Vol.
2, Issue 1
November 11, 1999
The
Dreamcast is finally here. So stop crying about PlayStation 2
and buy one, says Nick F..
ey,
so you've had a Dreamcast for 6 weeks already and you've probably
got more games for it than I do (I'm surviving on Soul Calibur
right now). You're pissed that Shenmue has been delayed
again, and you're champing at the bit to get your greasy, pizza-stained
hands on a Dreamcast Zip drive and a copy of Biohazard: Code
Veronica, right? Right? What the hell do you mean, "I didn't
buy a Dreamcast?" Come over here and let me kick your ass for
you. Alternately, sit down and let me explain to you, slowly,
the multitude of reasons you need to hightail it down to the store
and pick up Sega's spanking almost-new goody box ASAP. Brace yourself...
Reason #1: Sega is back
You
could practically hear the silence on the Sony newsgroups immediately
following the Dreamcast's launch, or at least the sound of a number
of PlayStation fanboys (typically guys called "Highwind" or "Squall_69")
munching their words. Almost amazingly, Sega is back. Even I have
to admit to being pleasantly surprised after my first Dreamcast
experience (see my
old Console Wars article) I wasn't convinced the console had
the power to survive even the whispers surrounding PlayStation
2. Since last Christmas, however, we've seen the Dreamcast go
from strength to strength, culminating (so far) in the almighty
Soul Calibur unquestionably one of the greatest beat-em
ups ever to grace a console. I wager Shenmue will drop
a few jaws even further when it eventually gets released, although
the jury's still out on those "revolutionary" Quicktime Event
gameplay mechanisms. It all seems a bit Dragon's Lair for
me (hey, I loved Dragon's Lair too, but these days let's
keep it on the Gameboy Color where it belongs)... The point, hotshot,
is that those memories of laughing at Saturn owners can finally
be put to rest: it is most definitely cool to be a Sega cadet
again.
Reason #2: Sony is the new Microsoft
Forget
Bill Gates (he's just a front), Ken Kutagari is the real anti-Christ.
PlayStation isn't just a games console anymore; it's a global
brand. Think Coca-Cola meets Microsoft (minus the Supreme Court
verdict) and you're not far off. This is the reason Sony just
had to call their next-gen machine PlayStation 2 (yawn)
anything else would be throwing away billions in free branding.
Sony currently enjoys the kind of market domination not seen since
the glory days of Nintendo. The name "Nintendo" used
to be synonymous with "videogame" (now it's synonymous
with "got Elvis-fat and lost the plot"). The
increasingly-cheapo PlayStation is still selling in ridiculous
quantities, too: are people buying these things for their pets
now or something? Unless you want your grandchildren starting
their school day singing the theme from Final Fantasy XVIII, you'd
better put a stop to Sony's gaming Empire. Choose life, choose
a Dreamcast.
Reason
#3: PlayStation 2 is vaporware
Didn't
you know? All those demos are really running on SGI workstations,
and that "controversial" design (hey, I like
it) is lifted straight from the Sony Design Centre's 1983 manifesto.
But seriously, the PlayStation 2 isn't scheduled to reach US and
European shores till September next year - at the absolute earliest.
The Japanese machine may well make it out for March, but by the
time the real Dreamcast-killer software comes out you could have
had 18 months of genuine 128-bit gaming goodness for a comparatively
measly $200. That'll be the price of a single PS2 game (honest)!
