The year 2001 is expected to be the most important year for video games ever, and it could result in the biggest console war in the industry’s history. The new consoles come equipped with
varying combinations of high-speed Internet access, MP3 capability, DVD movie playback, richer graphics, more memory, and smarter game play. Nintendo and the industry’s newcomer, Microsoft, are introducing new consoles to compete with Sony’s Playstation, which has been dominating the market for past few years.
The much-anticipated Xbox console from Microsoft will feature a 10 gigabyte hard drive,
733-megahertz processor and the ability to join consoles in a network and connect to the Internet through a high-speed broadband feature. The Xbox will hit North American retail stores November 8th, with 15 to 20 games initially available.
Nintendo’s GameCube will debut November 5th, and will sell for approximately $150 less than its competitors because it is not equipped with unnecessary DVD playback or a hard drive.
The GameCube can be used with Nintendo’s upcoming Game Boy Advance, a handheld gadget that represents the next generation of the Game Boy.
The electronic game market itself is growing so fast that industry analysts expect demand for video and computer games to rival that of the film world within four years.
Let the war begin!
