24 At Home Gaming Consoles
Communication Technologies of Millennials
Kaitlyn Wise
24.1 Introduction
Key Words
- Video Game: an electronic game in which players control images on a video screen.
- Console: an electronic system that connects to a display (such as a television set) and is used primarily to play video game
Key Takeaways
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
- Understand what the new consoles in the time period are
- Know the large companies involved
- Understand the impact of video games on millennials and the society at the time
Video games have been a source of entertainment for many years. Consoles such as Playstation, have evolved into their fifth generation, the PS5. But for many millennials, growing up with a console in their home was a new experience. Arcades were a hangout for many until the new at home consoles started to release in the early 90s. This changed the way some youth interacted with each other. Instead of meeting up at the local arcade, people had the ability to interact with others nowhere near their hometown through massive multiplayer gaming.
Although there are many benefits that come along with that large of a community online, society often found itself blaming gaming for violence that would occur. Instances such as the columbine high school massacre were said to have happened because of the violence in games being played by youth. On the other hand, there were many other factors that led to the tragedy such as domestic abuse in households. Moreover, millennials, although tech-savvy due to being exposed to new technologies in their youth, also had to deal with alot of social issues.
24.2 What Are 64 Gigabyte Games and Consoles
Key Takeaways
Consoles created by Nintendo, Playstation and Sega were created as entertainment, but they also had benefits that came along with playing.
24.2.1 What Are These New Consoles
In the early 1990s the very first 64 GB games were invented, first starting with the PlayStation, then onto the Nintendo 64, and lastly then the Sega Saturn. Throughout the 90s and even continuing today, console companies have been competing for the attention of the American people. The video games were created for the entertainment of children and young adults. Although the purpose is to entertain, there are also many benefits and even some drawbacks to the people that use the systems.
24.2.2 What Benefits Does Gaming Have
During the rise of the digital age, there was a lot of societal unrest. The older generations were afraid of what was to come and often viewed video games as something that caused violent tendencies in youth. On the other hand, consoles created a large online community for youth to have fellowship with one another. These online communities gave young people the opportunity to talk with very different kinds of people, and oftentimes they would complete games together. Although games were often seen as violent and nothing more, they offered a lot of different puzzles that players would have to critically think about in order to continue the game. Not only did the game engage in critical thinking skills, but also hand eye coordination.
“Video game console, video game, play, toy, computer game, device, entertainment” by hippox.com is used with permission from the copyright holder
24.3 The Creation of a New Era of Gaming
Key Takeaways
There was a battle between the console companies to release their products to the market. But once they were released, many of the consoles were sold to and used by millennials.
24.3.1 The Release of a New Type of Gaming Console
A fierce competition was fought between all of the leading gaming console companies that occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s called the console wars. The first console that was released was the Sega Saturn, which was released in 1994 by the Sega corporation (Computer Shopper, 2019). On the other hand, Sony released its first console in Japan in December of 1994. The Sony playstation didn’t come to the United States until September in 1995 (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020). Furthermore, Nintendo released their Nintendo, 64, in 1995. The consoles themselves are very similar to one another, with one exception. The Nintendo 64 still used cartridges to load their games on while the Sega Saturn, and PlayStation changed from cartridges to discs.
“Video game console, video game, play, toy, computer game, device, entertainment” by hippox.com is used with permission from the copyright holder
24.3.2 Changes Made to the New Consoles
Although there was limited space on cartridges, they were still able to have 3d games, the same as PlayStation and Sega. Games such as The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Donkey Kong 64. Since there was less space on the cartridges the developers of the games for Nintendo had to limit things such as color depth (Computer Shopper, 2019). Sony and Sega upgraded from cartridges to CDs, which created a lot more space for even more detailed games. Sega had some really well designed and popular games such as Tomb Raider. Sony also had a large variety of games, but some of the more popular games were Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy 7, and Tekken. The games inspired numerous sequels later on. Sony kept producing their first model of the playstation until 2005, and became the first console to ship 100 million units (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020).
“Video game console, video game, play, toy, computer game, device, entertainment” by hippox.com is used with permission from the copyright holder
24.4 The Impact of Console Gaming on Millennials
Key Takeaways
There are both benefits and disadvantages to using consoles as a form of entertainment. During the time period, video games were seen as something that could cause violent tendencies in youth.
24.4.1 Societies Reaction to Videogames
In the late 1990s there was a school shooting that occurred and shocked America. In a mass panic, many people seemed to blame the Internet and Video Games for this tragedy, claiming that violent tendencies stemmed from video games. The Columbine High School massacre occurred in 1999, and two young men named Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (Everett, 2000). In the history of Western civilization, there have been numerous accounts of moral panics such as worries from paternalists about romance novels or even censorship efforts against rock-n-roll music (Everett, 2000).
Oftentimes powerful groups of people would overstate blame on something in order to maintain the structure of their group or type of society they want to protect. After the release of some clips from the video game Doom that showed gun play, people became even more upset with the violence shown in games and on TV. Although video games were held to be the reason for the unnecessary violence that happened in Columbine, there were many more destructive influences that plague society. Influences such as the culture of domestic violence, sexism, racism, and many more contributed to the shooting instead of video games (Everett, 2000).
24.4.2 Online Communities through Gaming
America has lost many of its third places, which are places for neither work nor home but instead an informal social life (Steinkuehler, 2005). Some scholars argued that multiplayer video games are a new form of social interaction. Massive multiplayer online games are defined by Steinkuehler as,
highly graphical 2-D or 3-D video games played online, allowing individuals, through their self-created digital characters or “avatars,” to interact not only with the gaming software, the designed environment of the game and the computer-controlled characters within it but with other players’ avatars as well (Steinkuehler, 2005).
These online communities give youth the ability to have an outlet to discuss things such as politics, school, and other things happening in their life. Since it is very different from previous ways to socialize, there has been some skepticism. Don Tapscott in his new study Growing up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation says
For the first time in history, children are more comfortable, knowledgeable, and literate than their parents about an innovation central to society. And it is through the use of the digital media that the N-Generation will develop and superimpose its culture on the rest of society. Boomers stand back. Already these kids are learning, playing, communicating, working, and creating communities very differently than their parents. They are a force for social transformation (Tapscott, 1998).
Tapscott describes how millennials were surpassing their elders in their understanding of new technologies and their strive for societal change. Another study done by Steinkuehler shows that there are many benefits to gaming. First of all, players are able to join and leave as they please because there is no obligation to stay. Another positive aspect is that one’s status or rank at work or in society are irrelevant, and lastly conversation is the one common factor between all massive multiplayer games (Steinkuehler, 2005). Moreover, video games and the internet have opened a new door for young people to create different communities and have given them a voice to share societal concerns.
Case Study
Growing up with two millennials, there were many things that I got to observe as they grew up playing on the older consoles. My oldest brother Devon Wise spent a lot of his time playing on the PS1 in his youth. He stated that he “got to play with friends that I met at camp and wouldn’t get to see them until the next summer. Gaming connected us in a way that phone calls couldn’t. We would work on mastering a game together through figuring out how to solve the puzzles presented to us in game” (D. Wise, personal communication, November 24, 2022). Gaming connected him with his friends and also gave them the opportunity to put their minds together with one goal in mind. To beat the game.
24.5 The Evolution of Gaming Consoles
Key Takeaways
Over the years, gaming has evolved into much more detailed and powerful machines that kids, youth, and even adult millennials still play.
24.5.1 Playstation and Their New Rival
Throughout the years, gaming consoles have evolved into much more capable machines. Big names like Playstation, which originally released the PS1, have now made their fifth generation of consoles. They also ventured into the virtual reality market, but there will be more talk of virtual reality gaming in later chapters on video games. The PS5 has graphics that far surpasses its original console. Besides better graphics, the playstation disc holder also doubled as a blue ray device for movies. Another company emerged with the xbox console as a competitor against playstation. To this day, the two companies are still competing in the gaming industry.
Nintendo also began to change with the times and now has created the Nintendo Switch, which is a portable gaming console with a built-in screen and detachable controllers. On the other hand Sega has moved away from creating consoles and is now a third-party game developer for all of their previous rivals like Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo. A little ironic isn’t it? With the market constantly changing, there will be many more different forms of gaming consoles in the future.
Chapter Summary
For many years video games have been a source of entertainment, and as of 1994 at home gaming consoles became an option. Growing up millennials were thought to be a generation that is text savvy, even more so than their predecessors. Throughout their youth, many had councils at home that kept them connected to their friends and others across the world. It opened a new world for large online communities to come together and use critical thinking skills to essentially beat the games they played. Although society seemed to correlate video games with violence, there was a more pressing underlying issue such as domestic abuse. Video games have given people not just a platform, but a place to enjoy something they have in common. The love of gaming. Moreover, millennials, and other generations have the ability to share the joy of gaming through the online communities that come along with each new game.
Review Questions
1. Who still used cartridges after 1994?
- a) Playstation
- b) Sega
- c) Xbox
- d) Nintendo
2. When was the first at home console released?
- a) 1994
- b) 1992
- c) 1990
- d) 1995
3. Who were the original three at home console companies?
- a) Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo
- b) Nintendo, Xbox, Sega
- c) Playstation, Sega, Nintendo
Answers:
- b
- a
- c
Food for Thought
- With all of the social unrest surrounding the gaming community, do you think that video games cause people to have more violent tendencies? Why?
- In the next 10 years, what new additions to the gaming market do you believe will occur?
References
D. Wise, personal communication, November 24, 2022.
Everett. (2000). P.C. youth violence: “What’s the Internet or video gaming got to do with it?” Denver University Law Review, 77(4), 689–.
Nintendo 64. (2019). Computer Shopper (London), 372, 21–21.
PlayStation. (2020). In Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc.
Steinkuehler, C. (2005). The new third place: Massively multiplayer online gaming in American youth culture. Tidskrift Journal of Research in Teacher Education.
Tapscott. (1998). Growing up digital the rise of the net generation. McGraw-Hill.
Video game console, video game, play, toy, computer game, device, entertainment | Hippopx. (2019, August 22). hippopx.com
Video game console, video game, play, toy, computer game, device, entertainment | Hippopx. (2019b, August 22). hippopx.com
Video game console, video game, play, toy, computer game, device, entertainment | Hippopx. (2019c, August 22). Hippopx.com