The history of video gaming has been defined by companies competing to be top dog in a very lucrative global market. You may have seen it referred to as the console wars, and it’s had various different combatants over the years, from the first confrontations between Atari and Intellivision, then Sega vs Nintendo. Of course, Microsoft and Sony have also waded into the competition, with various iterations of the Xbox and PlayStation raising the stakes even higher.
The weapons in this struggle have been technological advancements and innovative games, but you also need to consider shifting gaming behavior, especially when it comes to the more widespread use of different devices.
Battle through the generations
Each console generation has brought with it advances in graphics, processing power, and, therefore, the type of experience they offer players. This has been highlighted by the medium in which games are bought – cartridges at the start, to discs, and now downloads over the internet via platforms like Steam. There have also been shifts caused by game titles where players have switched or bought consoles just to play a single game. Back in the day, this was exemplified by Halo for the Xbox or Final Fantasy VII for the first PlayStation.
Different hardware options
The different options for consoles, or at least handheld devices, are often the battleground. It has to be said, though, that with the Gameboy in its various guises and the DS, Nintendo took the high ground early, a position they seem to have consolidated with the Switch, which covers all of the bases.
The console wars might also be considered to overlap with the world of cloud gaming, where the subscription model offered by GamePass for the Xbox and PlayStation now vie for customers. This allows players to access libraries of legacy content for a monthly fee, aping a model like Netflix or Spotify where the player just has access, not ownership.
The impact of mobile gaming
The biggest threat to the biggest players in the console wars might not be each other but come from outside in the form of mobile gaming. Most of the world now owns a smartphone and, as such, has access to thousands and thousands of online games, all without the extra expense of buying a console. This is fuelled by the freemium model and having ads integrated into gameplay to create free-to-download games.
Another feature of mobile gaming is the access it gives players to new concepts like online casinos. For instance, if you were to visit spincasino.com you would see a volume of slots and table games that could rival the games roster available for many consoles.
The diversity here also matches console game ranges, as you would find movie tie-ins in slots like Halloween or Lord of the Rings. Sports games, ever popular with console players, are also available with Cricket or Football Star for slots players or Gridiron Roulette for those who prefer table games. Wrestling is represented in the slot roster, too, meaning that players will be able to find something to play no matter what their tastes happen to be.
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