Yesterday, one of my students asked if consoles would continue to be defined as ancillary devices hooked up to a TV, or if the word would evolve to refer to a new generation of devices that serve as portable multimedia players.
Historically, the record is mixed. In some regards, everybody still casually refers to broadcast monitors as TeleVisions, (TVs) regardless whether the technology is using a cathode ray tube (CRT), a plasma screen or an liquid crystal display (LCD). The same is not true of audio devices. You can identify the geriatric technophiles in the room by whether they listen to LPs, cassettes, CDs or their iPod. I'm pretty sure nobody says, " Check out the new tune on my MP3 player". And even if some folks did, it would fall out of fashion soon enough. After all, MP3 as a format will one day be supplanted by something either superior or with better compression.
By it's very technological nature, the video games industry must undergo change. Technology never remains static, but rather flows, like a wave, barreling in an unstoppable fashion toward new shores. Companies like Nintendo have always been able to adapt. Indeed, the ability to adapt to changes in technological waves has less to do with expertise, and more with innovation and core philosophies.
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