Gone are the days when the word game implied throwing a ball or playing catch. Today's world of games has reached an all new level.
Starting with the Atari in the early '80s, to the Wii today, computer, video and online gaming has entered a brave new world.
When we look back at the history of video games, we're surprised at how far we've come in such a short time.
It all started with New York Ralph Baer, a television engineer who conceived the idea of interactive television in 1951. However, it wan't until 1966 that he created a simple 2-player video game called Chase (with 2 dots chasing each other around the screen) that could be displayed on a TV set. But it took plenty of changes and innovations until it could be released in 1972 as the Magnavox Odyssey. That was the birth of video games.
By 1983, the world was ready for Famicom (later known as the Nintendo Entertainment System), often referred to as the first "modern" era of console gaming.
Soon enough came Atari, the Gamboy and finally, in 1994, PlayStation.
That's when the revolution began. By the time Sony released PlayStation 2, the world was caught up in a gaming frenzy. PS2 ruled the roost for a long, long time – until Microsoft's Xbox360 broke its reign as the leading video game console in the world. Naturally, PlayStation fought back with the realise of the PS3. None of that mattered however, when Nintendo's Wii came along.
From PlayStation to Nintendo, each new console introduced anew breakthrough in technology. Xbox and had HD graphics, PS3 had a wireless controller (although it had to be charged via a USB cable). Wii, had it all.
See, Nintendo decided to go against the grain when they launched the Wii. Just as Apple did with the iPhone, the Wii took the concept of gaming and revolutionised it. It became a runaway hit across the board, even changing the demographic of gamers from teens to octogenarians.
Suddenly, there were also more women playing games. Research firm conScore discovered that the over-55 demographics have shown a marked increase in gaming in the last 12 months to 43 per cent. According to Forbes magazine, Wii games are some of the most popular ones in nursing homes!
Sure there are the console's detractors who say it isn't HD, the graphics aren't anything to write home about... but none of that takes away from the one basic fact that the Wii makes gaming seem less like gaming and more like fun.
Before we even move on the games, the console itself is breathtaking, almost an iPod version of a console, if one may say so.
It's exactly as Nintendo had promised it would be: 1.75 inches high,.25 inches wide and 8.5 inches deep – the size of 3 DVD cases.
The bit about Wii, the revolutionising bit, is its virtual gaming console. Wii's signature game, Wii Sports (which is included in all Wii packs) is what has got tongues wagging and people talking.
Instead of relying solely on the joy-stick or remote controls as in the Xbox or Playstation, Wii's remotes have built in sensors. Which means, when you play tennis, you hold the wireless controller in your hand and play as though you were actually on court. The same goes for bowling, golf, baseball and our favourite, boxing, for which you need the nunchucks, as you box with two hands.
The wiimote, as many affectionately call the wireless controller, is really what sets it apart from every other game system in the market. It's a sophisticated motion-sensing control that connects wireless to the Wii via Bluetooth.
And then there are the avatars – creating your own and your friends can give you hours of fun and is just as entertaining as getting started on the actual gaming. Take mine for example. She's the perfect mini-me, complete with a jagged short crop, long legs and can't live-without-red-mini. My friends are eerily lifelike too, adding to the reality of a game when the opponent you're playing against – or defeating – can be created to look like a mirror-image of someone you might want to box the living daylights out of in real life.
We wouldn't be far off the mark if we said that thanks to what Baer began, PlayStation developed and Nintendo Wii conquered, we've entered the phase of next-generation gaming. There's no looking back. Pacman, eat your heart out.
