The world of video games changes rapidly. Gone are the days of separate tape players and loading screens that took ten minutes to load a 2-D platformer (when loaded correctly) controlled by laborious keystrokes or a joystick with more triggers than a fighter jet. .
While the older platforms still retain a cult following and the devotion of those who grew up with them, the advent of the game console and controller heralded a new era that unfolds with almost every game release.
As game console technology and capabilities have grown, so has its popularity. People who play computer games are no longer seen as social outcasts. The gaming industry is huge, when was the last time you turned on the TV and didn’t see or advertise a console or a game? The Xbox 360 alone has sold 22 million units worldwide.
Microsoft, surely the biggest name in computing, was a late entrant to the market, but soon became the leader of the pack and competitive with Sony with the launch of its Xbox and its latest Xbox 360. So what makes this seventh generation console and the world so popular game?
Aside from the fact that consoles can be used for more than just gaming (some have argued that it provides better DVD playback than your dedicated DVD player), perhaps the biggest key to game console growth is looks. social.
Playing a computer game outside of an arcade was once a solitary pastime, then it became a multiplayer game. Suddenly, the appeal of beating your mates in races or leveling them up in a fighting game took off. More and more games had multiplayer options or were developed with two players in mind. Does anyone remember Double Dragon?
Although, what happens when beating one of your friends isn’t enough? The desire to win over more than one person led to games that could offer four-person split-screen play, then inter-console connections lead to ever-increasing multiples, but newer consoles have gone beyond the cables required for such connections. with fifth generation consoles.
Online Gaming: Possibly one of the biggest motivators in the rise of console sales. Your friends don’t have to be in the same house to play the same game. Players can play with players from all over the world and just as games were once designed with two players in mind, modern games are designed with the world of online gaming in mind.
In line with the development of social gaming, the world of Xbox consoles and accessories has grown. Chat contacts allow you to talk to the players you’re competing against through a wireless headset.
As consoles gain in power, game soundtracks are no longer the two-tone beeps they once were. Games are played out loud to fully appreciate a tank explosion at a WWII game or an excited crowd at a soccer game. The money spent on developing a soundtrack (not just the music) for a game now takes up a large part of the game development budget, so it’s only fair to appreciate it.
The problem is that the neighbors don’t appreciate it. The headphones have been developed accordingly. Wireless headphones and amplifiers mean the player doesn’t lose any of the soundtrack and doesn’t have those nasty tracks getting in the way, according to the wireless driver. Such headsets also allow social gaming to continue with built-in microphones so games can continue to taunt their opponents.
This is not to say that the return to gaming is a solitary pastime: gamers alone in a room with a pair of headphones and a console. Multiple players can join online platforms from the same console and room, each with their own headset or headset.
Online gaming has created social groups around certain games and interacting with them has become part of the appeal of gaming itself: talking to gamers from around the world from an armchair thanks to wireless headsets and technological advances in video game consoles. .
As the consoles themselves are available in different specifications to suit users’ needs, the wide variety of accessories means more customization in game setups. Social games are also personal.
