In one of my classes, a video game studies & criticism class, we’ve discussed a lot of things around and about gaming(duh). From what a gamer is & how they choose to identify themselves, types of play, story, race, gender, sociological and philosophical effects of gaming.

For the last few years, I considered myself a part time gamer. I’ve worked full time since senior year of high school & gone to school full time as well. I don’t have the life to be able to “no-life” a game. Even in elementary and middle school I could only play for a few hours on weekends(parents rules). I think the most I ever spent in sitting on a game was maybe 2-3 hours. Despite this in my exit discussion, I reevaluated myself as just a gamer.

I might not have the time that I’d want to play but when I do get a game, I will slowly invest in it until I get 100% complete, or as close as possible.

As I looked back on my childhood in gaming I have thought about how much tech as changed. I love tech, the good & bad that comes from it. Tech & its evolution was not something we fully examined in class. So here’s something that I’ve been thinking about.

My first system was a hand me down, my dad’s old PSX. This included all his games & I went onto find games that were considered “Playstation Classics” thanks to the power of the internet. Around X-mas that year I was lucky enough to get my first new system, a PS2. The jump in tech, from the larger, yet still limited hard drive, graphically capabilities and sound were amazing. My friends has those systems for a while at the time & I could only play at their houses. My parents preferring to have me play outside or pay for me to take up sports, music & other activities.

A few years later I was lucky enough to be gifted a PS3. To me this showed a true jump in gaming tech at the time. This alongside the Xbox 360 helped introduce & push(for better or worse) multiplayer console gaming. It also ditched the need for memory cards. As well as limited motion control in some games with the PS3’s six-axis controller. The PS3 was a significant part of my childhood.

These were but a few of the many innovations that generation of tech had. In fact, the PS3 and support for the console went on for well over 10 years. Sony continues to roll out some firmware updates & some small games. Sony stated last year that they will be actively working on retiring all production & support for the console this year. The 360 while also having a long development life did not have as long as the PS3.

This generation also introduced something that caused controversy, the digital game.

As digital stores like Amazon, Sony, iTunes, Microsoft and others have grown by leaps & bounds, all three of the surviving console developers have introduced their own e-stores. These stores allow gamers to buy games, DLC, movies and more in the form of digital content saved to your consoles hard drive.

This was done for many reason: it allowed people who couldn’t get to game stores to be able to play games they’d otherwise miss. Despite Gamestop & Walmart seemingly being everywhere, not everyone as the means to access one. It also allowed game developers to get money, millions annually lost from the used games sales that Gamestop & now Walmart specialize in.

Developers do not make any money from the sale of used games & systems. This has led to a large debate over the years with some in the industry wanting to see the sales of used games stopped. Others in the community, including some developers, understand why people prefer to buy used games, which often go for twice as less.

Digital game store sales sometimes (varies) cheaper than their physical counterparts. This is usually cause there’s no extra packaging. No printed artwork or disc to be packaged & shipped. This as lead to a longstanding debate in the gaming community over owning physical media versus digital.

Similar arguments have occurred in movies thanks to iTunes, Netflix & other digital movie stores. When I was a kid I remember the huge debate over the iTunes & then Amazon music store hurting industry sales. The music industry pushed back greatly but some big & small musicians began to embrace the digital sale. This led to the music industry having to shift the idea of sales & sale expectations.

The game industry is continuing to produce & push for digital sales. Most games now even have specific digital pre-order bonuses to compete with physical pre order bonuses.

In terms of the changes in console tech, as the push by developers for digital sales in order to disrupt, if not stop physical used sales, systems have needed even more memory. Despite coming with larger hard drives, the PS3, PS4, along with the Xbox 360 & its successor, the Xbox One, have all had various hardware updates. Basically introducing new sub systems with larger memory and rendering capabilities. These types of innovations often comes to two major consumers of tech: Military use and adult entertainment.

One of the biggest reasons why games & movies moved to Blu-Ray instead of HD DVD was actually the porn industry. At the time Blu-Ray allowed for porn producers to put lots of scenes & even extras on one disc. HD DVD, like regular DVD often relied on multiple disc for content, same for games that were one regular disc. The porn industry had to survive & adapt however as streaming site, both pro & amateur began to increase & become almost the standard. Streaming & downloading in gaming as made this current gen of consoles release sub updates the last few years. The Xbox One X & the PS4 Pro. Both with higher resolution & memory.

Not enough to be brand new generations of consoles, but enough to help with the complaints of limited drive space.

Just last week, Microsoft announced the Xbox One S. With 1 terabyte of space, the same as the PS4 Pro(update of the PS4) and no disc drive. Slated for release sometimes in August, the system will require users to have internet & will require users to buy the monthly Game Pass Subscription. This is more of a bid to do away with used sales. The base console will be $240 dollars with 3 games pre installed.

Sony, having just announced the PS5 around the same time is also embracing more of the digital sales market. The PS5 will have a solid state drive, while the exact size is unknown, this will allow the console to have the most internal memory of any of their previous systems, including the PS4 Pro. It will also include a disc drive for those who prefer to own physical copies.

I don’t think physical copies will ever fully go away. Just like there are some people who still buy Blu-Ray for special films. Music lovers still collect special albums on vinyl, which as seen a growth outside of hipsters and Urban Outfitters chic. Owning a physical copy does allow for a since of security, giving you access to a game you might not be able to play if you can’t access a cloud.