Introduction: Is There a Platform in This Book?

The concept of expandability is hard to dissociate from our experience of video games. Throughout the history of the medium, we are continuously led to expect more from our digital toys. The enthusiasm for cutting-edge iterations of famous series from major studios and for ever more HD video game consoles is contagious. We are convinced our gaming horizons need to expand, and new technology conveniently happens to be there to feed our dreams. As we grow up, video game technology does too. The life expectancy of any given platform amounts to only a few years before new members are added to our favorite corporate lineages. Game fans work hard to keep track of all the previous generations that took part in the evolution of the medium. A suspiciously regular rejuvenation process marks out the enthralling forward march of technology. Such regularity shapes the phenomenon through cycles that are easier to comprehend than the underlying complexity; these cycles become significant in and of themselves. We are already hard at work celebrating the most edifying pieces of hardware of each generation, along with the great men—somehow, mostly men—responsible for these striking innovations or their successful commercialization.