History of Game Consoles

Caleb Baze

1977Atari 2600

Introduced Microprocessor-based Hardware

Utilized Game Cartridges

Allowed unlimited games to be written for the console rather than having to have the games hard coded into the console

Simple 2D Graphics

Worked by processing what pixels and sprites needed to be displayed before the next line of the television was scanned

Atari 2600 Specs

Hardware Spec

CPU 1.19MHz

RAM 128 bytes

ROM 4 kB

1983Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

Also utilized game cartridges

Lacked any sort of authentication hardware to prevent unlicensed cartridges from working on the system.

This was due to the unreliable 10NES authentication chip used in the console. The circuit ended up being removed from the console with the introduction of the NES 2

Early games were designed by using LEDs on a grid with a digitizer, as no design tools existed

NES Specs

Hardware Spec

CPU 1.79 MHz

RAM 16 Kbit

Video RAM 16 Kbit

Max Cartridge Size 192 Kbit

1994Sony PlayStation

Sony’s first major contribution to the gaming console world

Made use of CD-ROM instead of the older game cartridge

Introduced external storage in the form of 1MB memory cards to save game data

True 3 dimensional games were popular now with the increased hardware capacity

PlayStation Specs

Hardware Spec

CPU 33.8688 MHz

RAM 2 MB

Storage 1 MB from each Memory Card

2000Sony PlayStation 2

Built along the same lines as the PlayStation 1, but time allowed for a large increase in hardware capacity

Allowed for much higher quality graphics in games

Implemented backwards compatibility with PlayStation 1 games.

At this point is where we start seeing a major increase in hardware technology. Compared to the PS1, the PS2 included:

Around 30 x CPU speed

16 x RAM

Dedicated graphics chip

PlayStation 2 Specs

Hardware Spec

CPU 294.912MHz

RAM 32 MB

Graphics 147.456 MHz

Storage 8 MB Memory Cards40 GB Hard Drive Add-On

Connectivity 100 Mbit Ethernet

2005Microsoft Xbox 360

Start to see a very rapid increase in technology at this generation of consoles

The focus of the console merges with other forms of entertainment other than just gaming

Apps for streaming videos, music, news and much more

Meant the console needed more processing power and storage to efficiently handle games as well as entertainment applications

Introduction to high definition games

Developers start focusing on realism more and more

Xbox 360 Specs

Hardware Spec

CPU 3.2 GHz

RAM 512 MB

Graphics 500 MHz

Storage 250 GB Hard Drive

Connectivity 100 Mbit Ethernet2.4 GHz Wireless

2013Microsoft Xbox One

The current generation of consoles

Acts much more as an all around home entertainment system

Multi-tasking with all kinds of apps and games

OS integrates fluidly with Windows 8

Much more similar to a personal computer than any console that has come before

Development of the Kinect Sensor for the Xbox One has been helpful in other fields of research using any kind of recognition software

Xbox One Specs

Hardware Spec

CPU 1.75 GHz – 8 Cores

RAM 8 GB

Graphics 853 MHz

Storage 500 GB Hard Drive

Connectivity EthernetWireless

Hardware Analysis – CPU Speed

Atari 2600 NES PlayStation PlayStation 2 Xbox 360 Xbox One0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

CPU Speed by Console (GHz)

CPU Speed by Console (GHz)

Hardware Analysis – RAM

Atari 2600 NES PlayStation PlayStation 2 Xbox 360 Xbox One0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

RAM by Console (MB)

RAM by Console (MB)

Hardware Analysis - Storage

Atari 2600 NES PlayStation PlayStation 2 Xbox 360 Xbox One0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Storage by Console (GB)

Storage by Console (GB)

Conclusion

Moore’s law apparent in hardware specifications of gaming consoles generation to generation

In many cases, customer want for gaming consoles actually pushed the research and development of better technology

Realism will continue to increase in consoles

Will we ever reach a point to where games can’t be distinguished from live video?