Platform types

explain different types of platforms
advantages, disadvantages, examples, -for all platforms-
6 platform types
handheld, mobile, pc, video(dvd games), internet, arcade, tv, stand alone console
future for each flatform

Handheld

Handheld consoles are used for either on long road trips or those occasions where you have nothing else to do and you just want to play a game that is only available on that platform. Some examples of handheld consoles are the PSP, PSVita, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo DSs and Gameboys.

The advantages of handheld consoles are that they are compact which means less space is taken up. The other advantage is that as well as playing games they do have other functions too. Some of the functions are that the handheld can act as a camera, if one is installed into it, or can contain apps to do other things like animation. A example of one of the handheld console which can function as
something else will be the Nintendo DSi. The DSi has a camera that has been built into the back of the top screen. There is a built in app that allows you to use the camera to take pictures.

 A disadvantage is that they require to be recharged when the battery is drained but sometimes you can't recharged it as where you currently are there may be no sockets for you to plug into. Another disadvantage is that handhelds can be easily damaged as there is no protection.

Future of handhelds

Source http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/26/weekend-hot-topic-part-1-the-future-of-portable-consoles-4161697/

The future of hand held consoles are a bit dodgy right now. This because of the rise of smartphones and tablets. Some people are debating that handheld consoles are ok as people are saying they are useful for when situations involve a lot of waiting. Smartphones are used to play games on the go or when the user doesn't want to buy handheld or either like any of the games available to it.

History of the Nintendo family
Source http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Corporate/Nintendo-History/Nintendo-History-625945.html

In 1986 the Nintendo entertainment system was released and this was what saved the videogame industry. in 1990 the GAME BOY was released so gamer can now play games on the move. 1992 the Super Nintendo Entertainment system was released selling 42 million units worldwide. 1997 the Nintendo 64 was released and later on the Ramble Pak was released to allow player to 'feel' the vibrations in the game. 1998 the GAME BOY Colour was released allowing players to see games in colour on a 44x39mm 160x140 resolution screen. 2001 the Gameboy advance was released. 2002 two Nintendo platforms were released which were the Pokémon mini and the Nintendo GameCube. 2003 the Gameboy advance was released. 2005 had another 2 Nintendo platforms released which were the Nintendo DS and the Gameboy micro. 2006 the Nintendo DS lite and the wii were released. 2009 the Nintendo DSi was released. 2010 a larger version of the DSi was released called the Nintendo DSi xl. 2011 and 2012 the 3DS and 3DSxl was released.

What does this show
This shows that Nintendo sold mostly handheld platforms than any other company at the time. If you look at a list of handhelds sold by Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo you will find that PlayStation only sold 2, Xbox didn't sell any and Nintendo sold about 12 handheld consoles. The list above shows 12 sold, Xboxes list will only show 3 consoles and no handhelds and finally PlayStations list will show 2 handhelds which are the PSP and PS Vita.

Mobile

Mobile platforms are mostly associated with mobile phones. Mobile phones however were most invented for easy communication but over developing years they are now able to play games via apps. A example of a mobile phone platform will be the iPhone. The iPhone used the ios7 OS(Operating System) and to acquire apps it uses the 'I store' (I think it is called that). Once someone has done calling who ever they want they would then properly play a game that they got from the store.

Advantages of this platform are that it is starting to become very popular with most people around the world which means more games are going to be developed for it.

Disadvantages of this platform are that for older phones newer released games might not be able to play them vice versa newer phone might not be able to play older games.

Future

The future for mobile phones are that they might overtake handheld consoles. This is because these smarter phones are allowing for better apps and games which means more people are going to use their phone to play games.

Mobiles history
Source: http://www.softschools.com/timelines/cell_phone_timeline/28/

Mobile phones first didn't start as a phone at all. The use of mobile communication started in Detroit Police cars in 1921. They used portable radios to talk to other officers however it wasn't very good. 1934 The Federal Communications Committee was made to handle who got what channel. This was because before the government used most radio frequencies which caused it to clog up. 1940 communications by mobile radios become more common. Only government agencies and rich people could have these. 1945 the first mobile service is set up after mobile phones opened up in St. Louis, MO however the service didn't work very well which meant it doesn't last long. 1947 a car phone service was attempted but it wasn't successful. 1956 a second attempt was made for the service and this time it was successful. 1971 was when the term cell is used. This was because a company called AT and T proposed to split the phone service into different areas across the cities which they called cells.

Pc

PC platforms are also very popular with most generations as PC does allow for some games to be playable by many ages. Using a PC platform also allows for some games to be played that haven't been made for consoles, hand held or even phones.

The advantages of using a PC platform is that older games like nfs underground 2 had a online option. This will allow PC users to play and talk to each other. Where as at the time nfs underground 2 for console had no online option at all. Another advantage of using a PC platform is that the computer can be updated with the latest hardware so you can play newer games.

The disadvantages of the PC platform is that it allows people to be able to hack the games on it. This will then cause unfair gameplay in a online lobby. Another disadvantage is updating the hardware on your computer sometimes stops you from being able to play older games.

future

The future of PC are that they are going to become more powerful and are going to be able to handle more graphically challenging games.

Video (DVD games)

Video platforms aren't really popular with anyone except kids. Even kids don't take notice of this platform type. A lot of film companies these days don't bother putting in games into their films due to people not playing them and due to cost and effort.

Internet

The internet platform are games that you play on the internet. These are most likely flash games. These games are mostly played during school times. Mostly students who don't want to do work or are finished everything and are bored.