Jessica Menna

Intro to Mass Communications

Matt Merkel
03/27/2016
Digital Media and Convergence Critical Analysis Paper
This paper is going to focus on the three major video game consoles and
what distinguishes them from one another. The first system, the PlayStation, is
made my Sony. The second system, the Xbox, is made by Microsoft. The third
system, the Wii, is made my Nintendo. This paper will go into the history of
each console and follow how each one got to where it is today. It will also
discuss the major games that are associated with each console.
The story of the PlayStation began in 1994, when the PlayStation 1, or as
it was known back then just the PlayStation, came out. During its lifetime, the
PlayStation sold 102 million units and 962 million games. The PlayStation 2
came along in the year 2000, and it sold 155 million units in its lifetime. The
PlayStation 3 launched in 2006 with what is commonly known as the fat ps3,
and then later came the slim version of the ps3. The fat ps3 was what is
called backwards compatible, which meant that it could play games from the
PlayStation and PlayStation 2, as well as the PlayStation 3 games. More than

80 million consoles have been sold worldwide. The most recent version of the
PlayStation is the PlayStation 4, which launched in November of 2013. Sony
claims that over 1 million units were sold in the first 24 hours of its launch.
(Healey, 2013)
Microsofts original Xbox launched in 2001, and what set this system
apart from other, is that it was the first gaming console to have a hard drive.
That meant that it eliminated the need for memory cards. (Xbox One, 2013) It
also introduced Xbox Live, which allowed players to play online with their
friends and other, real players. The Xbox reached over 24 million sales
worldwide. The Xbox 360 was released in 2005. The Xbox 360 has sold over 84
million consoles. A feature that was added at a later date was the Kinect. The
launch of Kinect for the console, a motion and voice-sensor which Microsoft is
touting as the fastest ever selling consumer electronics device, brought a major
overhaul in design and the promise that this console was not being replaced
any time soon. (Goss, 2011) The newest Microsoft console, the Xbox One, was
released in 2013 and has sold over 18 million consoles.
The Nintendo Wii was released in November of 2006. Unlike its
competition of the same generation, the PlayStation 3 and the X-Box 360--the
Nintendo Wii's controller was not based around a setup involving two analog
control sticks. Instead, built in gyroscopes combined with infrared sensors

allowed a simple one-handed controller to translate motion into player

movement. (WTVY, 2013) The Wii also came packed with the very popular Wii
Sports, which allowed players to play games such as tennis and bowling. The
newest version of this console, the Wii U, was released in 2012. The Wii U is
the first Nintendo console to support high-definition graphics. The system's
primary controller is the Wii U GamePad, which features an embedded
touchscreen. (Wiki)
Sony and Nintendo both made handheld video game consoles. Nintendo
has released many versions of the handheld device. They started with the
Gameboy, which was released in 1989, followed by: the Gameboy Pocket (1996),
the Gameboy Color (1998), the Gameboy Advance (2001), the Gameboy
Advance SP (2003), and the Gameboy Micro (2005). Also in 2005, Nintendo
released the Nintendo DS, followed by: the Nintendo DS Lite (2006), the
Nintendo DSi (2009), the Nintendo DSi XL (2009), the Nintendo 3DS (2011), the
Nintendo 3DS XL (2012), and the Nintendo 2DS (2013). In comparison, Sony
only released two handheld consoles, the PSP (2004), and the PS Vita (2011).
Nintendo is hands down winning the handheld console game.
Now, in the eighth generation of video games, we have the PlayStation 4,
the Xbox One, and the Wii U competing with each other. The Wii U may be one

of the consoles in the newest generation, but as far as competition is

concerned, its pretty much the PlayStation 4 vs. the Xbox One.
The PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One can both play Blu-Ray and DVD
movies, while the Wii U cannot. However, all 3 of the consoles offer access to
online streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu.
One of the unique thing about each of these consoles is they are all made
by different companies, which means each console has games that are
exclusive to that console. For example, if you want to play Halo or Gears of War,
you are going to need an Xbox. On the other hand, if you want to play Infamous
or Gran Turismo, you are going to need a PlayStation. The Wii U is a Nintendo
system, which means it has games such as Mario Kart and Donkey Kong. It
should also be noted that many games are available in PC format as well.
The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One also share many of the same games.
Both PS4 and Xbox One play many of this generation's best titles, from thirdparty blockbusters such as Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3 to charming Indies
such as Shovel Knight and Rocket League. Most sports games come to both
systems, though Sony's MLB: The Show series is exclusive to PlayStation.
(Andronico, 2016) However, the Xbox One has the upper hand in the fact that it
is backwards compatible and can play many of the Xbox 360 games.

In conclusion, no console is better than the other overall, in my opinion.

Each console caters to the needs of different individuals. A lot of people choose
which system to buy based off what their friends have, so that they can play
together. Many will argue that the PlayStation 4 is better than the Xbox One
and vice-versa, but I would say they are essentially equal in their capabilities,
is just depends on who you are and what youre looking for in a video game
console that is going to decide which one you buy.

Sources Cited
Goss, Patrick. "Ten Years of Xbox: A Brief History." TechRadar. N.p., 15
Nov. 2011. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.techradar.com/us/news/gaming/consoles/ten-years-of-xbox-abrief-history-1040866>.

Healey, Nic. "Evolution of the PlayStation Console." CNET. N.p., 27 Nov.

2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cnet.com/news/evolution-of-theplaystation-console/>.

"Wii U." - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
<https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_U>.

Andronico, Michael. "PS4 vs. Xbox One: Which Console Is Right for
You?" Tom's Guide. N.p., 02 Mar. 2016. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.tomsguide.com/us/xbox-one-vs-ps4,review-2543.html>.