Versatile consoles

Back in the eighties and early nineties, video game consoles began springing up in people’s homes all over the world. Before this, most video gaming at home happened on Personal Computers that were for word processing and data entry first, and gaming second. Atari pushed this boundary back with predominantly games oriented machines – but these were still justifiable on a practical level as they could run various applications of a more serious nature. With the advent of the Nintendo NES and the Sega Mastersystem, a whole new sort of console was born – machines designed and sold with the sole purpose of playing games. This was when video gaming truly took off, and it signified the arrival of a new and permanent fixture on the toy scene, one that could not have been overestimated.

Flash forwards fifteen years and the situation has grown, whilst changing and, perhaps reverting somewhat to that initial model. Recently, a new breed of video game consoles has emerged, ones that follow the multifunctional creed of the early Amigas and Ataris. The Playstation 3 and the Xbox, to cite the major examples, both cater to more than just games playing needs. The Xbox can play DVDs, surf the internet and be used to store digital media; while the Playstation 3 plays the new Bluray high definition DVDs, whilst allowing internet access and data storage.

It’s an interesting paradigm shift, and one that is inevitably heading towards a machine that fulfils as many different functions as possible. Of course, this sort of functionality mixed with frivolity is, to a certain extent, already here in the form of PCs and Apple Macs. Although games are developed exclusively for a console experience, the similarities are growing evermore, with internet access and all its accompanying benefits the most dominant driving force.

Nintendo’s Wii is the only games console to slightly buck the trend, with an all-out games playing mandate – justifiable through the innovation in new games playing technologies. Nevertheless, there is still some emphasis placed on versatility, with the Wii offering the opportunity to play old Nintendo games on it, as well as interact with other players from around the world via online access.

Meanwhile, as these consoles battle it out to be the king of the diverse home entertainment unit, those of us already equipped with a home computer can start to add games to the host of purposes our computers serve. Free online games can be readily found throughout the internet on sites such as playsega.com; a website that plays host to plenty of arcade games, puzzle games, and of course Sega’s ever popular array of sonic games. It’s a great way to become a little more familiar with the potential on offer in the online gaming world – a sure fire way of having a bit of fun on your serious little computer.