History of Game Consoles

1
History of Game Consoles

• Caleb Baze

2
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

3
Atari 2600 Specs
Hardware Spec
CPU 1.19MHz
RAM 128 bytes
ROM 4 kB
4
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

5
NES Specs
Hardware Spec
CPU 1.79 MHz
RAM 16 Kbit
Video RAM 16 Kbit
Max Cartridge Size 192 Kbit
6
1994Sony PlayStation

• Sonys 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

7
PlayStation Specs
Hardware Spec
CPU 33.8688 MHz
RAM 2 MB
Storage 1 MB from each Memory Card
8
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

9
PlayStation 2 Specs
Hardware Spec
CPU 294.912MHz
RAM 32 MB
Graphics 147.456 MHz
Storage 8 MB Memory Cards 40 GB Hard Drive Add-On
Connectivity 100 Mbit Ethernet
10
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

11
Xbox 360 Specs
Hardware Spec
CPU 3.2 GHz
RAM 512 MB
Graphics 500 MHz
Storage 250 GB Hard Drive
Connectivity 100 Mbit Ethernet 2.4 GHz Wireless
12
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

13
Xbox One Specs
Hardware Spec
CPU 1.75 GHz 8 Cores
RAM 8 GB
Graphics 853 MHz
Storage 500 GB Hard Drive
Connectivity Ethernet Wireless
14
Hardware Analysis CPU Speed
15
Hardware Analysis RAM
16
Hardware Analysis - Storage
17
Conclusion

• Moores 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 cant
  be distinguished from live video?