Sega took its own bid for the handheld gaming market with its own version, the Game Gear. It released in Japan in 1990, North America and Europe in 1991 and Australia in '92.
It used the same processor as the Sega Genesis, and unlike the Game Boy, the Game Gear was actually in color!
Despite this great advancement, the Game Gear didn't do so well.
For starters, the price was much higher than the Game Boy, and Sega was behind Nintendo's release by 2 years.
Another downside to the Game Gear was that it ate batteries. Whereas the Game Boy ran on 4 AA batteries for upwards of 30 hours of life, the Game Gear took 6 batteries and would generally run out of charge within ~5 hours. All that processing power and color graphics came at a high power consumption cost.
Another set back was that Nintendo did not stagnate during this, and released their Game Boy Pocket, which was a smaller version of the original in order to further compete with their competition.
Sega's corporate tactics also signed the Game Gears failure. Sega was at the same time frame concentrating on its next-generation of consoles, the Sega CD and 32X consoles, and the Game Gear took a back-burner to this endeavor. Without the full support of corporate funding, the Game Gear couldn't keep up with the efforts of Nintendo.
Despite this early demise, Sega's Game Gear did have ~300 games produced for it, and sold 11 million units worldwide, however that wasn't even one-tenth the sales of their rival.
Showing posts with label gamers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gamers. Show all posts
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Nintendo returns to the console competition
After the Gamecube was released in 2002, and was relatively ineffective at wedging itself into the market shares of Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo took a second try at it with the Nintendo Wii.
The most unique part of the Wii was that it was more interactive than the systems prior to it. The controller can actually respond to being physically moved and allow players to swing the controller like a golf club, a baseball bat, a bowling ball or even a sword (in Dragon Quest Swords), granting a new sense of 'realism' to gaming. No more hitting the 'X' button to somehow kill the slime, now you actually are swinging at it and stabbing towards the screen with your controller!
Later in its timeframe, Nintendo realized that people were more conscious about getting fit and exercising, and with a controller that responds to movement already, why not go the next step and make fitness related games, hence came Wii Fit.
The folks at Nintendo really put innovation on a pedestal with their ideas with the Wii, and keeping a tight hold on their staple icons of Zelda and Mario Bros. made it that if you wanted to have a go with these all-time favorites, you needed to return to the Nintendo franchise to have access to them.
Nintendo Wii actually beat both Xbox 360 and PS3 in sales numbers worldwide, and in Dec. 2009 broke the sales record for a single month in the U.S, with their DS handheld device coming in 2nd for the month. (^ "Wii and DS thrash competition in US News". Eurogamer. January 14, 2010. Retrieved Nov. 24, 2013)
Wii has sold over 100.3 million units worldwide, with a game library consisting of over 1,200 games, but their network store also allows you to play games from older systems (NES, SNES and even Sega Genesis games) on the Wii, which brings it's totals to 1778 games (according to Nintendo Inc. Official Site) (http://www.nintendo.com/games/gameGuide accessed Nov. 24, 2013)
The most unique part of the Wii was that it was more interactive than the systems prior to it. The controller can actually respond to being physically moved and allow players to swing the controller like a golf club, a baseball bat, a bowling ball or even a sword (in Dragon Quest Swords), granting a new sense of 'realism' to gaming. No more hitting the 'X' button to somehow kill the slime, now you actually are swinging at it and stabbing towards the screen with your controller!
Later in its timeframe, Nintendo realized that people were more conscious about getting fit and exercising, and with a controller that responds to movement already, why not go the next step and make fitness related games, hence came Wii Fit.
The folks at Nintendo really put innovation on a pedestal with their ideas with the Wii, and keeping a tight hold on their staple icons of Zelda and Mario Bros. made it that if you wanted to have a go with these all-time favorites, you needed to return to the Nintendo franchise to have access to them.
Nintendo Wii actually beat both Xbox 360 and PS3 in sales numbers worldwide, and in Dec. 2009 broke the sales record for a single month in the U.S, with their DS handheld device coming in 2nd for the month. (^ "Wii and DS thrash competition in US News". Eurogamer. January 14, 2010. Retrieved Nov. 24, 2013)
Wii has sold over 100.3 million units worldwide, with a game library consisting of over 1,200 games, but their network store also allows you to play games from older systems (NES, SNES and even Sega Genesis games) on the Wii, which brings it's totals to 1778 games (according to Nintendo Inc. Official Site) (http://www.nintendo.com/games/gameGuide accessed Nov. 24, 2013)
Sony answers with the release of the Playstation 3
After Microsoft released the Xbox 360, Sony needed to improve too. The 360 was released in 2005, and later that year, Sony announced their new system at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Although, Sony still was not able to release the PS3 until the end of 2006, which did give Microsoft a definite edge on the market for more than a year.
However, the PS3 quickly caught back up, despite another large setback when it came to price of their new system, which at its release was a staggering $600 per system! Over time, they lowered their price and the system quickly caught on among their loyal fan-base.
The PS3 was the first gaming console to use Blu-Ray discs, which gave them an edge over the CD-Rom discs still widely used by the gaming industry. As well, it also had a fully built in hard drive to store and save games onto, where the Xbox 360 relied on an external hard drive, and all other systems prior to the PS3 relied on other various external memory capabilities.
As of today, the PS3 has sold over 80 million units worldwide, and had over 800 games released.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Video Game Consoles finally match the Arcade specs.
The emergence of the Sony Playstation, Sega Dreamcast, and Nintendo GameCube finally saw the in-home game console matching the superior processing power of Arcade games. This led to a rapid decline in Arcade goers, as the former patrons of the aforementioned group began to be able to get the same quality and gameplay value at home.
Why go out to the arcade if you can stay at home and play the same quality games on your own TV?
With this decline, Arcades were no longer viable social locations as they'd once been in the 70s and 80s. With fewer people going to arcade outlets, there's less reason to go to hang out with people, who aren't there.
Here is an article by Vancouver Video Games writer Jordan Rudek
I agree with him, I do miss the environment video arcades provided. The bells and whistles and 'otherworldly' feel is something that game consoles at home can never mimic, regardless of their graphics and gameplay.
Sure, there are a limited number of shops around most towns that are 'gathering places' for gamers to play on the shop's console, but its still not the same. Las Vegas still has full-scale arcades, as do Japan, where the video arcade is still seen as a social gathering place for gamers to compete and hangout, but as in large, the video arcade in the U.S. is pretty much extinct.
Why go out to the arcade if you can stay at home and play the same quality games on your own TV?
With this decline, Arcades were no longer viable social locations as they'd once been in the 70s and 80s. With fewer people going to arcade outlets, there's less reason to go to hang out with people, who aren't there.
Here is an article by Vancouver Video Games writer Jordan Rudek
I agree with him, I do miss the environment video arcades provided. The bells and whistles and 'otherworldly' feel is something that game consoles at home can never mimic, regardless of their graphics and gameplay.
Sure, there are a limited number of shops around most towns that are 'gathering places' for gamers to play on the shop's console, but its still not the same. Las Vegas still has full-scale arcades, as do Japan, where the video arcade is still seen as a social gathering place for gamers to compete and hangout, but as in large, the video arcade in the U.S. is pretty much extinct.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Sony enters the scene of Video Gaming consoles
The PlayStation quickly entered the scene as Sony's debut into the gaming industry market, and just as rapidly snatched a huge share of the market.
What a lot of people probably didn't know was that Sony began its design for Nintendo, prior to the release of the Super Nintendo system. Nintendo began looking into CD-ROM capabilities and its vast superior memory capacity as an option, but due to contractual failings, Nintendo gave up on the idea.
Sony didn't, however, and continued development of CD technology with video gaming.
The original design of the "PlayStation" would have included both a slot for Nintendo's cartridges as well as a processor for CD-rendered game software. (How Stuff Works, How PlayStation Works by Jeff Tyson)
This new technology allowed for game storage on disks to climb to 650 megabytes, which was incredible at the time. The capacity was so great in fact that most games designed on the PlayStation never reached the full-capacity of the technology.
Sony released the PSX (PlayStation) in Japan Dec. 3, 1994, in North America Sept. 9, 1995 and Europe and Australia in Nov. 15, 1995.
Nintendo and Sega tried to answer with releases of the Nintendo 64 and Sega Dreamcast, which did provide some competition, the Dreamcast also utilizing CD-technology, which Nintendo continued using cartridges, but Sony kept the stranglehold.
Sony estimated throughout its lifespan that 1 in 4 households in the U.S. owned a PSX, I'd supposed including the 2 that I owned. (One stayed at home with my parents, and I bought another one for when I moved out)
That part that I find most amusing is Nintendo had the opportunity to work alongside Sony to develop this technology that pretty much knocked Nintendo out of the in-home video game console market for several years (after releasing another bid with the GameCube, then several years later with their current Wii system), but because of contract issues, they signed their own downfall, and allowed Sony to get involved in the industry and swallow Nintendo's market hold.
Sony PSX had a game library consists of over 2,400 games!
here's a link to the article by Jeff Tyson with in depth specifications of the system
What a lot of people probably didn't know was that Sony began its design for Nintendo, prior to the release of the Super Nintendo system. Nintendo began looking into CD-ROM capabilities and its vast superior memory capacity as an option, but due to contractual failings, Nintendo gave up on the idea.
Sony didn't, however, and continued development of CD technology with video gaming.
The original design of the "PlayStation" would have included both a slot for Nintendo's cartridges as well as a processor for CD-rendered game software. (How Stuff Works, How PlayStation Works by Jeff Tyson)
This new technology allowed for game storage on disks to climb to 650 megabytes, which was incredible at the time. The capacity was so great in fact that most games designed on the PlayStation never reached the full-capacity of the technology.
Sony released the PSX (PlayStation) in Japan Dec. 3, 1994, in North America Sept. 9, 1995 and Europe and Australia in Nov. 15, 1995.
Nintendo and Sega tried to answer with releases of the Nintendo 64 and Sega Dreamcast, which did provide some competition, the Dreamcast also utilizing CD-technology, which Nintendo continued using cartridges, but Sony kept the stranglehold.
Sony estimated throughout its lifespan that 1 in 4 households in the U.S. owned a PSX, I'd supposed including the 2 that I owned. (One stayed at home with my parents, and I bought another one for when I moved out)
That part that I find most amusing is Nintendo had the opportunity to work alongside Sony to develop this technology that pretty much knocked Nintendo out of the in-home video game console market for several years (after releasing another bid with the GameCube, then several years later with their current Wii system), but because of contract issues, they signed their own downfall, and allowed Sony to get involved in the industry and swallow Nintendo's market hold.
Sony PSX had a game library consists of over 2,400 games!
here's a link to the article by Jeff Tyson with in depth specifications of the system
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
The history of in-home video game systems
Most members of the classic retro video gaming culture of today know about the Nintendo, Sega and Playstation of the past, but here's a website that goes even beyond that. Time Magazine does a blast from the past to recap even earlier additions to the video game world prior to the video game crash of 1983, which nearly killed the video game in-home console industry in its wake.
http://content.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,2029221,00.html
I remember playing the Intelivision at my cousins place, but couldn't for the life of me put a name to what the system was called. I used to play the sports montage on it, namely the baseball game. You'd put the game card inside the controller, and based on the icon on the card designating the player you'd want to throw the ball to or control, you'd push the button underneath the 'game card'. It was a neat idea in my opinion.
Like many families in middle-class America, my parents owned an Atari 2600 system with a variety of game cartridges. Man, how games used to be is amazing to say the least. We used to be satisfied and even thrilled with the Burger-Time or Donkey Kong style graphics made up of VERY noticeable pixels. Your character was a series of squares put together in some semblance of order, with different clashing colors to denote clothes and such. Ah, the good ol' days.
Then came the Nintendo Entertainment System into our home. We thought we were in heaven with games like Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt (although often times I lost bullets on the next round from trying to shoot the dog for laughing at me), Legend of Zelda, Bomberman and Duck Tales. I even now sometimes go back to play Super Mario Brothers and realize just how freaking hard that game was! How could I play is so well and even beat the entire game as a kid?
Well, Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis came after, and from then on I tended to have enough spending cash to buy both systems. That was the only way back then to get the best games, as some games were only made on Sega, and others only on Nintendo. Alas, to think that we now describe Super Nintendo and the Genesis as "retro games" and I was a teenager when those two systems were in their prime.
This site does well in going even further back than my own lifetime and experience to some of the predecessors even to the Playstation and Nintendo even. We've all heard of Pong, but there was actually video game life prior to Pong!
Feel free to post any comments, negative positive or otherwise on this blog. All additions are welcome, and feel free to feed this blog to your other friends who used to live in the closet of Nintendo video gamers of the "retro age."
http://content.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,2029221,00.html
I remember playing the Intelivision at my cousins place, but couldn't for the life of me put a name to what the system was called. I used to play the sports montage on it, namely the baseball game. You'd put the game card inside the controller, and based on the icon on the card designating the player you'd want to throw the ball to or control, you'd push the button underneath the 'game card'. It was a neat idea in my opinion.
Like many families in middle-class America, my parents owned an Atari 2600 system with a variety of game cartridges. Man, how games used to be is amazing to say the least. We used to be satisfied and even thrilled with the Burger-Time or Donkey Kong style graphics made up of VERY noticeable pixels. Your character was a series of squares put together in some semblance of order, with different clashing colors to denote clothes and such. Ah, the good ol' days.
Then came the Nintendo Entertainment System into our home. We thought we were in heaven with games like Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt (although often times I lost bullets on the next round from trying to shoot the dog for laughing at me), Legend of Zelda, Bomberman and Duck Tales. I even now sometimes go back to play Super Mario Brothers and realize just how freaking hard that game was! How could I play is so well and even beat the entire game as a kid?
Well, Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis came after, and from then on I tended to have enough spending cash to buy both systems. That was the only way back then to get the best games, as some games were only made on Sega, and others only on Nintendo. Alas, to think that we now describe Super Nintendo and the Genesis as "retro games" and I was a teenager when those two systems were in their prime.
This site does well in going even further back than my own lifetime and experience to some of the predecessors even to the Playstation and Nintendo even. We've all heard of Pong, but there was actually video game life prior to Pong!
Feel free to post any comments, negative positive or otherwise on this blog. All additions are welcome, and feel free to feed this blog to your other friends who used to live in the closet of Nintendo video gamers of the "retro age."
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