Chapter 6
Game Systems, Personal
Computers, and Hardware
Objectives
•
•
•
•
Explain features of various game systems.
Define terms related to gaming systems.
Contract major gaming systems.
Explain successful business models for gaming
systems.
• Describe how video games drive and complement
new technologies.
• Identify examples of technology transfer from
video games to other industries.
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Objectives (Continued)
• Compare video game systems to personal
computers.
• Identify elements of personal computers that limit
video game playing.
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Dedicated Game System
Consoles
• The greatest limiting factor for game design is the
hardware systems needed to run a game
• Changing the way games are played will mean
game systems need more computing power
• A dedicated video game console, such as the
Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii, can cost more than $500
million in research and development to bring to
reality
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Dedicated Game System
Consoles (Continued)
• Generation 7 has been dominated by three big
manufacturers in the video game console market:
Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo
• Games designed for a particular system may be
able to offer different gameplay
• Each company is currently working on the next
version of their system
• These systems will likely be considered
generation 8
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Dedicated Game System
Consoles (Continued)
• PlayStation 3 (PS3) is Sony’s generation 7 video
game console
• The advanced computer processor used in the
PS3 has a unique design called the CELL
processor architecture
• In addition to the main CPU, there are eight
synergistic processing elements (SPE)
• System operations controls the traffic of
information
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Dedicated Game System
Consoles (Continued)
• To go with this awesome graphics power,
PlayStation 3 installed a Blu-Ray DVD reader
• Xbox 360 is Microsoft’s generation 7 video game
console
• It was the first generation 7 system released
• Inside the Xbox 360 is a very good computer
• Early on, the largest drawback to the Xbox was
the amount of heat it generated
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Dedicated Game System
Consoles (Continued)
• Laser burn occurs when the disc gets too close to
the laser or the disc stops spinning and the laser
burns the same place for too long
• Microsoft spent company profits to cover the
losses on the Xbox 360
• Microsoft makes up some of the financial losses
from the sales of the game system by selling a
large number of Halo games
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Dedicated Game System
Consoles (Continued)
• Wii is Nintendo’s generation 7 video game
console
• It had the most advanced user interface of any
generation 7 system at the time of its release
• The Wii used little experimental technology and
was inexpensive to build
• The Wii rates poor for processing power and
graphics in comparison to the Xbox and PS3
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Dedicated Game System
Consoles (Continued)
• The USP created by Nintendo is greater player
immersion through the use of a superior user
interface
• The first drawback for Wii is that the player needs
a cabinet full of accessories to experience the full
level of immersion
• The other drawback to the Wii controller is the
amount of power needed to read player
movement and send it to the system
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Dedicated Game System
Consoles (Continued)
• PC gaming is simply playing games on a personal
computer instead of a dedicated game console
• Many third-party game designers also release
their game titles formatted to play on a PC
• The PC of today has most of the same
characteristics of a game console
• However, a PC is not advanced enough to play
many games designed to take advantage of the
power offered by an Xbox or PS3
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Dedicated Game System
Consoles (Continued)
• The generation 7 game consoles are specialists
designed primarily for playing games
• Many of the generation 5 and 6 games can run in
an emulation mode on a PC
• The experimental technology that was a USP for
a video game system eventually becomes
mainstream
• This is one of the greatest benefits to consumers
from the game industry
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Game System Consoles: Data
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Technology Transfer
• Technology transfer has occurred between game
technology and other devices
• One of the ways manufacturers separate their
game consoles from the competition is by
creating more advanced displays
• The GPU found in high-definition televisions was
inspired by GPU designs developed for video
game consoles
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Technology Transfer (Continued)
• Cell phones, smartphones, and music players all
benefited from game technology
• All these handheld devices use flash memory
• Nintendo created the first random-access memory
flash
• The user interface of handheld devices has also
benefited from game technology
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Technology Transfer (Continued)
• The education field has greatly benefited from
technology developed for video games
• Students are invited, because of the
entertainment value, to play video games
• Playing these games builds skills for navigating
the user interface
• These skills are then put to use in computer
applications
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Technology Transfer (Continued)
• Besides the indirect benefits, students are
actually learning directly through educational
games
• The medical community has also greatly
benefited from applying game technology
• For example, surgical procedures can be
practiced through gameplay
• Corporations rely on game technology to provide
their employees new or enriched skills
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Technology Transfer (Continued)
• One of the products with the heaviest demand in
corporate training is foreign-language instruction
• The military makes extensive use of video game
technology
• The military has flight simulators, which are ultrarealistic virtual reality games
• Also, 3D graphics are commonplace on weapons
systems and satellite imaging
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Example of Gaming Technology
Used in Medical Industry
www.freeonlinegames.com
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Review Your Knowledge
• Consider an educational video game that you
have played. Do you think the game was more or
less effective for learning the skills or concepts
than other methods of learning?
• What is one product you use that has benefited
from technology developed for video games?
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