I was recently playing on my Xbox 360, thinking about how consoles have evolved. I was reflecting on the notion that today’s generation of gamers have it pretty easy when it comes to acquiring various media. They are spoilt for choice. Thanks to the internet, gamers can now download arcade games onto their hard drives as well as movies and game add-ons.
Back in the days before the internet, I had to go to a specialist import store to get my games. I used to pay around £60 for imported Japanese or American titles whereas games nowadays cost anywhere from £30-£40.
Thanks to the internet, gamers can use sites such as eBay, Amazon, Play and various other import sites to acquire games without having to wait for the official release dates for their respective territories. Not only do they save money, when compared to high street retail prices, the convenience of clicking and ordering makes it a more desirable shopping experience, provided that they have a debit card.
Gamers can download arcade classics straight to their hard drives for less than £10. Demo games are freely available to download without having to buy a games magazine. Users can order movies, chat to each other and even play online. When you look at what these consoles can achieve compared to 10 years ago, they have come a long way not just technically but socially as well. The games industry is an ever expanding business and even games studies are being taken more seriously.
The question is… where does it all go from here? Do the graphics get more real? Will we be interacting with consoles without the aid of controllers? Will we be plugging our minds into the games we play a la The Matrix?
Technology is moving at a fast rate and our imaginations are leading the way. Maybe one day we will be fighting on a virtual battlefield or flying a spaceship at neck breaking speeds from the comfort of our ‘virtual-booths’ in our living rooms.
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