D graphics were virtually non existent, these video gaming systems were considered as state-of-the-art. And, many people enjoyed playing with it. If you were born in this era, and played with these video game systems, you know how much fun it is to play with.
Integrated with simple graphics, simple sound effects and simple game play, it was relatively easy to play with. The whole family can really spend hours on end to play with video game systems in the past. Everyone can play with these simple machines, even children.
Today, since game developers are taking games to another level, adding realistic graphics and realistic sounds, each game are now rated by the ESRB or the Entertainment Software Rating Board. You will see that each of the gaming title will contain letters, such as E, T, M, and AO. These letters represent on who can play the game. E represents Everyone, T represents Teens only, M for Mature gamers, and AO represents Adults Only.
More and more games today are integrated with realism of violence and gore where it can really affect your child’s psychology. This is why it is important for you to check the ESRB rating before buying a particular game.
There are even games available today that can recreate the battlefield in World War II. You can even see bodies around the simulated Normandy beach that are either decapitated or a realistic person spurting blood calling out for a medic.
You can easily see how long video game systems have come in terms of graphics and sound quality.
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