Video game

From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.

Video games are electronic games played on a video screen (normally a television, or a built-in screen when played on a handheld machine).

There are many types of these games: role-playing games; shooters, first-person shooters, side-scrollers, and platformers are just a few.

There have been many types of consoles, which are what you use to play video games. Some of the first were the Atari 2600 and Nintendo Entertainment System which were sold in the 1980s. New video games are the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube. The best selling video game console of all time is the PlayStation 2, made by Sony.

You can play portable video games anywhere. The most popular portable video game console is the Nintendo GameBoy. Today, there are the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable. You can even watch movies on the PlayStation Portable.

Classic video game characters include Mario and his friends.

There has been some arguments over the violence and sex in video games. For more information see video game controversy.

Each year, over ten thousand games are made for the PC. Many more are made for the Xbox, GC, and PSP. The older consoles seldom have new games developed for them although console games are emulated (changed so they can be played on a PC) frequently. Also, they are more popular emulated than when they were on sale.

The use of video games to compete is called electronic sports.

[edit] Next generation consoles

Sony's PlayStation 3, which will come out in Early 2007, is the newest of the Playstation game consoles.

Nintendo's new console, the Wii, will be released in November 2006. Its odd-shaped controller shaped like a television remote is much different from a normal game controller.