Game Platforms

There are many popular platforms out in the world today from big companies like Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Most notably the mobile phone and the consoles Xbox One and Playstation 4. But some of them are not as popular for various reasons and in this blog I will explain why.

First of all the graphical capabilities. Every platform has a way to generate graphics and aesthetics but some do it better and others worse. For example, both the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One use a semi-custom built AMD GCN Radeon that is integrated into their processors. This is a great graphics card that's small enough to fit into the console without taking up too much room, this means however that it's weaker, but not weaker than other platforms. The graphics card in the Nintendo Wii is around 35% weaker than the two above which means that the games don't look amazing, but are still good. Smaller platforms like the Playstation Vita and the everyday mobile phone also have weaker graphical capabilities due to the size of the card that it can hold. The Playstation Vita is aral the size of two hands and contains a Quad-core PowerVR SGX MP4+. This is a good graphics card capable of working with DirectX, OpenGL and 3D rendering. The reason that AAA games in their natural form are not on smaller devices like the Playstation Vita and mobile phones is because they don't have the graphical capabilities needed to play them as well as the processing power and RAM. Because of this, some developers choose to release a smaller version of the game that can run on smaller devices. These are usually a different genre of the same game or the same game but with parts taken out.

Next, their sizes. Every console has a distinct shape and size that all revolve around a large rectangle. But aren't easily portable and can be a pain to carry around with you. Even if you can carry them you can't use them without a power source and a form of display. This is where the Playstation portables, mobile phones and other handheld devices come in. The Playstation Portable/Vita is nearly the size of your hands and comes with its own power source which allows it to be played on the go. Both of Playstation's portable devices do the job, but the newer 'Vita' is better in most way including the addition of touchscreen. The mobile phone is usually nearly the size of one hand and comes with a power source like the Playstation devices, allowing for use when travelling. The mobile phone is the better choice for playing games as there are over 750,000 free games available to download, so you're sure to find something you like regardless of your age. However, these games aren't as 'well-made' as games for other platforms are. The Playstation Vita has a good variety of game sequels that are popular in the world. This meant that the sales for these games were high above others for the platform.

Another factor is the processing power. Every platform has a processor that loads games, apps and the operating system in general, but some are weaker for different reasons. The Playstation 4 and the Xbox One both have custom/semi-custom built 8-core processors that run at around 1.7Ghz each. This means that they are able to control multiple programs at once with a speed-to-core ratio that's pretty good. However the Wii's "IBM Broadway" is a single-core 700Mhz processor that is said to be derived from the architecture in the Gamecube, but 50% faster. Compared to the consoles above, it's pretty weak, but people still find a lot of enjoyment from the console due to it's selection of family and party games available. In the Playstation Vita they use a quad-core 800Mhz (Up to 2Ghz if over-clocked) ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore. Though similar to the Wii's processor, it is capable of better graphics and thus, better quality games.

Then there is the memory or "RAM". Every platform has this too but some contain more than others. The Playstation 4 has 8GB of GDDR5 RAM - the best available for consoles - aswell as 256MB of DDR3 RAM for background tasks. Whereas the Xbox One only has 8GB of DDR3, and only 5GB of that is used for the games. The Wii meanwhile, has only 91MB of GDDR3 SDRAM. This is not meant for big, intense games as it handles the games available well. The Playstation Vita has 512MB of RAM and has 128MB of VRAM which helps with graphical frame buffering.

Now onto storage. Every platform has storage for games and their data, but some have tons and some only have a little. The Playstation 4 has a base total of 500GB of space which can be upgraded to higher amounts and is also compatible with SSD's which can increase loading speeds of everything installed on it. The Xbox One has a 500GB hard drive like the PS4, but instead cannot be upgraded and hasn't got SSD compatibility. The Wii doesn't have any hard drives, however you are able to expand its flash storage upto 32GB through SD cards. These SD cards can be used to download small games and to save game data. The Playstation Vita has 1GB of flash memory, however this can be upgraded to a max of 64GB through custom made Playstation SD cards.

Finally, the games. Every console has games; some have a very high amount of them, some a very low amount. It's hard to tell exactly how many games each console has but I will estimate a rough amount. The Playstation 4 has roughly 450 games available right now which isn't bad considering it was only released in late 2013. These games once downloaded to a certain amount, can be played whilst still downloading. You are also able to access your game library from any Playstation 4 in the world. The Xbox One has roughly 350 games, which is significantly lower than the Playstation 4. The games once downloaded to a certain amount can be played the same way that the Playstation 4 can. The Wii has roughly 1350 games available, which is three times as many games as the Playstation 4. There is no way to play games whilst they're downloading like the new consoles can. However, the Wii does have backwards compatibility that lets you play Game Cube games. The Playstation Vita has roughly 960 games available, which is over double the Playstation 4's amount. The device is also backwards compatible with games from its predecessor the Playstation Portable.

All devices I have talked about are successors to an original platform. The Playstation 4 has had three consoles before it, each one getting better and better as the years went on. The Xbox One has had two consoles before it that have improved overall with every upgrade. The Wii is not part of a series but has evolved from the Nintendo Game Cube. It also has a successor called the "Wii U" which includes a touch screen gamepad and slightly better hardware overall. The Playstation Vita has had only one portable console before it which didn't have touchscreen and had slightly worse hardware.

Some of the consoles in general have unique features. The Playstation 4 has the capability to produce great game graphics and has a touchpad on the controller. The Xbox One feels like a computer in that everything you want can be found easily and it's easy to swap to another program like Skype. The Wii has a handheld pointing device that can detect movement and implement them into games. The Playstation Vita has touchscreen which improves the portable gaming experience.