Video Game Evolution

ril save you princess! 100M THE EVOLUTION OF VIDEO GAMES In 1972, on televisions across the country, two white lines appeared on opposite sides of a virtual court. A square "ball" bounced back and forth between these lines. These televisions were connected to the Magnavox Odyssey, and were playing the first version of Pong. The Odyssey was the first home video game console, and pong its most famous game. Wrapped in today's stunning graphics, immersive environ- ments, and expansive games, we forget this strange journey into the unreal began only half a lifetime ago. It is difficult to measure how much computer games have grown, but one simple yardstick is the growth of processing power. Magnavox - 8-bit 1.79 MHz micocontroller. 64 bytes internal RAM, 128 bytes audio/video RAM, - 1024 bytes BIOS ROM. 160x200 pixel resolution. - 16 color fixed palette, only 8 usable by sprites. - 8KB removable media. NES SNES 8-bit 1.79MHZ processor. 2KB of RAM, 49,128 bytes of ROM. - 48 colors + 5 shades of gray. - 64 sprites can be displayed at once. 256x240 pixel resolution. - 1MB cartridge size. 3.58MHZ processor, 128KB RAM + 64KB video and 64KB audio. 512x448 max resolution, 256 colors max on screen, but 32,768 possible. 8MB cartridge size. Playstation 33.8MHZ processor 2MB memory, 1MB video memory, 512K sound memory. 640x480 screen resolution, 16.7 million colors. Nintendo 64 93.75MHZ CPU 36Mbit memory 640x480 resolution, - 4.2 billion colors, shades and transparency levels. - 64MB game cartridge. Playstation 2 128 bit, 300MHZ CPU, 32MB memory, Theoretically possible 720p resolution, most games run only 480p. - 4GB DVD removable games. - CD-based system capable of 600MB games. Playstation 3 - PowerPC 3.2GHZ CPU, 7x SPE @3.2GHZ, - 550MHZ graphics processor, 1080p graphics, 25.6GB RAM, Blue-Ray removable media (50GB) Wii Xbox 360 Very little detail released. 512MB internal memory. - PowerPC CPU 3x 3.2GHZ CPUS, 512MB memory, 20GB hard drive, - DVD-media (4GB) 720p graphics. • The Magnavox Odyssey's original background graphics cannot be measured in bytes. They were printed transparencies, included with the game, to be placed on the screen. With these exponential increases in power, characters have become more detailed: More money is spent on games and gaming con- soles. In 2009, $15.18 billion dollars were spent on consoles and console games alone. $25.3 billion dollars were spent on video games as a whole. Mario's first appearance was an 8-bit sprite. In the SNES, he became a 16-bit sprite. Today, some character graphics exceed 10MB More time is spent gaming at home. The average western child played: Worlds are more detailed and more expansive. In 2001, Grand Theft Auto boasted 3 square miles of playable space. In 2004, World of Warcraft came out with 80 square miles of playable space. I x27 Today, Lord of the Rings Online comprises some 30,000 square miles. I x10,000 And Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall inhabits a theoretical 62,000 square miles. I x20,667 4 hrs/week 6 hrs/week THANK YOU MARIO! 8 hrs/week As comparison, Super Mario Brothers, released in 1985, comprises perhaps 10 miles of playable space. A skilled player can play the whole game through in 20 minutes. 14 hrs/week This is not necessarily impacting time spent watching TV, however, as more and more video gaming children will play video games and watch TV at the same time. New genres of game have emerged. |. Insert command: 1975: Dungeons & Dragons Role Playing Game 1972: 1976: 1980: Battlezone The first true 3D game Tennis/"PONG" Colossal Cave Adventure Sports Adventure (text based) 1985: Super Mario Bros First popular side-scroller RPG 1980: 1989: 1992: Mystery House The first adventure SimCity First simulation and Ultima Underworld First 3D RPG game with graphics first strategy game. 1992: Wolfenstein 3D- The first First Person Shooter game 1992: Dune II The first Real Time 1996: Quake 1992: Alone in the Dark First internet-playable FPS The first survival horror Strategy game game More consoles are sold. In 1972, 130,000 Odyssey game systems were sold. The original Odyssey system sold a total of about 330,000 units. The Atari 2600 sold 14 million systems. Retail price: $896 The PS2 sold 140 million. Retail price: $228 The SNES sold 49 million. Retail price: $333 Xbox 360: sold 40 million to date Retail price: $199 1997: Ultima Online First MMORPG to have Sony's Playstation sold 101 million. Retail price: $219 Wii: sold 71 million to date Retail price: $250 100,000 subscribers PS3: sold 35.7 million to date Retail price: $299 The N64 sold 34 million Retail price: $276 Prices adjusted for inflation Just about half (150 million) of U.S. citizens have at least one video game console in their homes. More games are developed and sold. Almost all of the 30 games available for the Magnavox Odyssey were included with the system. In the last three months of 2008 alone, Wii had inew games released 2/3 of all men 18-34, and 3/4 of all men 12-17 years old has at least one console. Xbox 360, 47 Playstation 3, 38 As games become more valuable, lawsuits have grown. MAGNAVOX EA ACTIVISION. vs. vs. vs. NFL ATARI. The first video game-related law- suit was Magnavox vs Atari, 1974. Magnavox claimed Atari had copied their "tennis" game to create "PONG." Atari settled out of court paying $700,000 for a license to Tennis and Magnavox's creations over the next year. In a 2008 lawsuit, the NFL players association reached a $26 million settlement with retired players for the use of their images in Electronic Arts Madden football games. Infinity Ward is currently seeking damages "in excess of $36 million" from Activision, as well as the rights to the Modern Warfare Games. 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