Timeline of major video game consoles

     From the very first simple cubed, black and white graphics to the now modern eye-popping motion sensored technology, video game consoles have evolved tremendously over time. One startling fact that should be noted is that there have been 70 different consoles that have been developed to this day. From the very first games to exist, such as Pong and Pac-man, technology has improved so significantly that nowadays high caliber 3D graphic gameplay exists. It is safe to say that with the fierce competition boiling between many of these video game companies, it has led to the development of superior technology including providing excellent game play. Another interesting fact that many probably do not know is that during the peak era of video arcade games, Nintendo and Sage were in a fierce battle with each other with the development of their consoles. Let's take a look at a few of the many video game consoles out there from the very first, to the latest.

     In the 60's, the world witnessed the birth of the first video game console. Ralph H. Beer, who is also known as "The Father of Video Games," developed the first ever video game console in the history of mankind in 1967. It was simply named "The Brown Box." The console was a rather simple bulky rectangular brown wooden box with two attached controllers, thus giving it the name. The console was developed so that it could be hooked up with ordinary television sets. There were only 6 available games for the Brown Box which were all rather simple games which consisted of: Ping-pong, tennis, handball, volleyball, chase games, and a light-gun game.
     Fast forward about 10 years and you have the Atari Sears Tele-Games Pong System, which was developed in 1975. Following the success of the Atari Arcade gaming system, the company decided to create the Atari 2600, which was released in 1977. Atari and another company Magnavox would continue to develop consoles until 1978, when Nintendo released its first console. The company would go on to become a major factor in the video game industry for the next three decades. The Nintendo Color TV Game Series was released from 1977-1979. Nintendo would go on to release consoles that were similar to that of Atari and featured Pong-style games.
     Another 5-10 years and we reach the golden age of video gaming. This was the period where serious advances were made such as the integration of different types of games such as fighting, platform, adventure and RPG games. During this era, we also saw the release of notable games such as Pac-man, Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc. One major change that was integrated was the fact that cartridge-based video game systems were formed rather than the dedicated consoles. Nintendo and Saga outright dominated the video game era in that decade. Sega released its first ever console: the SG-1000 in 1983. Notable consoles released in this era include the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1983 and the Sega Master System in 1985.
The next major console to be released by Nintendo in the 90's was the Nintendo 64 in 1996. Nintendo 64 was an instant hit, with millions of people busting stores to get their hands on one.
     Now to the present time where we have Microsoft contributing with the X-Box system. There is the X-Box, X-Box 360, and just recently the newly released X-Box One. Nintendo continued to develop products with the development of handheld consoles such as the Nintendo DS, followed by the Wii system. Following the Wii, there was the Wii U. Sony released handheld devices such as the PSP, which was a massive hit at the time of its release, followed by the PSP Vita, which did not sell as well. Consoles such as the PS1, PS2, PS3, and recently the PS4 followed.   
     Of course there are many more consoles that were not mentioned above as there are simply too many to note individually. Each console was unique in that there was one notable difference.   

Studies of the therapeutical and beneficial effects that COD (Call of Duty) have on soldiers

      Many people believe that video games were invented for the pure sake of entertainment purposes, but there is far more than just having fun. In fact (as mentioned in my previous blog post), there have been studies conducted by experts to prove that playing video games are in fact beneficial and can even bring about therapeutic effects to soldiers. One of the many FPS (first person shooting) games available out there, Call of Duty has been used to aid and treat any lingering effects of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) that soldiers may have suffered from combat. Almost all soldiers returning from war are bound to suffer from some form of PTSD, which can ultimately range from being minor to severe.  

       In an online survey carried out by Jayne Gackenbach of Edmonton of Grant McEwan University located in Edmonton, Canada, out of a group of 98 military personnel who claimed to play video games involving war and combat like Call of Duty claimed that it helped decrease harm and aggression that they feel when they are dreaming about war. Those surveyed who did not play were subject to more violent dreams and combined with feelings of helplessness. To ensure that her study only consisted of healthy and mentally stable soldiers, Jayne made sure that each individual was free from any pre-diagnosed mental disorders such as PTSD. The soldiers were divided into two groups: high gaming and low gaming which were based on how often they played video games. The high gaming group played video games much more frequently ranging from every day to several times a week and played more immersive games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Red Dead Redemption. On the other hand, the low gaming group played games as little as a few times a year and they consisted of casual type games.
       Jayne concluded from her study that those that were involved in the high gaming group reported much less intense nightmares, and that many of the people in group were able to fight back whatever was attacking them in their dreams. Those that were in the low gaming group experienced more feelings of helplessness against their enemies. Thus, Gackenbach's theory based from the preliminary data that she collected concluded that violent video games may serve as a form of "threat simulator," a way of manipulating the mind to cope with the intense situations in nightmares. In fact, Gackenbach was able to receive personal feedback from a soldier who participated in the study and the soldier said: "I would see many soldiers, in combat, with PSPs or anything we could hook up to the 220v electricity. When soldiers weren't on patrol, we often had violent war games on our systems. It was weird. Like we didn't get enough violence." In other words, soldiers would play video games in between combat as a way to counter the violence that they had to experience. 

Sources:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-09-13/-call-of-duty-video-game-trains-brains-for-fast-accurate-decision-making

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-03-08-can-cod-help-soldiers-deal-with-trauma

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2011/03/11/study-video-games-may-help-soldiers-fight-combat-related-nightmares#.VNoog2TF8i4
   

Relating video games to reality as well as the effects it has on individuals

    Many have claimed that video games have had some form of affect on them, either in a positive or negative way. There have been countless studies on the influence that video games have played on individuals of different age groups. While some concluded that youth playing video games may be frowned upon especially by their parents, there have been studies to prove that it instead has beneficial effects on them. I personally believe that video games should not be viewed of as a "horrible evil demon," although I would agree that playing more than 3 hours a day would be over doing it. I would go as far as to say that people may possibly learn and gain new knowledge from playing certain types of games. Of course, not every video game is suited for every individual, such as 1st person shooting games, which are ideally more suited for a more mature audience. 
    For me, ever since I was exposed to my first video game, it has made me a much more open-minded and risk-taking person. I remember a couple of video games that I played when I was a young kid. Jump Start was one of a few games that my parents would allow me to play as I was growing up. I found it to be really educational and beneficial to me as I was able to learn new things. In fact, I was able to find an article online on Forbes about a study that shows the impact that video games has on children, which ultimately leads to it being more beneficial. Here is the link if any of you are interested in reading more about it: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2014/08/27/a-surprising-new-study-on-how-video-games-impact-children/ 
    Even the United States military has utilized video games as a means for training their soldiers. For example, the Call of Duty video game was used by the US armed forces to test the soldiers' hand-eye coordination before being deployed. The military felt that Call of Duty was probably out of all the other 1st person shooting games considered to be the most realistic in terms of simulating real life war scenarios. Each individual would play the game which would then show their reaction time. I find this to be a good way of testing hand-eye coordination as well as reaction time in that because in the game, the enemies seem to appear out of nowhere.
    After reading these studies and playing video games myself, I still believe that the positives far outweigh the negatives when it comes to how video games should be perceived as. Many parents feel that video games are a big distraction in their child's lives, but although it can be a distraction, the best way to prevent it from being a distraction is to monitor and control the amount of exposure that a child would normally have so as to not interfere with their studies.