Into the 2000's
Following the previous timeline posts of the history of computers it's now time to delve into the 2000's and the change that has developed for consoles and for the games themselves.
From 2000 to present day gaming consoles and computer games have come along way from 'The Analytical Engine' and 'The Collossus' in the 1900s.
The major change in the 2000s is the rise of 'The Big Three' meaning the rise of the three major gaming consoles, these consoles are Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo. In this blog post I will discuss the popularity of these consoles and the games produced by them and also how these consoles have shaped present day gaming. But first I want to talk about a game that I personally enjoyed playing and has also shaped some modern games.
In the 2000s Sega was still a major contributor to the gaming industry with the Sega Dreamcast console. This console offered games like'Jet Set Radio' and 'Sonic Adventure' 'Tony Hawk Pro Skater' and influentially 'Crazy Taxi'
Games like 'Crazy Taxi' which I remember playing when I was younger, started off as an arcade game, but quickly rose to be one of the most popular Dreamcast games. The driving controls and missions are reminiscent of the GTA games which were yet to be made, so Crazy Taxi marks the change in the interface of gaming for more modern games which we do see in the GTA series.
Xbox
Xbox has always been a popular console from it's release to present day. There are many reasons for this for example the online multiplayer gaming feature which was exclusive to Xbox with its first release of the original Xbox. Another reason for its popularity is the Halo franchise. As exclusive to Xbox the first installment of the Halo series was widely popular as it introduced a new type of gaming which I will explain further below.
The flawless online interaction of Xbox Live has given Xbox a reputation as the leading online multiplayer console, and many a gamer was introduced to this online revolution through Xbox's most famous first person shooter franchise: Halo.
Halo: Combat Evolved brought Xbox, the new contender for Playstation a lot of popularity with the online multiplayer features and its next gen graphics.
A split screen mode allows two players to co-operatively play through Halo's campaign. The game also includes five customisable competitive multiplayer modes for between two and sixteen players; up to four players may play split screen on one Xbox.
Halo lacks artificially intelligent game bots, and was released before the launch of the Xbox Live online multiplayer service; therefore LAN parties are needed to reach the game's 16-player limit a setup that was a first for a console game, but was often deemed impractical by critics. Aside from this limitation, Halo's multiplayer components were generally well received by critics, and it is widely considered one of the best multiplayer games of all time.
This online multiplayer feature has greatly influenced games throughout the years to present day as all of 'The Big Three' now include this feature, almost every game now has an online mulitplayer option.
PlayStation
As a slightly older console PlayStation has grown in popularity throughout the years and over its range of consoles from the PlayStation 1 to the newly released PlayStation 4. Unlike Xbox PlayStation didn't offer online multiplayer gaming however it did offer some great games which have lasted over the years and different generations of consoles.
One of these games is Tomb Raider which presents not only the popularity of PlayStation and this particular franchise but also its development of graphics over all three of PlayStation's current consoles.
For PlayStation one of their first and big games series was Tomb Raider. This game series offered a lot of potential on the PlayStation 1, with a higher quality of gaming and better graphics. Although looking back on the graphics today it may seem basic and lacking quality but at the time of release the 3D style of gaming was generally new and exciting for players.
The franchise did however lose popularity so PlayStation rebooted the series with Tomb Raider Legend a new Tomb Raider game on PlayStation 2 which offered new potential on next-gen gaming.Tomb Raider Legend became on of the biggest selling Tomb Raider game.
I believe that the step up in the quality of next gen graphics is a big focal point and one of the reasons it sold so well. From the basic shapes used for the game on the PlayStation 1 Tomb Raider Legend offered a more accurate depiction of the character Lara Croft. As you can see in the images below she looks a lot more human and definitely more anatomically correct. With the new console a higher budget for textures and meshes were able to be used, and with these images we can really see the difference.
Tomb Raider games are still very popular in today's gaming industry with the newest version released in 2013 regaining many old fans and gaining more new ones. This new game on PlayStation 3 showed Lara Croft in a whole new way showing her as a young archaeologist who gets trapped on an island. The new console offers a better quality and more power for processing a high quality game and really puts the old games to shame. Similarly we see a huge change in graphics on this new release. On the PlayStation 3 we see a shift in next gen graphics once again as the console has even more power and higher texture budgets which we see put to use in the in game character which is almost hyper realistic. Although not the most popular Tomb Raider game it received high praise on its almost flawless gameplay and next gen characters and environments.
This youtube video shows the Tomb Raider timeline in detail.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5xOkfGCJ2TA&list=PL41DA85B55DF7F813
The long running Tomb Raider series accurately depicts PlayStation's development of gaming and graphics and I feel as if this development is what gives PlayStation the edge over the other consoles of Xbox and Nintendo. I also believe that this development will continue to influence future gaming consoles as the graphics seem to keep getting more and more realistic.
Nintendo
Nintendo is the oldest of 'The Big Three' with its first venture into gaming in 1983. I think its Nintendo's 'if it isn't broken don't fix it' attitude which has kept them up to date with the gaming industry so far.
Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. have surged them into a big game console and company. As an old favourite on the old consoles like the Nintendo NES and Nintendo 64, Nintendo has continued to produce these games on a variety of consoles and handhelds.
Nintendo has rebooted many Mario games over the years, these games vary but the main Super Mario Bros. and Mario Kart offer the same structure and gaming experience every time. This may been seen as a disadvantage however with the huge popularity of the original Super Mario games on the NES and 64 sticking to the same idea has definitely treated Nintendo well. With the newer consoles like the Wii and WiiU which offer multiplayer on a larger scale Mario Kart has become a very popular family game with a range of new features.
Nintendo is also very popular as it has appeal to many ages and has games available on a range of consoles like the Wii and WiiU to the Nintendo DS handheld series. This is due to Nintendo's adaptation to the change in gaming over the years and the development of its competitors. I think if Nintendo continue as they have done over the years and redevelop these games on newer more exciting and original consoles they can keep up with Xbox and PlayStation and stay as one of the major gaming companies around.
References
Xbox
PlayStation
