Austin Venable: Nintendo's Video Game And Simulation Industry

Would it not be awesome if we could do the things one can only dream of doing? Imagine a world where you can be a running back in the NFL, a powerful sorcerer, and Batman, all in the same day. This world does exist and its the world of video games. Video games allow us to escape reality and the stress that comes with it. It is a world of infinite possibilities with something for everyone. You can slay huge aliens with your friends in a virtual reality, harvest the crops from you very own virtual farm, or even run your own country! In the world of video games, you can do whatever your heart desires! But video games have not always been this way and have not always been around. It has taken a

Although, seeing as video games are increasingly popular today, not everyone met as unfortunate of a fate. Today, many could credit this to the video game development corporation known as Atari, which arose in 1972 and continuously flourished until about 1982. In 1972, Atari came out with PONG, the first electronic arcade game, and it was an enormous accomplishment that exploded into what is now called the electronic gaming revolution. As time passed, Atari managed to triumph over its competition time and time again, but that is not to say that each of the failed corporations did not feature something that is used today. In fact, a couple of the failed organizations contributed something original to what is common today. For instance, Fairchild Camera and Instrument creating the first system that could play several different games, rather than just one. Another aforementioned group, RCA, was the first to produce and utilize keypad controllers instead of paddles or joysticks. Other consoles that came along, such as Intellivision and Vectrex, sported better graphics than the Atari’s consoles and games, but they still did not manage to gross the amount of money that Atari did because Atari was still on top of collecting all of the most entertaining and enjoyable games of their time. Keep in mind what attracted the masses to video games in the past: fun and addictive gameplay, not how good they looked. Now that the principal eras of gaming have been

Sony Corporation is a Japanese owned company, created in 1946 based in Tokyo, Japan. The company competes in the technology market with diversity. This includes video games, computers and computer hardware, television, media players, etc. With that being said, Sony has had their ups and downs over the past few years, just like everyone else in this industry. Things such as the U.S. economy can really affect the future of this company. Now that the economy is on the downfall, things such as entertainment are not as important as paying for food, gas, and other bills. It is important to realize these things as you analyze the company due to the fact that the company

The first console was called the Brown Box and was mad by a TV maker, Ralph Baer. The Brown Box was made in 1967. Nolan Bushaell bounded Atari in 1972. Atari then had its first big hit with the infamous Pong. In 1980 Mattel releases the Intelivision which is the first challenge against Atari’s rule. Nintendo wasn’t always the video game we know, it was originally a Japanese playing card company. In 1985 Nintendo releases the Nintendo releases the Nintendo Entertainment System, Wow what a creative name that is. Then in 1989 they released their second smash hit with the Gameboy, to compete with other companies such as Atari, Who released their Atari 2600. It included the newly released Tetris which would grow to become a massive hit to top off the huge sales of the Gameboy. In 1991 the super Nes is released. Then the original PlayStation is released in 1995 becoming extremely popular. To combat this popularity Nintendo released the Nintendo 64 in 1996. It includes favorites such as Mario 64, Zelda, and Metroid. The PS2 is released in 2000 marking the beginning of a new era of game consoles. It is the first console to include 128 bit graphics. A problem with original game consoles such as the Atari 2600 is they had little memory. With such little memory Graphics could only be up to 160 by 228 pixels. The normal today is 1925 by 1080 pixels. Some of the earliest adventure games used text instead of images to create the world you’re in. The first of these “text” games was

When video games were first being introduced to the general public, they weren’t all that exciting. Most gaming took place in arcades and most arcades didn’t have many game cabinets due to their being very few games to begin with. However, all of this changed when the Atari 2600 was released. At the time, Atari was known for their home computers and their hit arcade game “Pong”. Though the Atari 2600 might not have been the first video game system, it was definitely the most successful at that time and a great success for Atari’s first attempt at a home video game console. Thanks to the success of the 2600, video games began to take off and arcades started popping up all over the world with hits like “Pac-Man” and “Donkey Kong”. These would be the

As sales of Nintendo’s Wii and DS dominate the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and PlayStation Portable, respectively, the pressure continues to mount on Sony and Microsoft to move to the next level in the ongoing console wars. Sales of the Wii in 2008

Nintendo started as a small Japanese business by Fusajiro Yamauchi near the end of 1889 as Nintendo Koppai. Based in Kyoto, Japan, the business produced and marketed a playing card game called Hanafuda. In 1956, Nintendo’s president Hiroshi Yamauchi began to realize the limitation of playing cards business because it was viewed as a mere tool of gambling. In order to overcome the limitation, Nintendo struck a deal with Disney in 1959 which allowed them to put Disney characters on their playing cards. This opens up new markets where both children and homemakers started purchasing playing cards.5 Due to this success; Nintendo went public in 1962 and became a listed company in Osaka Stock Exchange. Soon after, Nintendo started to venture in

Gaming consoles have come a long way from where they started. There was many variations of the game Pong to 3D realistic environments. From the start as a simulator all the way down as way of exercising. There were many consoles at the beginning, and then through time it came down to a final three top selling companies. Every gamer, close to the age of thirty and over, has seen the generations of game consoles evolve. There are 7 generations total of game consoles. Game consoles have become part of our culture, some people do not know it yet, but in some way they are gamers. In the beginning there was Ralph H. Baer, “The Father of Video Games”, and he created the “Brown Box” in 1968. Now the Brown Box was a working prototype. It was the

When you look at the first PlayStation you can see how it represents its time period and you can also see how different it is from the current PlayStation.

For over thirty years, Nintendo has created hardware that changes the way people play, whether it is through groundbreaking controls and innovative gameplay experiences. Since the release of the original Gameboy, the company has used the concept “Lateral Thinking of Withered Technology.” It refers to “using existing, cheap, well-established technology in new ways, thus allowing Nintendo to introduce new, innovative concepts at affordable prices” (Mathis 1). However, while this philosophy suited the gaming giant, third party developers became frustrated over old hardware limitations. So much in fact, that for a while it deteriorated Nintendo’s market share (apart from the Wii). Additionally, members of GamesSpot’s Nintendo Fan Club argue that

“To become a leading global provider of networked consumer electronics, entertainment and services.” That’s the mission of Sony, producer of the Sony Playstation. Sony, information and

* In the past game consoles were just for playing games but today they are more than just for playing: surfing in the internet, download pictures and movies, rip music, and watch movies (e.g. Sony’s integrated Blu-ray) past: gaming ; today: gaming and home entertainment systems

Herman et all (2002) points out that history of video games begins from 1971 year, when Nutting association released 1500 machines with Spacewar video game. At the beginning it was too difficult to control the game process and playing machines had huge dimensions. But by the time with new technologies they become more compact and easier to play. According to the information given by Herman et all (2002), the period between the years of 1978-1981 is called ‘golden age’ of video game industry. In this period the arcade games ‘Football’ and ‘Space Invaders’ were released. All previously known sale records were broken by these two games with nearly equal wages. In this time interval great breakthroughs in the field of graphics were achieved,

Way back then, Sony entered the market originally as a supplier of components for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) home console. However, when Nintendo failed to introduce new technologies that would improve the gaming experience, Sony grabbed the chance to seize the opportunity. Sony

I recently entered a sector of the home entertainment market by purchasing a Playstation 3. The Playstation 3(PS3) is Sony Computer Entertainment’s third video game console which competes in the current seventh generation of consoles alongside Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii.