History of Video Games - Part 16
High Definition
Catch Up on the Series
1 - Pressing Start / 2 - The New Industry / 3 - Have You Played Atari Today?
4 - The Great Video Game Crash of 1983 / 5 - Leave Luck to Heaven
6 - Now You’re Playing With Power / 7 - 8-Bit Magic
8 - Let’s Make Lots of Money / 9 - War Drums / 10 - Nintendo vs. Sega
11 - The Revolution Will Be Televised / 12 - The Dawn of a New Era
13 - Gotta Catch 'Em All! / 14 - Dreaming Big / 15 - The New Millennium
HD Graphics
The mid to late 2000s were an interesting time in the world. As the economy stagnated and the world was on the verge of plunging into the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression, the tech world began to change drastically. Steve Jobs got up on stage and unveiled the iPhone, just as Google was working on funding and launching the Android project. Another major change was the mainstream and growing success of HD television; as a result, consumers wanted HD resolution in movies, TV, and now video games. The home media format would see a war between DVD’s successor, HD-DVD, and the mostly Sony-backed Blu-Ray disc. The economy may have been tanking, but the world and technology were moving fast, and by the time we entered the 2010s, the tech industry would be the new hot industry.
Sony and Microsoft seized the opportunity to lead this new HD revolution. Sony would partner with IBM and Nvidia to create the Cell Processor, a PowerPC based chip that was hyped as a super chip that would power multiple products, including its upcoming PlayStation 3 console. Microsoft would partner with AMD for their system, the Xbox 360. Both were looking to push the boundaries of video games with even more realistic graphics, a focus on cinematic storytelling, online connectivity, and multimedia capabilities. Nintendo, in the meantime, would take an entirely new direction and begin to make its own way, arguably leaving the console wars to PlayStation vs. Xbox. The founders era, the 2D pixels era, and now the 3D era were in the past - it was time for the HD era.
Jump In
Microsoft would spend a large amount of time and resources to make sure it got the Xbox’s successor right. The new system would spearhead the HD revolution in gaming, as well as build upon the hard drive and online features that the original had set the standard for. With Nvidia and Microsoft’s relationship souring, a costly console that couldn't generate profits, and the opportunity to get ahead of the competition, Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 console in November 2005. The company had packed the system with a solid launch lineup, including Rare’s Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo: Elements of Power. Games like Project Gotham Racing 3, Call of Duty 2, and Dead or Alive 4 were hallmarks of the launch window. The company used MTV for the reveal and had a big launch party in the desert called “Zero Hour”. If the original Xbox was Microsoft experimenting and getting used to the market, the Xbox 360 would go on to feel like their first proper try.
The company was ready to take on Sony’s PlayStation juggernaut, lining up big time third party deals, including a day-and-date launch for Grand Theft Auto IV. They also partnered with Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi to publish two Japanese RPG titles - Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. The system would have a heavy marketing campaign and would capitalize on Sony’s PS3 woes to become the gateway for HD gaming. Microsoft kept the pressure up with must-have exclusives like Halo 3, Gears of War, Fable 2, and the original publishing for Mass Effect, a sci-fi epic that would give players an incredible level of freedom. Microsoft reaped the rewards as the system quickly began to sell better than the Xbox and the division would finally start to make a profit. The Xbox 360’s early years made it the NES/PS1 of the new HD era and would become one of the most successful video game consoles in the North American video game industry. Meanwhile, the top console brand was finally starting to struggle after a decade of success.
Giant Enemy Crabs
Sony had put themselves in a prime position to dominate the new era. PlayStation and PlayStation 2 had set Sony up as the “Apple” hardware-wise of the video game industry. The brand had become so powerful that it seemed unstoppable. Nintendo would start to look for a new direction and Xbox was seen as the scrappy underdog. Sony felt like an untouchable deity. For its third home console, Sony went ambitious. Kutagari wanted the PS3 to rival the recent success of Apple and wanted the system to feel and look like an elite professional device over a video game device. The system would use the Cell processor, which was hyped up as a powerful future proof chip, with some claiming it could help PS3 last ten years as Sony’s main console. Sony would also use Blu-Ray as a marketing sell, as the PS3 would come with a Blu-Ray drive and games would use the new media. The ridiculous success of PS2 brought the hype meter to whole new levels as we entered E3 2006. Sony had to go up against Microsoft’s well selling Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s surprisingly successful showcase of its Wii system. What would follow would be one of the worst ways a new system was showcased.
First of all, the system was revealed at E3 2005, but E3 2006 would be when we really got to see what the system would be all about, as it would release later in the year. The event itself was actually not too bad in terms of games. Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Versus, and Metal Gear Solid 4 were shown as major exclusives coming to the console with fancy graphical trailers that pushed the idea that PS3 would stomp the Xbox 360 and showcase “real HD graphics”. However, as it went along, we ended up getting memes, such as the infamous “giant enemy crab” after Genji: Days of the Blade was demoed and declared to be inspired by “real historical battles”… one guess why a giant crab seemed to challenge that claim. The real killer, however, came towards the end after Sony dropped the bomb that the system would sell with two models, a 20 GB model for $499 and a 60 GB model for $599. The $599 model would be the one people fixated on and sent the gaming landscape into an eruption of freak out about the price of gaming. Microsoft would take advantage by reminding gamers the Xbox 360 was available at a starting price of $299 and Nintendo Wii looked even more interesting with its $249 price.
Now, for those younger readers who may wonder why a $499 system sent everyone crazy when that’s the average console launch price these days, there are a couple of reasons for this. First, gaming was still becoming mainstream at the time and had not entered the lifestyle stage that it is today, where that price is seen as a viable investment. Many were still asking their parents for a video game system, and that was really expensive to ask their mom for. Second, when you adjust for inflation, it was essentially $769 and $929 for those two models in today’s value. The PS5 Pro’s controversial $699 price is cheaper. Lastly, the economy was stagnating, and some inflation was starting to bleed through. Gamers didn’t know it yet, but we were about two years away from a catastrophic economic plunge. This turned the hype down on the system and started some viral videos attacking the PlayStation brand, proving that PlayStation does indeed bleed. The one I remember that some of you may be too young to, is the viral “How to Kill a Brand” music video. Look it up and you’ll see how it explains the anger everyone had for the PS3 at the time. Ken Kutagari’s “I’ll work another job to buy one” line didn’t help either.
Nevertheless, the PlayStation 3 launched in November 2006, and it had a hyped and successful launch day, but the days after proved to tell a different story. The biggest launch title for the system would be Resistance: Fall of Man, a first-person shooter that aimed to challenge the Halo franchise. It did get solid reviews, but in the end, it wasn’t Halo, and it wasn’t seen as a game that justified the system’s price. In 2007 it got a new game from Naughty Dog in the form of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, which would launch a major new IP for the brand, but it would take until its sequel for the franchise to really get going. One big win for the system would come in the form of Kojima’s fourth entry in the iconic Metal Gear Solid series. As this was happening, Sony tried their best to get the price down when they realized they couldn’t get away with the high cost, and Blu-Ray wasn’t taking off the way DVDs did. They got the system down to a $399 price by the holiday of 2007, but the damage was done.
Wii Would Like to Play
Nintendo had a tough go at it with their GameCube system and they were looking to shake things up. The company realized that they were going up against two big corporate powers that were happy to lose money to win the power wars. So, they decided to go in a different direction to look for new consumers, while still keeping their loyal customers. Instead of embracing the HD era, Nintendo would essentially go for a GameCube on steroids when it came to the power of their new system, more powerful than the GameCube, but not an HD graphics architecture. Without power, Nintendo looked to innovation and a new way to play to sell this bold concept. They embraced motion controls, creating the Wiimotes, remote controller lookalikes that used motion shakes and waggles, as well as buttons, to play games. Looking back on it, you could make the argument that it was VR without the headset or immersion. Nintendo launched a new type of handheld system, the Nintendo DS, which marketed itself around its second screen and its touch features to determine if going with new gameplay over power was a winner. The DS sold well, so the company took the huge gamble and went all in on the Wii.
Today, it’s easy to see that the Wii was a massive risk. The system would not make the graphical leap that its competitors would and try to sell itself on what is essentially a gimmick. It probably should not have worked at all. Later on, we would see Sony and Microsoft play around with new gameplay and motion ideas, and those would fail. Yet… somehow Nintendo made the Wii work. From the moment the system was shown, gamers were captivated by a system with a completely different way to play games. Sure, we were excited about the new HD graphics, but you’re telling me I can play a game with motion and feel more immersed in the world?! There’s a video that made the rounds of the E3 2006 show floor opening to a mob of journalists stampeding towards the Nintendo section. It was so evident that Nintendo had a winner that Microsoft’s Peter Moore immediately pitched gamers on buying an Xbox 360 and a Nintendo Wii instead of getting a PS3 since it would be about the same price.
There are other reasons Nintendo struck gold with the Wii. The system, most likely purposely, had a design architecture that looked similar to Apple, from the hardware to the UI. I wouldn’t be shocked if uninformed consumers thought the Wii was an Apple device. Another help was the packaged-in Wii Sports game. This game was highly accessible and became a staple of homes that didn’t even play video games. People were buying up Wiis just for senior living facilities to have their residents play Wii Sports. Of course, there were the games. Nintendo’s E3 2006 was solid with titles like Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and many others that got the hype machine rolling early on. Many of the older generation who grew up on Nintendo games but ditched them to feel cool were now adults and wanted to play Mario and Zelda again, alongside their choice of Xbox 360 or PS3. The phenomenon came together, and the system became a cultural pop culture mark in history. For a good while, it was hard to find a Wii as it became one of the “it” items of the early Obama era in America. Nintendo had fought back to become relevant again. The risk had paid off… for now.
The Handheld War
Along with the birth of HD gaming and Nintendo’s comeback came the golden age of the dedicated video game handheld industry. Nintendo had essentially monopolized the handheld market due to the sheer power of the Game Boy brand, and later on with Pokémon. Even the Game Boy’s creator, Gunpei Yokoi, who left the company after the failure of Nintendo’s Virtua Boy system, made the Bandai WonderSwan handheld, but still couldn’t take down his creation. Yokoi would go on to pass away in a tragic accident when he was hit by a car, leaving behind an incredible legacy. However, the handheld industry he helped create would enter a golden age thanks to Sony finally giving Nintendo a real competitor.
Sony had teased entering the handheld market for a while, but finally pulled the trigger during the middle of the PS2 generation. In December 2004, in Japan, the PlayStation Portable launched, and then made its way stateside in March 2005. The system boasted incredible power for an on-the-go system for the time. It essentially came really close to PS2 power, which, remember, was still the graphical generation of the home consoles. It did have a rough first couple of years, thanks to its high launch price. However, as the price came down and the catalog grew, it quickly gained steam and became a success story. The PSP would have titles such as God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Daxter, Gran Turismo, and a slew of major third party titles, especially from the Japanese market. It would go on to get a couple of revisions and sell over 80 million units. Pretty darn good for a non-Nintendo handheld. It had found a market where Nintendo’s handheld competitors of the past couldn’t. But as they say, when you come for the king, you best not miss.
Before the gamble with the Wii, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS. Unlike the PSP, which aimed for PS2-style graphics, the DS was more of an N64 on steroids in terms of graphical fidelity. That wasn’t a bad thing, however, as most gamers still associated handhelds with lower graphics anyway. Nintendo’s selling point for the DS would be a touch-based second screen. I remember not knowing what to make of the system, but it became apparent quickly that this was going to be a popular device. The system began to take off after the DS Lite revision came out. It did experiment with trying to be a mini N64, the way Game Boy Advance was a mini Super Nintendo, but then it started to get its personality. Thanks to games like New Super Mario Bros., Nintendogs, Professor Layton, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Phoenix Wright, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, and of course the latest Pokemon games. The two-screen handheld went on to sell over 154 million units! The second most successful video game system as of this article’s publishing. While we talk about the juggernaut that was Wii today, we forget that the DS was even more successful.
Change
In 2008 following an economic crash and the public’s problems with the war led George W. Bush years, the United States elected Barack Obama as its first African American President. The Obama election was seen as the dawning of a new era in the country and it would coincide with the rise of HD and smart technology products. Just as the country was changing, so was gaming. PC gaming was in the middle of a rise that would eventually lead to its own console-like dedicated fan base and the rise of smartphones would lead to a new type of gaming, mobile gaming. Video game systems would evolve to do more than just play games or movie discs as streaming services and social media began to change how we used them. Gamers didn’t realize it yet, but we were about to enter a slow transition that would once again change video games forever.
Be Nice to All
My favourite era of gaming, when network features were a useful and fun addition, not a requirement and Triple-A games meant top-notch technology, polish and accessible gameplay.
I enjoyed reading this. I have always stayed in the loop regarding the video game industry, yet I remember this era being the one where I fell out of playing games properly. This was the time I finished my degree and started my career, so it felt like I had to be more grown up and leave all this "childish" stuff behind. It was the Wii that brought me back into it, I didn't want flashier looking games, I just wanted fun games, and the Wii brought me something new to try.