Research Paper, Computer Science Dept., University of Alaska Fairbanks, October 2012 Game Consoles Vs. personal Computers Design, Purpose, AND Marketability Differences TRAVIS PAYTON any television set into a gaming machine. Over the next twenty years game consoles evolved Abstract from simple machines that only had an extremely small library of a few, practically This paper presents the differences inherent in identical games, into specialized computers that designing game consoles versus the personal hundreds of developers created games for. As computer. It also discusses the similarities and technology advanced, and processors and differences between processors and system memory became more affordable, the designs for the last 3 generations of game differences between game consoles and consoles as compared to their desktop desktop computers started to disappear. The counterparts of the time. It also correlates this only difference is that the game console data with the market trends to provide an idea specialized in doing one thing, and doing it of why engineers and developers used different extremely well, so well in fact that even a child approaches, and to provide a preview of what could use it. might be in store for the next generation of game consoles. With the advent of smart This paper will start with the fifth generation of phones, broadband internet, social networking, video game consoles released in the mid 90’s, and a huge growth in Indie Developers, there focusing on only the major and successful has been a major change in not only the video consoles of each generation. game format, but also the role Game Consoles play in the market. 2. Previous Work 1. Introduction Video games have become a multi-billion dollar industry surpassing Hollywood.[3] In order to survive companies are always striving to Thirty years ago there was a stark difference create better games and consoles. Many between computers and video game consoles. studies have been done regarding the history With the invention of the microprocessor and economics of the video game industry. personal computers became an affordable There are also substantial amounts of reality instead of science fiction, albeit a reality information on the hardware specifications of only pursued by hobbyists and skilled [1] each console. However there are not a lot of electricians. In contrast, the first video game studies that show how these differences in console, the Magnavox Odyssey released by [2] hardware and innovative designs changed the Ralph Baer in 1972 , did not even have a market, or how the market dictated the processor. Instead it used a series of transistors requirements for the hardware. and diodes and removable printed circuit boards that changed the hard-wired game logic. Studies have shown that recent trends in how Unlike the computers of the era, the Magnavox video games are consumed and produced have Odyssey was affordable and could easily convert [ 1 ] Research Paper, Computer Science Dept., University of Alaska Fairbanks, October 2012 changed dramatically from the norm of the last Since price is such a major factor for marketing 20 years. With app stores and worldwide game consoles, cost is a major factor in chip publication services giving independent design. Processors and graphics cards are developers access to millions of consumers, the designed be able to be mass produced at an multi-million dollar video game budgets and affordable price, and still turn a profit. large development teams are starting to become an outdated business model. 3.1 Sega Saturn (1994) The Sega Saturn had two Hitachi 3. Fifth Gen (1994-2001) SuperH-2 7604 The age of Dos games, SoundBlaster sound 32-bit RISC CPUs cards, and Warcraft and Wing Commander. clocked at 28.63 Personal computers had an ever-growing MHz, and two custom 32-bit video display processors (VDP) amount of video games that over-shadowed the [4] video game consoles of the time. The stark clocked at 28.63 Mhz. This was the first game differences in graphics, gameplay, and sound console with multiple processors, which proved quality between the current Super Nintendo’s to be difficult for developers to utilize. Only the and Sega’s of the time with those of their PC most skilled programmers could hope to see a counterparts was the sign that the dawn of the performance increase of only one and a half next generation of game consoles was soon. times that of using a single SH-2 chip. Another Enter the Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation, and the hardware design choice that also made the Sega Nintendo 64. These consoles raised the bar for Saturn hard to develop for was the fact that the game quality and provided experiences that VDP units rendered quadrilaterals instead of were not possible on the PC. Not only did they triangles. When used correctly it would allow re-define the market place, but they introduced for a greater amount of video memory and new gameplay mechanics brought 32-bit and better graphics. But the other consoles used 64-bit architecture to game consoles, and made triangles as the basic geometric primitive, 3D graphics a standard in games. making cross-console game development difficult. Not only did the Sega Saturn have Computers on the other hand were still non-conventional hardware, but it did not have good SDK’s or libraries available for developers expensive, required technical skill, and simply [5] getting a new game installed and running was to utilize the dual CPUs and dual VPUs. This usually a much more arduous process than meant programmers had to code in assembly if blowing on a game cartridge. Launching Price $2,000.00 $1,500.00 $1,000.00 $299.99 $399.00 $199.99 $0.00 Gaming PC PlayStaon Sega Saturn Nintendo 64 Fig 1. Left: original 1994 PC advertisement for Compaq, list price of $1699.99. Right: Comparison of Launch Prices of 5th generation consoles and the average pc price. [ 2 ] Research Paper, Computer Science Dept., University of Alaska Fairbanks, October 2012 they wanted to gain the performance benefits 3.3 Nintendo 64 (1996) of dual processors. The Nintendo 64 With a custom processor for almost every was named after its function, the complex hardware made the Sega 64-bit CPU, a NEC Saturn costly to produce. With the higher price VR4300 clocked at [9] tag and lack of titles due to difficult 93.75 Mhz. This was development, the console did not fair well a cheaper version of the more powerful MIPS against Sony’s PlayStation. Technologies R4300i, but still more powerful than all of the other consoles on the market. With the powerful tri-linear texture filtering and 3.2 Sony Playstation (1994) 128-bit data bus, the powerful 64-bit Reality Co- The Sony PlayStation Processor developed by SGI made the N64 was wowed the market with capable of producing gorgeous 3D graphics. The its capabilities when it system also came with 4 MB of RDRAM, was released in expandable to 8MB with the expansion pack, December of 1994. It making it the first console to have a unified was powered by a MIPS memory subsystem. R3000A 32-bit RISC CPU clocked at 33.8688 MHz. The CPU contained a proprietary However, despite the powerful sounding Geometry Transform Unit that was used for 3D hardware, the design proved to be anything but graphics and capable of rendering 160,000 great for developers. Nintendo helped create polygons per second.[6] Unlike the Sega Saturn, its biggest competition when it partnered with the hardware design of the Sony PlayStation Sony years earlier to create the optical disc made programming and game development a format for their Super Nintendo. However, due to licensing and media rights, Nintendo ended relatively easy process. It also allowed for a up scrapping the project and releasing the cheaper manufacturing process. Super Nintendo in the familiar cartridge format. Due to the cheap media format, and easy Nintendo decided to stick with this format development model, the PlayStation had the when it released the N64 as well. This was a largest collection of games out of any of the serious limitation as the amount of space fifth generation consoles with a library of 2,418 available to developers was significantly smaller titles[7]. This is compared to the 387 titles for than that of a CD. This limited how many the Nintendo64, which was the second highest textures developers could place in a game, and selling console of the generation. the 4kb texture size hardware limitation usually meant a few small textures stretched over large With the introduction of the CD-R format, polygons producing blurry textures that were piracy started becoming a major concern for the even blurrier after the tri-linear filtering. Also, video game Industry. Pirating the previous the development and manufacture cost of generation cartridge-based games was producing an N64 game was much higher due practically impossible without being skilled in to the propriety cartridge and anti-piracy electronics or having specialized hardware. lockout chip. With the Sony PlayStation, anyone with a computer and a cd burner could make copies of Despite these limitations, the Nintendo 64 is games, and play them with nothing more than a praised by many as one of the best consoles little tape and some well timed disc swaps.[8] due to the quality of games that were produced for it. The Nintendo 64 set the standard for [ 3 ] Research Paper, Computer Science Dept., University of Alaska Fairbanks, October 2012 gameplay with the introduction of the Rumble 3.5 summary Pak, a force-feedback controller add-on, and immersive, completely 3D games, like Mario 64. The end of the fifth generation saw a shift from the 2D sprite based games of the previous generations to completely 3D games.