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Xbox's potential still unrealizedBy DAVE GUSSOW© St. Petersburg Times published June 10, 2002
Even video games need stars. It's the reason players such as Matt Hall choose the system they buy and the games they want. "I really like Mario," said Hall, a student at Southside Fundamental School in St. Petersburg who still uses an old Nintendo 64 system. "You can't find him anywhere else." Nintendo built its video game empire around Mario the pudgy plumber; Sonic the Hedgehog was a hit for Sega's Genesis; and Crash Bandicoot helped make the Sony PlayStation the powerhouse of game systems. And what does the newer Xbox from Microsoft have? A guy named Max Payne, who's the star character in a pretty good game about a cop on the run from a trumped-up murder charge. But Max has hardly become a household name, and he isn't likely to become the franchise character Xbox seems to need to beat its rivals' better-known titles.
"The industry is character driven," said Chip Carter, a syndicated gaming columnist from Tampa. "And those characters translate into games, more importantly game series, that make a system go." Eight months after Microsoft's first video game box hit the market, game players and critics who were blown away by its powerful video capabilities are still waiting to see whether it will offer enough memorable games to hook potential buyers. The Xbox's lack of a signature character may not be as big a problem as it seems, experts say. Microsoft need look no further than rival Sony's game box for encouragement.
PlayStation 2 was roundly criticized soon after its launch because it had few games that took advantage of its power. The games have gotten better, says Chris Charla, a former editor at Next Generation magazine, even though the PlayStation 2 remains the least powerful of the current systems for graphics. Microsoft will have to overcome two PlayStation advantages: The one-year head start it got by being the first in the current generation of systems on the market, and its massive library of games, which includes titles that could be played on the original PlayStation. Microsoft, though, has deep pockets and is apparently willing to spend heavily to compete in a growing and lucrative market. U.S. consumers spent $9.4-billion on video games and consoles last year, more than the $8.3-billion spent at movie box offices. Conventional wisdom says there's room for only two systems in the video game market. Sega no longer makes game boxes but PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube may make for one two many. Experts say it's too early to count out Microsoft's venture. "Microsoft is focused 10 years down the road," Charla said. "The real strengths of the Xbox are its awesome graphics power -- well beyond what the PS2 can do -- its hard drive, and a library of pretty solid games." The real winners of the video-game war may be consumers. Sony and Microsoft slashed $100 off their systems, which now sell for $199 each, and Nintendo cut the GameCube by $50 to $149. Players also can expect a flood of new titles this year as the companies jockey to have those "must-have" games that drive buying decisions. Some new games will be updates of popular titles, such as Tomb Raider with Lara Croft and the Legend of Zelda. Others will play off movie characters, such as Harry Potter and Indiana Jones. A key element will be exclusivity, games that can be played on only one system. Nintendo, for example, signed a deal to lock up Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog. Microsoft won the rights to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Sega's Panzer Dragoon ORTA and Blinx: The Time Sweeper, all of which have received good reviews. Microsoft hopes to expand the Xbox library from about 60 titles to about 200. Attempting to catch up with PlayStation 2's overwhelming advantage is important, Charla said, because "most kids want the same system their friends have, so they can swap games." Nathan Phillips, a student at Palm Harbor University High School, recently bought a PlayStation 2 just for that reason. "They have better games, mostly because they have Grand Theft Auto 3," Phillips said, referring to a relentlessly violent game about carjackers on a crime rampage. A sequel, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, is due in October. Grand Theft Auto 3 reveals another driving force in the video game market. It's not just for kids anymore. The average gamer is 28 years old, and 40 percent are women, according to industry statistics. And Microsoft has plans to take Xbox beyond a game system and make it more of a family entertainment center. Its hard drive could be used to record and play TV shows, it can connect to a stereo and the Internet, and it has a built-in DVD player. The Xbox also is getting good buzz from people such as Charla and Carter, whose opinions help drive buying decisions. "The Xbox technology is just a little bit better," said Carter, who writes the column (which appears in the Times) with his son Jonathan. "It looks better than Nintendo, plays better than the PlayStation 2. On the flip side, I wouldn't give up Nintendo because I'm looking forward to (new) Zelda, Star Fox and Mario games." Given time, Carter says, Xbox holds great promise for games. "This is the first generation of software for the Xbox, whereas the PS2 programmers are already on the third and fourth generation," Carter said. "That technology curve is hugely important." All three companies have announced plans to offer online gaming, yet prospects seem uncertain about how it will work and whether gamers will pay to play. "Casual gamers may scoff at Microsoft's $6 a month fee," Charla said. "But casual gamers probably won't have the required broadband access anyway. On the other hand, you may see a situation with Sony where each publisher is trying to charge you $5 a month to play their games online, and no one is going to do that. Some companies may look at supporting free online play as an investment." - Information from Times correspondent Nick Linguanti and Times wires was used in this report. Dave Gussow can be reached at gussow@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4228.
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