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"The futures bright... console wars are over"

Why is everyone still going on about this "console war"- the idea simply doesn't apply any more....

You see, in the past the market has always been so small that only one or two of the consoles could survive in a market that crammed consoles into it like sardines in a tin.

In the 8 and 16bit ages there were dozens of different consoles, yet only a few million gamers worldwide to buy them. Nintendo outsold all the other consoles put together, and only Sega and Nintendo cracked the Western market.

Moving on, between the 16 and 32bit eras, you saw consoles from the Jaguar to the 3DO appear- all of which failed.

The turning point in the industry was when the 32bit era really arrived with the Playstation. The market increased for a few million gamers worldwide to over a hundred million console gamers- mostly due to Sony's influence.

So, why then was the PS a complete runaway? Well, cimply because there was no viable competition to it- the Staurn was too pricey, and the N64 hit the market too late.

However, now we have a new type of market- hundreds of millions of gamers, and only 3 console- all of which are pretty good. As sales figures show, all 3 consoles are selling well enough to give them a big share in the market, with analysts predicting the PS2 taking 45% of the market, Xbox with 35% and the Gc with 20%.

So, my point? Well, there isn't a console war! The market is big enough to support all the consoles, and indeed is doind so quite nicely. For the first time in 6 years we have some really competition between consoles- and that can only be a good thing for the gamer!

No doubt we'll see games and consoles getting cheaper, manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft putting more money to get a top list of excluive titles, and more money put into the market allowing it to further grow.

The futures bright.

Sonic

You're wrong. I am far more accurate on Quake 3 and Half-Life on the PS2 with a Dual Shock 2 than the PC. Besides, I can always use a keyboard and mouse with my PS2 (and vice-versa).

pc's are good for FPS, no other format comes close (except n64 - goldeneye and perfect dark) its the mouse, the little hairy friend makes all the differnce, precision and control.

PCs are for for working and porn, not games.

Half-Life is RPG-esque, there are puzzles and things to do but I admit a lot of them are switch-based. Fur Fighters is a much better example, and one of my top games of 2001.

hmm, i admit there should have been more enemies in zelda, and more bosses, there definately were not enough dungeons (take the snes version, 3 in light world, 7 in dark - much better) but the fighting didn't suck, nor did the puzzles and the mini games were good. Half life is not really a FPSRPG, its really just a FPS, whats your view on MMORPGs?

It may have the best fighting (maybe) but there's no-where near enough. Eventually I literally got bored of too much walking and not enough actual doing stuff. Sure, FF's fighting sucks, but so does Zelda's. Generally fighting in all RPGs sucks. I prefer FPRPGs, like Half-Life, Dues-Ex etc... where you have the best of both worlds.

TBN its purely personal preference, i see why you like FF, i like it too, (FF7 was better than 8 or 9) but i love Zelda, its not like any normal RPG, its got graphics, usually a good storyline, brilliant concept, brilliant fun bosses, a nice mix of weaponary, some great puzzles (lacking in the n64 version) and the BEST fighting in an RPG around, its not turn based, nor hammer one button as hard as poss, but real-time brilliant sword-n-chield action. But hey, thats just my opinion, you dont have to agree with it, and you obviously dont.

Meh, I disagree with the Zelda statement. I don't like RPGs in general but I enjoy Final Fantasy more, but then they're different.

Zelda is middle england fantasy, typical run of the mill goblins and elves, wooden shields, swords, amjoc etc...

Final Fantasy is unique - it's what I call Science Fantasy. It's set in a time of where technology and magic co-exist, and more importantly, the co-exist coherently. It's a unique feat pulled off in almost all Final Fantasy games and I suppose that's what appeals to me. Zelda is like every other RPG I've ever played, but a bit better, Final Fantasy is like every other Final Fantasy I've ever played, they're just good.

turbo i know that, and im not sayig the ps2 sucks and nor am i saying it doesn't have some of MY favorite games, such as GTA3, GT3, Tekkan 4 etc, (nice touch with Tomb Raider, although it is actually no.6, so much for an exageration) BUT I, yes I prefer the GC, partly bcos I, again I love

ZELDA - the true best RPG,
MARIO - best platformer, and
MARIO KART - it is the best "fun" racer, mainly mutliplayer.

BUT (yes another BUT, a big one too...) the ps2 will still outsell it, due to 2 MAIN reasons (not the only ones...)

1.success of ps1 - massive fan base, reuseable games, and dvd playability.

2. earliest GOOD next-gen on the market - biggest console base, and thus developers KNOW there gonna reach an audience

2.5. adult games - chiefly GTA3 etc - GC needs em, it needs a nice selection of truely adult games and less of a stance of babies if it wants to reach a maximum audience, only the ninty faithful and an undisclosed extra will buy GC at launch...

El Burro, it's obvious I know more about gaming than you then:

Not onyl has Sony got at least one good game for every good GC game, it has had them for over a year now. Moreso, IN THE EYES OF THE PUBLIC, the PS2's games kick ass:

Metal Gear Solid 2 - Sequel to possibly the greatest game ever
FFX - Sequel to THE greatest RPG series ever, (proved by sales).
WipEout Fusion - Sequel to the game that launched gaming into the stratosphere.
Tomb Raider (erm, 7?) - Sequel to one of the greatest TPSs ever
Tekken 4 - Sequel to the most popular beat 'em up ever
TOCA Race Driver - Sequel to a most excellent racing game
GT3 - Sequel to one of the best racing games ever
GTA3 - Also a sequel to one of the best games ever
Silent Hill 2 - the scariest game ever

...but enough of franchises what new stuff has Sony got?

Dropship
The Getaway
Burnout
SSX
Rez
Airblade
Zenosaga
ICO
TimeSplitters

Sigh... the list goes on and on. Sure, some will be coming out on the GameCube eventually but they appeared on the PS2 first and that's what counts. May I remind you that we are stealing Turok, Extreme-G and Super Monkey Ball from Nintendo, and all three of them could very likely be released before May 3.

if i remember correctly its from gta3, in the 1st island, but a may be mistaken with his name, secondly i couldn't think of anything good, if you can tell me, as you may have guessed im a ninty/ strong zelda fan, so maybe you'll think of something for me...