A
video game is an
electronic game that involves interaction with a
user interface to generate visual feedback on a
video device such as a
TV screen or
computer monitor. The word
video in
video game traditionally referred to a
raster display device, but as of the 2000s, it implies any type of
display device that can produce two- or three-dimensional
images. Some theorists categorize
video games as an art form, but this designation is controversial.
The electronic systems used to play video games are known as
platforms; examples of these are personal computers and
video game consoles. These platforms range from large
mainframe computers to small
handheld computing devices. Specialized video games such as
arcade games, in which the video game components are housed in a large, typically
coin-operated chassis, while common in the 1980s in
video arcades, have gradually declined due to the widespread availability of affordable home video game consoles (e.g.,
PlayStation 4,
Xbox One and
Nintendo Wii U) and video games on desktop and laptop computers and
smartphones.
The
input device used for games, the
game controller, varies across platforms. Common controllers include
gamepads,
joysticks,
mouse devices,
keyboards, the
touchscreens of
mobile devices, and buttons, or even, with the
Kinectsensor, a person's hands and body. Players typically view the game on a video screen or television or computer monitor, or sometimes on
virtual reality head-mounted display goggles. There are often game
sound effects, music and, in the 2010s, voice actor lines which come from
loudspeakers or
headphones. Some games in the 2000s include
haptic, vibration-creating effects,
force feedback peripherals and
virtual reality headsets. In the 2010s, the
video game industry is of increasing commercial importance, with growth driven particularly by the emerging Asian markets and
mobile games, which are played on
smartphones. As of 2015, video games generated sales of
USD 74 billion annually worldwide, and were the third-largest segment in the U.S. entertainment market, behind broadcast and cable TV.
