This is my explanation for different types of platforms. There are many gaming platforms available, ranging from arcades to mobile phones.
The first game console ever was the Magnavox Odyssey. Although the first games appeared way back in 1950s, you could only play them on massive computers connected to vector displays, not analogue televisions.
In 1951, a man named Ralph H. Baer wanted to realise his idea of a home video console. He had managed to create a working video game console at Sanders Associates in 1960s (a defense contractor, responsible for manufacturing electronic systems) although he couldn't find a TV manufacturer willing to produce the console.
The Magnavox Odyssey was finally released in 1972 and could be connected to a TV set. It was released by the Magnavox company (an electronics company).
The first game console ever was the Magnavox Odyssey. Although the first games appeared way back in 1950s, you could only play them on massive computers connected to vector displays, not analogue televisions.
In 1951, a man named Ralph H. Baer wanted to realise his idea of a home video console. He had managed to create a working video game console at Sanders Associates in 1960s (a defense contractor, responsible for manufacturing electronic systems) although he couldn't find a TV manufacturer willing to produce the console.
The Magnavox Odyssey was finally released in 1972 and could be connected to a TV set. It was released by the Magnavox company (an electronics company).
What is an Arcade?
Arcade is a coin-operated entertainment machine which allows its users to play video games. The user inserts a coin into a coin slot and that opens up the game for an amount of time.
The arcade uses a PC emulation AKA. MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulation). When used together with images of the original arcade game's ROM and disk data, MAME attempts to reproduce that game as truly as possible on a more modern general-purpose computer. Currently, the emulator can emulate several thousand different classic arcade video games from the late 1970s through the modern era. 
The use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, and curves (i.e. shapes based on mathematical equations) instead of resolution-dependent bitmap graphics to represent images in computer graphics is also present in the arcades. Such popular games using vector graphics include "Starglider" which is fast-moving, first-person combat flight simulator, rendered with colourful wireframe vector graphics.
With the introduction of the laserdisc players followed laserdiscs (interactive movies; they were video games that featured highly cinematic presentation and heavy use of scripting, often used through full-motion video of either animated or live-action footage). The first interactive movie game available on the arcade was released in 1983 called Dragon's Lair. It featured full-motion cartoon where the player controlled some of the moves of the main character. When they found themselves in danger, the player could decide which move, action or combination of both to choose.
The biggest disadvantage of the arcade is that it can addict people very quickly, while requiring money to play. The entertainment business usually places arcades in visible places where people visit the most. Pubs, shopping malls, restaurants are such places.
The future of the arcades is looking grim as the pubs, restaurants and the traditional entertainment places where people used to meet at in the 70s/80s, are being shut down. The arcade is falling out of style as the invention of gaming platforms such as PlayStation, PC are the real deal today.
http://www.citynews.ca/2008/02/19/game-over-video-arcades-face-extinction/
That being said, in some places, the arcade business is booming. The developers are looking for new ways to get people to play arcades again and it looks like they're succeeding.
Such new games include Mach Storm. The game tries to simulate the real jet fighters by locking the players in a cockpit with a massive screen.
"Mach Storm will take players on missions from places all over the world including Washington, Tokyo and Dubai. There are two controllers which you’ll be using to control your jet while shooting down bogeys, and it’s possible to rack up combo streaks if you’re a pro."
The game doesn't look like it intends to be too hard
"The game itself doesn’t look like it intends to be too hard, though, with an easy lock-on system where getting foes within the huge circle of your front guns will help lock on to them."
http://www.siliconera.com/2014/01/05/arcade-games-dying-says-machine-big/
Development of the Arcade - The arcade goes way back but the golden age of the arcades really started in 1978 with the launch of the blockbuster - Space Invaders.
The arcade business was worth $8 billion in the year of 1981.
Arcade video games had declined in popularity so much by the late 1990s, that revenues in the United States dropped to $1.33 billion in 1999, and reached a low of $866 million in 2004.
The arcades also lost their popularity with the release of home consoles. If you had the choice of playing the same game a couple of times and paying the same price as for renting the game for a home console, then the console was the most preferred option.
The future of the arcades is looking grim as the pubs, restaurants and the traditional entertainment places where people used to meet at in the 70s/80s, are being shut down. The arcade is falling out of style as the invention of gaming platforms such as PlayStation, PC are the real deal today.
http://www.citynews.ca/2008/02/19/game-over-video-arcades-face-extinction/
That being said, in some places, the arcade business is booming. The developers are looking for new ways to get people to play arcades again and it looks like they're succeeding.
Such new games include Mach Storm. The game tries to simulate the real jet fighters by locking the players in a cockpit with a massive screen.
"Mach Storm will take players on missions from places all over the world including Washington, Tokyo and Dubai. There are two controllers which you’ll be using to control your jet while shooting down bogeys, and it’s possible to rack up combo streaks if you’re a pro."
The game doesn't look like it intends to be too hard
"The game itself doesn’t look like it intends to be too hard, though, with an easy lock-on system where getting foes within the huge circle of your front guns will help lock on to them."
http://www.siliconera.com/2014/01/05/arcade-games-dying-says-machine-big/
Development of the Arcade - The arcade goes way back but the golden age of the arcades really started in 1978 with the launch of the blockbuster - Space Invaders.
The arcade business was worth $8 billion in the year of 1981.
Arcade video games had declined in popularity so much by the late 1990s, that revenues in the United States dropped to $1.33 billion in 1999, and reached a low of $866 million in 2004.
The arcades also lost their popularity with the release of home consoles. If you had the choice of playing the same game a couple of times and paying the same price as for renting the game for a home console, then the console was the most preferred option.
What is a Console?
A console is a gaming device which outputs video signal in order to display a video game.
Examples of just some of the consoles available:
- PlayStation
- Xbox
- PC
- PSP
- DS
The future of consoles is long and prosperous as game developers rather develop, test and publish their games on this platform. Top devs such as Rockstar Games have taken a keen interest in developing for, and testing their top notch games on the consoles. With their recent hit Grant Theft Auto 5, it encouraged consumers to move over from their current platforms to consoles. The consoles can easily beat other platforms such as the PC simply with it's ease of use and it's growing and improving community.
When it comes to smaller consoles such as the DS and the PSP, this sub-market is slowly declining as more and more consumers move over to different consoles. This is mostly because of the low quality of the games and the high price.
http://www.vg247.com/2013/05/09/sony-forecast-only-5-million-vita-and-psp-unit-sales-in-fy14/
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Development - Chosen family: PlayStation - The first PlayStation was the PS1, released on the December 3, 1994 which was the first home console and was the first to use laser discs without the need to use any attachments.
- The PS2 was next console released in 2000 and is the most successful home console ever released, having sold over 155 million units as of 2012. In 2004 the PS2 got a major redesign - the Slimline. The Slimline was smaller, thinner, quieter and also included a built-in Ethernet port.
- In 2006, the successor of PS2 was released in North America - The PlayStation 3. This console had introduced the technology of motion-sensing with the use of the Sixaxis controller. The PS3 had a Blu-Ray disc player, which improved the graphics and the storage which meant better and bigger games. The Xbox 360 had to have 2 discs with some games as the console couldn't cope. The console was originally released with a 20GB or 60GB hard-drive but that changed the older the older the console got. Some early models of the PS3 were backwards compatible which meant that they could play PS2 video games but that was soon taken out because of certain hardware issues. The PS3 sold 80 million copies as of 2013.
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3 was a major jump in the gaming industry. It allowed ground-breaking games such as Grand Theft Auto 4 to be developed.
Some of the features of the PS3 include - built in High Definition Blu-ray™ player, enormous hard disk drive (HDD) storage and PlayStation 2 backward compatibility. Only the 1st generation of this console allowed that option, following the 2nd gen which had partial compatibility, followed by 3rd, 4th and 5th generation which didn't have that feature. The main reason for that were the problems with the console caused by this feature.
The main limitation of the PS3 is the price, at least it was when the console came out.
Like the arcade, consoles are very addicting and can interfere with students' school work for example. For some, balancing the time on the console and school/work is hard and that is a problem.
Xbox 360
The Xbox is another great console and the most notable rival of the PlayStation.
The advantages of the Xbox 360 are features such as being able to talk to people on your console while playing a video game at the same time.
Features of the Xbox 360 include 512MB RAM which is 8 times the memory of it's original Xbox for aster access to gaming software. The Xbox 360 also includes an Ethernet networking port that lets you connect your console to a home network for online gaming and for media purposes (such as playing video and audio files on your PC).
The limitations are the cost of the online and the hardware limitations. The newer games such as L.A. Noire required 2 discs on the Xbox 360 simply because it couldn't cope with the size of the game itself. It lacked the processing power unlike the PS3 with it's Blu Ray technology.
PSP
PSP is the most popular hand-held console available. It is a great portable console, with a rather big screen which allows you to enjoy all entertainment available, whether it's movies, music or video games.
The features of a PSP range from being able to access the web browser and WiFi access to it's screen size and media playback.
The PSP's battery lasts for about 4-5 hours, therefore it's enough for at least 2 movies. This hand-held console supports a variety of video and audio formats therefore you can enjoy your favourite films anywhere and simply have a seat and relax and enjoy them.
The disadvantages of a PSP are the lower graphics of the video games available on the console such as the PS3 or PC and the availability and the cost of the games which are not proportional to what you are getting.
DS
The DS is another hand-held gaming device. It is not as popular as other consoles in the hand-held category such as the PSP. This could be because of it's much smaller screen and game availability just among others.
The DS has two screens - top screen to display the game, whereas the bottom one to allow the user to perform in-game actions. For example if you are playing a brain training game, you can type in numbers or letters on the bottom screen.
Some features of the DS:
"an LCD screen working in tandem with a touchscreen, a built-in microphone, and support for wireless connectivity. Both screens are encompassed within a clamshell design similar to the Game Boy Advance SP. The Nintendo DS also features the ability for multiple DS consoles to directly interact with each other over Wi-Fi within a short range without the need to connect to an existing wireless network. Alternatively, they can interact online using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service." - Wikipedia
The limitations are the small screen and the game availability as mentioned above. The screens are not really suited for the "ultimate game experience" and the lack of game variety doesn't do much good for the DS neither.
What is a PC?
PC stands for Personal Computer which varies largely in it's size, capabilities and price. The PC is designed to be operated by one user, with no intervening computer operator. The computers were originally created to count, analyse and record.
The limitations of the PC is that it is relatively expensive. Another drawback is that the user needs to be IT competent as when something goes wrong, they need to know what the problem is or at least where to look for help etc.
When it comes to the PCs, there is no say what will the future bring. There are new optical-based computer concepts which provide unrivalled processing speed as there is no limitations such as components overheating etc.but when it comes to the PC as a gaming platform, some simply choose to move on to other options such as consoles.
The PC could potentially have more processing power and so on but the need to replace the components every couple of years could overshoot the price of the consoles, all of which is done about the time when new consoles are coming out which encourages the consumers to move onto the consoles.
Development of a PC - The Programma 101, was the first commercial desktop personal computer, which was developed by Olivetti, an Italian company. The project itself was started in 1962 but the major production started in 1965 with the retail price of $ 3,200. ($23,000 in today's money value).
The Programma 101 was used for basic calculations but it also featured the all-time-classic Pong game.
What is a Mobile?
A mobile device is device that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link while moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator, allowing access to the public telephone network.
Development - Chosen mobile model: Samsung Galaxy Note - Galaxy Note II was unveiled at IFA Berlin on August 29, 2012, and released in multiple markets at the beginning of October 2012. Samsung sold more than 3 million units within the first 37 days and it crossed 5 million in two months of its release.
The Samsung Galaxy Note II received very good critical reception and was cited as "the best phone screen Samsung has ever produced".
With the progression of technology, which allowed to develop larger screens, touch-screen technology and etcetera, games on mobile quickly found themselves next to popular video game categories such as console, PC, hand-held etc. Today, mobile games are as - if not more popular - than hand-held or other video game categories.
Some advantages of gaming on a mobile platform are the convenience, as most people carry their phones with them everywhere they go, it is easier for those people to play games. Unlike consoles or PCs, they don't have to set it up in one place. Another advantage of mobile gaming is the cost of the games. Popular mobile games are mostly free, but have the ability to purchase in-game packages. Even when you have to pay for a game, you pay 5 pounds on average. That is definitely less than video games on consoles, PCs or even hand-held, yet it still provides many hours of fun.
The disadvantages of gaming on mobile phones are that some games need online to access certain features or even the whole game, depending how it functions.
The future for the mobile platform should be full of surprises. The technology is constantly improving and the mobile phones together with the games are being improved upon, bringing out new creative innovations.
Mobile gaming started as an alternative hobby for those who could not access other gaming alternatives but has now grown into a multi million dollar industry with players from all across the globe. - http://bloggerby.com/2013/05/advantages-of-mobile-gaming/
Development of Mobile - There isn't much information about the first mobile phone ever to be released. The first digital (2G) Cellular network based mobile phones were released somewhere around the 90s.
The first mobile that I remember myself that I had was the Nokia 3310 which had the popular 'Snake' game. A nice touch with the phone was the ability to change the case, which many mobile phones lack today.
Older mobile phones didn't have the ability to have games as they had no screens and they looked like telephones rather than anything else.
What is a TV?
The TV never was much of a gaming platform. The only games which you can find on the TV is pong and that is only on the newer TVs.
As the technology moves forward, we find new ways to innovate, improve and change. Such company is the LG which wants to create a 3D gaming TV. The users will be able to play games such as the cut the rope, angry birds or plants vs. zombies.
"LG wants to bring in a new generation of couch potato gamers, the kind that haven’t really been bothered with extra contraptions like the Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii. In the process, it might actually be able to do what those other platforms have been unable to – make 3D gaming a seamless and user-friendly offering."
This TV service will have categories such as "Featured", "Top chart" and "New" in addition to different genres. The TV is supposedly to have everything from casual puzzle games to action titles and RPGs and even shooters.
"...almost all games will be fully rendered in stereoscopic 3D. Most of the company’s Cinema 3D TVs come packed with passive 3D glasses so this creates an optimal channel for three-dimensional living room gaming."
Although an interesting concept, this new line of TVs probably won't shoot off much like other platforms such as mobile or hand-held providing similar games to its users.
Although this new concept sounds interesting, many do not see it in their living room as a gaming platform. The downside to such a technology is the price. The price for a new smart TV can cost around 1000 pounds whereas with such new tech implemented, it will certainly raise.
http://www.siliconera.com/2014/01/05/arcade-games-dying-says-machine-big/
Development of an interactive TV - The closest to the interactive TV is the sky-active. This allows the Sky customers to engage interactive services and play simple games.
