Software Designers Attract Gamers And Add Value To Consoles
Written: Nov 22 '01
Product Rating:
Pros: The battle of the consoles; great graphics; interesting and addictive game
Cons: addictive
The Bottom Line: This review is about the battle of the consoles for the top position in consumers' heart, but software designers truly run the show. Which companies will keep which designers?
charles's Full Review: Madden NFL 2002 for PlayStation 2
What’s going on in the more than $7 billion video-game industry? For the regular fans, enthusiasts of video game, most of the following is not anything new. What’s new is that a major player such as Microsoft is determined to take a major piece of the pie. Some industry insiders are
predicting that it wants the whole pie just as it did with the PC manufacturing market. This brings about a much stronger competition to the market that has long been dominated by video game leaders such as Sony and Nintendo. While Microsoft may have brought to the market a ground-breaking console, two groups of users or business associates stand to win hugely no matter which console ends up being the top dog in the end. The regular video game players and the game developers. If you are into video gaming, you will understand how important it is to have great machines with fantastic graphics and storage capacity. That’s what I continue to find out each time I drop by my buddy’s residence for our week-end gaming. Before I took leave of him this past week-end, he made the following statement, “hey, dude, mark my words. The console
which can continue to attract the best games out there will end up being the winner. If Microsoft’s Xbox can, then it will them. If Sony’s Playstation 2 continues to update and come up with new games such as Madden NFL 2002, NFL QB Club 2002 and NCAA Football 2002, then it will continue to sell in the millions...” “Hey, don’t dismiss Nintendo so quickly,” I shouted while opening the door of my vehicle. “Remember how you drove your parents crazy for your first Nintendo!” I said with lots of sarcasm.
Before getting to the meat of my review, let’s take a brief look at the dog-eating-dog attitude of this several-
billion-dollar-worth industry
These past few days can truly reveal the type of fervor that exists out there among the gamers. And these guys
come in all age groups. Video games are very popular with not only young teenage boys, but also, young adults, women and young kids. My soon-to-be 3-year old is the best example for this type of widespread breath and depth. I can’t ever ask him to quit playing games and leaving. I have to physically carry him while he is crying and dragging his feet. Video games have become the addictive branch of the home entertainment.
Furthermore, if the long lines and tent-planting and occupying that went on in front of some software
companies, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, and K-Mart stores can prove one more thing, it is that this is a growing industry. Whoever has the best consoles with the best software out there will be around for a long time.
Sony and Nintendo were not always the only head honcho on the market: What happened to the 1999 release
of Sega’s Dreamcast?
In the 1980s, Nintendo took it upon itself to defeat Atari and Colecovision. One of my buddies’ father still has
his own Atari to remind himself of how in so short a time, the video game industry has come to command so much allegiance from a huge sector of the gaming population. Each time, we want to talk about the superb technology that has made our machines far superior to his Atari, he reminds us that in its own time, Atari was the celebrated wonder. Any way, it was gobbled up by Nintendo. Then, closer to us, we have the Dreamcast system from Sega that fell victim to Sony’s Playstation 1 and Nintendo N64. Nobody is talking about the features of its 128-bit processor with graphics that were as fast as Pentium-powered computers. It’s the
survival of the fittest in the vibrant video game industry! Is the same fate awaiting Nintendo even though it has just delivered the GameCube? At the end of the quarter and season, the sales will answer this question. Maybe it will capitulate just like Sega did. Sega has reborn or retooled itself as a software company for the industry.
Now, how much of a role do designers of games for these consoles play? Who will give more licence to the
software designers to create? Who will stay loyal to a company when so much lure money is being offered?
These are some of the major questions that veterans such as Nintendo and Sony and newcomer Microsoft will have to answer. According to many industry insiders and critics, Nintendo starts this new round of fight at a disadvantage. It is fighting for both consumers and game developers. It has to take stock of its target market these days. X-Box’s parent company has a war chest of billions of dollars. Microsoft knows the terrain and knows how to throw a few punches. And it has deep pockets. Most gamers like novelty. The X-Box and its assorted games will sell a lot. How long can it sustain the same sales level? This is where its features come in handy. It is equipped with CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive, DVD video player, can be accessed by remote control sold separately, ethernet port/broadband adapter etc. Its CPU is 733 MHz Intel Pentium III chip.
Moreover, Sony has already had its feet wet. Its PS2 has been on the market for a year now. And consumers are still purchasing it. The company has learned from its mistakes. The release of PS2 angered many consumers who could not find enough of the machines to purchase. This year, Sony plans to put millions PS2 on the market just in case consumers can’t find enough X-Box and GameCube that will be distributed in the numbers of 1.5 million and 1million respectively. Furthermore, with the release of three games that are considered the best on the market, Playstation is way ahead of the pile. No matter what, the number of units sold for both X-Box and GameCube shows that both companies stand to gain from this red hot market. The battle will go on for some time. The shelves of most software companies and retail stores are empty right now. More GameCube and X-Box consoles will be shipped soon to satisfy the customers. In the meantime, PS2 with its addictive games stands to attract these frustrated consumers. At auction sites such as ebay and Yahoo Auction, you can get what you want for three times the regular price. If you can't wait until next year, then go ahead and grab your unit right now. Beware! It will cost you!
Madden NFL 2002: What to expect?
It’s the best video football that you can find on the market these days. I played it with my buddy for a few hours. We did not seem to get tired at all. If someone tells you that it’s addictive, you should agree. I will be
the first to tell you that it’s getting better and better. The graphics are superb. They are very realistic and
interactive. At some point, you feel that you are right there hitting your opponents and scoring touch downs.
The interactive is the addictive part of it all. Announcer John Madden does not seem to be repeating himself.
There is a sense of going from A to B and so on. Any way, if you want to stay home this holiday season, you have a game to keep you busy. If there is a snow storm that keeps you inside, you will challenge yourself on the field with a bunch of guys without breaking any sweat. And if you don’t want to travel far, you can travel to your buddy’s home or invite them to yours to enjoy yourself. Try this new game and you will see why the PS2 had this added memory.
It’s too early to predict whether X-Box and GameCube will have great games that are as addictive and entertaining as Madden NFL 2002. PS2 is building on what’s popular with the public.
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