The video game console has been around for about 25 years. One of the first game consoles was the Channel F which was made in 1976. The industry was big, but it was not until the Sony Playstation came out that it sky rocketed. The Sony team first started the project for Nintendo. Sony was to build a CD-ROM attachment for the Super Nintendo called the Super Disc. The Super Disc was never made due to contract failure. Instead, Sony continued the project and in 1991 they released the Playstation. The Playstation read super disc and you could play Super Nintendo games on it. This system did not do as well as expected so Sony changed the design and moved on to a better idea. The new system was without the Nintendo cartridge port and ran CD based games only. The Playstation X was first released in Japan around December 1994. It was not until September 1995 that it came out in the United States. The Sega Dreamcast was the next biggest gaming console to be released. The Dreamcast was named one of the most important and innovative products released in 1999 by Popular Science magazine. The Sony team released another huge gaming system which they called the Playstation 2. This system was one of the most anticipated products of the year. The Microsoft team is trying to break into the video gaming ring by making the XBox. The XBox has not yet been released but is to be one for the books.

The Sony Playstation was a huge advancement for its time. The Playstation used a new kind of processor called the RISC processor. This processor was able to perform multiple tasks at the same time. By being able to perform multiple tasks at one time, it sped up the processor speed and sped up the clock speed tremendously. To lower the cost of the system, the sony team combined the audio and graphics processors together. Putting these two together also allows the system to be smaller. This processor was called the ASIC.

The controllers also became a big part of the Playstation's success. The new type of controller was easy to use and the position of the buttons allowed it to fit into your hands appropriately. The Standard Playstation controller had 14 buttons which included 4 for the direction pad on the left side, 4 for action on the right side, 2 on the top right for action, 2 on the top left for action, and 2 in the middle for start and select. The direction pad had 4 metal strips and when you pushed down on an arrow key it would close a circut causing the system to then tell the processor what to do. The last controller that Sony came out with allowed you to choose between an analog joystick or the regular direction pad. In addition, the new controller had a vibrating function used as a warning that one had been hit or driven off the road.

The next biggest system to hit the market was the Sega Dreamcast. The Sega corporation had a very effective marketing scheme. The Dreamcast was the first system to have a built in modem. The Dreamcast had a modem added for multiplayer gaming over the internet. Sega was working on an external DSL modem for faster internet gaming. The DSL would allow one to play people without having lag. The Dreamcast was also the first game console to have 128 bit graphics. The Dreamcast has the same processor as the Playstation, which was called the RISC processor. The Dreamcast has a new controller addition with a little bit of privacy added to them. The Dreamcast invented the VMS, which is a LCD screen that you can slip into the controller so one can choose plays on sports games without the opponent seeing. The Sega company has stopped making the Dreamcast but is still making games for it. The Sega Company is also helping their newly acquired friend, Microsoft, with the modem for the XBox.

The Sony company once again blew away its compition when it released the Playstation 2. The Playstaion 2 introduced a firewire port and two USB ports to its main unit. The Playstation 2 also has a DVD player built in for a home entertainment addition. The DVD player has an option for a fiber optical cable which allows one to have the digital sound of a movie theater. The cable does not come with the system and one also has to have a stereo head unit with the digital input for it to work. The Playstation 2 has been selling like crazy since it was released. When it was first released in the US, it could be sold on Ebay for around two thousand dollars. There are more and more games being made for the Playstation 2 every week.

The newest system to be talked about is the Microsoft XBox. The XBox will not be released until November 15, 2001. The Microsoft Company has started making a voice activated controller for a handsfree gaming experience. The voice activated controller will not be out for a while but is to be on shelves in the future. The XBox has a four controller output on the front for multiplayer gaming without having to buy a multiplayer extension. The XBox also has an ethernet output in the back for high speed online gaming. The ethernet port allows one to hook your XBox up to a cable mobem for online gaming without the lag that the Dreamcast had. The XBox is also the first to put a harddrive in the unit for storage space without having to purchase a memory card. Microsoft added a NVIDIA graphics card creating more than three times the graphics performance of any other gaming console. The XBox is also the first to have a processor that is the size of a home computer. The XBox has a 733 MHz processor that allows it to be the most powerful CPU in a gaming system.

The video game industry has come a long way from the old school days. The Atari was great for its time but it is nothing like a XBox or Playstation 2. The advancements are getting greater and greater everyday in the gaming world. What is even more great, according to Moore's law, every two years the processor speed will double in home computers and that also leads to faster video game consoles. The video game industry has a long way to go before it is replaced.