Week 9 - Game technology

In the beginning, games consoles and controllers had extremely boxy angular shapes, like many other things during those times (buildings, vehicles, etc). They were made so that they “did the job”. Take the Atari 2600 controller for example. Being one of the first joysticks made, it was extremely awkward to use and heavy, with only 8 directions.










In 1985 there came the Nintendo Entertainment System. Still brick-like, but I sort of begin to associate it with some of today’s consoles. Thanks to the NES control, the games industry revitalized and took a big step forward.










6 years later, Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Its technology improved vastly, as did its appearance, with a some curvy shapes on both the controller and the console.












Now, we have the sleek and sexy designs of the PS3 and Xbox 360. They are great to look at, I frequently drool over them at game shops, and the controls are made to be more comfortable to hold and use.












Makes me wonder what game consoles will look like in 10 years time...

My first ever console was the Game Boy Colour, which I received as a gift from my parents for passing the entrance exam into a good secondary school. If that hadn’t happened, then I would probably not have had a console at all until less than 2 years ago when I got my PS2. When playing, I prefer holding the Xbox 360 control because it is extremely curvy and my hands fit comfortably around it.