Gaming Consoles? Surprising Numbers...

Digital Gaming takes place through a gaming interface known as a platform.
Game Platform are seldom  used to segment the gaming market, as they dictate aspects such as production value (each platform supporting a different graphic level) and user base segmentation (as each platform attracts a different audience).


PC has always been a popular platform for gaming and with the emerging popularity of Mobile gaming (iPhone, iPad, Android) the market is indeed changing. Yt, lets look at soem numbers of Game consle sales to understand the nature of this industry.

If the game can be played on multiple screens/platforms, it is seldom called a "Cross Platform Game"

Game Console

An interactive entertainment computer system with a video-oriented processing and graphic powers.


Generations: Game consoles can be categorized into 8 generations, yet only 6th to 8th generation are still present in the market. 6th generation consoles - include the Nintendo's GameCube,  Play Station 2 (which is still popular: 150m units sold during 2011) and Microsfot's Xbox

7th generation consoles dominate the market:

• Xbox360 (Microsoft) 
• PlayStation 3 (Sony) 
• Wii (Nintendo) 
• See also handheld game consoles (below); PSP and Nintendo DS
• Motion Recognition Platforms such as the Kinect (Microsoft) and Move (Sony)

 

Handheld Game Devices

A handheld game device is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, games controls and speakers. Handheld devices run on small size machines, enabling users to carry and play them at any time or place. NintendoDS is one of the most successful world wide selling game console, with over 145m units sold (lifetime total).

Recent introduction of the iPad and competitive tablet devices have boosted this category, evolving it from a small array of portable game consoles to industry leader.