Editorial: Console Wars - Evolution

Now, as you can tell from the title of this editorial, I am going to talk about the console wars and how they have evolved. The most famous console war of them all was probally the SEGA Vs. NINTENDO/SONIC Vs. MARIO war of the early to mid 1990's. Gamers were faced with a simple option. They could have chosen Sonic, with a speed level to make your eyes bleed. The graphics on Sonic The Hedgehog (1991) on the SEGA Genesis were phenominal for the time. The whole game reeked of class. The other choice was Mario. Mario is a plumber. He jumps on things. And thats it. Yes, unlike the speed and graphical brilliance of the Sonic games, Mario was slow, boring, technically inept when compared to SEGA's mascot. The choice was simple and in my honest opinion, SEGA won the console war hands down. The choice back then was easy.

Then, a few years later, there were three players in the next big console war. SEGA with their new CD based console, the Saturn. Nintendo with their cartridge based N64, and newcomers Sony Computer Entertainment with the legendary Playstation. SEGA were beaten down out of the wars early on due to the sheer power of the competition. The war between Sony and Nintendo was a long and bitter one. But the N64 was always at a disadvantage because of the fact it used out-of-date cartridge technology which sky rocketed game prices. In the end, the sales figures as well as the overwhelming popularity of the Playstation decided that Sony had won. In its prime, the Playstation outsold the N64 on a scale of 10 units to 1. Once again, the choice was simple which console to own.

And now, the war evolves. Consoles with stunning power begin to arrive. First, was SEGA's revolutionary Dreamcast, the first console in history to have internet access. Alas, it wasn't to be and the Dreamcast was to be discontinued barely 2 years after its release. September 2000 saw the release of the most anticipated games console ever, the Sony Playstation 2. Sure, it had the graphics and DVD playback. But there was no internet. And the good games were few and far between. And now, two others are ready to enter the arena. Only one will emerge the clear winner. The two new warriors are the Nintendo GameCube and the Microsoft X-Box. Now, u may have noticed that other editorials done my former members of staff were very biased towards the GameCube. I, however, am not. U ask why? Let me explain. Lets look at Nintendo's flagship games for GameCube. We have, err, Mario Sunshine and, erm, Luigi's Mansion. Now for those who don't know, Luigis Mansion is a game in which you must suck ghost up in a vacuum cleaner. Uh-huh. Nintendo would have us believe this is the future of gaming. My friends, it is simply untrue. Whilst all the 11 year old Nintendo fans can squeel with delight of yet another oh-so-very-dull Mario game, X-Box owners can bask in the wonders of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X, Halo, Dead Or Alive 3 and Metal Gear Solid X. And so, once again the choice is clear. You can play Nintendo's childish Luigi ghost nonsense or you can play the very best in computer entertainment. The decision, my friends, is yours and yours alone. But the X-Box is the way forward. And no, I am not employed by Microsoft.....yet ;) Tha battle lines have been drawn. Pick a side.