There has been 7 generation of video game consoles consisting of 76 video game consoles.(1) Each console being a highly specialized computer for its generation. Every console has some components that are the same. Every console has a CPU, RAM, video outputs, audio outputs, power supply, software kernel (which is the console operating system), and a storage medium for games (which is the memory that you save your game on).(1)
The very first consoles didn’t have a CPU in them, but as newer console started to come out CPUs were a must. The first console released with a CPU was in 1976, The Fairchild Channel F.(2) It had a speed of 1.79 MHz.(2) Today the Microsoft Xbox 360 has three 3.2 GHz CPUs in it.(1) That’s 5491.8 times faster that the Fairchild Channel F’s CPU.
Like the CPU, RAM was not even in the first generation of video game consoles. The first console with RAM was the Bally Astrocade which was released in 1977-1978.(2) It had 4KB of RAM. (2) The Microsoft Xbox 360 has 512MB(1). In 1MB there are 1024KB that means that there is 524288KB of RAM in the Microsoft Xbox 360 today.
Of course every console had a video output or else you wouldn’t be able to play. In the very beginning games were played in black and white because the console could not support color yet. With today’s consoles everything is in color. The video output can even be in High Definition. First generation consoles didn’t have sound at the beginning. Now we have surround sound.
7 generations, 76 consoles, each generation more advanced than the previous. Starting out with no CPU at all, the Magnavox Odyssey released in 1972 (3), and now have with three 3.2GHz CPUs in one console, Microsoft Xbox 360 released in 2005. Console went from having two colors, black and white, to having and endless amount of color that can be played in High Definition.
Sources
1)Tyson, Jeff. "How Video Game Systems Work." 16 October 2000. HowStuffWorks.com.
2) XAdvance Web Publishing. "Video Game Consoles." Game Machines. 2008. 14 Oct. 2008 http://www.game-machines.com/consoles/>.
3) CompanyLongName. "Magnavox Odyssey." Computer Closet Collection. 17 Apr. 2003. 14 Oct. 2008
1 comment:
Some helpful info, but what was your thesis? Please use your vocab words and work on always writing in complete sentences (avoiding sentence fragments). Good use of citations.
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