Video game platform
A video game platform is a device designed to play video games, or, to a lesser extent, a device which is capable of playing video games. Video game platforms began in the 1950s. At the time, each game required a full set of dedicated hardware to be specifically designed to play a single game. As time went on, and computer hardware became more universal, it became possible to play multiple games on a single platform. Through the 1960 and 70s, video game platforms diverged into two main paths: computers for business and consoles for entertainment.
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Dedicated
A dedicated video game platform is a device which can only play a single game, or variations on a single game.
When video games were first being developed in the early-1950s, the hardware wasn't generic enough to perform that various instructions needed to run all sorts of different games, so each game had to be designed on dedicated hardware. Most early games simulated existing concepts like board games, card games, trivia, or acted as educational training tools. Due to their nature as universal computers, mainframes and minicomputers were the first video game platform to support interchangeable games at the end of the 1950s.
A growth of games on these computers caught the eye of various entrepreneurs who saw a potential market for video games, and, at the end of the 1960s, they began developing dedicated commercial arcade cabinets. Arcade cabinets continued to push technology for years, but none of the companies produced a cabinet that supported interchangeable games until Data East released the DECO Cassette System in 1980. There were similar arcade systems over the years, but the format doesn't really lend itself to interchangeable games, so arcade cabinets are still primarily dedicated platforms even to this day.
The first generation of home consoles began in 1972 and, after a slow start, quickly expanded into scores of home consoles each of which was dedicated to a single game or variations on a single game. It wasn't until the second generation in 1976 that they supported interchangeable games. Similarly, the handheld market came about in the 1970s using LED, LCD, and VFD display technologies. All of them were dedicated to a single game until 1979.
Computers
Because they were designed as universal computational machines, the mainframes and minicomputers being developed by universities and corporations were the earliest non-dedicated platforms to support video games and could run interchangeable games at the end of the 1950s. However, since these early platforms were designed primary for business and research, gaming was always an afterthought. The first kit computers of the mid-1970s like the Altair 8080 and Apple I were primarily bought by hobbyists who ported many of the early minicomputer games to them.
Three home computers were released in 1977 that would greatly expand the home computer market: the TRS-80, Commodore PET, and Apple II, each of which became very popular for gaming and created a strong precedence that was followed up even stronger with the next generation of home computers. The Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64, TRS-80 Color Computer, later variations of the Apple II, and the Atari 8-bit line was primarily used for games instead of business software. Japan saw a similar expanse of home computers in the early 1980s with the NEC PC-8800, Sharp X1, and Fujitsu FM-7, as did Europe with the Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, and ZX Spectrum. Subsequent especially popular home computers were the Amiga, Atari ST, NEC PC-9800, Commodore 128, IBM Personal Computer, and Macintosh. After the 16-bit era, the bulk of the global home computer industry was dominated by Microsoft operating systems and the hardware was designed around the OS making it the base platform rather than the hardware manufacturer.
Consoles
The first generation of video game consoles started in 1972, but they were essentially under-powered arcade cabinets that hooked up to a television. They made the jump to interchangeable games with the start of the second generation in 1976 starting with the Channel F, but became especially popular a year later with the Atari 2600. The second generation also began a heated advertising battle between the Atari 2600 and its competitors, the ColecoVision, Intellivision, and the Odyssey 2. The video game industry crashed in the USA in 1983, but was revived in 1985 with the Nintendo Entertainment System. Subsequent especially popular video game consoles include the Genesis, Super Nintendo, and PlayStation.
The first handheld to use interchangeable games was the Microvision in 1979, but it wasn't until the Game Boy in 1989 that they became especially popular. Although it saw several competitors over the years, Nintendo continued to dominate the hand held market with the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS.
Operating system
At the end of the 16-bit home computer era, computer hardware had become so generic that many computers were using similar chips, and video game platforms stopped being about the computer manufacturer, and more about the operating systems they ran. This became commonplace with MS-DOS, and pretty much guaranteed with Windows. The only other real competitor through the late 1990s and 2000s was Macintosh, but it was generally an afterthought.
As time went on, games started to be developed for virtual environments like Web browsers and the Java Platform, Micro Edition which run the same even across multiple operating systems.
Required peripherals
Many games designed to run on a video game console or home computer require special peripherals in order to be played. Some of these peripherals are made by the platform manufacturer themselves, but many of them are third party. Examples of this in the 1970s were games which required special paddle controllers and light guns. In the 1980s, a handful of games made use of dance mats. At the end of the 1990s, rhythm games exploded in popularity and continued through 2000s. In the 2010s, virtual reality headsets became especially popular.
Unintended platforms
As more and more devices are being equipped with powerful CPUs and video displays, hackers are modifying the devices' firmware to allow them to run video games. These devices were never intended to play games, but they have all the necessary hardware to accommodate them. Once the devices are understood well enough, the games are ported to them. This includes pretty much all "smart" devices like watches and TVs, but also unexpected devices like printers, ATMs, thermostats, and even digital pregnancy tests.
