Editing Video game console (section)

===Game media===
While the first game consoles were dedicated game systems, with the games programmed into the console's hardware, the [[Fairchild Channel F]] introduced the ability to store games in a form separate from the console's internal circuitry, thus allowing the consumer to purchase new games to play on the system. Since the Channel F, nearly all game consoles have featured the ability to purchase and swap games through some form, through those forms have changes with improvements in technology.

;[[ROM cartridge]] or game cartridge
:The [[read-only memory]] (ROM) cartridge was introduced with the Fairchild Channel F. A ROM cartridge consist of a [[printed circuit board]] (PCB) housed inside of a plastic casing, with a connector allowing the device to interface with the console. The circuit board can contain a wide variety of components, at the minimum, the read-only memory with the software written on it. Later cartridges were able to introduce additional components onto the circuit board like coprocessors, such as Nintendo's [[SuperFX]] chip, to enhance the performance of the console.<ref>{{cite web| last =Polsson| first =Ken| title =Chronology of Video Game Systems| date =May 9, 2007| url =http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/vidgame/vid1995.htm| access-date =June 9, 2007| archive-date =October 7, 2021| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20211007004221/http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/vidgame/vid1995.htm| url-status =live}}</ref> Some consoles such as the [[Turbografx-16]] used a [[smart card]]-like technology to flatten the cartridge to a credit-card-sized system, which helped to reduce production costs, but limited additional features that could be included onto the circuitry.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/225466/stalled_engine_the_turbografx16_.php | title = Stalled engine: The TurboGrafx-16 turns 25 | first = Christian | last = Nutt | date = September 12, 2014 | access-date = July 29, 2020 | work = [[Gamasutra]] | archive-date = June 27, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170627080057/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/225466/stalled_engine_the_turbografx16_.php | url-status = dead }}</ref> PCB-based cartridges waned with the introduction of optical media during the fifth generation of consoles. More recently, ROM cartridges have been based on high memory density, low cost [[flash memory]], which allows for easier mass production of games. Sony used this approach for the PlayStation Vita,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/e3-2011-sony-playstation-vita-inside-and-out-6317468/|title=E3 2011: Sony PlayStation Vita: Inside and Out|author=Sarju Shah|website=GameSpot.com|publisher=CBS Interactive, Inc.|date=June 7, 2011|access-date=June 11, 2011|archive-date=October 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006000425/http://www.gamespot.com/features/e3-2011-sony-playstation-vita-inside-and-out-6317468/|url-status=live}}</ref> and Nintendo continues to use ROM cartridges for its 3DS and Switch products.

;[[Optical media]]
:Optical media, such as [[CD-ROM]], [[DVD]], and [[Blu-ray]], became the primary format for retail distribution with the fifth generation. The CD-ROM format had gained popularity in the 1990s, in the midst of the fourth generation, and as a game media, CD-ROMs were cheaper and faster to produce, offered much more storage space and allowed for the potential of [[full-motion video]].<ref>{{cite journal | title = Hardware gimmick or cultural innovation? Technological, cultural, and social foundations of the Japanese video game industry | first1 = Yuko | last1 = Aoyama | first2= Hiro  |last2= Izushi | journal = [[Research Policy]] | volume = 32 | issue =3 | date = 2003 | pages = 423–444 |  doi = 10.1016/S0048-7333(02)00016-1 }}</ref> Several console manufacturers attempted to offer CD-ROM add-ons to fourth generation consoles, but these were nearly as expensive as the consoles themselves and did not fare well. Instead, the CD-ROM format became integrated into consoles of the fifth generation, with the DVD format present across most by the seventh generation and Blu-ray by the eighth. Console manufacturers have also used proprietary disc formats for copy protection as well, such as the [[Nintendo optical disc]] used on the GameCube, and Sony's [[Universal Media Disc]] on the PlayStation Portable.

;[[Digital distribution]]
:Since the seventh generation of consoles, most consoles include integrated connectivity to the [[Internet]] and both internal and external storage for the console, allowing for players to acquire new games without game media. All three of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft offer an integrated storefront for consumers to purchase new games and download them to their console, retaining the consumers' purchases across different consoles, and offering sales and incentives at times.

;[[Cloud gaming]]
:As Internet access speeds improved throughout the eighth generation of consoles, cloud gaming had gained further attention as a media format. Instead of downloading games, the consumer plays them directly from a cloud gaming service with inputs performed on the local console sent through the Internet to the server with the rendered graphics and audio sent back. [[Network delay|Latency]] in network transmission remains a core limitation for cloud gaming at the present time.

While [[magnetic storage]], such as [[tape drive]]s and [[floppy disk]]s, had been popular for software distribution with early personal computers in the 1980s and 1990s, this format did not see much use in console systems. There were some attempts, such as the [[Bally Astrocade]] and [[APF-M1000]] using tape drives, as well as the [[Family Computer Disk System|Disk System]] for the Nintendo Famicom,<ref>{{cite web|title=Family Computer Disk System|date=January 20, 2000|url=http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/fds/fds.html|access-date=June 20, 2007|archive-date=April 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422033614/http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/fds/fds.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[Nintendo 64DD]] for the Nintendo 64, but these had limited applications, as magnetic media was more fragile and volatile than game cartridges.<ref>{{cite web|last=Swearingen|first=Kirsten|author2=Peter Charles|author3=Nathan Good|author4=Laheem Lamar Jordan|author5=Joyojeet Pal|title=How Much Information? 2003|url=http://www2.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info-2003/magnetic.htm|access-date=June 20, 2007|archive-date=November 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111020313/https://www2.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info-2003/magnetic.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{multiple image
 | align = center
 | total_width = 600
 | image1 = Cartridge Fairchild Channel F.jpg
 | caption1 = A Fairchild Channel F cartridge, exposing the circuit contacts on the PCB
 | image2 = Wii-optical-case.png
 | caption2 = A Nintendo Wii optical disc
 | image3 = Google Stadia Cloud gaming (48605754611).jpg
 | caption3 = Mobile device running cloud game on [[Google Stadia|Stadia]] with official controller
}}