Game Systems, Personal Computers, and Hardware Chapter 6 Game Systems, Personal Computers, and Hardware

Objectives Explain features of various game systems. Define terms related to gaming systems. Contract major gaming systems. Explain successful business models for gaming systems. Describe how video games drive and complement new technologies. Identify examples of technology transfer from video games to other industries.

Objectives (Continued) Compare video game systems to personal computers. Identify elements of personal computers that limit video game playing.

Dedicated Game System Consoles The greatest limiting factor for game design is the hardware systems needed to run a game Changing the way games are played will mean game systems need more computing power A dedicated video game console, such as the Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii, can cost more than $500 million in research and development to bring to reality

Dedicated Game System Consoles (Continued) Generation 7 has been dominated by three big manufacturers in the video game console market: Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo Games designed for a particular system may be able to offer different gameplay Each company is currently working on the next version of their system These systems will likely be considered generation 8

Dedicated Game System Consoles (Continued) PlayStation 3 (PS3) is Sony’s generation 7 video game console The advanced computer processor used in the PS3 has a unique design called the CELL processor architecture In addition to the main CPU, there are eight synergistic processing elements (SPE) System operations controls the traffic of information

Dedicated Game System Consoles (Continued) To go with this awesome graphics power, PlayStation 3 installed a Blu-Ray DVD reader Xbox 360 is Microsoft’s generation 7 video game console It was the first generation 7 system released Inside the Xbox 360 is a very good computer Early on, the largest drawback to the Xbox was the amount of heat it generated

Dedicated Game System Consoles (Continued) Laser burn occurs when the disc gets too close to the laser or the disc stops spinning and the laser burns the same place for too long Microsoft spent company profits to cover the losses on the Xbox 360 Microsoft makes up some of the financial losses from the sales of the game system by selling a large number of Halo games

Dedicated Game System Consoles (Continued) Wii is Nintendo’s generation 7 video game console It had the most advanced user interface of any generation 7 system at the time of its release The Wii used little experimental technology and was inexpensive to build The Wii rates poor for processing power and graphics in comparison to the Xbox and PS3

Dedicated Game System Consoles (Continued) The USP created by Nintendo is greater player immersion through the use of a superior user interface The first drawback for Wii is that the player needs a cabinet full of accessories to experience the full level of immersion The other drawback to the Wii controller is the amount of power needed to read player movement and send it to the system

Dedicated Game System Consoles (Continued) PC gaming is simply playing games on a personal computer instead of a dedicated game console Many third-party game designers also release their game titles formatted to play on a PC The PC of today has most of the same characteristics of a game console However, a PC is not advanced enough to play many games designed to take advantage of the power offered by an Xbox or PS3

Dedicated Game System Consoles (Continued) The generation 7 game consoles are specialists designed primarily for playing games Many of the generation 5 and 6 games can run in an emulation mode on a PC The experimental technology that was a USP for a video game system eventually becomes mainstream This is one of the greatest benefits to consumers from the game industry

Game System Consoles: Data Goodheart-Willcox Publisher

Technology Transfer Technology transfer has occurred between game technology and other devices One of the ways manufacturers separate their game consoles from the competition is by creating more advanced displays The GPU found in high-definition televisions was inspired by GPU designs developed for video game consoles

Technology Transfer (Continued) Cell phones, smartphones, and music players all benefited from game technology All these handheld devices use flash memory Nintendo created the first random-access memory flash The user interface of handheld devices has also benefited from game technology

Technology Transfer (Continued) The education field has greatly benefited from technology developed for video games Students are invited, because of the entertainment value, to play video games Playing these games builds skills for navigating the user interface These skills are then put to use in computer applications

Technology Transfer (Continued) Besides the indirect benefits, students are actually learning directly through educational games The medical community has also greatly benefited from applying game technology For example, surgical procedures can be practiced through gameplay Corporations rely on game technology to provide their employees new or enriched skills

Technology Transfer (Continued) One of the products with the heaviest demand in corporate training is foreign-language instruction The military makes extensive use of video game technology The military has flight simulators, which are ultra-realistic virtual reality games Also, 3D graphics are commonplace on weapons systems and satellite imaging

Example of Gaming Technology Used in Medical Industry www.freeonlinegames.com

Consider an educational video game that you have played Consider an educational video game that you have played. Do you think the game was more or less effective for learning the skills or concepts than other methods of learning? What is one product you use that has benefited from technology developed for video games?