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Royal Battle: Sony Defends Itself Against Microsoft and Nintendo
by Steven Kent for Gamers Today
Don't ask whether you should purchase PlayStation 2, Xbox, or GameCube just yet. Nobody knows, and the only people who will answer that question have built-in biases.
The facts, as they stand now:
- Nintendo is releasing GameCube, its super duper, kids-oriented, video-games-only, video game console on November 5. Price and quantity have not been announced, but there will be six or seven games at launch with eight more to release by the holidays.
- Microsoft is a bit more open about its DVD movie playing (with attachment), hard drive packing, Internet accessing Xbox. Xbox will launch on November 8 for $299 with 15 to 20 games. Microsoft plans to ship 600,000 consoles for the launch date and somewhere between 1 to 1.5 million consoles by January 15.
- Sony, of course, shipped its PlayStation 2 last October with 30 games.
The battleground:
The interactive entertainment industry revolves around the month of May. No, May is not a big month for sales. In fact, it's a particularly bad month.But every May, the Interactive Digital Software Association holds a trade show called the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) where all of the top video and computer game makers unveil the games they hope to sell over the holidays.
E3 audiences are a fickle crowd. You might be able to catch their attention with a great game, but nothing captures E3 headlines like new video game hardware. Hence, despite having a huge lineup of absolutely amazing games for one-year-old Dreamcast at last year's E3, Sega's booth looked a bit naked when compared to Sony's booth with its lackluster games and, at that time, soon-to-release PlayStation 2.
Sega's games played better, looked prettier on the most part, and had an online component; but nobody cared. PlayStation 2 was new, more powerful, and more happening. This year Sony steps into Sega's shoes as it tries to attract people by unveiling new games to compete against the excitement over Xbox and GameCube. Fat chance.
But in many ways, Sony is in an even worse position than Sega was. Everybody at E3 seemed to agree that Dreamcast had amassed an impressive library in its year; Sony, on the other hand, seems to have squandered its head start with a ongoing flow of games that range from just above average to really bad. Don't count Sony out, however. Sony may not have the games, but it has an impressive install base. More than 10 million people own PlayStation 2 worldwide, and that number could swell to 15 million by November. To improve its position, Sony needs a few great games that will be appreciated.Unfortunately, for the last 12 months PlayStation 2 has appeared to be incapable of producing great games.
Nintendo's GameCube, on the other hand, is starting out with a bang. Luigi's Mansion, apparently Nintendo's biggest game for the holidays, is a rendition of Ghost Busters -- a hilarious adventure with Luigi, Mario's little brother, battling ghosts in the best haunted house ever to grace a video game console. Other Nintendo powerhouses include Wave Race: Blue Storm, a very impressive jet skiing game; and Pikman, a puzzle-strategy-adventure from Mario creator ShigeruMiyamoto.
Of course, Microsoft is not taking Nintendo's launch lying down. Starting with Halo, a first-person shooter-flier-driver with amazing graphics and all kinds of multiplayer options, Microsoft has assembled a huge library with, surprisingly, impressive games. Look for Mad Dash, a running race game with weird creatures, and the cartoon car battle Cel Damage to ignite previously unknown interest in Xbox.
So who will win? That's obvious, the consumer. The stakes in gaming have just been raised, and three powerful and dedicated companies are approaching the bar. The next few years are going to be a exciting time for gaming.
