Seeing the dust settle: A Post-E3 Console Prespective

by Seán Peters 

The biggest question at E3 is almost always, "Which system put forth the best showing?" Although not entirely indicative of actual performance, a strong E3 showing and the hype which accompanies it can help make or break a company's chances. Although I didn't actually go to E3, I've talked extensively with several people who attended, including our very own Mistress Nightshadow, and I'd like to share with you my opinions on the matter.

I'll begin with the newcomer to the console gaming arena, Microsoft, and their X-Box. From all accounts that I've heard, Microsoft did not put forth a strong showing at E3. While they may not have done poorly, Sony and Nintendo's showing overshadowed the X-Box, and any good points got lost in obscurity. Microsoft needed a very strong showing to establish itself as a force to be reckoned with, and also to overcome the anti-Microsoft stigma present in the market, and the average games, a controller which "wasn't too bad... if you didn't have to hold it to play.", and confusion from the booth personnel as to what exactly the system specifications were* and what it could do didn't help them accomplish their task.

Next, the defending champion of the video game industry, Sony. Unfortunately for the PS2, their E3 showing consisted mainly of a bunch of pretty ordinary titles, but with some notable exceptions, including, Metal Gear Solid 2 and Final Fantasy X, as well as Devil May Cry, Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland and the obscure but apparently very interesting Robot Warlords. As appealing as these titles, are, though, I believe that the difficulty of developing for the PS2 will hinder it in the upcoming console war, as well as the lack of 4 controller ports without using an adapter. Nintendo has already proved that it can churn out some amazing 4 player "party" games, and that will be a market that it will be much harder for the PS2 to crack.

Finally, we come to Nintendo, who, by most accounts, had the best showing at E3. It looks like Nintendo will be catering to all audiences, and not just primarily kids, as it did with the N64. Although some of the games may have a kiddy look to them, the gameplay suggests otherwise. "It might be taking a younger audience's look graphics wise, but it is pretty difficult for most kids. Most of the adults had some trouble playing some of the games well." was Mistress Nightshadow's opinion on the matter. In addition, the upcoming Metroid Prime and Perfect Dark 2 are definitely geared for an older audience, as well as Phantasy Star Online version 2. Rogue Squadron II is also a very drool worthy piece of material, and, as one person said, "If it's half as fun as it is pretty…" Basically, it looks like Nintendo's Gamecube launch is pretty looking, has a few interesting and innovative titles, and is very entertaining. And the word on the street is that it'll take a few minutes to get used to the controller, but once you do, it works great.

The other big product from Nintendo was, of course, the Game Boy Advance. It already has several big, anticipated games announced for it, including Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Lufia III, Harvest Moon 3, as well as Super Mario Kart Advance, and my own personal favorite, Super Dodgeball Advance. Although I can't say much for Nintendo's wonderful naming abilities, I must say that the system itself and the titles for it, both available for it and forthcoming, are very impressive. Everyone I know who's tried it says that the controls work perfectly, and that the lack of the X and Y buttons don't hurt gameplay in the slightest. In addition, it's fully backwards compatible with the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, has 4-player support, boasts a better display, and more battery life. Also, Nintendo has announced that it can be used as a controller for the Gamecube, opening up even more possibilities. All this and at least one Pokémon game in the works seems to guarantee success for the system.

At least in the current stage of the game, Nintendo seems to be favored in the competition, despite the head start of the PS2. Nintendo seems to have learned from all of its mistakes with the N64, the console is roughly $100 cheaper than both the PS2 and the X-Box, and almost all the big developers have expressed interest in developing for it, including Sony's big gun, Square. Even if Nintendo continues to spurn Square however, it appears that Nintendo will reclaim at least some of its former dominance and glory, much to this gamer's delight.

However, this doesn't mean that Nintendo's got easy sailing from now. With Sony's popularity, the fact that Sony has the upper hand in any announcements (they may decide to slash the price of the PS2 for example), and the fact that it sports titles for just about everyone (in various degrees of quality), including 'oddball' games like Um Jammer Lammy, the GameCube might just have to work pretty hard to force its way in, although if E3 is any indication, Nintendo's giving the Gamecube their all. As for the X-box? It's not quite out of it... after all there's about a good half year for it to get into order.

    *As Mistress Nightshadow said, "I got a little confusion from the people maintaining the booth when I asked them a lot of questions. They didn't even know what the X-box's specs were."