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When video gaming was just starting, the idea of home consoles was literally a device that needed a television and controllers. The console needs a plugin port for the television and a plugin for the controllers. The concept of this way of home video gaming has been the same since 2002 (Brunner, 2013). While the console itself still needs a television, the controllers have been modified to a great extent.

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In 1972, the Magnavox Odyssey was the very first home entertainment system to be released to consumers (Cohen, n.d.). The game console needed a television to project the image of the games you wanted to play. If you wanted to play, you would need to plug in the controllers that came with the console. The controllers had cords that were not very long in length (Cohen, n.d.). Meaning that the players had to stay close to the Odyssey. This wasn’t a huge problem, but the cords for the controllers will eventually be transformed.

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As time moves on, we see that the gaming company Atari releases their home console in 1977 (“Atari – Cartridge Consoles”, 2012). Then in 1983, the Sega gaming company releases their home console (Plunkett, 2015). Nintendo in 1985 releases their home console and the console creation continues forward (Kohler, 2010). Every time a home video game console came out, the device needs the television and the controllers to be plugged in.

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The Xbox 360 was initially the first game console that needed a television, but did not need controller plugins (Marshall, 2013). The controllers were wireless, meaning that they were cordless and could be freely taken somewhere for convenience (“Wireless 101: What is Wireless Technology?”, 2013). But the Xbox 360 was not the first to develop wireless controllers. Nintendo actually led the wireless innovation of game controllers in 2002 with their Nintendo GameCube console (Brunner, 2013).

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Nintendo releases the GameCube Wavebird controller to impress the world with wireless technology (Brunner, 2013). Although the plugin adaptor for the GameCube was still needed, the cords were taken out of perspective. If it were not for Nintendo and their success with wireless controllers, then gamers would still be with cords that need to be plugged in.

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The Xbox 360 managed to successfully distribute a console that had wireless controller capability. And thus broke the redundant cycle for home video game consoles needing controllers with cord plugins. But what caused the need for wireless gaming controllers anyway? As best put, from theMatrix Neo says, “It’s a long arduous march towards a ‘world without boundaries’” (Jackson, 2015). To put in other words, gamers wanted convenience of having a gaming controller that did not need to be plugged in.

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The evolution of gaming still strides forward with improving the console and their controllers. The wireless technology for inputting commands on games and the consoles is still used today. Perhaps it is only a matter of years till the player is the wireless controller and the television is their house.

 

References:

Atari – Cartridge Consoles. (2012). Retrieved September 13, 2015, from https://www.atari.com/history/cartridge-consoles

Brunner, G. (2013, May 27). Shoulder buttons of giants: The evolution of controllers leading up to PS4 and Xbox One – Slideshow | ExtremeTech. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/156711-evolution-of-video-game-controllers-leading-to-ps4-and-xbox-one/4

Cohen, D. (n.d.). Hardware Profile – Magnavox Odyssey – The First Gaming Console – About Classic Video Games. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from http://classicgames.about.com/od/classicvideogames101/p/MagnavoxOdyssey.htm

Jackson, A. (2015, June 12). Before the Oculus Touch: The Evolution of Wireless Game Controllers| Geek and Sundry. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from http://geekandsundry.com/before-the-oculus-touch-the-evolution-of-wireless-game-controllers/

Kohler, C. (2010, October 18). Oct. 18, 1985: Nintendo Entertainment System Launches | WIRED. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from http://www.wired.com/2010/10/1018nintendo-nes-launches/

Marshall, R. (2013, May 12). The History of the Xbox |Digital Trends. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/the-history-of-the-xbox/

Plunkett, L. (2015, March 30). The Story of Sega’s First Console (And It Wasn’t The Master System). Retrieved September 13, 2015, from http://kotaku.com/the-story-of-segas-first-console-and-it-wasnt-the-mast-5888800

Wireless 101: What is Wireless Technology? | CITES | Illinois. (2013, July 14). Retrieved September 13, 2015, from https://www.cites.illinois.edu/101/wireless101.html