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Unit 15 Unit 15 - Computer Game Technologies and Platforms L/600/6610 LO1 - Understand Game Platform Types
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Unit 15 - Computer Game Technologies and Platforms L/600/6610 LO1 - Understand Game Platform Types.

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Page 1: Unit 15 - Computer Game Technologies and Platforms L/600/6610 LO1 - Understand Game Platform Types.

Unit 15

Unit 15 - Computer Game Technologies

and PlatformsL/600/6610 LO1 - Understand Game Platform Types

Page 2: Unit 15 - Computer Game Technologies and Platforms L/600/6610 LO1 - Understand Game Platform Types.

Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Learning Outcome (LO) The learner will:

Pass The assessment criteria are the pass requirements for this unit. The learner can:

Merit For merit the evidence must show that, in addition to the pass criteria, the learner is able to:

Distinction For distinction the evidence must show that, in addition to the pass and merit criteria, the learner is able to:

1 Understand game platform types

P1 Describe game platform types with some appropriate use of subject terminology

M1 - Describe how computer games platform types have developed over time

D1 - Explore potential future gaming platform types

2 Understand hardware technologies for game platforms

P2 Describe hardware technologies for game platforms with some appropriate use of subject terminology

M2 - Describe mobile technologies for game platforms

D2 - Evaluate the suitability of mobile technologies for game play

3 Understand software technologies for game platforms

P3 Describe software technologies for game platforms expressing ideas with some appropriate use of subject terminology

M3 - Discuss the different software technologies for multiple platform usage

D3 - Justify the choice of platform on which to run an identified software technology

4 Be able to connect and configure platforms and devices to enable gameplay

P4 Apply techniques to connect and configure platforms and devices with some assistance

M4 - Explain the different connection types for multiplayer gaming

D4 - Justify how the connection types are appropriate for the different multiplayer gaming experiences

LO1 - Assessment Criteria

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Assessment Criteria P1 Learners must create detailed evidence on the different types of game

platforms available which could be in the form of a report or presentation. They will need to describe the different game platforms available using appropriate terminology. They will need to look at all the game platforms identified in the teaching content for learning outcome 1.

Assessment Criteria M1 For merit criterion M1 learners will need to research the history of

computer games platforms, it would be expected they research multiple platforms and look how the platform types have developed over time. This may be included as a clear and additional section in the original evidence on current platforms P1.

Assessment Criteria D1 For distinction criterion D1 learners will need to show they have

explored/researched in some detail any potential for future gaming platforms types in the market place. This may be included in the original evidence as a clearly separate section or as a separate report. This may be ideas that the learner has for developments or platforms that have been suggested as being in development by the leading gaming organisations.

Assessment Criteria P1, M1 and D1

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

The learners could be taught the different types of platforms available (Arcade, Consoles, PC, Mobile, Television etc) and investigate the different features and limitations of each platform as small groups. If each group is given a separate area of research, they can then report back and explain to the wider group allowing more depth of research than individual working.

The learners should then research the historical development of the different game platforms and experience of playing some different platform including historical games will give a good insight to the development to the features and any limitations. Groups discussions on the limitations may be initially obvious but learners should identify how the initial technologies have been improved and expanded to the current technologies.

The learner will need to investigate emerging technologies and advances in technology for each platform type and how potential future platforms may further improve the gamin experiences. Group research and discussions will open ideas as to developments and ideas as to the scope.

LO1 - Understand game platform types

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

The beginnings of the gaming market go back over 35 years with claims of computer games going back further still. Some claim Space Wars as the first game or Tic-Tac-Toe. Others claim Pong was the first introduced by Trip Hawkins to the public in the mid seventies. This was when games were first introduced to a mass audience.

P1.1 - Understand game platform types

Console Handheld

Atari VCS vs Collecovision Game and Watch

Sinclair ZX81 vs. Commodore Vic 20

Commodore 64 vs. ZX Spectrum

NES vs. Master System Gameboy

SNES vs. Megadrive

Atari vs. Amiga

Playstation vs. Nintendo 64 vs. Dreamcast

Gameboy Advance

Xbox vs. Playstation 2 vs. Nintendo Cube

DS vs. PSP

Xbox 360 vs. Playstation 3 vs. Wii

iPhone, iPad and Android

Xbox One vs. Playstation 4 vs. WiiU

Vita, DSi, iPhone

What is commonly accepted is that games have generations, every three to four years we have the next generation of consoles or handhelds that surpasses the previous and the competition between manufacturers has brought about change and progression. From the list on the left there are numerous consoles that did not make it that cannot be discounted from the lists, Jaguar, Saturn, BBC micro, Neo Geo, PC Engine, QL, CD32, Nomad, Binatone, Lynx etc. Even Nintendo had games machines that did not make it like Virtual Boy. When the NES reached it’s peak in America, 20% of homes had one. This was considered shocking at the time. Now it is rare for a home not to have a console of some kind.

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

And along with the console wars comes the development of the games. Games are like musicians, we believe they are the best that is around ever and then three months later we forget who they are. When Pong came out it was revolutionary, two white lines, one white ball and that was it. Levels meant speed. Pacman is the most quoted game to the point where Google put a version as their banner and had to remove it because of the number of lost work hours.

There are classics in the gaming world like there are musicians whose careers lasted longer than an album or two. Kong, Mario, Doom, Zork, Sonic, Tetris, COD, WOW, Angry Birds, these are games that have a history, they are quoted as milestones, blamed for problems, compared to as golden ages, but there is always a potential for something better, something more popular. We rave about the newest game app until something else comes along.

Along with the games, there are the gaming companies, Atari was king, until new machines meant new game styles. In Britain Imagine because EA. Nintendo still make their own games but Sega stopped hardware production, Squaresoft are not allowed to release a game in Japan on a week day, and more money is spent on marketing certain games than production costs combined.

Gone are the days when one could make a game in your bedroom in a few weeks of coding, now games can take years to develop. But popular apps like Draw Something sold more than all 30 apps the company made before hand combined. The ability to create an App and make millions is still here, the programs like App Inventor are free.

P1.1 - Understand game platform types

Scenario Criteria Tasks Assessment1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Development of most video games is undertaken by a developer, which may be a single person or a large business. Typically, large-scale commercial games are created by

development teams within a company specialising in computer or console games

A typical modern video game can cost from £750,000 to over £15,000,000 to develop

Development is normally funded by a publisher A contemporary game can take from one to three years to

develop, though there are exceptions, sometimes known as vapourware

One famous example is Duke Nukem Forever which has been in development since 1996, with an original release in 1998 and Elite, due for a remake since 1981.

P1.1 - Task 01 – Introduce the history of the Gaming industry with examples from the various generations.

P1.1 - Understand game platform types

Background History and Age of Sector

Hardware Developments

Timescales past and Present

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

For a long period of time it was the Arcades that drove the quality and demand for gaming forward. They had three unique selling points that made them attractive to the customer, multiplayer, atmosphere and gadgets. For twenty years they also had the graphical quality.

Arcade machines use a technology called Jamma Boards, Mame software and Sega, the loading speed was much quicker. re installed on processor chips directly onto a Jamma Board and placed inside an arcade cabinet. Because the chip was direct, like cartridges on a Nintendo. A CRT monitor was sunken into the cabinet. The cabinets were then decorated to add appeal.

Flattened cabinets like Pong and Space Invaders came in later where the player sat overlooking the screen against a second player at the other side. The first public Game cabinet, Pong, created by Trip Hawkins, broke after three hours when the coin slot and tray was so filled with money it could not accept any more.

Throughout the late seventies and through the eighties Arcade machines had this appeal, the quality of games improved graphically and the level of interaction became more exaggerated. Classics such as Pacman, Centipede, Star Wars, Operation Wolf, Street Fighter, King of the Fighters and Kong all had their beginnings in the Arcades. Now the technology looks dated but Arcades still exist.

P1.2 - Platform types - Arcades

Scenario Criteria Tasks Assessment1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Multiplayer – The first Multiplayer console games did not come into play until 1977 when Arcades had them from 1971 with Galaxy or 1972 with Pong. Games like h2Overdrive allowed 4 players in driving seats to compete against each other. The later Street Fighter Cabinets allowed the two users to stand in a raised ring above a crowd and fight on a big screen. It was the new online play at the time, the equivalent of boxing rings while parents played with sot machines, crane grabs and coin drops.

Atmosphere – Arcades were the shopping malls of the 70’s. It was where teenagers used to go, the smell, the crowds, the prestige of having your name on the scoreboard for eternity, the audience participation and the noises. They appeared in films, Terminator, War Games, Tron, they were regulated and protected spaces and they were huge money spinners. The art work on the machines is considered classic, pinball tables, air hockey, whack-a-mole, these all added atmosphere. They were designed for the short term players, 10p for three minutes play, now they cost £2 for the same. Better players could last longer, Centipede, Pacman and Kong had the option for hours of play for the better players, extended play for driving games encouraged addiction and repeat performances.

P1.2 - Platform types - Arcades

Scenario Criteria Tasks Assessment1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Gadgets – The Arcades had alternative controllers, something the consoles did not have until Playstation 1. Now the Wii has controllers for everything and Kinect you become the controller. In Arcades they had guns for Operation Wolf and MacCready, Snowboards, Basketballs, Car driving cabinets for driving games, Motorcycle controllers for Hang On, Hammers for Whack-a-Mole. Some of the more exaggerated Arcade machines had gyroscopes, force feedback, devices that would be considered fitness workout machines. These all added novelty value.

Arcades became the testing round for Console release, companies such as Taito, Bally Midway, Sega, Bandai, Namco and Konami all made their fortunes in Arcades before transferring over to Consoles.

Arcades became associated with holidays, Brighton, Bognor, Canvey Island, along with Candy Floss, Ice Cream and Chips. On the downside they have been blamed for most of the problems associated with gaming until recently, addiction, aggressive behaviour, expense, psychological removal from society.

Hardware – As the industry grew, the need for better graphics and action grew. Developments included Laser-disc (realistic graphics with animated overlays, see Mad Dog McCree and Dragons Lair) Vector based games like Star wars maintained the action whereas graphic games like Sega Rally maintained the quality.

P1.2 - Task 02 – Introduce the Arcade game market and different hardware requirements and describe the background for the industry using game examples.M1.1 – Task 03 – Describe how the Arcade platform type has developed over time D1.1 – Task 04 – Research and explore the potential future of the Arcade Gaming platform

P1.2 - Platform types - Arcades

Background and History

Coin Operated Vector Laser-disc

How it has developed over time (M) Potential Future Developments (D)

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

P1.3 - Platform types - Consoles Alongside the Arcades came the Consoles, see slide 5, often running one step behind

with aspirations of being better. When Arcades reached their apogee around 1990, consoles and computers took over, the quality of the graphics and sound steadily improving with each generation when the arcades had reached their technical peak. Every three year a new console would push the market, doubling the bit rate, strengthening the graphics, adding a new UPS to each product, tape became cards became cartridges, CD’S DVD’s Blue Ray. UHF became SCART, HDMI, resolution, interactivity, screen size, all developments that pushed the market onwards.

And with this games moved on, longer, higher quality, faster, more real. With the newest generation it is not even about games, multimedia, home entertainment systems, DVD players, Skype, Kinect, Wii Sports etc. Newspapers report this is the last generation, but they said that about the others too.

Below you will find a number of links to guides about the current games consoles. This should not and does not replace your own research but acts as a starting point. Wikipedia is also another good website – just make sure you double check the validity of

the information. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2008/11/afeature-guide-to-current-generation-gami

ng-consoles.ars

http://products.howstuffworks.com/video-game-console-reviews.htm http://products.howstuffworks.com/video-game-console-reviews.htm http://www.consumersearch.com/video-game-consoles http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/video-game-console/ http://www.getprice.com.au/game-consoles.htm

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

CPU - Number of Cores/Threads: 8/8◦ Frequency: speculated to be running a base clock speed of 1.6 Ghz

on a 2.75 Ghz capable chip ◦ Shared L2 Cache: 2 x 2 MB◦ Custom CPU for background processing such as downloading and

recording gameplay. GPU: AMD next-generation Radeon based graphics engine

◦ Peak Shader Throughput: 69.420 TFLOPS◦ GPU Cores: 1152◦ GPU Clock: 800 MHz

Memory: 8GB GDDR5, Frequency: 5500 MHz, System Memory Bus: 256-bit, System Memory Bandwidth: 176.0 GB/s

Storage size: 500GB hard disk drive, user removable External dimensions: Approximately 275 x 53 x 305 mm Mass: Approx 2.8 kg (6.2 lb) BD/DVD drive (read only): BD x 6 CAV, DVD x 8 CAV, Blu-ray and DVD playback, no audio CD support Input/Output: Super-Speed USBx (USB 3.0) port x2, AUX port x1 Networking: Ethernet x1, IEEE 802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz only), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR AV output: HDMI out port, digital out optical port. SD output is supported for lower-resolution displays. HD

output at 720p, 1080p and 1080i.  Included Peripherals: PlayStation 4 system x1, Wireless controller (DualShock 4) x1, Mono headset x1, AC

power cord x1, HDMI cable x1, USB cable x1 Legacy Support - PlayStation 4 does not support direct backward compatibility with PlayStation 3 media. DualShock 4 - DualShock 4 has an integrated touch pad, headset jack, share button, and LED player

identifier. PlayStation Camera - The PlayStation Camera has a 1280x800 pixel sensor capable of capturing video at

60fps.

P1.3 - Platform types – PS4

Page 13: Unit 15 - Computer Game Technologies and Platforms L/600/6610 LO1 - Understand Game Platform Types.

Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Manufacturer - Sony, Foxconn and ASUSTeK for SCEI Product family - PlayStation Type - Video game console Generation - Seventh generation era Retail availability - November 11, 2006 Units sold - 80 million (as of December 31, 2012) Media - Blu-ray Disc, DVD, CD (all models) Super Audio CD (20 GB, 60 GB, 80 GB (CECHExx

models) Operating system - XrossMediaBar CPU - 3.2 GHz Cell Broadband Engine with 1 PPE & 7 SPEs Storage capacity - 2.5" SATA hard drive

(20 GB, 40 GB, 60 GB, 80 GB, or 160 GB included) (upgradeable) Graphics - 550 MHz NVIDIA/SCEI RSX 'Reality Synthesizer' Controller input Sixaxis, DualShock

3 Flash memory input MemoryStick/PRO/Duo* SD/MMC* CompactFlash/Microdrive* Audio/video output - HDMI 1.3a out , S/PDIF out, AV Multi out

◦ composite video/stereo audio cable** , S-Video cable, SCART cable , component video cable

◦ D-Terminal cable Connectivity - IEEE 802.11b/g Wi-Fi***, Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR) , 4 × USB 2.0 (2 x in 40 GB

model), Wired gigabit Ethernet Online services PlayStation Network Best-selling game - Metal Gear Solid 4, 4.5 million (as of December 31, 2008) Backward compatibility PlayStation (all models) PlayStation 2 (20 GB, 60 GB and CECHExx 80

GB models) Predecessor PlayStation 2

P1.3 - Platform types – PS3

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Manufacturer – Microsoft Product family – Xbox Generation - Seventh generation era Retail availability - November 22, 2005 Units sold Worldwide: 82.9 million (as of January 14, 2012) Media - DVD, CD

◦ Add-on: HD DVD (discontinued) CPU 3.2 GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon Storage capacity 20, 60 or 120 GB hard drive,

◦ memory cards 64, 256 or 512 MB Graphics 500 MHz ATI Xenos Controller input 4 maximum (wired, wireless, or combination of either) Connectivity 3 × USB 2.0, IR port, 100 Mbit Ethernet, Add-on: Wifi

802.11a/b/g Online services Xbox Live Best-selling game Halo 3, 8.1 million (as of January 3, 2008) Backward compatibility 478 original Xbox games (requires hard drive

and the latest update) Predecessor Xbox

P1.3 - Platform types – Xbox 360

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Optical Drive Blu-Ray/DVDGame DVR Yes, Upload StudioHDCP Encryption No for games

RAM

8GB DDR3Clock: 2133MHz Bandwidth: 68.26 GB/s- + 32MB eSRAMBandwidth: 204 GB/s(102 In/102 Out)

Flash Memory 8GB Flash MemoryCPU

8 Core AMD custom CPU - Frequency: 1.75 GHz

GPU  Clock Speed: 853 MHz(originally 800 MHz)Shader Cores: 768 - Peak Throughput: 1.23 TFLOPS

Storage 500 GB Hard Drive non-replaceable, External Hard Drive support coming[n]

Second ScreenSmartGlass App on Android, iOS, Windows Phone and Windows 8

Cloud Storage YesMandatory Game Installs YesRequired Internet Connection

After Day One patch, No

Backwards Compatibility None, Microsoft is exploring possibilities.

Cross Game Chat Skype, Party Chat [n]Motion Control Kinect 2Voice Commands Yes, Kinect 2 is needed.

Subscription Service Xbox LiveRequired for Online Play 

USB USB 3.0Live Streaming Yes, With Twitch.TVReputation Preservation Achievements will be ported From Xbox 360.

Networking Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi (A/B/G/N dual-band at 2.4ghz and 5ghz) includes Wi-Fi Direct support

A/V Hookups HDMI input and output (4K support) API  DirectX 11.1

P1.3 - Platform types – Xbox One

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Manufacturer - Nintendo Type - Video game console Generation - Seventh generation Retail availability - November 19, 2006 Units shipped Worldwide: 101 million Media - 12 cm Wii Optical Disc 8 cm, Nintendo

GameCube Game Disc CPU - IBM PowerPC-based "Broadway" Storage capacity - 512 MB Internal flash memory, SD card, SDHC card and

Nintendo GameCube Memory Card Graphics - ATI "Hollywood" Controller input - Wii Remote, Wii Balance Board, Nintendo GameCube

controller, Nintendo DS/DSi Connectivity - Wi-Fi Bluetooth, 2 × USB 2.0, LAN Adapter (via USB) Online

services Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection WiiConnect24 Wii Shop Channel Best-selling game - Wii Sports (pack-in, except in Japan and South Korea)

40.5 million (as of December 31, 2008) Wii Play, 20.91 million (as of December 31, 2008) Backward compatibility - Nintendo GameCube Predecessor Nintendo

GameCube + legacy console download.

P1.3 - Platform types – Wii

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Storage - Internal flash memory: 8GB(7.2GB usable) – Expandable memory via external USB hard drive and SDHC memory cards.

CPU - IBM Power®-based multi-core microprocessor GPU - AMD Radeon-based High Definition GPU RAM - The Wii U has 2GB of RAM.  1GB of RAM is allocated to system

functions. Examples of system functions include TVii and Mii-verse.  The other 1GB is allocated for games. 

INPUT/OUTPUT - Four USB 2.0 connector slots, 2 on the back, and 2 on the front behind the cover, with support for Wii LAN adapters.

Dimensions – Height 1.8 inches – Width 6.8 inches, Length 10.5 inches, Weight- 1.6kg (3.5 pounds)

Media - 12-centimeter proprietary optical discs holding 25 Gigabytes, equivalent to a single layer Blu-Ray Disc, 12-centimeter Wii optical discs

Supported Resolutions - 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i Supported Video Output Connections - HDMI 1.4, Component, S-

video, Composite Audio Output - AV Multi Out connector, six-channel PCM linear output

through HDMI

P1.3 - Platform types – WiiU

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

The future is uncertain, but all three console producers will release a new console. When, what, and how are all closely guarded secrets and we can only speculate on these answers.

One idea about the future of games machines is having a relatively low powered console or pc and streaming games from a server. This service is called Onlive and was released in the second half of 2009. Still cannot see it happening.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7969044.stm Most analysts thought that the next generation of consoles will be

released around 2012, with perhaps Nintendo leading with an updated HD version of its Wii console. They were wrong/

Some analysts thought that motion controls will feature prominently in all of the next crop of consoles. They were partially right.

This goes against the previous 5 year life cycle of past games consoles probably due to the expense and cost of development of new hardware and software.

It is worth noting that the PS2 despite being launched in the year 2000 was still outselling the Xbox 360 in Japan until 2011 and is the biggest selling home console of all time with over a staggering 140 million sold.

P1.3 - Platform types – Future Predictions

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Console CPU Graphics Memory

Nintendo Wii

(2006)

IBM Broadway729MHz

256KB L22.9 GFLOPS1.9 GB/s Bus

ATI Hollywood243MHz

975M Texels/Sec3MB Buffer (27.3 GB/s)

7.9 GB/s Memory

24MB (3.9 GB/s)64MB (4 GB/s)512MB Flash

8.5GB Optical Discs

PS3(2006)

Cell3.2GHz, 1 Main Core

512KB L27 Auxiliary SIMD Units1.75MB Local Memory

217.6 GFLOPS25.6 GB/s Memory

NVIDIA RSX, 500MHz24 Pixel Pipelines, 8 Vertex Pipelines

250M Polygons/Sec12G Texels/Sec, 8G Samples/Sec

20.8 GB/s Memory

256MB (25.6 GB/s)256MB (20.8 GB/s)

20-80GB HDD2x Blu-ray (72Mbps)

Xbox 360(2005)

IBM Xenon3.2GHz, Three Cores

1MB Shared L2115.2 GFLOPS

21.6 GB/s Interface

ATI Xenos500MHz

48 Unified Pipelines, 500M Polygons/Sec8G Texels/Sec, 16G Samples/Sec

10MB Buffer (256 GB/s)22.4 GB/s Memory

512MB (22.4 GB/s)20-120GB HDD

12x DVD (133Mbps)

P1.3 - Platform types – Comparison

P1.3 - Task 05 – Introduce the Console market and different hardware requirements for 3 current technologies and describe the USP using game and hardware examples.M1.2 – Task 06 – Describe how the Console Platform Type has developed over time D1.2 – Task 07 – Research and explore the potential future of the Console Gaming platform

Hardware USP Games

Comparisons

Additional Features

How it has developed over time (M)

Potential Future Developments (D)

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Missing from all this is the PC games market which unlike consoles has not developed due to the three year cycle, competition and sales figures but through advances in partial technology. But PC games still sell well, they are still superior graphically to consoles, they still have their genres that consoles have not been able to breach. And all technical developments have been channelled through PC technologies. PC’s had CD drives 4 years before the first console, the SegaCD, they had BluRay 2 years before PS3, they had hard drive storage for games 15 years before the Xbox360.

Until 1978 PC’s were monochrome but since the introduction of VGA graphics, PC’s have had a higher resolution and bit depth than any console. The first networked play games on PC was around for 18 years before consoles could match the online capacity. Doom, Quake, WOW, Eve and a host of others have dominated the online market with games like WOW having up to 6m users online at any one time.

More importantly games are made on PC’s, they are constructed and coded on PC’s using PC language. Characters and objects are predominantly made in Maya, ZBrush and 3d Studio Max. Game Engines like Unity, Torque, CryEngine ran on PC’s and save the code to make them compatible with consoles and handhelds. This makes them PC compatible and in line with console releases. Games like Skyrim are as good on either format but never considered by the industry as popular.

P1.4 - Platform types – PC’s

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Offline – In terms of gaming and processing power, the consoles, including current models would struggle to keep up with PC processing power. Consoles have the same chips as PC’s but a step behind. In Offline terms, PC’s have the capacity for better screen resolution, with the right money and card, better interaction (102 keys keyboard and mouse) more storage (measures in 100’s of GB) with additional features that consoles will possibly not have for a generation (CD burning, duplication, removable hardware, additional upgrade capacity etc.) Good graphics cards on the PC can cost as much or more than a whole console. In terms of offline capacity this is why PC games are superior, but often lack the appeal of consoles.

Online – PC’s have been online for so long that it is not a unique thing any more. Other than email, chat, internet and communications which is standard, PC gaming has that crowd puller. 15,000 people queued at the doors of Blizzcon 2013. An average of 6m users of WOW at a time. 68% of gamers play online almost exclusively. Click here for information. For every online xBox game like COD there are 3 PC games with more figures, DOTA, Starcraft, WOW, Star Trek Online, Eve, every PC gamer has their choice.

Interactivity – unlike consoles, PC’s have that capacity for expansion. Interactivity in terms of online play is matched by the addition of a better camera, Team Play, expandability, long term exposure, textual and chat interaction, video play recording that the Xbox One has just gained. This extra capacity for PC Gamers has always set them above he console users. Add to this a whole range of hardware additions, game chairs, different mice, USB fondue sets, 7.2 surround sound etc. And the PC gamers world has become more exclusive.

P1.4 - Platform types – PC’s

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Where PC Games differ from consoles is the availability and the negative issues. Until recently downloadable content kept PC gaming active, expansion packs, bug fixes, patches and mods. The life of Doom was extended for 2 years because of modding. New levels generated by users.

But Piracy, online and offline versions has plagued the PC market more than the console market since the early days. New and better protection methods limit this down slightly but never for long. On PirateBay the seed and peer value of a new PC game is about 10,000. The same cannot be said about Console of Handheld games. Yes there are ways of copying console games but PC’s cannot be account blocked other than through Steam.

P1.4 - Task 08 – Introduce the PC game market and describe the 3 different USP points given to PC Gamers.

M1.3 – Task 09 – Describe how the PC Platform Type has developed over time

D1.3 – Task 10 – Research and explore the potential future of the PC Gaming platform In your introduction describe briefly:

1. Background history of PC Games Industry with examples

2. Reasons why the PC Games have developed differently from Consoles

3. Examples of the hardware changes that affected PC gaming advances.

Then explain:

P1.4 - Platform types – PC’s

Offline Capacity Online Capacity Interactivity

How it has developed over time (M) Potential Future Developments (D)

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Ever since Mattel, Microvision and Nintendo introduced the world to handheld systems people have enjoyed gaming on the go and there have been some notable success and failures through this journey.

Today with a plethora of different systems that can play games, hand held gaming is both maturing and hitting the main stream.

Today the main contenders are:◦ Nintendo’s DS, DSi◦ Sony’s PSP and Vita◦ Apple’s IPOD Touch/iPhone, iPad◦ Mobile phones - Java in nature but developing,

dominated by IOS, Android and Windows based.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handheld_game_console http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/03/a-brief-history-of-

handheld-video-games/

P1.5 - Platform types – Handhelds

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Nintendo first introduced the DS onto the Japanese market in November 2004. It later, in March 2006 (JAP) redesigned it with a sleeker smaller exterior and better screens, microphone and speakers – thus retiring the original DS design.

In October 2008 (JAP), Nintendo have released the DSi with additional features such as camera and in built MP3 (AAC) playback, faster processor, increased RAM, internal storage capacity, an additional SD card reader, larger screens and improved speakers BUT has lost the Gameboy Advanced cartridge slot.

The DS quickly became a phenomenon due to its innovative touch screen interface attracting non gamers into purchases. Couple this with casual friendly game and non game releases such as Nintendogs, Brain Training, 42 Classic Games, Mario Kart DS and many others.

Technical specs are much lower than that of their rivals but that has not stopped the DS from achieving global dominance of sales. The DS has in built WiFi to allow wiresless play and access to Multiplayer games over the internet.

Nintendo’s DS uses ROM cartridges but the DSi has the added facility of the DSi Store where software can be, for a price of course, downloaded onto the DSi’s internal memory making digital distribution a viable part of the supply chain.

To look at the influential titles that the DS has you could try some of the links below. Remember critical acclaim does not necessarily equal commercial sales.

Some notable games are:◦ Brain Training Mario Kart DS Nintendogs New Super Mario brothers◦ Animal Crossing :Wild world

http://www.metacritic.com/games/ds/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games

P1.5 - Platform types – Nintendo

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P1.5 - Platform types – Sony Sony’s first foray into the handheld market has been a reasonable success

considering the historic dominance of the Nintendo brand. Sony launched its PSP in December 2004 (JAP), and was instantly an object of desire due to its sleek, stylish looks and massive widescreen LCD screen.

Whereas Nintendo has chosen to stick to ROM based cartridges Sony has used a proprietary UMD (Universal Media Disc) which is a small optical storage device like a minidisc. This is power hungry as the disc needs to be spinning in order to be read leading to poor battery performance.

The PSP is much more of a multimedia device, offering MP3 playback, films, photos, internet browsing and VOIP (with later models PSP 2000 and 3000).

There have been some stand out titles such as God of War – Chains of Olympus, Wipeout Pure and the Grand Theft Auto stories collection.

News Flash – Sony have just announced the PSP Go which removes the UMD drive - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8076573.stm

Some notable games include:◦ Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (3 million shipped in Japan)◦ Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2,725,507 approximately: 2 million in

US, 125,507 in Japan, 600,000 in UK)◦ Daxter (2.3m), Monster Hunter Freedom 2 (2.25m), Crisis Core: Final Fantasy

VII (1.96m during 2008), Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition (1.3m approximately: 1.1m in US, 200,000 in UK), Monster Hunter Freedom (1.2m), Need for Speed Most Wanted 5-1-0 (1,127,151 approximately: 1.1m in US, 27,151 in Japan),

◦ Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee (1m), Tekken: Dark Resurrection (1m), Wipeout Pure (1m)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

P1.5 - Platform types - Apple Apple released the I-phone in June 2007 (USA) and the I-pod Touch in September

the same year (USA). Both feature a large multi-point touch screen and solid state memory store, either 8, 16 or 32 gig.

Obviously both can play music, store contacts, play games controlled either through the touch screen or tilt sensors, play video and access the internet through its wireless functions. Through the online Apps store consumers can access a huge variety of different programs both gaming and non-gaming.

There have been a few notable IPod/I-phone titles:◦ Aurora Feint: The Beginning, Candy Crush, Flappy Birds, Crash Bandicoot Nitro

Kart 3D, Enigmo, Super Monkey Ball, Tap Tap Revenge, Temple Run, Labyrinth, Sonic the Hedgehog, Tetris, Spore Origins

◦ There are many other popular Apps not covered here. http://toucharcade.com/ The range of devices means the market share of Apple is around 60%, with the

iPhone, iPad, iTouch etc., this market is flexible, new machines being released every two years keeps the gaming more buoyant and App development profitable.

Because of the vastness of the App community and the quick turnover of Apps, there tends to be an initial enthusiasm, a flurry of sales and then drop off. Expected sales of 1m are not uncommon. The compatibility with genres, iPhone to iPad means a lucrative transfer of products and Apps making this a vibrant market.

The downside is the limitation of the device. Lovely though they look and colourful, they have low resolution and low memory usage. The hardware limitations compared to the handheld market makes them limited but the pricing strategy usually matches this limitation.

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P1.5 - Platform types – Android and Microsoft Mobile phones and Tablets (PDA’s) that can play games come in many different variations. The games

themselves can be free, free with a trial period or limited functionality, purchased or on a pay monthly basis.

Most modern handsets can play games although some are designed with gaming in mind. Nokia’s Engage released in October 2003 was one such phone that ran dedicated Engage software as well as other compatible software including Java apps. It was for all intense purposes a failure and other companies seemed to have learnt from this. Again the limitations of quality and memory storage is matched by the pricing strategy.

Important considerations for each handset are: how the hardware handles 2D and 3D visuals, how the controls, screen and sound suit gaming and, also importantly, what each handset is like to live with as a phone. Some useful mobile sites: http://www.gameloft.co.uk/ or http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/

Android and Microsoft are contenders for this market. Both OS’s run a series of upgrades like IOS but are more open source. This means the development of games and apps is more prevalent, spawning varieties of the same game in different formats. For every Flappy Birds there is 5 alternatives. The market share for Android is almost that of apple, just by different manufacturers, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola etc.

Microsoft’s however is more restricted, not as popular and has only a small share of the market. The benefits is the compatibility with the mass Windows market.

Some notable mobile phone titles:◦ Block Breaker Deluxe (8m), Sonic the Hedgehog (8m), Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (3m)◦ Brain Challenge (1.5m), Bubble Bash (1m), Coin Stack 2600 (1m in Korea)◦ Doom RPG (1m), Guitar Hero III Mobile (1m), Super Bomberman (1m)P1.5 - Task 11 – Introduce the Handheld and PDA Gaming market and different hardware

requirements for 4 current technologies and describe the USP using game and hardware examples.M1.4 – Task 12 – Describe how the Console Platform Type has developed over time D1.4 – Task 13 – Research and explore the potential future of the Console Gaming platform

Hardware USP Games Comparisons Additional Features

How it has developed over time (M) Potential Future Developments (D)

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Most new TVs are smart TVs. This means they're Internet-connected to provide features that old TV sets just couldn't manage. Currently about 25m American households have a smart TV, and by 2015 it's estimated that 50% of all TVs sold worldwide will be smart TVs.

This means users can access programming far beyond a few local channels. But smart TVs also offer plenty of entertainment options in addition to expanded viewing. Smart TVs stream media, act as gaming platforms, and let you browse the Web on a big screen.

Just like on smartphones, the way to get the most out of your smart TV is to use apps. They vary from manufacturer to manufacturer since each has its own app store, but there are several that are more popular than others. With them, your smart TV can become a home gym complete with personal trainer, a very local lecture hall, a gigantic jukebox, and a large-as-life videophone.

But just because there's an app for that, doesn't mean your smart TV is the best place to use it. Some apps that are more text focused—such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn—are best left to devices with a keyboard or touchscreen.

With so much to offer it's a surprise how under used smart TVs are, only 12 million of America's smart TVs are even connected to the Internet. The decision is not for want of application choice, but rather seems to be focused on how consumers are used to interacting with their TV.

P1.6 - Platform types – Smart Televisions

P1.6 - Task 14 – Introduce the Alternative Gaming Market and different hardware requirements and describe the USP using game and hardware examples.M1.5 – Task 15 – Describe how the Alternative Gaming market has developed over time D1.4 – Task 16 – Research and explore the potential future of the Alternative Gaming platform.

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Scenario Criteria Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

P1.1 - Task 01 – Introduce the history of the Gaming industry with examples from the various generations.P1.2 - Task 02 – Introduce the Arcade game market and different hardware requirements and describe the background for the industry using game examples.M1.1 – Task 03 – Describe how the Arcade platform type has developed over time D1.1 – Task 04 – Research and explore the potential future of the Arcade Gaming platform P1.3 - Task 05 – Introduce the Console market and different hardware requirements for 3 current technologies and describe the USP using game and hardware examples.

M1.2 – Task 06 – Describe how the Console Platform Type has developed over time

D1.2 – Task 07 – Research and explore the potential future of the Console Gaming platform P1.4 - Task 08 – Introduce the PC game market and describe the 3 different USP points given to PC Gamers.

M1.3 – Task 09 – Describe how the PC Platform Type has developed over time

D1.3 – Task 10 – Research and explore the potential future of the PC Gaming platformP1.5 - Task 11 – Introduce the Handheld and PDA Gaming market and different hardware requirements for 4 current technologies and describe the USP using game and hardware examples.

M1.4 – Task 12 – Describe how the Console Platform Type has developed over time

D1.4 – Task 13 – Research and explore the potential future of the Console Gaming platformP1.6 - Task 14 – Introduce the Alternative Gaming Market and different hardware requirements and describe the USP using game and hardware examples.

M1.5 – Task 15 – Describe how the Alternative Gaming market has developed over time

D1.4 – Task 16 – Research and explore the potential future of the Alternative Gaming platform.

LO1 - Assessment Task List