Although Sony Computer Entertainment has had such success in the video game industry, it has not always been easy because of competition from other companies within the industry. There have often been races between companies to complete and release the first line of latest technology, the first of which SCE competed in, was to release the first 32-bit console. Unfortunately, Sega released an interesting device called the 32X, a few months before SONYs 32-bit PlayStations release date, which was an ad-on adapter which turned the genesis into a 32-bit console. Fortunately this did not sell well, due to its high price tag and the fact that sega were to release a 32 bit console, the Saturn, within the year anyway. Sega had been working on the development of the Saturn for over two years, wanting to make sure it met the needs of both the Japanese and American market, therefore its release date was pure speculation. Due to SONY however, they rushed the final specifications to release 170,000 Sega Saturns on November 22 1994, just eleven days before the release of the PlayStation. By the end of the year, all of the original 170,000 Saturns had sold out, whereas some of the original 100,000 PlayStations remained on store shelves. Even thought PlayStation was the superior machine in terms of hardware ( due to its sophisticated 3D geometric graphics, ability to play full motion videos and external memory cards) it could not beat Segas popular titles such as Virtua Fighter. The two companies went on to announce the release dates of their consoles in America and Europe in January 1995. Sega would release the Saturn on September 2 (renamed Saturnday) and Sony would release their PlayStation 20 days later on September 22. Sega went on to drop a huge bombshell later that year in May, at the first Electronic Entertainment Exhibition (E3), when they announced that their launch date had been a decoy to throw off Sony. Instead, 30,000 Saturns were released that very day in four retail chains, packed with Virtua Fighter, at the price of $399, $100 more than the PlayStations retail price. Fortunately for Sony, this plan backfired on Sega because third party companies were caught by surprise, so the only games available at launch were those released by Sega. Big retail chains that had not been involved were also upset, and some even refused to carry the Saturn or its successor the Dreamcast in its store, allocating this now empty shelf space to the PlayStation.
By 1996, Sonys PlayStation had new competition in the form of Nintendos 64-bit console, the N64. Nintendo had decided to go against the trend and stuck to using cartridges, even though this caused controversy because cartridges were more expensive and time consuming to produce, yet the company believed the quicker access time would please customers. At least 80 percent of the original 300,000 N64s were pre-ordered and the rest sold out on the release date in Japan. A month before the American launch, Nintendo made a last-minute announcement that the N64 would go on sale for just $200, preventing SONY and Sega from planning and competitive price cuts.
With the PlayStation and N64 fighting for Gold place, it was clear that the Saturn was far behind in third place, so in 1997, Sega decided the company needed a new console. This new system, named Dreamcast, was an immediate hit amongst hardcore gamers and was the first console to embrace online gaming. The Dreamcast used the Microsoft Windows CE operating system which meant PC game developers could easily convert their existing PC games to the Dreamcast. This gave Microsoft much needed insight to the world of designing video game hardware. Sales of the Dreamcast lead it into second place ahead of the N64, however, when Sony announced it would be releasing the PlayStation 2 later that year (2000) which would be compatible with the original PlayStation, sales of the Dreamcast began to stall. After Microsofts help with the development of the Dreamcast, the company decided to release their own console. This announcement by Bill Gates, just 3 weeks after the PS2’s release in Japan, indirectly led to the death of the Dreamcast as Sega believed the introduction of another console would simply damage sales even more and so Sega stopped production of the Dreamcast in March 2011 and stayed in the video game business as a software developer.
The first American console in nearly a decade was released in 2001 by Microsoft with the system named Xbox. Similar to the PS2, the Xbox could also play DVDs, yet a $30 remote control had to be purchased to do this, whereas the PS2 could use the game controller. This was a move made by Microsoft as a way of avoiding DVD licensing fees if the Xbox had been sold as a DVD player. Nintendo launched the Game Cube three days after the Xbox was released, this new system was Nintendo’s first non cartridge system and all though it was not as powerful as its two competitors, Nintendo was hoping that their stable, familiar faces such as Mario, Zelda and Pokemon would keep their console popular. As was proven in the battle between the Saturn and PlayStation, the superiority of the machine doesn’t hold unless the popularity of the software can match.
In late 2002, the race for online gaming began with the announcement by Microsoft that they would be introducing Xbox Live, a subscription based server that allowed players to compete against each other online. Although Sonys PS2 was outselling Xbox, they realised they had to enter the world of online gaming as well if they were going to retain their lead, and so Sony released a Network adapter that could be attached to the PS2 for online play. With Nintendo once again in third place, it became speculation that they would abandon the hardware market just as Sega did, however rumours were denied as they began to work on their next system.
Three years later in November 2005, Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 and it sold out completely. However, many people who bought the Xbox 360 were quickly disappointed with preconceived ideas of high definition graphics and backwards compatibility not living up to expectations. By 2007, the competition between Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 was high, with neither being in a clear lead, however Sonys main competition did not come from Microsoft, but Ninetendo, with their release of an innovative console that appealed to the untouched market of non-gamers. The Nintendo Wii.
While Microsoft and Sony were competing for the top spot in console hardware and power, Nintendo knew they had to create something revolutionary that appealed to all gamers. What they delivered was a system that played a lot like the XaviXPORT (a previous console created by a company called SSD Company Limited, it had little success, but ultimately inspired the Wii) with a game called Wii Sports, where players used a wireless controller which acted like sports equipment, such as a bowling ball or baseball bat.
The North American launches of the PS3 and Wii were only a few days apart and both systems were in short supply for the 2006 holiday season. After one full month of availability, Wii seemed to be the favourite of the three systems maybe because of its cheaper price, or pure interest in the unique game play. To this day, a clear lead cannot be seen between these three competitors. The race is on for Microsoft and Sony to release and perfect their own form of unique game play just as Nintendo did with the Wii.
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