Gaming Consoles: Features, Limitations And Gameplay

Introduction

The very first console to exist was the Brown Box, invented by Ralph Baer and his colleagues within Sanders Associates Inc. they developed a prototype and it was the first multiplayer gaming system. The initial name that Baer thought of for the console was ‘TV Game Unit ‘#7’ however later on he nicknamed it the brown box. This was due to the style of the console (a brown coloured box looking console). The console came with a choice of six games which could all be played one at a time.

1. More games – due to technology advancing the user of the console is able to purchase multiple games to play, these can be purchased both online and from stores, games in CD form are used mostly by users because they are able to share that game with other people or friends that have the same console.
2. Updates – again due to advancement the console automatically is able to update itself meaning that maintenance is made a whole lot easier all the user has to do is physically clean the console.
3. Easy to use – most consoles come with a user guide which details how to use the console however to use the console all the user has to do is insert the game (if bought as a disc) and start the game.
4. Controller – controllers now are more complex than the ones you would have had in the past however they allow the user to be in more control of what they are doing during the game, there are more buttons which enable the user to perform different tasks. Also the user is able to purchase controllers which are wireless and also ones with built in batteries. All they need to do is charge the controller.

Limitations:

• Online multiplayer – if you wanted to play online with friends or just online in general you would need to purchase the same game as whomever you would like to play with, you would also both need to have the same console as each other furthermore there is a fee which you have to pay in order for you to play online, these range from days to months and even year passes.
• Local multiplayer - the users are limited to the amount of controllers that they have, the maximum amount of controllers that you are able to sync to one console is 4 however this is not the only issue because some games only allow a certain amount of players to be able to play a game at one time, so it may mean that only 2 players are able to play at one time, even though you may have 4 controllers available.
• Games – this is one of the issues that can annoy users, if you are playing on a console (e. g. PlayStation) you would have to play the games that are designed for that console (e. g. you cannot play an Xbox game on a PlayStation). Specific games for specific consoles.

Gameplay

Gameplay on the newer consoles is great. The user is able to game in HD and has almost full control over the character, there are also many games for the user to decide from and they are able to play a game that suits them and what they enjoy to do.

Conclusion & Comparison

In 2018 the only difference in consoles is the hardware and technology that they use to build the console, almost all of the consoles on the market can do the same thing but the main thing that they need to do is just to give the user the ability to play which ever game they wanted to play. However better technology is leading to better games (graphics and control over the character).