6
Game Systems,
Personal
Computers, and
Hardware
• Explain features of various game systems.
• Identify a target audience base for a game
system.
• Define terms related to gaming systems.
• Contrast major gaming systems.
• Explain successful business models for
gaming system.
• Describe how video games drive and
complement new technologies.
• Identify examples of technology transfer from
video games to other industries.
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• Define terms related to game design and
analysis.
• List control systems for video games.
• Compare video game systems to personal
computers.
• Identify elements of personal computers that
limit video game playing.
• Describe the growth of video game hardware
over the past two decades.
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Dedicated Game System Consoles
• The greatest limiting factor for game design is the
hardware systems needed to run a game
• Changing the way games are played will mean
game systems need more computing power
• A dedicated video game console, such as the
Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii, can cost more than $500
million in research and development to bring to
reality
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Generation 7
Dedicated Game System Consoles
• Major systems: PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii
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Dedicated Game System Consoles
(Continued)
• Generation 7 has been dominated by three big
manufacturers in the video game console market:
Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo
• Games designed for a particular system may be
able to offer different gameplay
• Each company is currently working on the next
version of their system
• These systems will likely be considered
generation 8
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Generation 7
Dedicated Game System Consoles
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Barrier to entry
Generation 8
• HUGE amounts of $ and Technical expertise…
…is needed to improve a single component
and assemble a system.
• What three companies will most likely have $?
• Microsoft
• Nintendo
• Sony
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XBOX Kinect –
advanced Gen 7? Or Gen 8?
Linked…..
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RAP Battle….
Linked
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Computer System Hardware
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A) Motherboard
B) CPU
C) RAM
D) Hard disk drive
E) DVD drive
F) Power supply
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Computer System Hardware
• CPU on motherboard
• Heat dissipation needed
• Cooling fan usually required
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Computer System Hardware
• Video card or GPU
• Very advanced computer component
• 3D graphics
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Computer System Hardware
• Information storage
• Hard disk drive
• CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray optical ROM drive
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PlayStation 3
• Manufactured by Sony
• Most costly game console to manufacture
• Most advance piece of consumer hardware
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PlayStation 3 Hardware
• CELL processor architecture
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Fast parallel processing
Many things calculated at the same time(multitasking)
Synergistic processing elements (SPE)
1.8 trillion FLOPS
• Costly to manufacture
• Sold to consumers below manufacturing cost
• Sony lost as much as $600 on each PS3 sold
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PlayStation 3 Hardware
• CELL architecture
used in the PS3
Each SPE 128 bit processer
has 256 kilobytes of
CACHE MEMORY
(allows for storage of instructions)
Each SPE…
handles section of load.
• Graphics
• Spound
• IU
• Physics engine
• etc,…
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PS3 CELL Processor Architecture…
Linked
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PlayStation 3 Hardware
• Based on cost per gigaFLOP, the PS3 would
have cost $1,800,000 in 2000
FUN FACTS…
• FLOPS: 1.8 trillion floating point operations per second
• 2 biggest loads on console: system operations & graphics processing
• New to mkt-PS3 cost $900 to build/ sold for half /lost $ 2 billion – today
components cost are lower & no longer losing $
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PS3 System Operations…
• Controls the traffic of information from
UI
game system
system memory
processor comparing the event & action
Back to memory
Back to system
Out to display
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Video Graphics
• Visual images on screen
• High-end graphics needs a..
…3D accelerator graphic card
• interprets info from CPU to Screen
• allows realistic movement
• NVIDIA GeForce RSX 3D referred to as GPU
• RSX card uses vertex shading & pixel shading
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Vertex and Pixel Shading Article
• linked
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PlayStation 3 Multimedia Gaming Platform
• Blu-Ray disc
• Same physical size as CD or standard DVD
• Currently holds six times more than DVD
• Smaller laser width (blue-light laser) writes more in the
same space
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PlayStation 3 USP
• Greatest computing power of the major game
consoles
• Games making use of PS3 power can only play
on the PS3
• Multimedia system with Blu-Ray
• Free online play
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PlayStation 3 Issues
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Last Generation 7 game console to market
Highest price of the Generation 7 consoles
No strong exclusive game titles
USP of computing power not valued by
consumers (Unique Selling Proposition)
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PlayStation 3 Issues
• Porting games that take advantage of PS3 power
impossible without reducing quality
• Not enough market share
• Third-party games made for Xbox 360, then ported to
PS3
• Games not designed to take advantage of the PS3 USP
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PlayStation 3 Issues
• Hardware deconstruction
• Parts cost more than assembled PS3
• Taken apart for the expensive components
• Alternative uses
• Superfast desktop PC
• Mini mainframe or server
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Xbox 360
• Manufactured by Microsoft
• First Generation 7 console to hit the market
• Very powerful computer
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Xbox 360 Hardware
• CPU is 3.2 GHz triple-core processor
• Computing power is 1.0 teraFLOPS
• Unified shader GPU
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Xbox 360 Hardware
• Based on cost per gigaFLOP, the Xbox 360
would have cost $1,000,000 in 2000
• Sold to consumers below initial manufacturing cost
• Microsoft lost about $70 on each Xbox 360 sold
• Eventually, manufacturing costs decreased and
Microsoft made a profit on consoles
• Optical disc (DVD) storage
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Xbox 360 USP
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Fast; great computing power
First Generation 7 console to market
Strong proprietary game inventory (Halo)
Console price was not too high
High volume of online play
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Xbox 360 USP
• The Halo franchise is a great USP for the
Xbox 360
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The Halo Effect
• Halo 3 released September 27, 2007
• In first 12 days of sales:
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Sold more than 3 million copies
Outsold Wii Play total to date for the year
Xbox 360 console sales saw huge increase
Thought to cause movie ticket sales to decline by 27%
in October
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Xbox 360 Issues
• Manufacturing errors and recalls
• Excessive heat buildup (electron movement)
• Red ring of death
• Laser burn
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Xbox 360 Issues
• Higher price for console than Wii
• Monthly fee for online play
• Third-party games easily ported to PS3
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Wii
• Manufactured by Nintendo
• Least-expensive Generation 7 game console to
manufacture
• First motion-based controller
• Very immersive gameplay
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Wii
• Wii features motion-based controllers, yet has a
lower price than PS3 and Xbox 360
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Wii Hardware
• Low computing power compared to PS3 and
Xbox 360
• Motion-based controllers
• Wii remote or Wiimote
• Accelerometer reads movement
• Bluetooth technology relays information from controller
to console
• Unique controllers have different features
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Wii Hardware
• There are many different controllers for Wii
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Wii Hardware
• Old computer technology
• Inexpensive technology
• Similar technology to Generation 6 Nintendo Game
Cube
• Low power: .0029 teraFLOPS (2.9 gigaFLOPS)
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Wii Hardware
• Optical disk drive (ODD)
• Proprietary technology
• Will not play DVD
• Good copy protection (hard to copy disks)
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Wii USP
• New user interface
• Great player immersion
• Active gameplay
• Low price for console
• Strong proprietary
game catalog (Mario)
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Wii Drawbacks
• Graphics not as advanced as other Generation 7
consoles
• Wii remote straps may break
• Battery drain
• Many unique controllers need to be purchased
• Games typically designed for children
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Wii Drawbacks
• Games ported to Wii need modification
• Graphics need to be reduced due to lower graphics
capability
• Gameplay features need to be reduced due to lower
computing power
• User interface needs to be remapped to the controller
accelerometer
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Personal Computer Games
• PC gaming
• PC is less powerful than PS3 or Xbox 360, but more
powerful than Wii
• User interface is the keyboard or a joystick, not an
advanced controller
• Emulator for playing game console games
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Technology Transfer
• High-definition television
• Use very sophisticated GPUs
• GPU inspired by those in game consoles
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Technology Transfer
• Handheld consumer products
• Flash memory
• Inspired by Nintendo/PS2 memory cards
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Technology Transfer
• Handheld consumer products
• LCD touch screen
• Inspired by Game Boy and Nintendo DS screen
technology
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Technology Transfer
• Education
• Immersive lessons using multimedia and games
• Inspired by gameplay and technology of video games
(Copyright 2001–2008 SMART Technologies ULC. All rights reserved.)
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Technology Transfer
• Medical
• Three-dimensional imaging and simulations for training
• Use of Wii remote for surgery simulation
(www.freeonlinegames.com)
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Technology Transfer
• Corporate training
• A form of education
• Three-dimensional visualization for clients
• Gameplay for language training
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Technology Transfer
• Military
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Heavy use of experimental game technology
Flight, ship, and vehicle simulators
First-person shooter (FPS) simulators
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
(U.S. Air Force/Master Sgt. Steve Horton)
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Stereoscopic 3D
• Two perspectives needed for 3D vision:
• Close one eye
• Point at an object across the room
• Without moving your head or hand, open the closed
eye and close the open eye
• You are no longer pointing at the object
• Open and close each eye and your hand will look like it
is moving
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Stereoscopic 3D
• Three-dimensional movies and games use the
same technique of two perspectives
• Filters are used to hide images from each eye
• Anaglyphs use red/blue lens filters
• Polarized filters have microscopic lines or circles on
lenses to block left/right images
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Stereoscopic 3D
• Red-blue glasses are required to see the 3D
effect in an anaglyph
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Stereoscopic 3D
• New 3D TV uses polarized lenses
• PC games in 3D using NVIDIA 3D GPU
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Biohazard 5
• Resident Evil 5
• PS3 to add a firmware update
• Play existing titles in 3D
• Play games built for 3D
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Stereoscopic 3D
• Virtual reality is also used to create game
immersion
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List at least one USP for PS3, Xbox 360,
and Wii.
PS3: High-end graphics and computing
power, Blu-Ray player
Xbox: Good graphics and computing
power, Halo franchise
Wii: Immersive motion controller, lowercost console
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What is the primary target audience for the
Wii and its games?
Wii games are designed for a younger
audience.
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What is the GPU?
Graphics processing unit; it performs
calculations related to the display of
graphics in the game.
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What are the major differences between the
PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii?
The PS3 has the greatest computing
power and can display the best graphics.
The Xbox 360 also has high computing
power and good graphics.
The Wii has motion-based controllers, but
lower computing power and graphics
capabilities than the PS3 and Xbox 360.
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Of the three Generation 7 game consoles,
which business model has been least
successful and why?
The business model for the PS3 has
been least successful because Sony
looses money on each console sold.
Consumers are not willing to pay a
higher price for the better graphics
capability and computing power.
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How can video games drive new
technologies?
As video games advance, new
technologies (such as controllers) are
required to be developed.
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List six areas into which technology from
video games has been transferred.
High-definition television, consumer
handheld devices, education, medical,
corporate training, and military
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Which of the Generation 7 game consoles
was released with the most advanced
controller?
The Wii motion-based controller was the
most advanced controller when the three
game consoles were released. However,
to catch up, motion-based controllers are
being released for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
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How do the capabilities of dedicated video
game consoles compare to personal
computers?
In general, the video game consoles are
more advanced than personal computers
in terms of hardware and performance
(the Wii is an exception). The controllers
on video game consoles are more
advanced than the controllers for a PC
(keyboard and joystick).
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How is game playing limited on a personal
computer?
The computing power is generally lower, so
gameplay and graphics may need to be
reduced. Additionally, the interface is based
on a keyboard or joystick instead of a
dedicated controller.
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