random game facts you may or may not know

[Goodintentions]

everyday i get this email of random facts , i dont know how or why i get it .. but usually its some pretty interesting things and i always enjoy knowing stupid random facts .. and today it was game related ...

The Sega Dreamcast was the first console to implement online play over a phone line, calling the system Sega Net.
Popular Science recognized the Sega Dreamcast as one of the most important and innovative products of 1999.


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The PlayStation 2 was the first system to have graphics capability better than that of the leading-edge personal computer at the time of its release.

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The Nintendo N64 marked the first time that computer graphics workstation manufacturer Silicon Graphics Inc.
(SGI) developed game hardware technology.


The first console to have games available in the form of add-on cartridges was the Fairchild Channel F console, introduced in August 1976.

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The word atari comes from the ancient Japanese game of Go and means "you are about to be engulfed." Technically, it is the word used by a player to inform his opponent that he or she is about to lose, similar to "check" in chess.

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The Sega Genesis featured a version of the same Motorola processor that powered the original Apple Macintosh computer.

[AikonEnt]

Still got my Dreamcast. Hasn't been plugged in for around 8 years! Good machine, flopped big stlye

[steve_dave]

Nintendo wanted to add a CD-ROM drive to the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo and approached Sony who went through the entire pre-production phase. Nintendo ultimately abandoned the project since they felt that the deal weighed far too heavily in Sony's favor.

Sony went on to continue to develop the CD-ROM attachement as a stand-alone unit. This prototype would be the precursor to the Playstation game system that would unseat Nintendo for several years and kill Sega in its wake.

[DezNutz]

Originally Posted by AikonEnt

Still got my Dreamcast. Hasn't been plugged in for around 8 years! Good machine, flopped big stlye

dont know about that.. dreamcast has its day, now the Sega Saturn yeah that is how you do a flop. I loved the Dreamcast and it had good games.. the video on your controller was way ahead of its time...

I can still remember playing 4 player Toy Commander on that system.. great deathmatches..

[Y3k Bug]

Originally Posted by DezNutz

the video on your controller was way ahead of its time...

I loved that thing. Made playing NFL 2k nice because your opponent couldn't see what play you were calling.

In my dreams, I'm hoping they bring something like that to the next generation of consoles, but updated with an OLED color screen, touch would be cool too. Yeah I know...keep dreaming.

[AikonEnt]

Originally Posted by DezNutz

dont know about that.. dreamcast has its day, now the Sega Saturn yeah that is how you do a flop. I loved the Dreamcast and it had good games.. the video on your controller was way ahead of its time...

I can still remember playing 4 player Toy Commander on that system.. great deathmatches..

Yeah the little portable device in the controller was pretty good. Crap battery life they had though, and they were expensive. The Dreamcast had some excellent games, I enjoyed Crazy Taxi, both the Power Stone games, Blue Stinger, Metropolis Street Racer (plus many more) and when I took it round to a friends place and we started playing Soul Calibur they were amazed at the graphics.

[DonRSD]

Originally Posted by Y3k Bug

I loved that thing. Made playing NFL 2k nice because your opponent couldn't see what play you were calling.

In my dreams, I'm hoping they bring something like that to the next generation of consoles, but updated with an OLED color screen, touch would be cool too. Yeah I know...keep dreaming.

ive been saying the same thing for years.

plus move the R1/L1 - LB/RB to underneath the controller ala n64 where my middle fingers can access them

picture your hand on a controller and where your middle fingers lie.....THATS where the L1/R1 buttons should be

[Goodintentions]

i actually use my middle pointer fingers for hte li/l2 buttons and it works just fine for me .. i find very few times where you really need to use both buttons at once though so just moving my one finger back and forth isnt an issue

[MacDaddyOJack]

Originally Posted by Goodintentions

i actually use my middle pointer fingers for hte li/l2 buttons and it works just fine for me .. i find very few times where you really need to use both buttons at once though so just moving my one finger back and forth isnt an issue

Then you've never played Warhawk, shame on you When you are in a warhawk, R1 is machine gun and you hold L1 for missle lock. So when you are flying after someone, you already have those two pressed down. Then you have to double tap R2 or L2 for turbo so one of those hands will have to pull double duty.

[Goodintentions]

actually i was going to say the only time it really seems to be an issue is in flyinggames which i dont really play

[raskal66]

Originally Posted by Y3k Bug

I loved that thing. Made playing NFL 2k nice because your opponent couldn't see what play you were calling.

I loved it too. I remember playing a game of MLB 2k and where my team hit 37 homeruns in one game. Everyone in my lineup had at least two (though it was a super team acquired through trades, admittedly)

[Terjyn]

The PlayStation 2 was the first system to have graphics capability better than that of the leading-edge personal computer at the time of its release.

Ummm....no, it really wasn't. I'm sure there is some way in which the PS2 was better, but this statement is pretty much absurd.

[ADRiiAN`]

Originally Posted by Terjyn

Ummm....no, it really wasn't. I'm sure there is some way in which the PS2 was better, but this statement is pretty much absurd.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/video-game.htm/printable

Source is HowStuffWorks.

[ADRiiAN`]

Other facts:

# The Microsoft Xbox was the first video game system to provide full support for HDTV.

# While the original Atari Football game was first created in 1973, it wasn't released until 1978. It was delayed because the game couldn't scroll the screen -- players couldn't move beyond the area shown on the monitor. When the game was finally released, it became the first game to utilize scrolling, a key part of many games today.

[androvsky]

Other stuff from that website:

Nintendo's Game Boy was the most successful game system ever, with more than 100 million units sold worldwide.

I'm pretty sure the DS and PS2 have passed it...

The PlayStation 3 has a processor that acts like a biological cell in an organism.

?

[lettucenpico]

I still own my Dreamcast. I got NBA 2k, NFL 2k1, UFC, Baseball 2k1 and 2, Virtua tennis. And to this day, it still works. I think

I loved the Dreamcast, hated to see it didn't do well. It had potential. Thanks Microsoft for buying them out

[dereksworl]

Originally Posted by androvsky

Other stuff from that website:

*waits for the PS3 to become self aware and enslave the human race*

[DezNutz]

yeah, Code Veronica, Soul Calibur, it had some good games... I also would love to see the return of the screen on controller.. that was built for football games.. picking plays on your controller so your opponent could not see was huge.. not sure we will ever see it return though with more online co-op, and wireless controllers the norm.. battery life would take another hit..

[SoCalTiger]

The PlayStation 2 was the first system to have graphics capability better than that of the leading-edge personal computer at the time of its release.

Originally Posted by Terjyn

Ummm....no, it really wasn't. I'm sure there is some way in which the PS2 was better, but this statement is pretty much absurd.

Originally Posted by ADRiiAN`

http://www.howstuffworks.com/video-game.htm/printable

Source is HowStuffWorks.

HowStuffWorks is normally a good website but the fact is that that statement is wrong. Maybe the graphics are better in a particular aspect they are looking at but PC graphics have ALWAYS exceeded console graphics and I have yet to see that change.

For one, if you want to go by resolution alone, the Playstation 2 was first commercially available in March 2000. OTOH, SVGA and XGA were first introduced in 1990, TEN years earlier.

Even most modern video games on the PS3 and X360 do not actually render at 1920x1080 whereas they have been doing so for a long time on PCs.

[ADRiiAN`]

Originally Posted by funsocaltiger

HowStuffWorks is normally a good website but the fact is that that statement is wrong. Maybe the graphics are better in a particular aspect they are looking at but PC graphics have ALWAYS exceeded console graphics and I have yet to see that change.

For one, if you want to go by resolution alone, the Playstation 2 was first commercially available in March 2000. OTOH, SVGA and XGA were first introduced in 1990, TEN years earlier.

Even most modern video games on the PS3 and X360 do not actually render at 1920x1080 whereas they have been doing so for a long time on PCs.

Better resolution doesn't mean better graphics.

Maybe for a couple of months the PS2 had better graphics, but that statement had to come from somewhere.