Gaming

In the early 2000s, the market began a slow shift. This was, in part, based on Sega's transition, the introduction of Microsoft to the console market, and improvement of internet capabilities and computer processing technology. This brought high-definition gaming consoles between 2005 and 2006 with the launch of Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, and Nintendo's Wii. These consoles seemed to introduce a new era of gaming, and new ways of competing against each other. An example was the PlayStation 3's capability to play Blu-rays, while the Xbox 360 was capable of playing the defunct HD DVD format. Both of these new standards of optical discs were capable of storing high-definition video and audio and offered a new way for the consoles to compete.

With the early development of gaming on computer, there was a parallel development of online gaming. This included the MUD games that were created in the 70s and could be played over an internal network before being connected to ARPANet in 1980. Following this, and the commercial internet, came commercial role-playing games and the development of online games, with notable titles including Quakeworld, Starcraft, Counter-Strike, and EverQuest.