Throughout the ages, Gaming has been a core part of our life. Some of us grew up playing Super Mario Bros on Sega, while others lived in the glory days of the PlayStation generation; searching for the Apple of Eden through the eyes of Altair and Ezio. It’s insane how gaming consoles have changed over time. From being plugged to your TV to going portable in your pocket, the industry established itself to what it is today.
Looking back at where it all started, in 1972 Magnavox Odyssey initially known as the ‘Brown Box’ got people hooked onto games like volleyball and tennis even with its super basic graphics. Atari changed console gaming forever in 1987 by creating the first popular console capable of accepting game cartridges. Before this, consoles (including Atari’s own Pong) only had self-contained games. The VCS 2600 let players use joysticks or paddle controllers to play several hit games like Pacman, Asteroids, and Frogger. In the 90’s with the rise of Sega Super Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, nothing could stop the rise of this industry.
Meanwhile, Nintendo launched its original Gameboy; it was an instant international sensation. Combined sales of the original Gameboy and Gameboy Color hit 118.69 million units. Every kid went up, down, up, down, left, right, left, right, B, A on their Gameboy Advance SP. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the original Gameboy. The mantle was then taken up by the infamous Playstation Portable aka PSP hitting 82 million units sold worldwide.
While the traditional TV consoles were losing their grip on the audience, the launch of PS3 revived the phenomenon back again, while Microsoft’s XBOX was trying to create a space for itself. PS3’s Go-Motion controllers allowed the players to interact in the game using live motion in free-space. PS4 continued the legacy ahead. The launch of Nintendo Switch tried to combine the best of both worlds; providing portable experience while allowing for gameplay on a big TV screen with its dedicated dock.
Ever since upcoming technologies like AR and VR have added to the ways in which gaming can be perceived. From Sony to Oculus, every tech giant is trying to use these upcoming technologies to create an immersive experience for the gamer. Camouflaj industries have just teased their Ironman VR game for PS VR and I just can’t wait to get my hands on it. (https://youtu.be/1IJgh1Vvtgc)
Google just announced it’s Cloud gaming service called ‘Stadia’ — the ‘Netflix’ of gaming. Google wants to set gamers free from the expensive hardware and long download times, with its upcoming Stadia cloud streaming service. Soon, the company says, video game fans will be able to play AAA titles on any of their devices using just a Chrome browser and the Stadia controller.
Apart from the usual AAA console gaming, the pace with which smartphone gaming is growing is exponential. Today all flagship smartphone processors offer enough computing power to run a superior graphic gaming title. Smartphone manufacturers are paying attention to consider gaming as a part of the smartphone’s key offerings. While the original Nokia N-gage hinted gaming to be a core entertainment medium for us, with further evolution in smartphone technology and design, it failed to stay ahead of the curve. Similarly, Nvidia Shield Portable was considered to be an evolutionary device but ended up failing big time. Asus ROG phone, Razer Phone 2 and Xiaomi’s Black Shark are exceptional examples of how the perception of portable gaming evolved for the smartphone industry.
Predictions on how technology will evolve in the future have always been inaccurate because one can never really predict how we may deviate from the intended use of the original creation. That being said, it is still delightful to know that innovation in gaming is treading unexplored realms, always pushing the limits. As for me, I’m going to hop on every new Game-wagon to experience it all and have fun.
