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by Wubb |
| Other installments of Pulse |
| 11/8/98 Sony vs. Nintendo vs. Sega Who's Winning? Who's Whining? If you visit many video game message boards, you've probably seen a few posts dealing with which console is better. Or maybe a post saying something like, 'When the Dreamcast comes out it's going to kill the N64 and PSX which sucks because I don't want to have to buy a new system!' So who's really winning the console wars? Gamers, of course! Through tough competition and a fair marketplace video game prices will (and have) lowered and the quality will improve. Whichever console has the highest priced/lowest quality games is sure to fail. (Well, I guess it could also be whichever console has the worst advertising... but let's hope the majority of gamers are intelligent enough to look past marketing hype. Uh, here's to a perfect world.) When I see people moan about how a new system sucks because it is going to steal some of the glory of their current console, I just shake my head. I always take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to any new electronic gadget. Just sit back and wait to see which console is going to sell all the units. When a clear dominant emerges buy that one (or at least you can rule out buying any dead cows *cough*Saturn*cough*) Right now I'm waiting to see if DVD players will supplant CD players. If they do I'll end up getting one with my next stereo system (which will probably be in a few years) Just like I watched to see if Laser Discs would supplant VCRs (Guess what? They didn't. Personally I am glad I didn't rush out and buy one of the first) This is besides the fact that these gadgets always go down in price after a lot of them are being sold (remember the first CD players? They were like $500+) I'll take the same stance with Sega, Sony, and Nintendo's next system. Whichever one has the games I want and is at a good price I'll buy (although I assume they will all sell for pretty much the same MSRP) Of course, it will probably be at least 2-3 years before I even consider getting a new console. (I'm not one of those gamers who gets every console made.) I mean, do you see people complain about Ford's new truck and how it is going to take away from Chevy's truck's sales? [Looks out window and sees a Chevy with one of those 'Calvin pissin on a Ford symbol' signs in the window] Oops, maybe that was a bad example. ; ) Basically, I believe that competition is always a good thing (as long as no unfair practices such as underselling and collusion are going on) and only results in a better value for the end-consumer. Although brand-loyalty isn't necessarily a bad thing either, heck if a company consistently makes a good product at a good value you should look to buy from them in the future. However, only a fool would completely ignore products from other companies, you have to shop around! (Unless of course, your brother is VP of Cannondale bikes, then you better buy a Cannondale no matter what.) Direct all questions, love-letters, and hate-mail to wubb@hotmail.com. --wubb |
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