The gaming industry is a cutthroat world. Every company is trying to be on the leading edge of technology, to invent the next big new thing, to push the envelope of what can be done with the latest and greatest hardware. But there is a cost associated with those who jump in too quickly. In several cases, a gaming company tried to move to the next level when the time simply was not right - either because the technology wasn't there to fully support the change, or gamers were not ready to move on - and paid the price.

However, these steps in the next direction really pave the path for each new generation of games. These "guinea pigs" provide a valuable service for the entire industry, in not only setting the groundwork for the future, but also showing what they did right and what faults they made. Others learn from their mistakes, and only through these mistakes can they get a good sense of what will work.

It's unfortunate that these risk-takers, these future-seekers, often end up in financial turmoil and experience massive criticism for trying these new ideas. It is only after the fact, after what they tried to accomplish becomes the norm, that they receive the recognition they deserved all along. Here, I'll take a look at some of these ideas and salute those who implemented them before anyone else.

After all, someone has to be first!