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 294.912MHzRAM 32 MBGraphics 147.456 MHzStorage 8 MB Memory Cards

40 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 GHzRAM 512 MBGraphics 500 MHzStorage 250 GB Hard DriveConnectivity 100 Mbit Ethernet

2.4 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 SpecCPU 1.75 GHz – 8 CoresRAM 8 GBGraphics 853 MHzStorage 500 GB Hard DriveConnectivity Ethernet

Wireless

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 One0100020003000400050006000700080009000

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?