2. MICROSOFT
• MICROSOFT ARE THE CREATORS AND CURRENT
OWNERS OF THE XBOX GAMES CONSOLE. THE
COMPANY WAS FOUNDED 4TH APR 1975 BY BILL
GATES AND IS BEST KNOWN FOR THE CREATION
OF THE GROUND-BREAKING OPERATING SYSTEM
WINDOWS. MICROSOFT IS ONE OF THE MOST
VALUABLE COMPANIES IN THE WORLD MAKING
BILLIONS OF POUNDS EVERY YEAR SPECIALISING IN
COMPUTER HARDWARE/SOFTWARE
MANUFACTURING.
3. XBOX
• THE XBOX WAS FIRST CREATED BY MICROSOFT IN NOVEMBER
2001AS THE COMPANY VENTURED INTO NEW AREAS OF TECH
DEVELOPMENT IN AN ATTEMPT TO DIVERSIFY THE
COMPANIES ARSENAL. THE XBOX WAS MADE TO RIVAL THE
INFAMOUS PS2 AND WAS A SUCCESS BY MICROSOFT’S
STANDARDS SELLING 24 MILLION UNITS WORLDWIDE WHICH
PERSUADED MICROSOFT TO CONTINUE THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THIS GAMES CONSOLE. IT’S SUCCESSOR WAS THE XBOX
36O WHICH RIVALLED SONY’S PS3, IT WAS MUCH MORE
POWERFUL THAN ITS PREDECESSOR AND WAS ALSO THE FIRST
TIME MANY PLAYERS BEGAN USING XBOX LIVE (WHICH
ALLOWED FOR ONLINE GAMING), THE CONSOLE WHEN ON TO
SELL AN OUTSTANDING 84 MILLION UNITS WORLDWIDE SINCE
ITS RELEASE IN 2005. IN 2013; AFTER 8 YEARS OF WAITING,
THE THIRD GENERATION OF XBOX WAS FINALLY RELEASED.
THE XBOX ONE WAS MICROSOFT’S MOST AMBITIOUS AND
INNOVATIVE CONSOLE TO DATE. IT FEATURED VOICE
CONTROL, ALL NEW SECOND SCREEN TECHNOLOGY AND
EVEN ALLOWED USERS TO WATCH TV. IT WAS ALSO MUCH
MORE POWERFUL THAN THE 360 MODEL AND THE CONSOLE
WENT ON TO SELL ONLY 19 MILLION UNITS WORLDWIDE. THIS
4. PROS
• HAS THE BIGGEST COMPANY IN THE WORLD FINANCIALLY FUNDING THE CONSOLE
(MICROSOFT).
• XBOX LIVE ALLOWS PLAYERS TO PLAY GAMES ONLINE.
• ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL CONSOLES ON THE MARKET.
• HAS A LARGE FAN BASE WHICH MEANS MICROSOFT RECEIVE A LOT OF FEEDBACK.
• XBOX CONTROLLERS ARE OFTEN PRAISED FOR BEING VERY COMFORTABLE AND FITTING TO
THE HUMAN HAND.
• ARGUABLY HAD THE BEST EXCLUSIVE GAMES OUT OF ANY CONSOLE ON THE MARKET (HALO,
FORZA ETC.)
• STRONG SECURITY SERVERS
5. CONS
• OFTEN OUTSHONE BY THE POWER OF PLAYSTATION’S CONSOLES.
• THE NEWEST INSTALMENT, THE XBOX ONE, IS OFTEN CRITICISED FOR BEING TOO
BIG AND CLUNKY.
• MANY PLAYERS REPORTED SUFFERING FROM THE INFAMOUS “RED RINGS OF
DEATH” WHICH ESSENTIALLY RENDERED THE CONSOLE UNUSABLE UNTIL IT WAS
FIXED.
• THE XBOX HAS ALWAYS CAME WITH A POWER BRICK WHICH PEOPLE GREW TO
HATE OVER THE YEARS DUE TO THEM ALWAYS HAVING TO FIND SPACE FOR IT.
6. SONY
• SONY IS A JAPANESE MULTINATIONAL
CONGLOMERATE THAT SPECIALISES IN THE
MANUFACTURING/DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRONIC
GOODS SUCH AS DVD PLAYERS AND TELEVISIONS.
IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1946 IN TOKYO, JAPAN AND
IS NOW ONE OF THE LARGEST COMPANIES IN THE
WORLD. SONY’S BIGGEST LINE OF PRODUCTS
HOWEVER COME IN THE FORM OF THE
PLAYSTATION WHICH IS CURRENTLY ONE OF THE
MOST POPULAR GAMING PLATFORMS ON THE
PLANET.
7. PLAYSTATION
• PLAYSTATION IS ONE OF THE MOST
RECOGNISABLE BRANDS IN THE GAMING
INDUSTRY. THERE IS CURRENTLY 4
GENERATIONS OF PLAYSTATION, THE PS1, PS2,
PS3 AND MOST RECENTLY THE PS4. SONY’S PS2
IS CURRENTLY THE HIGHEST SELLING CONSOLE
OF ALL TIME SELLING 155 MILLION UNITS
WORLDWIDE. THE LATEST PLAYSTATION (PS4) IS
CURRENTLY THE MOST POWERFUL CONSOLE ON
THE MARKET WITH 8GB OF GDDR5 RAM AND A
8-CORE JAGUAR CPU. THE PLAYSTATION 4 HAS
CURRENTLY SHIPPED 43.5 MILLION UNITS
WORLDWIDE.
8. PROS
• THE PLAYSTATION 4 IS CURRENTLY THE MOST POWERFUL CONSOLE ON THE
MARKET.
• PLAYSTATION CONSOLES HAVE ALWAYS OUTSHONE XBOX CONSOLES IN TERMS
OF POWER.
• THE PLAYSTATION 4 IS MUCH SLIMMER AND LIGHTER THAN THE XBOX ONE.
• PLAYSTATION PLUS MEMBERS GET TWO FREE GAMES PER MONTH.
• THE PLAYSTATION 3 ALLOWS USERS TO PLAY ONLINE FOR FREE.
9. CONS
• SONY HAS HAD MANY SECURITY PROBLEMS IN THE PAST. FOR EXAMPLE, THE
FAMOUS LIZARD SQUAD ATTACKS LEFT THE PLAYSTATION SERVERS SHUTDOWN
FOR WEEKS.
• THE PLAYSTATION 4 CONSOLE REQUIRES YOU TO WAIT AROUND 30 SECONDS
BEFORE YOU CAN ACTUALLY TURN IT OFF.
• THE DUALSHOCK 4 CONTROLLERS ONLY HAVE LOW BATTERY LIFE.
10. NINTENDO
• NINTENDO WAS FIRST CREATED 23RD SEPTEMBER 1889
AND WAS BASED IN KYOTO, JAPAN. IT ORIGINALLY
STARTED OUT AS A JAPANESE PLAYING CARD
MANUFACTURER BUT SLOWLY DEVELOPED INTO A
GAMES/GAMES CONSOLE MANUFACTURER DURING
THE 1970’S AND TODAY IS ONE OF THE MOST
RECOGNISABLE BRANDS IN THE VIDEO GAME
INDUSTRY. NINTENDO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCH
CONSOLES SUCH AS THE NINTENDO 64, THE
NINTENDO GAMECUBE, THE NINTENDO WII AND THE
POPULAR HAND-HELD DEVICE THE NINTENDO DS. THE
MOST POPULAR GAMES ON THE NINTENDO CONSOLES
ARE THE SUPER MARIO GAMES WHICH ARE EXCLUSIVE
TO NINTENDO PRODUCTS.
11. WII U
• THE WII U IS THE LATEST GAMES CONSOLE
RELEASE BY NINTENDO AND IS A FOLLOW UP TO
THE REVOLUTIONARY NINTENDO WII. THE
NINTENDO WII WAS RELEASED TO COMPETE WITH
SONY’S PS4 AND MICROSOFT’S XBOX ONE AND
HAS SOLD AROUND 13 MILLION UNITS
WORLDWIDE. THE CONSOLE FEATURES AND
TOUCHSCREEN AND HD GRAPHICS WHICH IS A
FIRST FOR A NINTENDO CONSOLE. THE CONSOLE
ALSO HAS MANY MOTION FEATURES JUST LIKE ITS
PREDECESSOR THE NINTENDO WII. HOWEVER, THIS
CONSOLE HAS RECEIVED MIXED REVIEWS SINCE ITS
RELEASE IN 2012.
12. PROS:
• CHEAPER THAN THE PS4 AND THE XBOX ONE
• HAS MANY EXCLUSIVE NINTENDO GAMES SUCH AS MARIO AND ZELDA
• IS PERFECT FOR “OLD SCHOOL” GAMERS WHO GREW UP WITH CONSOLES SUCH
AS THE NINTENDO 64
• FEATURES BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY
13. CONS:
• THE PERFORMANCE IS NOWHERE NEAR THAT OF THE PS4 AND XBOX ONE
• GAMES GENERALLY HAVE POOR GRAPHICS DUE TO THE BELOW PAR CAPABILITIES
OF THE CONSOLE
• WII U GAME PAD HAS BEEN CRITICISED FOR BEING OVER COMPLICATED
• THE CONSOLE LACKS FEATURES WHEN COMPARED TO ITS COMPETITION
14. APPLE
• APPLE WAS FIRST FOUNDED IN 1976 BY STEVE
JOBS, STEVE WOZNIAK AND RONALD WAYNE IN
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA. APPLE IS ONE OF THE
BIGGEST TECH COMPANIES ON THE PLANET
WITH ONLY MICROSOFT BEATING IT IN TERMS
OF SIZE AND SALES. THERE ARE CURRENTLY 475
APPLE RETAIL STORES IN 17 DIFFERENT
COUNTRIES. THE COMPANY HAS HAD A TOTAL
REVENUE OF $233 BILLION AS OF 2016. SOME
OF APPLES MOST POPULAR PRODUCTS INCLUDE
THE IPHONE, IPOD, IPAD AND THE APPLE MAC
PC.
15. IPHONE
• THE IPHONE WAS FIRST RELEASED BY APPLE IN
2007 AND HAS NOW BECOME THE MOST
SUCCESSFUL SMARTPHONE ON THE MARKET
WITH THE COMPANIES LATEST RELEASE THE
IPHONE 7. ON APPLES WEBSITE; YOU CAN
CURRENTLY PURCHASE THE IPHONE 6S FOR THE
PRICE OF £539. ALTHOUGH PRICEY FOR A
PHONE; PEOPLE WILL BE WILLING TO PAY THIS
AS THEY KNOW THAT THE PRODUCT THAT
THEY ARE GETTING WILL BE OF THE HIGHEST
QUALITY DUE TO IT BEING A PRODUCT MADE BY
APPLE.
16. PROS
• THE IPHONE 7 HAS THE BEST PERFORMANCE AVAILABLE IN A SMARTPHONE AS
OF 2016
• APPLE HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD AT MAKING ITS PRODUCTS USER FRIENDLY
• IPHONES HAVE MANY EXCLUSIVE FEATURES SUCH AS FACETIME AND APPLE
MUSIC
• APPLE IS BY FAR THE WEALTHIEST PRODUCER OF SMARTPHONES
• IPHONES ARE CURRENTLY THE BEST SELLING SMARTPHONES
17. CONS
• SAMSUNG’S SMARTPHONE RANGE DO HAVE SOME EDGES OVER APPLE SUCH AS
WATER RESISTANCY AND BATTERY LIFE
• IPHONES ARE GENERALLY ONLY MADE TO LAST AROUND 2 YEARS FORCING YOU
TO UPGRADE
• DESPITE THE QUALITY YOU GET FOR PURCHASING AN IPHONE, THEY ARE ONE OF
THE MOST EXPENSIVE SMARTPHONES ON THE MARKET
• THE IPHONE 7 NO LONGER HAS A HEADPHONE JACK RENDERING STANDARD
HEADPHONE UNUSABLE WITHOUT A LIGHTNING PORT ADAPTER
