14 DAY TRIAL // It's been a full year for everyone involved with video games, from developers to publishers, to peripheral manufacturers and, ultimately, to gamers. Now we can finally look back and remember the many events that have further shaped a continuously expanding industry, which touches entire generations using a concept that allows you to become a hero every time you pop in a disc and grab a controller.
Next-Gen
No doubt about it, one of the year's most memorable moments is the launch of the PlayStation 3 console throughout PAL territories. It is the third home entertainment system produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, successor to the PlayStation 2 and part of the PlayStation series. Powered by the Cell Broadband Engine (developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, Toshiba, and IBM), the PlayStation 3 plunged into a market that was already witnessing a gruesome fight between two powerful competitors, Microsoft and Nintendo, with their respective home entertainment systems, the Xbox 360 and Wii.
As part of the seventh generation of video game consoles, the PS3 benefits from next-gen primary storage media, being capable of playing back content from Blu-ray Discs (BD) at a bit rate of multiplex 48Mbps (it also supports DVD, CD and SACD playback). In case anyone asks, tell them that's the maximum bit rate defined in BD standards, if you own a PS3 and want to show off.
The console has had a sluggish start, sporting very few titles that made good use of its capabilities, but thanks to a price cut and the recent batch of games, it's doing a bit better. Currently Sony is still working on some aspects, one of which is PlayStation Home, hoping to make the PlayStation 3 an entertainment-center-worthy asset. With the latest PS3 firmware update, owners of Sony's console can even watch DivX/XviD movies, or whatever they desire at a 1920x1080 resolution, (2,073,600 pixels in total) - 1080p, aka Full HD.
Nintendo's Wii and DS, the Consoles that Bonded Generations Together
Although the two systems were launched in 2004 and 2006 respectively, it was 2007 that saw Nintendo's consoles become so popular that they actually started bonding generations together. Grandpas, superstars and millions of ordinary people of all ages and genders started picking up on the most fun-to-use handheld that offered an intuitive yet complex control system.
The DS/NDS was released in 2004 in Canada, U.S., and Japan. The console features a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP, with two LCD screens inside - one of which is a touchscreen. It also features a built-in microphone and it supports wireless IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) standards, allowing players to interact with each other within short range.
And if the DS started it all, the Wii was sure to continue bonding people all around the world offering an even more interesting control system, making Nintendo's home entertainment system the perfect tool to keep a party going on for hours. The most distinguishing feature of the console is of course its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a pointing device and can detect acceleration in three dimensions.
The machine became popular mostly thanks to the Wii Sports game disc. The five games included on the disc (Wii Tennis, Wii Baseball, Wii Golf, Wii Boxing and Wii Bowling) became so popular that they even infected an antivirus-making company!
Hold Yor Wee For A Wii
Of course some mishaps were bound to occur given the huge popularity of the Wii. People wanted it so bad that they were willing to risk their own health to grab it for their kids. It is the case of Jenifer Strange who, entering KDND's "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest, died from water intoxication.