From PC based to console driven, video game popularity has risen exponentially during the past 15 years. Most of us remember the days when gaming systems looked like a little stove (such was the case of the first Atari consoles) and graphic animations where better described by their “blocky style”, regardless the visual and operational disadvantages these early games and consoles helped open the doors to incredibly complex and graphic intensive games which we now enjoy.

During the early 90’s improved two dimensional games were released and Nintendo became famous for releasing a game featuring one of the most famous Italians, Super Mario. Due to the huge worlds, levels of difficulty and complexity it remains one of the favorite games to those who still own early Nintendo consoles.

Later on we saw two dimensional games (for Super-Nintendo) which were given an original spin to improve their appearance and graphics while retaining the complexity of Super Mario’s Games, such is the case of Donkey Kong. This game became so popular that was later transformed into PC versions.

According to every gamer’s age, different types of games are available. Some expert and hardcore gamers may find that Donkey Kong and Super Mario are “Old School” or boring, that’s why several action/battle games were released such as “Street Fighter” and “Mortal Kombat”. The later became so popular that was released in nearly every gaming console version, from Super Nintendo to Nintendo 64, PC, XBOX, Playstation, etc.

This leads us to more recent and graphic intensive games. Since many users have access to computers and the web, PC games became popular and have a great percentage of the gaming market. Following the combination of strategy and violence we find popular PC games such as Half Life in which the main character battles alien creatures and military-like enemies in a cold, dark and dangerous environment. A less violent popular PC game is NFS (Need for Speed) which is a difficult racing game due to its random and surprising tracks.

New gaming consoles require the gamer to use special peripherals such as headsets, other require them to move their body (arms, hands) to move the characters, this is the case of Nintendo’s Wii. This new gaming system incorporates new peripherals with special motion sensors which can also be used to play PC games thorough not-so-difficult hacks available online.

New games have set a higher standard as far as graphics and complexity. Playstation, Wii and XBOX brands are constantly competing with one another (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo) but as long as new complex and extreme games such as F.E.A.R and HALO come out, there will be an increasing market demand and happy gamers.

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As a way of relaxation and having loads of fun, pc games have evolved into a real industry. Online or offline, from simple flash games to modern wonders, the pc games have attracted an impressive mass of followers that are ready to devour the next achievement.

Nobody would have imagined 15 years ago that one would be able to interact with thousands and thousands of other people online with the means of an online game. That’s what technological evolution has made possible nowadays.

If you were to classify PC games, they would fall into more categories, each with its own distinctive type of playing. Although many of them ultimately need you to defeat the bad guys, the ways to do that are many, varied, and in different environments. You can do that anywhere and anytime, from ancient Rome to epic space battles in the different future.

FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS

They are also commonly called “Shoot ‘em up” because of the manner in which you need to approach the game. You have a 1st person view, meaning that you will see the game environment as you would if you were actually there. You are given many different weapons with which you need to kill the bad guys. Although there are many examples of good first person shooters available out there, the Doom and Quake franchises seem to dominate the market.

REAL TIME STRATEGY

In this type of pc game usually you need to build a strong empire with enough fighting force to overcome the enemy. It has 2 aspects, the battle military aspect and the economical one. Usually you need to harvest resources in order to be able to produce different military units capable of running a war. Common examples of this sort of games include Starcraft and the Warcraft series.

RPG

The abbreviation comes from “role playing game.” This is a game in which you start on a character that is weak at first and who gains experience as you progress through the game, by battling different monsters. With the help of the experience gained, your character becomes stronger and stronger, able to fight stronger monsters and enemies, and ultimately defeats evil, which is also the purpose of the game.

A relatively recent development of RPGs is the MMORPG (massive multiplayer online RPG), in which thousands of people fight online in a usually immense world in which you can do anything you want: fight monsters, complete quests, fight other players, and of course gain experience all throughout. Although it has not been the first game of this genre, the most acclaimed game of this type is World of Warcraft which has an impressive community worldwide.

There are many other types of games available out there, I just pointed out the most common of them: racing games, sport games, adventure games, action games and many other types of games form an impressive industry that has truly put the pc games in the first line of entertainment over the last decade.

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Video gaming has become over the years an exclusive experience. The complexities of some of the newest games and consoles have alienated those who used to play but now don’t because the learning curve has steepened, mostly because of the growing complexity of the controllers and games. Nintendo expects to change that by creating, as they say “the most inviting, inclusive video game system to date”. Thanks to a unique controller, everyone regardless of age or skill level will be able to play games on the Nintendo Wii.

Nintendo’s President, revealed a prototype of the system’s game controller at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show in September 2005. The Wii won the Game Critics Awards for Best of Show and Best Hardware. Nintendo’s seventh-generation video game console and the company’s fifth home console, is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2006. The project code name is called Nintendo Revolution since Nintendo expects to set new gaming standards with this consol by enabling a whole new level of communication between player and console.

At the heart of this revolution is a revolutionary wireless controller system, a major feature of the Wii, which may be used as a hand held pointing device and can detect motion and rotation in three dimensions. The controller also contains a speaker and a rumbling device to provide sensory feedback. With this new controller, acting more as and extension of your body capable of communicating motion and speed, Nintendo claims, will open up gaming development possibilities to a whole new level.

With this new level of interaction between player and console, is opening the doors for the game development community and is where the real revolution will be coming from. Game developers won’t be limited to a complex non ergonomic controller for input. They now have the ability to read a whole new set of player inputs, taking into consideration 3 dimensional body motions, speed of and relative positions of multiple players.

Wii will makes you feel less like a player and more like you’re in the game. Frenzied sword battles are no longer will be confined to pushing buttons, actually now you will be swinging the sword. Forget about pushing a button to start a golf back swing now you will swing the club! And the console will monitor your back swing and your follow through as though you where on the fairway. This level of interaction will make this gaming the closest thing to the real thing but just as important will shrink the consol and game learning curves.

One draw back is, this new console will require more room to play since gaming will become a physical activity like never before. Expect to move or remove your coffee table and your sofa so you have a playing area big enough to allow full body movements. When playing multi player games, room will be an even more important consideration. Your swordsmanship, your marksmanship, your golf swing and your baseball swing will make a difference in your gaming success like never before.

The new console is expected to hit the shelves by November, just in time for Christmas and no prices has yet been revealed, but expect to pay a premium console price. But for those lucky souls who will get a chance to put their hands on one, they will be in gaming heaven. I know what I want for Christmas!

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