by Ryan Erwyn Ko

Games and Computers

In the beginning, when XTs still ruled the world, people never really saw the connection between games and computers. Computers were still very user-unfriendly (some still are, by the way) and games were...well, games. The word "computer" was associated with a bulky number-cruncher, and games were associated with lots of perspiration. However, all this changed in 1972, when a tennis-like arcade game called "pong" achieved immense popularity in the American market. It marked the start of the videogame mania. This event was the beginning of a soon-to-be multi-billion dollar industry, and perhaps, the stage for the next computer revolution.

In the present day, nearly thirty years after "pong", videogames are still extremely popular. They are usually divided by two main categories: PC games and console games. PC games are (you guessed it!) operated using a PC, while consoles are normally hooked up to a television set and have very little compatibility with each other, meaning games in one kind of console may not even exist on other platforms (there is no Mario for Sega owners, although I've heard of a Sonic the Hedgehog for Nintendo). For both PC and console games, however, there is a constant demand for better graphics, better sound and all around better games. So far, as the past few years have shown, the videogame designers have been more than ready to oblige. The main problem has been the hardware, with most gaming consoles operating with processors about as powerful as a 386. The past few years, however, have shown a tremendous leap in gaming technology. First, there appeared the SuperFamicom (or SNes for all you western fans out there), which people at that time raved about. Then came the still immensely popular Playstation from Sony and the Nintendo64 from...you guessed it, Nintendo. The Playstation was already revolutionary with its use of CDs, instead of cartridges, to store games (the horribly defunct Sega CD does not count). Now, with the advent of its successors, the Playstation 2 and Sega's Dreamcast, the boundaries between PCs and consoles are beginning to blur.

Revolutionary?

The Playstation 2, or PS 2, can process around 20 million polygons per second. Its main clock speed is approximately 300 MHz, as compared to the 33 MHz of the original Playstation. It also has 32 MB of Direct Rambus RAM. The Dreamcast reportedly processes around 3 million polygons per second at 200 MHz with 16 MB of RAM(although the difference between it and the PS 2 is still not yet comparable due to the lack of games which takes advantage of the latter).*

The main distinction between PC games and console games has been game portability (and therefore, game prices). Whereas PC games can often be configured to the settings of the computer used, console games are developed specifically for a certain console. And consoles are not cheap, with the Playstation 2 costing around $300 (almost the price for a good personal computer) with the games themselves costing around $20-$50 each.  Even regionality may be a problem, with the U.S. version of the Playstation only able to play U.S. CDs (unless of course, you have a MOD chip, which allows you to play pirated CDs). Herein lies the difference, between the PS 2 and Dreamcast from all the older consoles. At present, the problems stated above still exist in one form or another for the said consoles. However, both the PS 2 and Dreamcast have a characteristic which may soon eliminate these problems altogether. They are both capable of connecting to the internet and can be equipped with their very own hard disk drives. That's right, folks! Soon, you may be able to download games from the internet (not to mention have some very interesting multi-player games) in the comfort of your own home. There is a catch, though. The operative words here are soon-to-be as promised by Sony and Sega. There are still reports of network problems during test runs of some Dreamcast games over the net. The hard disk is not included in the PS 2, but is in the form of a very expensive upgrade. Also, it is very doubtful if the two manufacturers will eliminate the regionality of their machines due to possible profit loss. It may be a while yet before the boundaries between PCs and consoles become surpassed (although Sony is trying...just recently, the company tried to have the PS 2 labelled as a personal computer in Europe, where taxes for gaming consoles are fairly high)**. A few more years will show how the PS 2 and the Dreamcast turn out. Will they be the next step in the computer revolution? Well, there's always the highly-anticipated Xbox (but then again, its from Microsoft so...).

*All technical info and pictures are taken from ign.com.

**It didn't work.

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