06/01/00

Playstation2: Da Bomb or A Bomb?

Man, has the hype machine been working overtime on this one, or what? I love how everyone thinks that the next system coming down the pike is always going to be the best thing since Nacho Cheese Combos. It wasn’t always like that. Back in the old days, when the Turbo-Grafx and Genesis hit, everyone was just like "Oh, a new system. Well, I guess I’ll buy one." I think the insanity over coming platforms originated with the constantly delayed Super Nintendo. A few measly screen shots were released now and again, and everybody started going nuts over the "coming thing", as Brisco County, Jr. would put it. The Saturn and N64 had similar hype behind them, and we all know what happened there. In fact, the two biggest successes of recent memory, the Playstation1 and Dreamcast, were launched with surprisingly little media fanfare. There was tons of coverage, but it all seemed to consist of "Can Sony/Sega pull it off?" type stuff. No one really expected either of these systems to do very well, and now they are the dominant formats all over the world. It just proves that anything can happen in this industry, and it usually does.

This brings us to the insane amount of hype over the impending launch of the Playstation2. It’s amazing how many times that, upon viewing killer Dreamcast stuff like NFL2K and Soul Calibur, people still say, "Well, that’s awesome, but I’m waiting for Playatation2." Keep in mind that they were doing this even before any PS2 screen shots were released. Blind faith is a sad thing - just ask any N64 owner. I personally tend to take a more realistic look at things, and try to get around the hype. The PS2 hardware is looking mighty nice, but there are some sticking points that make me think that it might just not be the be-all, end-all of video gaming. The system itself has some weirdness: First, why only two controller ports? Four seems to be the standard these days, and the Dreamcast has become my multiplayer system of choice because of this. I know that the old multi-tap will work, but who actually owns one of those things? It’s just nice to be able to plug four controllers right into the system. I have heard that there is a possibility of having USB controllers that you can daisy chain, but that really only works if everyone sits REALLY close together. Anyone remember 3DO? What a pain that was. Also, why in Brad’s name is the power button on the back? That’s all well and good if your PS2 is sitting out in the open, with easy access to the rear. However, if you’re like me and have a rather packed entertainment system, chances are that once that baby’s hooked up, it’s nigh-impossible to get to the back of the machine. Word is that you’ll be able to put it in a kind of "stand-by" mode, kind of like a PC. Basically, in this case your system is still on, but it’s sorta sleeping. That’s great. If it’s anything like the PS1, you’ll have a melted hunk of plastic and silicon after a couple of days of that nonsense. And, yes, I’m aware that the deck itself looks a lot like a car stereo amplifier. Well, at least you can set it vertically (with the stand, sold separately, of course). That’s about the only way I’m going to be able to squeeze a PS2 into my rig.

How many times have we heard this: "I’m waiting for PS2 ‘cause it plays DVD’s."? Ugh. Let’s get this point straight right now. Remember the "CD player" option on the Playstation1? That thing is about as bare-bones as you can get. This is more than likely the same quality "DVD player" that you’re going to get with PS2. No jog, no camera angles, no nuthin’. You’ll be able to press "play", and that’s about it. No extra features here. No one bought the Playstation1 mainly because it plays CD’s, so don’t buy the PS2 only because it plays DVD’s. If you do, chances are you’re going to be pretty disappointed. If you want to watch DVD movies, buy a real freakin’ DVD player. You’d think that would be common sense, but apparently it’s not. Also, does anyone want a movie player that doesn’t have a remote control? Yeah, I would just love to watch movies with a Playstation controller in my hand. Lame. Who knows, maybe somebody will come out with a USB infra-red remote. Of course, that’ll cost extra.

Sony’s choice to go with broadband is another thing that boggles me. Broadband isn’t going to be a viable option for most of the country until at least 2002, and probably later. On the other hand, Sega will have its DSL network up and running (supposedly) this summer, allowing true online gaming around the same time as the U.S. Playstation2 launch. Also, anyone with a cable modem will probably tell you that broadband sure isn’t perfect. Servers tend to go down fairly often, and your bandwidth can be cut down to nothing if too many people in your area are connected at the same time. It will probably be better in a few years, but what will Sony’s Internet strategy be in the meantime? Since no modem is included in the box, chances are that, even if a third-party releases one, very few companies will support it. That’s why good ol’ Bernie pushed so hard to get that modem included with the Dreamcast; if everybody has one, companies will probably support it. If all goes according to plan, DC owners will be playing Quake III, Half-Life, and Baldur’s Gate online, while PS2 people are still using split-screen. Split-screen is okay, but it would have been nice if Sony gave us the option.

Has anyone noticed that, even though there are supposed to be some 250 games in the works for PS2, we have only seen shots of 6 or 7? And a lot of those shots, like Kessen and Onimusha, are mainly CG cutscenes. Not very encouraging. Sure, they’ll impress those fanboys, but anyone that actually thinks about it might realize that most of these titles are probably a LONG ways off. In fact, the developers of the next Oddworld title admit that Munch’s Oddysee probably won’t ship until at least the end of 2001. I have seen shots of A-Train and countless mahjong simulators, but there doesn’t seen to be much in the way of games that Americans would give a rat’s arse about. Every mag and site on Earth has been drowning us in Tekken Tag and Ridge Racer V screens, but aside from the occasional shot of Street Fighter EX3, there has been almost nada. This brings us to another point: Tekken and Ridge Racer look freakin’ amazing, and I plan to buy both titles. However, mark my words, no other PS2 games will look as good for quite some time. Just like Soul Calibur on DC, Namco is likely to set a standard that no other company will be able to meet in the first year or so. Well, maybe Square, with The Bouncer, but that’s probably it. The lesson here is that PS2 games, just like DC games, are not all going to look amazing by default; the developers still need to know what they’re doing.

Speaking of developers, there is another thing that worries me about the PS2: cost of development. Several people have gone on the record saying that PS2 games will cost 2-4 times what Playstation1 games cost to make. Yousa! Since PS1 titles cost in realm of 2 to 10 million dollars to develop, we’re starting to talk major bucks here. While the big boys, like EA, Namco, Square, and Capcom have the cash to fund projects of this size, you may find the smaller software houses, which often have the most original ideas, going to DC simply because of the cost of entry. Since the PS1’s main attraction was the size and variety of its library, this could be a problem for PS2. As opposed to Sega and Nintendo, Sony’s first-party stuff generally sucks bigtime, so they better make sure they have plenty of third-party support. Of course, there is that "middleware" program, but do we really want to see the same engines used over and over again? I think not.

After all this, it may be Sony’s own arrogance that hurts them the most. Even though a recent survey stated that only 15% of the Japanese consumers think that the price of PS2 is fair, Sony still intends to sell one million consoles in the first 48 hours. In fact, one Sony executive, who apparently has no grasp of reality, declared that they would sell TWO million systems in the first two days! Hee-hee! Let’s be realistic, shall we? While I do think that a half-million is doable, Japan is still in a bit of a recession, so we’ll see. This thing is going to retail for about $380 U.S., and rumor is that games are going to run $65-$75. The Japanese consumer usually has an easier time than cheapskate Americans in laying down that kind of cash, and they really like brand names, so my prediction is that they will sell around a half-million to the hardcore gamers in the first two days. However, their Japanese launch lineup consists of R5, Street Fighter EX3, and a whole lotta junk. It’s actually a lot like the Japanese Dreamcast launch lineup. Let’s just hope that they can follow these mahjong and dating simulators with some real games. It was a big ego that destroyed Nintendo’s mindshare with gamers; here’s hoping that Sony doesn’t make the same mistake.

You know, after all this stuff, the real reason that I’m not very excited about PS2 is that it seems like all of the good games are coming to PS1! Square has nearly a dozen titles for PS1 coming over the next year, including Chrono Cross, Legend of Mana, and Final Fantasy IX. Sony has Legend of Dragoon coming, and Enix will be bringing Dragon Quest VII to the States this fall. Working Designs has Lunar 2, Vanguard Bandits, and Arc the Lad Collection on the way. Aside from all of the RPG’s that I’m wetting myself over, there are Syphon Filter 2, Fear Effect, Spider-man, Alundra 2, WWF Smackdown, and a crapload of other games that will make the Playstation1 a viable system for quite a awhile yet. In contrast, the only PS2 games that I’m looking forward to are the aforementioned Tekken Tag, Ridge Racer V, and The Bouncer, and maybe Onimusha, Ninja Gaiden, and Armored Core 2, if they turn out okay. I really don’t like Gran Turismo’s control, so I don’t really care about GT2000, and I HATE Oddworld games, so that one’s out. If EA is on board, where the frag are the sports games? And, it really disturbs me that , even with Square on board, there really aren’t any RPG’s in the lineup. Dark Cloud looks like Actraiser (not that that’s a bad thing), and Eternal Ring is just a prettied up version of King’s Field. Final Fantasy X and XI have been announced, but they’re quite a ways off. And that online-only FFXI is a subject of another column entirely. Anyway, my point is, why get a PS2, which looks like it’s mainly going to have sequels, when you can killer stuff on the PS1 for significantly less.

Now, I usually buy every system on the day it is launched, but I’m just having a hard time getting excited about this one. In fact, it kind of has the same "feeling" that 3DO, Jaguar, and N64 had before their launches. Now, I don’t expect the PS2 to suck as much as those systems – I give Sony a lot more credit than that. But, they have some points they need to tackle before I get caught up in the pre-launch hype: First, they have to formally announce the price of this thing. Babbage’s and Toys R Us are guessing $349-$399, which is kind of steep. The hardcore like you and I will buy it, but Joe Six-pack is a cheap bastard, and will probably balk at a price like that. PS1 didn’t really catch on in the U.S. until it hit sub-$200, so I’m guessing that there’s no way in Hades that they are going to move a million of these things in the first 48 hours of the American launch. Also, game prices in Japan are often much like those in the States – a new title usually costs around $40-$50 for both countries. Now, with PS2 games running $70 in Japan, I’m a tad nervous about what they’re going to cost here. $70 games died with the N64, and the U.S. gamer just won’t pay that anymore. Except, of course, for the latest Working Designs deluxe package, but that’s just common sense. If Sony wants to hit the big time here, those games gotta stay in the $40-$50 range, and a $249-$299 price on the system would be nice, too. But, I’m probably dreaming there. Anyway, I’m guessing that they’ll announce all of this stuff at E3, as is the custom. With pre-order campaigns already under way, though, you’d think they would try to get this info out before May. Also, I hope that they have better luck with the first run of PS2’s than they did with the PS1 – I’m sure many, many people share my pain of buying the Playstation1 on launch day, and then finding out later that the first batch were prone to oodles of problems. This is the first time they have monkeyed with this whole .10 micron chip business, so maybe I’ll wait a few months for them to get the bugs out. Lastly, Sony has got to have a stellar lineup of titles for launch. The reason that Dreamcast hit it big right out of the gate is that the launch library had something for everyone. Tekken Tag, R5, GT2000, and Street Fighter EX3 are all well and good, but they are still just fighting and racing games. Hopefully, they’ll have a little variety come September.

So, after all this, you’re probably wondering if I hate Sony and all they stand for. No way. The Playstation1 is probably the best all-around system in history, and I personally have over 70 games for it that I consider must-owns. Hell, there’s a PS1 library of over 800 titles to choose from, so that’s not too surprising. So, I am very pro-Sony. However, I refuse to buy a console based solely on the name of the company producing it. I own an NES and SNES, and love them both, but when I saw the N64 for the first time, I knew that there was no way that I’d ever own one. Man, those games suck. If it wasn’t for silly Americans buying the N64 by name alone, Nintendo would have died before it even got the chance to exploit Pokemon. Nintendo has squat for third-parties, and a pretty spotty first-party lineup, and yet people bought the N64 anyway. The reason? Hype, and lots of it. So, people, I implore you, be educated consumers and think before you buy. It’s uninformed consumers that have kept Acclaim afloat all of these years, and we all know how I feel about that.

In the end, I do believe that the Playstation2 will be a killer system, but not for the reasons that the media keep hyping it up. I don’t care about DVD movie playback or broadband connectivity. This concept of a set-top box seems completely useless to me. In my opinion, the PS2 will be great for the same reasons that Genesis and Playstation1 were great: The games. I’m sure that there are all kinds of unannounced projects for the PS2, and many of the games that have been revealed look pretty good. Make no mistake, however. The PS2, like the Dreamcast, will be merely an evolution in gaming, and not a revolution. The games will be prettier, but they still have to be fun. Some things never change. Anyway, the proof is in the pudding. We’re planning on getting an import PS2 at Gamehits come March, so I guess we’ll all find out soon enough.

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