Unit 20 Computer Games Platforms & Technologies

Game Platform Types

Sony	Machine	HCI	Information	Available Games
	PlayStation One (PS1) Fifth Generation Console	Basic wired analogue controller, connects to the system and allows you to press the buttons to interact with the game.	The PlayStation is the first    console within the Sony series. It was released in 1994 and was available to buy until early 2006. However, during this time, in 2000 a new                    re-designed version called the PS1 was released. It is slimmer and compact. The PS1 uses CD-ROM to play games. The consoles Central Processing Unit (CPU) is MIPS R3000A. The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is Sony’s own GPU as well as Vector Math Unit. The Sound Processing Unit (SPU) is again Sony’s own developed sound chip. The resolution of the   console is 256x224 to 640x240 progressive and the stereo audio is 24 ADPCM channels within the SPU. The consoles memory storage is very limited, with 3587 KB RAM, however you can get memory cards that allow a lot extra storage space. The console is not portable, it connects to your home TV and cannot be played without this connectivity.	There were near on 1000, if not more, games released for the PS1, some notable games were: - Gran Turismo - Crash Bandicoot (series) - Spyro The Dragon (series) - Tekken (series) - Mortal Kombat (series) Gran Turismo was the PS1’s Bestselling game.
	PlayStation Two (PS2) Sixth Generation Console	At first release there was a slightly updated version of the PS1 controller with the analogue sticks and wire connectivity, however when the slimmer version was released they also released a wireless controller, exactly the same as before but without a wire.	The second in the Sony series, the PlayStation 2 was released in 2000, shortly after the redesigned version of its predecessor. Also like the PS1 there is two versions of the PS2, again the original and the PlayStation 2 Slim. Unlike its predecessor the PS2 uses a more updated DVD, CD rather than a CD ROM for their game disks. The PS2 uses a 294 MHz MIPS “Emotion Engine” as its CPU, the slim has the updated 299 MHz version. The GPU within the system is a 147 MHz “Graphics Synthesizer”. In terms of RAM the system has a main total of 32 MB SDRAM, 4MB of Video RAM and 2MB RAM for Sound. There is 32MB of memory installed onto the console, again there is the option to buy memory cards to expand the memory of the console. Much like the PlayStation 1, the PS2 isn’t portable, instead it connects to the TV.	Again there were hundreds of games released for the PlayStation 2. However you could also play PlayStation 1 games on the system. Some notable games include: - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - Worms (series) - Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (series) - Half-Life - Surf’s Up Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was the PS2’s Bestselling game.
	PlayStation Portable (PSP) Seventh Generation Handheld Console	Handheld Console, the console is the controller. Usually with at least one analogue stick and the relevant buttons from a Sony controller.	The first portable console with the PlayStation family, the PlayStation Portable, often referred to as PSP, was released in 2005. The PSP does have a predecessor in the PocketStation, however that was more and accessory to the PS1, rather than a handheld console. There are four versions to the PSP, there is the original and the 2000 which are pretty much the same, but the 2000 has slightly updated software. There is the slim, which is a slimmer version of the first two. And finally there is the PSP Go, this has a different design with the screen lifting up to reveal the buttons. The PSP uses a UMD Digital Disk to play its games. It is like a normal game disc however it is a lot smaller, purely to fit into the handheld device. PSP’s CPU is MIPS R4000-based; clocked from 1 to 333 MHz, There is two of these in the system. The speakers on the PSP are stereo, as well as having a headphone jack. The memory of a PSP isn’t the greatest but it does have a built in memory stick. The battery life is approximately 10 hours, although it can be recharged at will with a charger cable. PSP is also able to connect to PlayStation Network, an online gaming service.	There isn’t quite as many games available for the PSP, however there is close to 900 available. Some notable titles are: - Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite - Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories - Undead Knights - Colin McRae (series) - Pirates of the Caribbean (series) Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories were the Bestselling game for the PSP.
	PlayStation Three  (PS3) Seventh Generation Console	Wireless dual shock 3 controller, analogue sticks and buttons. Similar to PS2 controller but wireless and updated.	The third home console within the PlayStation series was released in 2006. It was the first, and so far only, home video game console made by Sony to have three different models, Regular, Slim and the Super Slim. Revolutionary in design the PS3 can play Blue-ray disc films as well as some PS1 & 2 games. Compact Discs are also playable. The CPU on the PS3 is Cell Broadband Engine (32. GHz Power Architecture-based PPE with seven 3.2 GHz SPEs). The GPU is a 550 MHz RSX’Reality Synthesizer. The memory in a PS3 is variable, there are several different options. You can get a console with memory from 40GB-320GB, the less memory on the system the cheaper the console is. Again, being a home video game system the PlayStation 3 isn’t portable.	There are currently just over 800 games available on PS3. Production for new games on this platform is continuous. Some notable titles include: - Grand Theft Auto V - Red Dead Redemption - The Last of Us - L.A Noire - FIFA (series) Grand Theft Auto V is currently the Bestselling game for PS3.
	PlayStation Vita  (PSVita) Eighth Generation Handheld Console	Handheld device, very similar to PSP. Next Generation, slightly modified.	The PSVita is the remodelled version of the PSP. Released in 2011 it is the fifth version of a handheld console from the PlayStation family. There is two versions, PSVita and a slightly upgraded version called PSVita (PCH-2000). Much different to the PSP, PSVita use a games card to play games, a small cartridge which is slotted into the top of the device. The CPU in this console is a Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 MP Core and its GPU is PowerVR SGX543MP4+. The PSVita comes with 512 MB of RAM and 128 MB of VRAM. The PSVita is a portable console.	Close to 1000 games were released for the PlayStation Vita, some notable titles include: - Borderlands 2 - FIFA (series) - LEGO (series) - Mortal Kombat - Plants vs Zombies I couldn’t find the Bestselling game for PSVita.
	PlayStation Four (PS4) Eighth Generation Console	Wireless Controller, Dual shock. Analogue sticks, light sensor bar.	The PlayStation 4 is the latest release within the PlayStation Series. It was released late in 2013, and has already sold 20 million copies. Like the PlayStation 3, the PS4 takes Blue-ray discs as well as DVD/CD discs. The CPU is Octa-Core AMD x86-64 “Jaguar”-based @1.6 GHz. The GPU is AMD Radeon “Liverpool”, with the memory on the console being similar to the PS3, but has at least a 8GB GDDR5 RAM @ 1375 MHz The PS4 connects to a home TV system so is not Portable.	There are only 449 games for PS4 so far. Some well-known names are: - Assassin’s Creed (series) - Killzone Shadow Fall - Grand Theft Auto V -Minecraft - The Last of Us Remastered Kill zone Shadow Fall is the Bestselling PS4 game so far.

Microsoft	Machine	HCI	Information	Available Games
	Xbox Sixth Generation Console	Wired Analogue ‘Bulky’ controller.	The Xbox was released in 2001 as the first console in the Xbox series by Microsoft. There wasn’t different versions of the original Xbox, however there were different colours. The standard colour being black with a tint of green. More rare colours would be the green transparent cased Xbox as well as the clear transparent cased version. Microsoft use DVD/CDs to play games from. The CPU of an original Xbox is 733 MHz x86 Intel Celeron/PI11 Custom Hybrid, the GPU is a 233 MHz Custom NVidia NV2A. The original Xbox had 64 MB of unified DDR SDRAM. The Xbox is a bulky home console and it isn’t portable.	There were exactly 999 games made for the Original Xbox. Some well-known titles are: - Halo 2 - Reservoir Dogs - Time Splitters - X-Men Legends - Alien vs Predator Extinction Halo 2 was the Bestselling game for the Xbox.
	Xbox 360 Seventh Generation Console	Wireless analogue controller.	The Xbox 360 is the second console to be released by Microsoft. It was released exactly a year before its biggest rival released their third console, PS3. Similar to its predecessor the Xbox 360 uses a media of DVD-DL in order to play its games. The CPU of the 360 is a 3.2 GHz IBM PowerPC tri-core, codenamed “Xenon”. The GPU is a 500 MHz, also with a codename. This time “Xenos” (ATI Custom Design). The memory within an Xbox 360 is 512 MB GDDR3 @ 700 MHz shared between CPU and GPU. As well as a 10 MB EDRAM GPU frame buffer memory. The Xbox 360 is not a portable console, Microsoft are yet to release a handheld console within the Xbox Family.	There are currently 1137 games to play on the Xbox 360. Some popular ones are: - Kinnect Adventures - BioShock (series) - Call of Duty (series) - MorphX - The Wolf Among Us The Bestselling game for Xbox 360 is Kinnect Adventures as part of a bundle with an accessory for the console.
	Xbox One	Wireless analogue controller.	The Xbox One is the latest addition to the Xbox Family. It was released near Christmas in 2013 and sold 3 million copies before the year was finished. The Xbox One uses a Blu-ray, DVD, CD system to play games. The CPU in an Xbox One is Octa-Core AMD x86-64 “Jaguar”-based @ 1.75 GHz (2 quad-core modules). The GPU is AMD Radeon, 768 shaders @853 MHz (1.31 TFLOP/s) 13.6 Gpixel/s, 40.9 Gtexel/s, 28 nm. The memory on the system is 8 GB DDR3 RAM @ 1066 MHz (2133 MHz effective) (68.3 GB/s) 5 GB Available for games. 32 MB eSRAM @ 1706 MHz (3412 MHz effective) (204-218 GB/s) The Xbox One is not a portable console.	There are 348 Xbox One games available to buy at the minute. Some of these are: - Destiny - Killer Instinct (series) - Skylanders Trap Team - Watch Dogs - Zoo Tycoon It is unknown what the Bestselling game for PS4 is.

     

Nintendo	Machine	HCI	Information	Available Games
	Gameboy Advance SP (GBA SP) Sixth Generation Handheld Console	Handheld Console, small screen, minimal buttons.	There are many different versions of the GameBoy, 5 in total. All of which were very similar with small tweaks here and there. I am however referring to the GameBoy Advance SP. The GameBoy uses a gaming cartridge to play its games. The game cartridge looks similar to that of a PlayStation Memory Card. The CPU is a 16.8 MHz, 32-biut, ARM7TDMI with embedded memory. As well as 32 kilobyte + 96 kilobyte VRAM internal to the CPU. The GameBoy Advance is a very small portable console, it folds in half, when opened revealing two screens.	Just short of 750 games were made available to play on a GameBoy console. Some of these were: - Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire - Adventure Island - Donkey Kong - Tetris -Mega Man The Bestselling game for the GameBoy Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.
	GameCube Sixth Generation Console	Chunky Wired Controller, Analogue and buttons.	The Nintendo GameCube, or referred to as it’s codename of ‘Dolphin’ was released in 2001 by Nintendo. Similar to the Xbox there was never a different version of the GameCube, just different colours. Most commonly being, black, silver or purple. However some people customised their consoles into colours such as red, with Mario’s logo or Yellow with Pikachu on. These are more common with retro collectors. The GameCube uses small discs to play games, much like the disc of a PSP game, but retro. The CPU from the GameCube is a 485 MHz Power PC “Gekko”. The GPU is a 162 MHz ATI “Flipper”. There is 24 MB of main RAM, 1 T-SRAM and 16 MB DRAM. Video RAM is 3 MB embedded with 1 T-SRAM. The GameCube is not portable.	648 games for the GameCube were released to the general public, some of these are: - Super Smash Bros. Melee - FIFA (series) - Luigi’s Mansion - The Legend of Zelda (series) - Pokémon (series) Super Smash Bros. Melee was the Bestselling game for the GameCube.
	Nintendo DS, DS Lite, DSi/DSiXL Seventh Generation Handheld Console	Handheld, two screens with few buttons, Touchscreen.	The Nintendo DS was released in 2004 as a newly modified and upgraded handheld console to follow up from the GameBoy franchise. The DS Lite was released in 2006 and has a modified shape. The DSi was released two years later and has had two cameras installed. The DSiXL is a bigger version released a year later. Each of the consoles use a games cartridge like the GameBoy, however it is a lot thinner and more compact. The CPU for the DS and DS Lite is a 67 MHz ARM9 and 33 MHz ARM7, whereas the DSi and XL have 133 MHz ARM9 and 33 MHz ARM7. The memory on the DS and DS Lite is a 4MB SRAM compared to the 16 MB of the DSi/XL. Each of these consoles are handheld and portable.	There are over 1297 games available for the DS. Some of these include: - New Super Mario Bros. - Nintendogs - LEGO (series) - Professor Layton (series) - Master of Illusion New Super Mario Bros. was the Bestselling game for all of the Nintendo DS systems.
	Wii Seventh Generation Console	Rectangular controller, Motion censored.	The Nintendo Wii was released in 2006 and was an instant hit with family gamers for its unique controller system. The controller for the Wii is a rectangular shape without analogue sticks, but a motion sensor. You point the remote at the TV and it controls a cursor. This became such a revolutionary way to play games Sony released PlayStation Move and a series of games. Microsoft released Xbox Kinnect and games to try and rival the Wii but neither did as well as the original. The Wii uses its own optical disc and a CPU of 729 MHz PowerPC based IBM “Broadway” As well as a GPU of 243 MHz ATI “Hollywood”. The Wii has a 24 MB “internal” 1 T-SRAM integrated into graphics package 64 MB “external” GDDR3 SDRAM 3 MB GPU frame buffer memory. The Wii is not a portable console.	1359 games are available to be played on the Wii. Some of these are: - Wii Sports - Mario Kart - Boom Blox - Just Dance - PacMan Party Wii Sports is the Bestselling Wii game as part of a bundle with the console.
	Nintendo 3DS/2DS Eighth Generation Handheld Console	Handheld, two screens with few buttons, analogue stick, touchscreen, camera and 3D Screen.	The Nintendo 3DS allows the player to play games in 3D, it is the similar design to previous versions. However the 2DS is the latest model without the 3D option. It also doesn’t fold in half, it is a standard handheld machine. Both use the generic DS games cartridge. The CPU is the same on both systems, Dual-core ARM11 MPCore & Dual-core VFP Co-Processor. The GPU is also the same, Digital Media Professionals PICA200. The memory on both systems is 128 MB FCRAM, 6 MB VRAM. Both consoles are portable.	As it stands there is 612 games for the 3DS. Popular titles include: - Pokémon X & Y - Mario Kart 7 - Disney Infinity - The Hidden - Alien Chaos 3D Pokémon X and Y is so far the Bestselling game for the 3DS.
	Wii U Eight Generation Console	Big controller, analogue sticks and buttons as well as a touchscreen.	The Wii U is the first console to have what looks like a handheld console as its main controller. The Wii U Game Pad has a touchscreen that enhances play. The buttons control what you see on the TV screen and the touchscreen is used for more intricate parts of a game. Like the Wii, the Wii U also uses their own optical disc for its games. The CPU is an Tri-Core IBM PowerPC “Espresso” @1.24 GHz. The GPU is AMD Radeon “Latte”. The memory of the Wii U is 2 GB DDR3 RAM @ 800 MHz (1600 MHz effective) (12.8 GB/s) 1GB available for games. The Wii U isn’t portable.	With the Wii U being relatively new in the industry there are only 457 games available t buy so far, including: - Mario Kart 8 - Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - Insanity’s Blade - Never Alone - The Letter

Other	Machine	HCI	Information	Available Games
	PC/Laptop	Keyboard and Mouse/Mouse pad	PC Gaming is a worldwide phenomenon, with some people even becoming professional PC Gamers. Your PC Gaming experience will depend on the system you are using. There are hundreds of different brands and thousands of models to choose from. There is too many to refer to a specific system so I’m going to be generic about this. After doing some research I found that the best CPU for a gaming pc is i5-4690K however it is also very expensive. I also found the best graphics card to be NVidia’s GTX 970. A Gaming PC isn’t portable, however a Laptop is.	There are unlimited amount of games to play on a computer, some of these could be: - Minecraft - The Sims (series) -League of Legends -World of Tanks -Dungeon Defenders Minecraft is the most played game for the computer.
	Tablet	Touchscreen	Tablets started to become popular as remakes of Apples iPad, there are numerous variations but I’m going to focus on the original iPad. Games on a tablet are bought, or downloaded from the App store. App is short for application. The CPU from an iPad is a GHz ARM Cortex-A8. The memory is 256 MB DDR RAM. However additional to this there are versions of the iPad to purchase, each with different memory. 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. The iPad is a portable way to play games from anywhere without connecting to a TV. The iPad, or tablet will need to be charged every now and again to keep battery life up.	There are hundreds, if not thousands of games to buy or download for free on the App Store for a tablet. Some of these that have done really well are: - Angry Birds - Temple Run 2 - Fruit Ninja - Candy Crush Saga - Subway Surfers Angry Birds has the most downloads across all of the app stores.
	Smartphone	Touchscreen	There are multiple smartphones I could describe but I thought which one do I know best, so I chose my current phone, the HTC One M8. It has a 5.0 in (130mm) Super LCD 3 with RGB matrix display with 1920 x1080 pixels (16:9 Aspect ratio) (441 ppi). Much like a tablet you can access games through the App store. The CPU is a 2.26 GHz quad-core (MSM8974ABv3) 2.45 GHz quad-core (MSM8974Acv3). The GPU is Adreno 330 550/578 MHz. The memory is 2 GB LPDDR3 RAM with 16 or 32 GB flash of storage. The HTC One M8, like all Smartphones, is completely portable and can slip it into your bag or your pocket.	There are hundreds, if not thousands of games to buy or download for free on the App Store for a smartphone. Some of these that have done really well are: - Angry Birds - Temple Run 2 - Fruit Ninja - Candy Crush Saga - Subway Surfers Angry Birds has the most downloads across all of the app stores.

Personally I prefer PlayStation 3, Nintendo GameCube, DSi XL, Laptop, Tablet and Smartphone because these are the machines I own and use on a regular basis. However M most preferred choices would be PS3 or GameCube, mainly due to the fact you connect it to the TV so the screen is bigger. Other than that gaming on my Smartphone is more convenient for when I am out and about.