How did the computer games become so popular among the teens?
The first computer game created was the ‘tennis for two’. This was followed with more games like Tic-Tac-Toe, Chess, Odyssey, SpaceWar, etc which were played on television sets and consoles. Later developments included games within games called multiple levels like Pacman, Prince, Claw, Aladdin, etc. All these demand skill and perfection of timing. What better way can a child are taught to use his/her skill. It was a sense of pride for every parent that the child learned the use computers. They found the computers games more exciting and interesting.
The growth of the industry:
Anticipating a growth in an unfamiliar territory, certain companies like Sony, Ubisoft, Nintendo, Activision, etc. played an important part in advancing the computer games technology. They brought these to a different level all together. Different accessories devices are manufactured to play these games.
Video games are available in different forms. They are:-
PC Games. These games are available on CDs in retail market and can also be downloaded from the internet. These are available at a price and some are freeware. A lot of websites offer freeware games. Few of the popular Freeware games are Fifa games, Harry Potter series, SimCity, Battle field, Spiderman series, Batman, Arkhamcity, Mirrors Edge, Splinter Cell Conviction, etc. Popular websites to download ea.com, ubi.com, myplaycity.com, ibibo.com etc. One can check for new releases and upcoming games from these websites.
Online games. These are created and uploaded by individual websites. These are also in both categories of paid and freeware. More than a billion games are available online. These games can also be connected to multi-player games.
Popular sites are http://www.miniclip.com, etc.
NOTE: Popular worldwide is Counter Strike 1.6 which can be downloaded as well as played online. Popular game which is being played now using the Facebook (established social network of the world), used by adults and teenagers are Empires and Allies, Farm Ville, City Ville, Shadow Fight, etc.
Multi-player Games. In these there can be more than one player at a time, unlike on the PC where it is one person activity. Proper devices or consoles are needed to play them. Two or more players can play at a time. Popular multiplayer games are World of Warcroft, Warcroft 3, Baseball, BloodWars, Business tycoon online, Castle of heroes, etc., which can also be played online with friends.
Gaming console games. With the demand for high quality, high resolution, multi-level games, companies got into the market dedicated software needed consoles. Now games are being created for Xbox 360, Nintendo DSI, Nintendo DS, Play station, Play station Portable(PSP) and Wii. However, they are on the expensive side.
Today’s computers are able to cater for the high graphics of the video games. With this immense technology, the world seems a small place. There is no need to come out from the comfort of the home. With the broadband / mobile internet and the advancement in the computer technology, this industry is set for further and higher growth.