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"Console Wars: A short analysis"

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Wed 12/12/01 at 22:16
Regular
Posts: 787
I’ve only ever done one Console Wars topic, which was about it being really bad, so I thought I’d write another one, a short analysis. All I’m going to do is analyse each console individually and then who I think, in all honesty, will win the Next Gen Console Wars trying not to be bias towards the different consoles.

(Sony) Playstation 2

Technical Specifications:
CPU: 128-bit Emotion engine, 294.912 MHz, 32MB RDRAM
Unit Dimensions: 301mm x 178 x 78
Graphics Processor: 147 MHz, 4MB VRAM generating 75 million polygons per second
Disc Drive: 24 x CD-Rom, 4 x DVD
Ports: 2 x controller and memory card slots, 2 x USB ports, 1 x type III PC MCIA Card Slot
Sound Processor: 48 Channels, 2 MB RAM

The first Sony console, the Playstation (One), was definitely the winner of the last console wars with it’s huge amount of sales and it’s great popularity. Not only that, compared to the *Sniff* late *Sniff* Nintendo 64 the games were in mass production and were very cheap in comparison to the N64 games, which were priced at £40-50 but Playstation games only about £30. With so many games coming out there was a great selection for almost every gamer, but does the Playstation 2 have as much impact on the gamers of the world?
Like the Playstation (One), the PS2 is no exception of having loads of games. Some are useless, some very addictive, challenging and just brilliant. An added extra to the Playstation, other than amazing graphics, is a built in DVD player, which is actually better than proper DVD players, it may be hard to believe but that’s what I think.
So Playstation (One) gamers feel at home with the PS2, Sony have made the control pad the same, with the same controls and no extra buttons to confuse you. Also you can use PSOne controllers, which saves quite a bit of money if you already own a PSOne.
The PS2 has some great sequels from the first Playstation. These titles include GT3, soon GT3: Concept will hit the shops. GTA3, with a totally new kind of game instead of usual ‘copy, but different levels’. SSX Tricky… ect. I could go on for ages, but I won’t. The trouble is many people are disappointed because of Sony’s loss of Resident Evil, but Capcom have created another Resident Evil style game called The Devil May Cry.
Games makers have gone for a more realistic look for most games made for the PS2 rather than cartooned games, even games like Jak & Daxter, which are cartooned still have realistic looking backgrounds and items/objects. I’m not saying there aren’t ANY cartooned games for the PS2, games like Crash Bandicoot 5, which are aimed at younger gamers are cartooned. When talking about realistic looking there are a tremendous amount. SSX Tricky, GTA3, GT3, Devil May Cry and loads more.
If one thing is going to sell this console the most it will be Sony’s popularity from it’s last console the Playstation (One), well that and the fact that it’s the first of the Next Gen consoles to come out in our lovely country.
Because of wide game range, popularity and the first Next Gen console to be realeased it looks like Sony have made yet another console wars winner. However, many people are disappointed with some of the PS2 games such as Smackdown 3: Just Bring It and the long awaited Gran Turismo 3: A Spec. These games are actually brilliant, classic games, but because of gamers getting so worked up about them they seem a lot worse than they actually are. This may bring it’s popularity down if fellow gamers start saying this, which will mean less sales for Sony, it looks like the PS2 is hanging on a short thread when it comes to popularity.

(Nintendo) GameCube

Technical Specifications:
GameCube Main Processor: IBM Power PC “Gekko”
GameCube Clock Frequency: 405 MHz
Graphical Display: 6-12 million polygons per second
Unit Dimensions: 150mm (H) x 110mm (H) x 161mm (D)
Ports: 4 x controller ports, 2 x Digicard slots
Internet Compatible
Links up with GameBoy Advance (Acts as Control Pad)

The question that has been asked so much is “Will Nintendo make the same mistake with the GameCube as they did with the N64?”, thankfully Nintendo’s GameCube games are going to be priced very similar to the PS2. The N64 games were more than PS2 games, which really makes you think that 64 games were a rip-off, and they were. But if GameCube Games ARE priced at about the same the price, maybe more games will be made and more sold, this is going to give Nintendo that extra popularity boost they need, also with a helping hand from there new business partners Sega, there WILL be more games made with wider range and variety for us Next Gen gamers.
The GameCube, when it first came out in Japan, was mocked by PS 1 & 2 owners because of it’s great lack of games on launch. Also a lot of us in Britain are annoyed because of it’s release date being changed to Spring, but is this really a bad thing? All it means is that have to wait a bit longer for it to come over here and there are loads more games out on launch. It’s rumoured that Mario Kart: GameCube, which isn’t finished yet, is coming out on release in Britain, as it says on the Guiness advert “Good things come to those who wait.”
A big problem that the Nintendo GameCube may face is boredom. As recently Nintendo said they were going to make games like Luigi’s Mansion and Zelda, some of Nintendo’s longest running games, are going to be a lot shorter and easier than the N64 classics because of Nintendo’s supposed younger audience. This means there may be no long running platform/adventure/RPG games out for the GameCube on launch, that’s what I mean when I say gamers may get bored. This doesn’t mean that all the GameCube games are going to be easy and short. Nintendo still exclusively have Resident Evil 0, 1, 2, 3 & 4 for the GameCube, which will be quite a treat for Nintendo’s older gamers.
The GameCube seems to have better graphics than the PS2 from the screen shots and video clips that I have seen, there isn’t a great load of difference but the GameCube seems to have that little bit more of sharpness within it’s games.
One brilliant thing about the GameCube is it is going to be the cheapest Next Gen console on it’s release date, from about £150-£200. Nintendo have also done a great thing for sales by letting Sega make games for their consoles, this means many fans of the Dreamcast and other Sega consoles will buy a GameCube just to get to play all those classic Sega games. The GameCube looks to the biggest competition for the Sony Playstation 2 in the Next Gen Console Wars.

(Microsoft) X-Box

Technical Specifications:
Processor: 733 MHz CPU
Graphics: Custom-Designed Nvidia 250MHz graphics chip (X-Chip).
Memory: Internal 8GB Hard Drive, plus 8MB Memory Card
Ports: 4 x controller ports, 10/100 Ethernet port
Internet: Online play through Broadband connection of modem
DVD: Plays DVD movies with an add-on (Available at launch)

Microsoft’s first games console seems to be very unpopular because of it’s price, which is something like £300-£400+. This is a real shame because this is the most powerful console yet to be made. It gives three times better performance than any other console out or to be released soon. If people really start to appreciate the power of the X-Box it may get realised as a great console and not just another way for Microsoft to get even richer.
Unfortunately I think the X-Box will come at the bottom of the Console Wars table, to sell computers you need two things, popularity and a great console, sadly the Microsoft X-Box only has one of these major components, a great console. The X-Box really needs some respect off gamers, it may cost a bit but still it deserves respect. Even with it though I still think the X-Box will lose the Next Gen Console Wars because of it’s high prices, some of can’t afford it.

(Sega) Mystery Console

Technical Specifications:
Unknown

After Sega gets it’s popularity boosted by making games for Nintendo will there be a Dreamcast 2 (Or something similar)? Sega isn’t just a games maker, it makes consoles as well and maybe Nintendo will make games for Sega and keep their partnership, Sega makes games for Nintendo, Nintendo makes games for Sega. But until there is evidence of a Sega Next Gen console, all we can do now is hope…

As I said first, I’m not going to be bias, so in all honesty, even though I would like the GameCube to win, I think the PS2 will. It has a lot of popularity, a wider game range and some great games. If I really was going to say who I thought would win in terms of the best console, the X-Box would win, all it needs is respect.

Thanks for reading

RiCkOsS
Thu 13/12/01 at 19:40
Regular
Posts: 10,437
FM, i'm kind of a Ninty but i said what i actually thought, so that isn't completely true...
Thu 13/12/01 at 14:47
Regular
Posts: 9,848
FantasyMeister seems to have it sussed.

I couldn't have put it better myself.
Thu 13/12/01 at 10:40
Regular
"l33t cs50r"
Posts: 2,956
RiCkOsS wrote:
> (Sega) Mystery Console

>Technical Specifications:Unknown

>After Sega gets it’s popularity boosted by making games for Nintendo will there be a Dreamcast 2 (Or something similar)? Sega isn’t just a games maker, it makes consoles as well


Not anymore!! They have officially given up on the hardware market and are purley focusing on software development for all formats, which includes the PS2 and XBOX and not just Nintendo!

There will never be another Sega console or a follow up to the Dreamcast, Sega have said this themselves several times both in Japan, the US and the UK.

As a hardware firm Sega are dead, but now they can go back to doing what they do best... Making Killer Arcade and Console titles!!
Thu 13/12/01 at 10:17
Regular
"Copyright: FM Inc."
Posts: 10,338
Even shorter analysis:

Console war topic posted by Ninty generally concludes that Gamecube is the best.

Console war topic posted by Sonyphile generally concludes that PS2 is the best.

Console war topic posted by Softy generally concludes that XBox is the best.

Console war topic posted by someone with too much time on their hands generally goes into great and indepth detail about every console ever created (including the abacus) and concludes that all consoles are great, that the Amiga CD-32 was severely underrated, that they still play a Sega Megadrive, that they in reality already own every console ever made and that they will also be getting an XBox when it comes out.

Another outstanding feature of all console war topics is that they usually completely evade the subject of what the winning console will actually 'win'. Market share? Most profit for their respective manufacturer? Most units sold? The hearts of the most gamers? The best developer support? The brightest future? The best looking console award 2002? A day out at Newmarket with £100 spending money? A free makeover with manicure thrown in?
Thu 13/12/01 at 08:10
Regular
Posts: 16,548
God, another console wars topic. Seriously, do you people have nothing better to talk about? How about Monkey Wars? That's far more interesting.
Wed 12/12/01 at 22:16
Regular
Posts: 10,437
I’ve only ever done one Console Wars topic, which was about it being really bad, so I thought I’d write another one, a short analysis. All I’m going to do is analyse each console individually and then who I think, in all honesty, will win the Next Gen Console Wars trying not to be bias towards the different consoles.

(Sony) Playstation 2

Technical Specifications:
CPU: 128-bit Emotion engine, 294.912 MHz, 32MB RDRAM
Unit Dimensions: 301mm x 178 x 78
Graphics Processor: 147 MHz, 4MB VRAM generating 75 million polygons per second
Disc Drive: 24 x CD-Rom, 4 x DVD
Ports: 2 x controller and memory card slots, 2 x USB ports, 1 x type III PC MCIA Card Slot
Sound Processor: 48 Channels, 2 MB RAM

The first Sony console, the Playstation (One), was definitely the winner of the last console wars with it’s huge amount of sales and it’s great popularity. Not only that, compared to the *Sniff* late *Sniff* Nintendo 64 the games were in mass production and were very cheap in comparison to the N64 games, which were priced at £40-50 but Playstation games only about £30. With so many games coming out there was a great selection for almost every gamer, but does the Playstation 2 have as much impact on the gamers of the world?
Like the Playstation (One), the PS2 is no exception of having loads of games. Some are useless, some very addictive, challenging and just brilliant. An added extra to the Playstation, other than amazing graphics, is a built in DVD player, which is actually better than proper DVD players, it may be hard to believe but that’s what I think.
So Playstation (One) gamers feel at home with the PS2, Sony have made the control pad the same, with the same controls and no extra buttons to confuse you. Also you can use PSOne controllers, which saves quite a bit of money if you already own a PSOne.
The PS2 has some great sequels from the first Playstation. These titles include GT3, soon GT3: Concept will hit the shops. GTA3, with a totally new kind of game instead of usual ‘copy, but different levels’. SSX Tricky… ect. I could go on for ages, but I won’t. The trouble is many people are disappointed because of Sony’s loss of Resident Evil, but Capcom have created another Resident Evil style game called The Devil May Cry.
Games makers have gone for a more realistic look for most games made for the PS2 rather than cartooned games, even games like Jak & Daxter, which are cartooned still have realistic looking backgrounds and items/objects. I’m not saying there aren’t ANY cartooned games for the PS2, games like Crash Bandicoot 5, which are aimed at younger gamers are cartooned. When talking about realistic looking there are a tremendous amount. SSX Tricky, GTA3, GT3, Devil May Cry and loads more.
If one thing is going to sell this console the most it will be Sony’s popularity from it’s last console the Playstation (One), well that and the fact that it’s the first of the Next Gen consoles to come out in our lovely country.
Because of wide game range, popularity and the first Next Gen console to be realeased it looks like Sony have made yet another console wars winner. However, many people are disappointed with some of the PS2 games such as Smackdown 3: Just Bring It and the long awaited Gran Turismo 3: A Spec. These games are actually brilliant, classic games, but because of gamers getting so worked up about them they seem a lot worse than they actually are. This may bring it’s popularity down if fellow gamers start saying this, which will mean less sales for Sony, it looks like the PS2 is hanging on a short thread when it comes to popularity.

(Nintendo) GameCube

Technical Specifications:
GameCube Main Processor: IBM Power PC “Gekko”
GameCube Clock Frequency: 405 MHz
Graphical Display: 6-12 million polygons per second
Unit Dimensions: 150mm (H) x 110mm (H) x 161mm (D)
Ports: 4 x controller ports, 2 x Digicard slots
Internet Compatible
Links up with GameBoy Advance (Acts as Control Pad)

The question that has been asked so much is “Will Nintendo make the same mistake with the GameCube as they did with the N64?”, thankfully Nintendo’s GameCube games are going to be priced very similar to the PS2. The N64 games were more than PS2 games, which really makes you think that 64 games were a rip-off, and they were. But if GameCube Games ARE priced at about the same the price, maybe more games will be made and more sold, this is going to give Nintendo that extra popularity boost they need, also with a helping hand from there new business partners Sega, there WILL be more games made with wider range and variety for us Next Gen gamers.
The GameCube, when it first came out in Japan, was mocked by PS 1 & 2 owners because of it’s great lack of games on launch. Also a lot of us in Britain are annoyed because of it’s release date being changed to Spring, but is this really a bad thing? All it means is that have to wait a bit longer for it to come over here and there are loads more games out on launch. It’s rumoured that Mario Kart: GameCube, which isn’t finished yet, is coming out on release in Britain, as it says on the Guiness advert “Good things come to those who wait.”
A big problem that the Nintendo GameCube may face is boredom. As recently Nintendo said they were going to make games like Luigi’s Mansion and Zelda, some of Nintendo’s longest running games, are going to be a lot shorter and easier than the N64 classics because of Nintendo’s supposed younger audience. This means there may be no long running platform/adventure/RPG games out for the GameCube on launch, that’s what I mean when I say gamers may get bored. This doesn’t mean that all the GameCube games are going to be easy and short. Nintendo still exclusively have Resident Evil 0, 1, 2, 3 & 4 for the GameCube, which will be quite a treat for Nintendo’s older gamers.
The GameCube seems to have better graphics than the PS2 from the screen shots and video clips that I have seen, there isn’t a great load of difference but the GameCube seems to have that little bit more of sharpness within it’s games.
One brilliant thing about the GameCube is it is going to be the cheapest Next Gen console on it’s release date, from about £150-£200. Nintendo have also done a great thing for sales by letting Sega make games for their consoles, this means many fans of the Dreamcast and other Sega consoles will buy a GameCube just to get to play all those classic Sega games. The GameCube looks to the biggest competition for the Sony Playstation 2 in the Next Gen Console Wars.

(Microsoft) X-Box

Technical Specifications:
Processor: 733 MHz CPU
Graphics: Custom-Designed Nvidia 250MHz graphics chip (X-Chip).
Memory: Internal 8GB Hard Drive, plus 8MB Memory Card
Ports: 4 x controller ports, 10/100 Ethernet port
Internet: Online play through Broadband connection of modem
DVD: Plays DVD movies with an add-on (Available at launch)

Microsoft’s first games console seems to be very unpopular because of it’s price, which is something like £300-£400+. This is a real shame because this is the most powerful console yet to be made. It gives three times better performance than any other console out or to be released soon. If people really start to appreciate the power of the X-Box it may get realised as a great console and not just another way for Microsoft to get even richer.
Unfortunately I think the X-Box will come at the bottom of the Console Wars table, to sell computers you need two things, popularity and a great console, sadly the Microsoft X-Box only has one of these major components, a great console. The X-Box really needs some respect off gamers, it may cost a bit but still it deserves respect. Even with it though I still think the X-Box will lose the Next Gen Console Wars because of it’s high prices, some of can’t afford it.

(Sega) Mystery Console

Technical Specifications:
Unknown

After Sega gets it’s popularity boosted by making games for Nintendo will there be a Dreamcast 2 (Or something similar)? Sega isn’t just a games maker, it makes consoles as well and maybe Nintendo will make games for Sega and keep their partnership, Sega makes games for Nintendo, Nintendo makes games for Sega. But until there is evidence of a Sega Next Gen console, all we can do now is hope…

As I said first, I’m not going to be bias, so in all honesty, even though I would like the GameCube to win, I think the PS2 will. It has a lot of popularity, a wider game range and some great games. If I really was going to say who I thought would win in terms of the best console, the X-Box would win, all it needs is respect.

Thanks for reading

RiCkOsS

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