In little less then a decade the gaming sector has exploded. New platforms, programs and budgets mean companies, whether it be from Sony to EA, can produce more visually astounding and better performing games for the ever increasing fan base to enjoy. Towards the beginning of the century we saw the three main gaming capitalist/ Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo / present their latest in gaming platforms.
The Playstation2 was Sony's new toy to gamers. With better graphics support, better game play and the ability to play over the Internet it was no wonder it sold like milk and got to a point of short supply when it first was released. Sony's foothold in the gaming market was extremely at this point of the year and threw out the games to match.
Nintendo also upgraded at the beginning of the century with its revolutionary Gamecube. With no need for cartridges anymore, god bless SNEZ and N64, but all new 5-6 inch discs, it's quirky shape and its rich multiplayer background it went mad at first release all due really to Nintendo's huge fan base due to it's game authenticity. But they didn't stop there, all hail the Gameboy advance, hand hold portable devices, god gift and Nintendo's lasso of truth over the gaming industry.
That wasn't it however. the new century saw the birth of a new competitor platform wise to the gaming market, Microsoft. They'd lived in the shadows until now making games playable on PC but that was old news so as god they brought the Xbox down from the heavens. Revolutionary compared to present releases. Though not very portable it offered better graphics than the playstation and gamecube, had the multiplayer feature of the gamecube and didn't fuss with memory cards as it had it's own hard drive. It became a three way race.
However the fun hasn't stopped there as we all no each of them have upgraded again and have breached out even further. The last years or so alone has seen the three gaming titans release their latest weapons onto the world. Nintendo turning everything upside down with the touch screen DS and the Wii. They've branched out in the market to include everyone. Kids, teenagers adults entire family's and all with their interactive approach as the Wii offers you the ability to, in a way be part of the game by interpreting your body movements into actions for the game to take. However to make it family friendly and educational they've sacrificed graphics quality and story lines meaning a real gamer isn't really going to find what he/she is looking for with the Wii... at present.
For now they'll have to do with the Xbox 360 and Playstation3. The latest in graphic and game enthralling platforms. Both Sony and Microsoft have done brilliantly and the games to date have been rolling off the line none stop for both platforms. The higher performance machines means game can be created with a higher budget off tri's and poly's meaning more resources can be spent on making games look more eye appealing and run more fluidly. Sony even branched out onto Nintendo's turf and brought out their own hand hold with the birth of the PSP.
But I guess the thought now is where to go from here. I mean we've platforms that you can interact with, play better, look great and have great plots to follow. We've even the accessories to make our gaming experiences even more intense like wireless controllers, no more pulling your console towards you while driving on GTA. The Internet means we can play with people across the world while downloading new demo's, hell the're accessories which get you more in the game like steering wheels and guns, but where next hmm.......
Well in my eyes there's only so far you can develop something before you ruin it, there's only so far you make make something look realistic but you know that's still going to be developed on as long as there's a platform to support it, so graphic we'll see and improvement on still. Nintendos idea is brilliant, not perfected but you can see where it might lead, a console which will actually put you in the game, make you feel the real experience possibly even simulated pain, ever thought what it feels like to be shot. That area gets a bit complicated though, health and safety, human body strain border lines etc. One worry for me though is plots and story lines, we're running out. GTA for example same thing over and over again just different people with the latest technology and little features that the game before didn't have.
People keep asking is the game industry bigger than the film industry. Right now it's not but to be honest i don't think it ever will be. Films are progressing just as much as games but they had a head start and the game industry just ain't closing ground. I look forward to the future but as i see it at the end of the finish line is a brick wall for game development.
