Video Games and Gaming Consoles: Relevance of Video Games and Consoles to HE & FE Learning Experience
John Kirriemuir
Other reports of interest
April 2002
Video games have been a significant form of entertainment since the early 1970s, appearing in a number of formats and locations: television-dependent consoles, portable games machine, games on LCD panels, amusement arcades and so on. Often, games technology has been combined with computing-oriented technologies, resulting in hybrid machines such as the ZX Spectrum, BBC micro series and the Amiga.
Traditionally, the video gaming industry has been cyclical in terms of profile, the number of machine owners and revenue. However, several factors including the emergence of cultural icons e.g. Mario, Sonic and Lara Croft, increases in game complexity and visual appearance, and massive sustained sales of games consoles such as the Sony Playstation and Nintendo Game Boy series, have led to video gaming becoming a significant part of contemporary culture since the mid-1990s. The video gaming industry generates revenue of between 18 and 25 billion US dollars per year (according to various estimates), with development costs, revenue and use/audience comparable (and often exceeding) that of the movie industry.
Games and games consoles have steadily increased in terms of technological, graphical and processing complexity and power. Contemporary video consoles are comparable to specialised PCs, designed towards a narrow range of applications. The last three years has seen an increasing number of studies and research into the use of video games, and gaming-oriented techniques, in learning and teaching scenarios and applications.
This report presents an overview of gaming consoles and a comparison of consoles and the PC. Benefits of games to learning and the learning environment are touched on, as is the use of games consoles in research and teaching. Issues pertaining to potential future applications of games and consoles to learning and teaching, especially through the enhanced functionality of consoles, are addressed. The report concludes with an overview of other gaming platforms, and a summary of key points and trends to monitor.
To assist in the compilation of this report, an email survey was undertaken of various computer and video game researchers in UK academia, and video game companies worldwide, in early 2002. This survey was useful in discovering trends, perceptions and examples of non-gaming uses of video games and gaming consoles.