Sony Play Station 2 is the first 128 bit system, compared to Nintendo 64 which has only 64 bits. (The more bits a system has, the better attributes it will have, like color, graphics, shapes, etc.) When it comes out in a year and a half with four hot game titles, it will have the looks of today's Play Station, but with a whole lot more inside. If you like the Play Station, you'll like this!
Nintendo of Japan was founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi. He was an artist and craftsworker. He started it as a playing card company. Nintendo means "leave luck to heaven." Nintendo joined Coleco, an American Video Game Company, in the 1970's. Soon after they made their first two games: Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers.
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was the highest selling system in history and the most loved. They had popular titles like Donkey Kong, Mario Brothers, and Killer Instincts. It has two controllers, which players hold to control their characters in the game. The NES has no special add-ons, which are explained below.
In 1988 Nintendo started controlling the number of games that were available, creating a high demand and high prices. This helped Nintendo, but drove other video game companies out of business. Today, Sega, Sony Playstation, and Nintendo are the three main video game systems.
Sega was the first of the Japanese companies to try a new system. Created in 1945 in Japan by an American, David Rosin, Service Games originally produced coin-operated mechanical games. In 1965 Rosen purchased a Tokyo jukebox and slot-machine maker and adopted a shortened version of Service Games Sega. "Sonic the Hedgehog" is Sega's star.
Sony-Sony is like a computer. It runs on a CD ROM drive. It has many versions: "Normal," "Rumble," and "Double Memory."
Sega is a cartridge game system, like Nintendo, but looks very different.
A controller, or joy stick, is designed to be held by the player. It is covered with buttons. It will control the character that is you.
The system is a box that transfers the cartridges' memory and its own memory to the TV.
The switch box: During all generations of home video games, the switch box has been the box that links the system to a TV. It is not a main power switch.
Cartridges are the plastic cases that you put into the system. They tell the system what to put on the TV. Without it you can't play a game.
Rumble packs make you feel like you're in the game by making the controller shake or vibrate as if you were really at the wheel.
Expansion packs give you better graphics, color, and sound. They turn a Nintendo 64 to a Nintendo 68.
Memory cards help certain games save the progress you've made so you can stop and continue playing later.
Trimmer Packs are a mixture of a rumble pack and a memory card. They have three different modes: auto save, rumble, and save. It also has a place on the bottom for a rumble pack or memory card. These packs give you a combined way of "rumbling" and saving, without having to switch back and forth every time you play different games.
Game sharks are video enhancers that give you certain things like cheats, like making your character invincible, giving you unlimited ammunition, and allowing you to get to play levels you wouldn't otherwise get to.
Sonic will take you to the top.
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