Remember Pong? One of the first—and simplest—video games, Pong opened the door to a fascinating new frontier in gaming. Of course, it's now a dinosaur compared to games played on some of today's popular consoles, like Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's X-Box, and Nintendo's GameCube. They use multihundred-megahertz 32- or 64-bit microprocessors with high-performance graphics engines and DVD/CD-ROM-based software to deliver realistic experiences that send Pong's little paddles into mothballs.
With CPUs running at several gigahertz plus a high-performance video card or two, PC gaming is now just as lifelike as its console-based competition. Throw in a large-screen display, surroundsound, force-feedback peripherals, motion-capture cameras, and multiplayer capability over the Internet, and PC gamers can virtually disappear into other worlds.
And let's not forget those pocket-sized systems. Nintendo has ruled the roost with its historic Game Boy line. In fact, its new DS system incorporates wireless and touchscreen technology to add communication functions to the experience. But Sony won't be far behind with its PlayStation Portable (PSP), due for release in the U.S. on March 18. And upstarts like Gizmondo Europe Ltd. will look to use the latest technology to take handhelds beyond simple gaming. Portable gaming is getting so popular, and the technology is advancing so rapidly, cell-phone makers are getting into the act, too.
CURRENT CONSOLES When it first appeared in 1996, the Nintendo 64 console took a technological leap to a MIPS R4300 64-bit microprocessor running at about 93 MHz. A custom coprocessor chip that handled the graphics and audio could deliver 2 million colors, 150k polygons/s, and 64 channels of audio. System memory consisted of 4 Mbytes of Rambus RDRAM-based storage, expandable to 8 Mbytes.
Just four years later, the Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2) thrilled the gaming community with almost cinematic graphics based on a 128-bit custom processor called the Emotion Engine. This engine runs at 300 MHz and performs 6.2 GFLOPS. System memory consists of 32 Mbytes of RDRAM.
The companion graphics synthesizer chip runs at 150 MHz, uses 4 Mbytes of dedicated video RAM, delivers 16 million colors (24-bit color), and performs rendering at 75 million polygons/s. The internal geometry engine performs antialiasing, Bezier surfacing, Gouraud shading, Mip mapping, perspective correction, and z-buffering. Providing 48 channels, the audio subsystem can run with sample rates of 44.1 or 48 kHz.
The Sony system was one of the first consoles to include a DVD/CD optical drive, enabling use of CD-ROM/DVD disks as the game delivery system. The 4.7-Gbyte DVD disks provide plenty of storage for the high-resolution graphics. The proprietary operating system supports the original PlayStation optical media as well as standard video DVDs and audio CDs, enabling the console to double as a DVD player or an audio CD player.
With its optional remote control, users can operate the PS2 like a piece of A/V equipment. The console also supports two USB ports, an iLink port (Sony's name for FireWire/IEEE1394), two memory-card slots, and an expansion bay that can hold an Ethernet interface or other peripheral. Since its initial introduction, Sony has released a slimmer, smaller version that measures 12 by 3.125 by 7.24 in. and weighs just under 5 lb (Fig. 1).
Nintendo countered the PS2 with the GameCube in 2001. Based on a customized PowerPC CPU dubbed "Gekko" and a graphics engine developed jointly with ATI Technologies, the system delivers 1125 Dhrystone MIPS when the CPU clocks at 485 MHz. The graphics chip delivers 6 million to 12 million polygons/s (fully textured, fully lit, etc.), and the audio subsystem handles 64 simultaneous channels. The GameCube also utilizes an optical disk drive to load games. While the PS2 uses full-size disks, the GameCube employs a 3-in. drive and media that limits disk capacity to 1.5 Gbytes.
Another 2001 arrival, Microsoft's X-Box, turned a few heads (Fig. 2). First, it's the only console based on the Intel Pentium architecture (a Pentium III). Plus, it operates at a 733-MHz internal clock speed. This gives the system the highest internal data-bus transfer speed, 6.4 Gbytes/s, which is at least twice as fast as the other game systems.
A custom Nvidia graphics chip running at 250 MHz powers the graphics subsystem. The chip can produce images at speeds of up to 125 million polygons/s and support high-resolution images of up to 1920 by 1080 pixels. The accompanying audio subsystem contains a custom audio processor that supports 256 channels and Dolby AC3 encoding.
Along with a 5× DVD drive for game loading and video playback, initial versions included an 8-Gbyte hard drive to improve startup time. Microsoft has since removed that drive to lower system costs. A unified 64-Mbyte memory subsystem supports both the CPU and graphics subsystem. Though optional on the PS2, the X-Box includes a 10/100-Mbit Ethernet port and media communications processor so the system can connect to the Internet and play online games.
Nearly three years have gone by since the release of the last major game console. Yet the rumor mills are working overtime as each company—Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony—divulges some details of its efforts in developing next-generation game platforms.
Sony inked a deal with Nvidia late last year to develop a new graphics processor based on the GeForce architecture for its next-generation computer entertainment system. The system also will be based on a new central computing engine called the Cell processor, under joint development by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM Corp. First details of the Cell processor were unveiled earlier this month at the IEEE International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco.
TURNING THE TABLES In a flip-flop of sorts, Microsoft recruited ATI Technologies to come up with the graphics processor for its next-generation X-Box. (ATI supplied the graphics for the PS2, while Nvidia provided the graphics for the original X-Box.) Also, it looks like IBM will supply the processors for the next-generation X-Box. But the big question is whether Microsoft will leverage IBM's technology for the Cell processor, or the CPU or CPUs will take more standard approaches.
Smaller companies also are trying to "get into the game" and make an impact. XaviX Technology, a scheme developed by SSD, uses a two-part system architecture: the XaviXPort console frame and the XaviX cartridge. The XaviXPort, which connects to the TV system through an A/V cable, contains the power supply and basic control interfaces. The XaviX cartridge houses the dedicated game functions, and it is inserted into the XaviXPort to play (Fig. 3).
Games include baseball, bowling, golf, tennis, and fishing. Separate game accessories like electronic bowling balls, bats and baseballs, and fishing rods tie into the cartridge via a wireless interface. At the heart of the XaviX system is a custom multiprocessor chip deployed in each game cartridge. Thus, the XaviXPort never has to be upgraded—the game itself is the upgrade.
Dedicated game peripherals, available for either game consoles or PCs from QMotions, replace keyboards and game controllers and let players use real sports equipment for actual full-motion player participation. The Batter-up game combines sensors to replace the keyboard/joystick activation of the swing along with adjustable sleeves packed with additional sensors that can easily accommodate standard wood, metal, or plastic bats. Foot-controlled buttons enable the batter to control head-first or feet-first slides.
Reprints
