The Console Wars Revisited

by Mistress Nightshadow 

Well, this topic has been talked about to hell and back, but that's natural because it's become more pivotal than ever. This year will dictate the gaming future for at least the next year and a half. With systems jumping in left and right, it wouldn't be a bad idea to evaluate where the market stands.

Several things should be noted before we start, though. The first is that the technical abilities of most, if not all, of the systems discussed have not been pushed to their limits yet. It has been said that the full capacity of even the Dreamcast has not been reached, and that is the second lowest system spec-wise which plays any part of the conflict.

The second notable fact is that nothing is set in stone. E3 has not begun as of this writing; it is a pre-con evaluation of where everything stands. For all we know, titanic events may occur at E3 to tip the scales with an unforeseen weight. This is simply a general overview of the current evidence.

On to the specifics!

The Established Players...

1. Nintendo 64.

This will be considered a non-player in the future conflicts, as the last three games for the N64 have been announced and no more are expected. Nintendo is clearly ditching the N64 in favour of the GameCube, so the N64's position is clear.

2. Sega Dreamcast.

As you well know, the Sega Dreamcast has been around for a while, with a release date of about mid-1999. Although Sega has announced it will not develop a system to replace the Dreamcast, several things should be noted before tossing this into the corner:

1. As said above, the Dreamcast's capabilities have not been explored to their limits. From what has been gathered, the specs used by games for any platform have reached only about half to three-fourths of the Dreamcast's specified capability.
2. Sega has confirmed its support for the Dreamcast at least till 2002.
3. Sega has a generally good reputation... well, compared to the rest of the field.

Of course, it should be noted that Sega has indicated interest in developing software for Nintendo and possibly Microsoft. (Remember that the OS used for the Dreamcast was a version of Windows.) But Sega has never suggested dealing with Sony, either by announcement or by possible association. However, they have not, and are unlikely to, commit to a single-console deal.

It may be almost expected that Sega renege on its support for the Dreamcast, leaving it with little foreseeable future. However, Sega has the unlikely option of choosing to return to some sort of hardware, although that could be considered wishful thinking.

Although the Dreamcast as a console may not do too well, Sega itself as a third-party company may become a big influence upon this situation. With several trademark names and games (including Phantasy Star and Sonic) as well as several other titles which may prove to be big hits (like Skies of Arcadia 2), Sega is a selling point for the systems they choose to develop on. Nintendo has been more or less confirmed, but the X-Box has a greater chance than the PS2 of receiving Sega's support.

3. Sony Playstation 2.

The PS2 made its debut in November 2000, and has now had nearly three-quarters of a year to gain a stranglehold on the console market; this was bolstered by the announcement that the Dreamcast will not be succeeded by another system. However, the Playstation 2 is not without its problems.

1. Generally speaking, Sony has not maintained a good reputation when it comes to hardware manufacture. Sony's systems tend to overheat and have a higher incidence of breakage compared to other systems. Although an improvement over the PS1, the PS2 has been known to break relatively easily.
2. Price-wise, the Playstation 2 is currently about $300. It is estimated that the GameCube will retail for about the same price, and the X-Box will not go much past it.
3. Since its launch, the PS2 has had problems concerning availability. Although this has been partially alleviated through extra plants opening, there is still a shortage (at least in certain areas) and it has lost Sony time in gaining control of the market.
4. Although there has been large third-party support for Sony, which will likely continue, it lacks any creditable internal first-party developers.
5. It has been said that the PS2 developer's kit is the most difficult to work with out of all the developer's kits available.

It should be noted, however, that Sony is on a reputation high thanks to the immense success of the Playstation. It is highly likely that many of the third-party developers will continue to develop for the Playstation 2. One of the bigger ones that have committed exclusively to the PS2 is Squaresoft, with Final Fantasy X and XI.

High expectations are set for the PS2, as the history of the Playstation is clearly remembered by developers and gamers alike. However, from my discussions with other gamers, I have gathered that the general consensus is that currently there aren't enough quality titles, RPG or otherwise, to justify a purchase of a PS2. Nevertheless, it should be noted that there will be a three-month lull before any new competitors come into the fray. This gives Sony's supporters a chance to release titles in the meantime, strengthening their position before the other two systems come in.

The Upcoming Systems...

4. Nintendo GameCube.

The Nintendo GameCube is due for release in September 2001, and it boasts a fairly good system. However...

1. There are currently few third party developers for the system.
2. Nintendo is currently not held in high regard, as many saw the Nintendo 64's performance as disappointing, and are not too confident about Nintendo's new system.
3. Nintendo seems to be heading towards the children's market, gearing the system to a younger audience. Although this may be seen as a good thing in some ways, it may alienate developers from creating titles geared towards older audiences, which could create a downwards spiral.

It should be noted that it isn't all quite doom and gloom quite yet. Sega has definitely announced that it will develop for the GameCube, namely Phantasy Star Online v2, and has commited to produce other titles for the platform. Also, Nintendo has very strong first and second party developers, and they have several very large trademark names and games such as Zelda and Mario.

Since the GameCube has a lot of first- and second-party developers with experience and fame, the launch will have some fairly big titles from famous developers right from day one, and it can promise some big name titles into the near future, particularly with confirmed Sega support.

However, despite Sega's support, it may risk marginalisation like that of the Nintendo 64, as it doesn't have a very large third-party base as of yet. The GameCube may not be able to turn out enough titles to entice gamers to purchase the system, and this is made all the harder with the apparent belief that Nintendo will fail to perform again, as with the N64.

5. Microsoft X-Box.

This particular system, developed in America, is slated for release some three weeks after the Nintendo GameCube. As with all the competitors in this console race, the X-Box has its strengths and weaknesses.

1. Microsoft's reputation is... well, less than admirable. Given the bad publicity with the recent court case and their general reputation, Microsoft has more enemies than supporters at this point.
2. It is a newcomer in the gaming world. It hasn't got a track record, and many are skeptical as to whether Microsoft can perform.
3. There are very few exclusive titles confirmed for the X-Box. The only ones so far are Metal Gear X, an Oddworld game, and Halo.

Don't think it's all bad news though... Microsoft does have a few things to pull out of its sleeve.

1. The technical specs for the X-Box at this point are the greatest, and it delivers more capability for its price than any other system. Certainly it is a bargain compared to purchasing an equivalent PC system.
2. Since Microsoft IS a massive conglomerate, it has access to more resources than any other company in this console battle. It is able to mobilise more resources for hardware and software development; it can turn out titles and peripherals faster than any competitor.
3. The X-Box is arguably the easiest to program for, as it uses something quite similar to a PC coding system. This opens up possibilities for PC porting.
4. Since the X-Box is very similar to a PC system, it will undoubtedly attract those PC gamers as part of their market.

The X-Box has quite a way to go when it comes to breaking the Japanese-dominated market, but as of yet, Microsoft has made few, if any, mistakes. The X-Box will need to gather some more exclusive titles if it is to lure gamers away from the PS2 or CG, considering that not all gamers can afford to purchase more than one system.

Well, this assessment has shown that one of several situations may occur, and that the upcoming E3 will be vital to the future of the console arena, particularly with developers' and publishers' choices of which consoles they wish to develop for. Keep an eye out for RPGamer's updates from E3 to help you assess which direction this console fight may take.