Video game

The rise of personal computers in the middle 1980s spurred interest in computer bet ons. This ca habitd a crash in home Video plot of ground market. Interest in Video gages was rekindled when a number of different companies true hardware consoles that provided graphics superior to the capabilities of computer gimpys. By 1990, the Nintendo Entertainment system dominated the product category. Sega surpassed Nintendo when it introduced its Genesis System. By 1993, Sega commanded intimately 60 per cent of Video gamy market and was one of the most recognized steel names among the children. Segas success was short lived.In 1995, Saturn (a division of command Motors) launched a hot 32-bit system. The product was a miserable failure for a number of reasons. Sega was the primary software program developer for Saturn and it did not sup expression efforts by distant game developers to design compatible games. In addition, Segas games were often delivered sort of late to retail ers. Fin totallyy, the price of the Saturn system was greater than other comparable game consoles. This situation of Saturns misstep benefited Nintendo and Sony greatly. Sonys Play Station was unveil in 1994 and was available in 70 trillion homes earthwide by the end of 1999.Its Open design encour come ond the efforts of o utside developers, issuinging in almost 3,000 different games that were compatible with the PlayStation. It too featured 32-bit graphics that appealed to older audience. As a result, at one time, to a greater extent than than 30 per cent of PlayStation owners were all over 30 years old. Nintendo 64 was introduced in 1996 and had eye-popping 64-bit graphics and entered in more than 28 million homes by 1999. Its primary users were between the age of 6 and 13 as a result of Nintendos efforts to desexualise the amount of violent and adult-oriented material featured on games that can be loosenessed on its systems.Because the company exercised considerable contr ol over software development, Nintendo 64 had only one-tenth the number of compatible games as Sonys PlayStation did. By 1999, Sony had captured 56 per cent of the television set recording game market, fol be petty(a)ded by Nintendo with 42 per cent. Segas share had fallen to a low of 1%. Hence, Sega had twain options, either to concede defeat or introduce an innovative video machine that would bring in huge sales. And Sega had to do so beforehand either Nintendo or Sony could bring their next-generation console to market.The Sega Dreamcast arrived in stores in family line 1999 with an sign price tag of $199. Anxious gamers placed 300,000 advance orders, and sign sales were quite encouraging. A total of 1. 5 million Dreamcast machines were bought at bottom the eldest quad months, and initial reviews were positive. The 128-bit system was capable of generating 3-D visuals, and 40 different games were available within three months of Dream casts introduction. By the end of th e year, Sega had captured a market share to 15 per cent. plainly the Dreamcast could not sustain its momentum.Although its game capabilities were impressive, the system did not deliver all the functionality Sega had promised. A 56K modem (which used a home phone line) and a sack up browser were meant to stick out access to the cyberspace so that gamers could play separately other online, surf the meshwork, and visit the Dreamcast Network for product information and acting tips. Unfortunately, these features either were not immediately available or were disappointing in their execution. Sega was not the only one in having the outline of adding functionality beyond games.Sony and Nintendo followed the alike(p) approach for their machines introduced in 1999. Both Nintendos Neptune and Sonys PlayStation 2 (PS2) were create on a videodisc platform and featured a 128-bit processor. Analysts applauded the actuate to DVD because it is less expensive to produce and allows more st orage than CDs. It also gives buyers the ability to use the machine as CD music pseud and DVD movie player. As Sony marketing director commented, The full merriment offering from Pl ay Station 2 definitely appeals to a much broader audience.I go for friends in their 30s who bought it not only because its a sport system for their kids, alone also a DVD for them. In addition, PlayStation 2 is able to play games developed for its earlier model that was CD-based. This gives the PS2 an enormous value in the number of compatible game titles that were immediately available to gamers. tho enhancing the PS2s appeal is its high-speed modem and allows the users easy access to the Internet through digital cable as well as over telephone lines.This gives Sony the ability to distribute movies, music, and games directly to PS2 consoles. We are place this as an all-round entertainment player, commented Ken Kutaragi, the head of Sony Computer Entertainment. However, several(prenominal) pr ospective customers were put off by the consoles initial price of $360. Shortly after the introduction of Neptune, Nintendo changed its strategies and proclaimed the impending clitoris of its newest game console, The GameCube. However, unlike the Neptune, the GameCube would not run on a DVD platform and also would not initially offer any online capabilities. It would be more attractively priced at $199.A marketing vice chairperson for Nintendo explained the companys change in direction, We are the only com petitor whose telephone circuit is video games. We loss to create the best gaming system. Nintendo also raise the GameCube friendly for outside developers and started adding games that included sports titles to attract an older audience. Best cognise for its extra ordinary successes with games aimed at the younger set, such as donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, and Pokemon, Nintendo sought to attract older users, especially because the average video game player is 28.Youthful Nintendo users were particularly pleased to hear that they could use their handheld Game Boy Advance systems as controllers for the GameCube. Nintendo scrambled to agree there would be an adequate supply of Game Cubes on the get wind in November 2001, when they were scheduled to be available to customers. It also budgeted $450 million to market its new product, as it anticipated stiff contestation during the holiday obtain season. With more than 20 million PlayStation 2 sold worldwide, the GameCube as a new entry in the video game market would make the battle for market share flush more intense.For almost a decade, the video game exertion had only Sega, Nintendo, and Sony exclusively three players. Because of pie-eyed brand loyalty and high product development costs, newcomers faced a daunting task in entering this race and be competitive. In November 2001, Microsoft began exchange its new Xbox, just three days before the GameCube do its debut. Some observers felt the Xb ox was aimed to rival PlayStation 2, which has similar functions that rival Microsofts Web TV system and steady some lower level PCs. want the Sonys PlayStation 2, Xbox was also built using a DVD platform, but it used an Intel processor in its construction. This open design allowed Microsoft to develop the Xbox in just two years, and gave developers the option of using standard PC spear for creating compatible games. In addition, Microsoft also sought the advice of successful game developers and even incorporated some of their feedback into the design of the console and its controllers. As a result of developers efforts, Microsoft had about 20 games ready when the Xbox became available.By contrast, the GameCube had only eight games available. Microsoft online strategy was another feature that differentiated of the Xbox from the GameCube. Whereas Nintendo had no immediate plans for Web-based play, the Xbox came equipped with an Ethernet port for broadband access to Internet. Micros oft also announced its own Web-based network on which gamers can come together for online head-to head play and for organised online matches and tournaments. Subscribers to this operate were to pay a small monthly fee and must have high-speed access to the Internet.This is a potential drawback considering that a very low percentage of households world over currently have broadband connections. By contrast Sony promoted an open network, which allows software developers to manage their own games, including associated fees charged to users. However, evoke players must purchase a network adapter for an additional $39. 99. Although game companies are not keen on the prospect of submitting to the control of a Microsoft-controlled network, it would require a probatory investment for them to manage their own supporter on the Sony-based network.Initially the price of Microsofts X box was $299. introductory to the introduction of Xbox, in a competitive move Sony dropped the price of the PlayStation 2 to $299. Nintendos GameCube already enjoyed a significant price advantage, as it was selling for $100 less than either Microsoft or Sony products. Gamers eagerly snapped up the new consoles and made 2001 the best year ever for video game sales. For the first time, consumers spent $9. 4 billion on video game equipment, which was more than they did at the box office. By the end of 2001 holiday season, 6. million PlayStation 2 consoles had been sold in North America alone, followed by 1. 5 million Xbox units and 1. 2 million Game Cubes.What ensued was an all out price war. This started when Sony resolved to put even more pressure on the Microsofts Xbox by cutting the PlayStation 2 price to $199. Microsoft quickly matched that price. Wanting to maintain its low-price status, Nintendo in turn responded by reducing the price of its the GameCube by $50, to $149. By mid 2002, Microsoft Xbox had sold between 3. 5 and 4 million units worldwide. However, Nintendo had surpassed X box sales by selling 4. million Game Cubes.Sony had the benefit of healthy head start, and had shipped 32 million PlayStation 2s. However, seven years after the introduction of original PlayStation, it was being sold in retail outlets for a mere $49. It had a significant lead in terms of numbers of units in homes around the world with a 43 per cent share. Nintendo 64 was second with 30 per cent, followed by Sony PlayStation 2 with 14 per cent. The Xbox and GameCube each claimed about 3 per cent of the market, with Sega Dreamcast comprising the depart and least market share of 4. 7 per cent.Sega, once an industry leader, announced in 2001 that it had decided to stop producing the Dreamcast and other video game hardware components. The company said it would develop games for its competitors consoles. Thus Sega slashed the price of the Dreamcast to just $99 in an effort to liquidate its piled up inventory of more than 2 million units and immediately began developing 11 new games for t he Xbox, four for PlayStation 2, and three for Nintendos Game Boy Advance. As the prices of video game consoles have dropped, consoles and games have become the equivalent of razors and blades.This means the consoles generate little if any turn a profit, but the games are a highly profitable proposition. The profit margins on games are highly attractive, affected to some degree by whether the content is developed by the console maker (such as Sony) or by an free-lance game publisher (such as Electronic Arts). Thus, the competition to develop appealing, or perhaps even addictive, games may be even more intense than the battle among players to produce the best console. In particular, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft want games that are exclusive to their own systems.With that in mind, they not only cuss on large in-house staffs that design games but they also pay added fees to independent publishers for exclusive rights to new games. The sales of video games in 2001 rose to 43 per cen t, compared to just 4 per cent increase for computer-based games. But computer game players are believed to be a loyal bunch, as they see legion(predicate) advantages in playing games on their computers rather than consoles. For one thing, they have a big advantage of having access to a mouse and a keyboard that allow them to play far more sophisticated games.In addition, they have been utilizing the Internet for years to receive game updates and modifications and to play each other over the Web. Sony and Microsoft are intent on capturing a portion of the online gaming opportunity. until now Nintendo has decided to make available a modem that will allow GameCube users to play online. As prices continue to fall and technology becomes increasingly more sophisticated, it clay to be seen whether these three companies can keep their names on the industrys list of hig h scorers.