Ahh, Sony's venerable PlayStation. What can I say about it that hasn't already been said? Until the Dreamcast launched, it was the best system on the market. Sure, Nintendo had 64-bit graphics. Sure the Sega Saturn had a faster CD-ROM drive. All that pales in comparison the library of great games this machine has. The incredible thing is, after four years in the US, developers are finally wringing every drop out of the machine. Games like "Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver," "Final Fantasy VIII," and the still to be released "Grand Turismo 2" at long last show us what can be done with a 32-bit machine with 2 megs of RAM and a snail's pace processor speed. The 550 mHz Pentium III machine I'm writing this on snickers, but it would do well to mind its manners, because that beat-up old PlayStation still has some life left in it.

Consider this: for the price (now $99.99), you can't get access to more games. With the largest installed user base a console has ever seen, developers pay very close attention to the PlayStation, and well they should. Sony is a giant in entertainment, with movie studios and record companies, not to mention the manufacturing of stereo components, TVs, computers, etc. Get this: the Play Station is Sony's largest-selling product. No single idea has rolled more units off Sony's belts than the PSX. That alone should make anyone stand up and take notice. This isn't a toy anymore. This is serious business.

And Sony realizes this, too. They have taken great pains to maintain a good relationship with game developers, and it shows. With the PlayStation2 still a year away, these developers are killing themselves to make public statements supporting Sony's new machine. Even the tight-lipped EA sports has confirmed development for the machine, months before anyone even knew what it looked like. This says volumes about the current machine, inasmuch as the PSX really brought console gaming to the world.

To anyone who asks, if you have a limited budget and want to buy a console, buy the PlayStation. If you don't have a limited budget, buy them all.