So how many of you are getting a PS2 for Christmas, or got one for you family? Probably not as many as industry experts once predicted when the hype for the PS2 was at its highest and it was the system that was going to revolutionize gaming. The well-publicized shortages of the system have disguised one real shortcoming � the lack of interesting games. There's a few good ones out, such as Madden 2001, SSX, and Dynasty Warriors 2, but the launch has highlighted the lack of cool games. PS2 games are just nicer looking PSOne games. So much for the gaming revolution that Newsweek predicted with their cover story about the PS2. Right now the best system available if you go be the games isn't the PS2 but the Dreamcast or perhaps the nifty new PSOne.

And it looks like the demand for the PS2 isn't even all that intense, despite the shortages. Systems that were selling for over $1000 on eBay when it was launched in the US are now selling for little over cost. I saw a couple on the shelf at Kaybee Toys and they lasted for several days before selling. The retailer was bundling them with three games and selling the bundle for $500.

What has to be really troublesome for Sony is the prospect of this being the last Christmas retail season where they reign unchallenged as the technology leader in the console wars. Next Christmas they'll be fighting the Xbox and Nintendo's Game Cube. Plus, the Dreamcast might be selling for $99 next year. Sony's also failed to get any kind of online initiative going with the PS2, which was supposed to be another angle they would work to get the PS2 into everyone's living room.

So by not having enough units to sell and by not having enough exciting games at launch, it looks to me like Sony's fumbled the ball twice. They likely won't grab the marketshare they anticipated they'd get, and they seem to have lost most of their sales momentum. The Dreamcast, N64, and PSOne have done very well this holiday season. How many families that purchased one of these will even be in the market for a PS2 before the other next gen systems ship in less than a year?

So, will Sony's PS2 be the market leader this time next year, or will the Xbox, Game Cube, or perhaps even the Dreamcast be the number-one installed next gen console system in everyone's living room?

Comments?

Well, I think there's no question that things could have gone better for Sony. Having said that, I don't think it's clear yet that Sony's competitors will be able to stomp them come fall 2001.

Microsoft, despite having huge pockets and a fair amount of determination, hasn't really shown anything yet that convinces me they're going to take Sony down. I think we'll probably see a lot more throughout the year, but right now there's just not a whole lot to go on. That, and A. Microsoft has NEGATIVE street cred, which is hard to shake (ask Sega) and B. They also have a history of screwing some of their more ambitious attempts up rather badly. AND an american-originating console hasn't done well in a LONG time.

Nintendo? I have a strong feeling that we'll first see the mighty Cube sometime in 2002. Also, Nintendo's upper management has had this weirdly arrogant attitude about their last few consoles, and I think it hurt them with the N64. That said, they ARE Nintendo, and if anyone can pull a mighty console out of nowhere, it would be them.

Sega? Well, I have to say that I really WANT them to succeed. They've managed to produce such a quantity of incredible software over the past year, and the DC is a great console. Unfortunately, Sega trying REALLY, REALLY hard doesn't seem to be quite enough: I think they were beat this Xmas season and all last year by the PSX1. I think the best hope Sega has is to live through this.

I think Sony is stumbling right now. They need to STOP stumbling by fall 2001. If they manage to start going full guns by then, I think they have a strong chance of beating Microsoft and Nintendo.

Anyway, just my thoughts. Anyone else?

Oh, how does one get an account? I'd like to be able to use Discus' lovely New Messages feature.

Nintendo has been arrogant in the past, but I think they've been humbled a bit by Sony and will be much easier for third-parties to work with. They still control that key kiddie market too.

From what I've read, Sony in turn has become arrogant and has pissed off some third parties. Now that Nintendo won't be shackeled with carts, third parties may return to them in force.

The Xbox is hard to peg. It will get a lot of support from computer game makers because it's a lot like a computer, but the computer game companies aren't the Squaresofts of the world either. Microsoft is going to spend $500 million to promote it, though, so if it's good and there are good launch games, they could do well.

I don't see Sega really lasting as a manufacturer. As good as the DC is, it's still going to be the oldest and least powerful system on the market by this time next year.

The PS2 may not dominate as originally predicted, but it isn't going to fail. Nintendo won't fail. I guess the real question is if Microsoft can challenge and get enough marketshare?

If you want an account, email me your info and I'll set it up. This free version of Discus doesn't let users set up their own accounts, but I can do it for you and anyone else. Just let me know.

This is from Fatbabies, December 15. It says a lot if EA, who threw their lot in with Sony exclusively, also decides to develop for Xbox.

"EA Wakes Up and Smells the Coffee

"Electronic Arts announced on Wednesday that the company will support Microsoft's X-Box system with a full array of titles. Gamers can expect from 6-10 of EA's established brands of games such as Madden Football and the rest of the EA Sports line-up at or around the fall launch of the hardware. Also likely to make appearances are The Sims, SSX, and the James Bond licensed games."

Yeah, I saw the announcement too. That's really a big boost to the Xbox. EA's too big for Sony to tie down with any kind of exclusive deal.

I also read on some site about plans for Sony to "relaunch" the PS2 in March next year. I didn't see the source story so I'm unsure if this is true, though it didn't sound like someone talking out of his ass. The gist of it is that Sony is going to hold the really cool games until then and dribble out more mediocre games between now and March and then try to get another big splash going. Sounds kind of desperate to me.

I've heard that as well, Mark. I think that a sort of "relaunch" doesn't seem like such a good idea with the PS2. There's simply been too much hype. Sony needs to face the fact that the console is HERE, it has some problems, and it needs some software support.

EA support is nice for Microsoft, but I think they still need more Japanese developers. I'm not willing to buy that a console can do well without at least SOME Japanese 3rd party support. From what I've heard, MS has Konami pretty firmly, and then most other companies are "investigating" the console, which of course they do with any console that comes out.

"EA support is nice for Microsoft, but I think they still need more Japanese developers. I'm not willing to buy that a console can do well without at least SOME Japanese 3rd party support. From what I've heard, MS has Konami pretty firmly, and then most other companies are "investigating" the console, which of course they do with any console that comes out."

Yeah, I agree. Remember at one time Microsoft was rumored to be looking into buying Squaresoft? I think the figure being batted around was $1 billion. There were also rumors about them cutting a deal with Sega, but that never came to pass.

They do need some Japanese support to sell the sytem in Japan, which is an important market. Still, if the Xbox can do well in North America and Europe, it doesn't have to be a market leader in Japan.

"There were also rumors about them cutting a deal with Sega, but that never came to pass."

That was an interesting one. The companies do have a relationship (Dreamcast uses WinCE as an OS), and MSFT could use Sega's software skills (the current crop of DC games are great). One I heard was that Xbox would essentially become Dreamcast2.

This is interesting:

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japanese video game systems company Nintendo (news - web sites) is in talks to buy rival Sega for about $2 billion, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing executives close to the negotiations.

"The talks had been going on for months and the terms of the deal were still being negotiated, the newspaper said. The paper said a Sega spokesman denied the speculation, calling the idea ''absolutely outrageous.''

"``In this industry there are various kinds of rumors,'' the paper quoted a Nintendo spokesman as saying, adding that he laughed when asked about the deal.

"Sega chairman Isao Okawa has been looking to sell the company for a while and has also talked to U.S. software giant Microsoft about a deal, the paper said quoting its sources."

They're denying it, but it does make sense in some ways. I've heard that Nintendo has beaucoup dollars in the bank -- five billion or more -- so grabbing Sega for two billion is just like them buying an expensive car.

If Nintendo would buy them, they'd get access to nice properties like Sonic and the "2K" sports series that has done well on the Dreamcast.

Maybe the real ace card would be Nintendo making the Game Cube be able to emulate the Dreamcast, though. That would be a nice move. Buy the Game Cube and it will play all your DC games. I don't know if that's possible, but the Game Cube sure would look a lot more attractive if that were the case.

Hm. Well, there are two possible ways in which Nintendo might "buy" Sega. Most of Sega's attractive assets - their superb software developers - are now no longer part of Sega. I think the only developer that is still part of Sega is CRI (Aerowings) and they're fairly obscure as Sega developers go. So Nintendo could buy Sega and go after its software developers(which would be expensive), or it could just buy Sega (and) Sega of America (arguably a more important acquisition). Nintendo would then have Sega's evolving game network in place, some hardware technology of debatable importance, and the hope that Sega's former 1st parties would make the logical jump over to Nintendo.

If that panned out, Nintendo would suddenly start looking really scary from a software point of view. I mean, Miyamoto, Rare, Sonic Team, and the AMs? Visual Concepts? Ouch.

Anyway, this is all wild late-night speculation. I really doubt Nintendo will buy Sega, but it's fun to think about! :)

I was THIS close to buying a Dreamcast this year. The reason I didn't was that I was unsure of the support for it over the next years. The cost of buying a console ins't an issue for me, lack of good games I can get hooked to is. I tried borrowing a friends PS1 and rented a couple of games to see if I could get "hooked" into consoles. Even though games like RE3, Driver 3, Spiderman and Tony Hawk was cool I didn't get hooked the way I hoped for.

What really annoys me with consoles and maybe the biggest showstopper as far as I'm concerned is the regionalized game releases. It follows the same annoying pattern as DVD. Some of the coolest games doesn't even get released here in Sweden where I live. Chrono Cross for instance which looks like a cool RPG apparently has no release plans at all here. With PC you can aquire a game even if it's released on Mars (hypothetically). What evil scheming is behind this?

Btw I really would like to buy a console so if someone has the definitve buyers guide I'm all ears. PS2 is all out here, wont be back until March. Apparently Saddam Hussein got hold of all the copies :).

Marcus

"What really annoys me with consoles and maybe the biggest showstopper as far as I'm concerned is the regionalized game releases. It follows the same annoying pattern as DVD. Some of the coolest games doesn't even get released here in Sweden where I live. Chrono Cross for instance which looks like a cool RPG apparently has no release plans at all here. With PC you can aquire a game even if it's released on Mars (hypothetically). What evil scheming is behind this?"

I have never understood this myself. If I have a PSX and I want to play imported Japanese games, why should Sony care? They do, apparently, because they engineer the US units so I can't play imports without modifying my PSX and voiding my warranty.

I'm sure this is some kind of anti-piracy scheme of theirs, but it is annoying.

Marcus, if you want to play PSX titles, you should look into Bleem! as an emulator.

My kids play our consoles. Most of the console games don't interest me.

I'm sure this is some kind of anti-piracy scheme of theirs, but it is annoying. -MA

It is an anti-piracy measure. They lock out imports because it also locks out HK or Hong Kong "Silvers" of games. Considering the popularity of buying illegal imports (or just burning a friends PS games), Sony was probably wise to impose such a heavy duty import protection scheme.

That said, Sega and Nintendo have the right idea for making it easier to play imports but still have a territorial lockout. The DC and Gamecube use a proprietary disc format so burning discs is significantly harder to do. I'm afraid that both the PS2 and XBox will be saddled with many of the same problems that the Playstation had with HK silvers given their DVD format.

As an aside, if you want to play imports on your DC, all you need is a Gameshark. You boot the Gameshark CD and then when it asks you for the game you want to play (you could put in codes for localized games), you put in your import. Bingo. Import Dreamcast gaming. Excellent way to play the recently released Daytona 2001 or Phantasy Star Online.

--Dave

I was thinking of buying a PS1 in order to play some of the old PS games I missed, and give the kids something to play in the van. However, they are about to release the first Bleemcast pack (PS1 emulator for DC), if they haven't already, so I'm waiting to see if that does the job. Try www.bleem.com for details.

I've heard alot of interesting things about Bleem. But I'm not really interested in playing console games on PC (i know it's theoretically possible). Would it be possible with this emulator to simply boot up and play Chrono Cross on a DC? If I'm not completelly wrong you also need a special cable to play NTSC games on PAL? I've tried with DVD and it get's Black & White unless you have a special cable.

Thanks for all the good answers btw.

Marcus

The Bleemcast packs will let you play certain PS1 games on the DC. Each pack (four planned) is supposed to support 100 specific PS1 games. It also lets the DC's hardware anti-aliasing and filtering chips work on it, and run it in 640x480 instead of 320x240. You should see the screenshots! I think they are trying the limited support in order to solve the myriad of compatibility problems they ran into with Bleem for the PC. I would guess it will only support the North America versions, but don't know for sure. Try www.bleem.com.

Unfortunately, I think it's only North American releases for Bleemcast, Marcus. Though I wouldn't put it past them to release a PAL version of the thing. They do support PAL games with Bleem! for PC so it's hard to say.

Supertanker is dead on about the 100 games thing. They are only supporting the games they KNOW will work 100% without problems on Bleemcast. It's a smart move because it cuts out a lot of the complaints from the original Bleem! on the PC. It also allows them to focus on the big titles to get them perfect. Since I only own Gran Turismo, Tekken 3 and RayStorm anymore for my Playstation and all are supported by Bleem! currently, I'm hoping to get at least 2 of these in one Bleempak.

It probably doesn't need to be said, but the 640x480 resolution with filtered textures and even full-scene anti-aliasing is going to make the backwards compatibility of the PS2 seem insufficient compared to a DC with Bleemcast.

OH! ..and to answer on topic... Yes, Sony screwed the pooch BIG with the Playstation 2. Retailers have to be fuming, gamers are starting to run screaming from the black and blue box, and it's even more likely now that Sega is going to be here a lot longer than people thought.

As a "hardcore gamer" note, I think I have to turn in my card now. Playstation 2 is the first console I didn't buy day and date with launch in the last 8 years or so. I was the quintessential early adopter and Sony didn't get me. How many others like me are out there?

"As a "hardcore gamer" note, I think I have to turn in my card now. Playstation 2 is the first console I didn't buy day and date with launch in the last 8 years or so. I was the quintessential early adopter and Sony didn't get me. How many others like me are out there?"

I got the PSX and DC very early, but the N64 late. No PS2 here, though if I had purchased one at launch, I'm pretty sure I would have sold it. Those $1000+ auctions on eBay would have been too tempting.

I'm sure I'll pick one up sometime next year. We don't have a DVD player, so it's tempting for that reason too.

Here's a question though. It looks like the Xbox, Game Cube, and (for us that don't have one yet) PS2 will all be available in 2001. Who's going to buy all three? My wife would kill me! Heh.

BTW, those Bleempack screenshots for the DC were pretty impressive looking. There are a few strategy titles I've always wanted to play on the PSX. I'll have to see if Bleempack will play them on the DC.

One thing that annoys me with DC is that almost no video rentals has their games. PSX games are available in most larger stores. The good thing with renting games is that you can try out all those games you are unsure of.

Maybe Sega should be better at promoting it's machine?

Marcus

Blockbuster and Hollywood Video both carry Dreamcast games in their stores. They don't get much bigger than that here in the US. Often though, the best place to go is somewhere like Microplay or a similar local games retailer for a larger selection.

It's not really Sega's fault if the retailers don't or won't carry their games. Playstation was and still is the dominant console. Retailers have pretty cluelessly banked on the PS2 being the de facto successor to the Playstation. Never mind that no company has ever had the same success in a next generation console that they enjoyed in the previous generation. Nintendo and Sega can tell you about that one...

Deeper pockets at Sega would probably put the Dreamcast further into the limelight. But that doesn't stop someone who loves games from seeking out the Dreamcast. Honestly, I've never been more satisfied with a console in its first year of release.

--Dave

"Deeper pockets at Sega would probably put the Dreamcast further into the limelight. But that doesn't stop someone who loves games from seeking out the Dreamcast. Honestly, I've never been more satisfied with a console in its first year of release."

I agree that Sega's done a very good job with the DC. I'm just not a huge console fan anymore.

Unfortunately, I can't see the DC competing for more than another year against the next gen systems, and I doubt Sega will produce another machine. I think Sega probably has another 18-24 months making hardware, and then they'll go strictly software.

And don't get me started on Indrema, or whatever that Linux console system is called. Do they really think they can make it? I think their real business plan is to get a product in development and get someone to buy their company.

Hey, half of csipgs is already here! :-)

About the PS2 -- I agree, it's an unattractive system right now with the lack of good titles. And I already have a DVD player.

About gamepads -- PC gamepads are pure horror but console gamepads really don't compare to this junk. The N64 gamepad is unmatched by anything I've ever seen for the PC.

About consoles in general -- I've put away my N64 because I'm basically through the good titles on that console but I don't regret the investment. Why can't PC game developers play some console titles and learn how to make simple, fun games that don't take a doctoral degree to operate? Or even quite complex, fun games. Elite Force is a sad joke compared to Perfect Dark. Come on, that's on a system with the total processing capacity of the graphics card in my PC, and I have a cheap graphics card! The folks at Rare make great games instead of technology demos, and that's what's missing on the PC.

Speaking about Nintendo, what will be the most important console of 2001? The Gameboy Advanced of course! I can't wait for all the excellent arcade ports this hand-held will be able to run, almost at the original resolution. :-D

Can you really play Hang On and Space Harrier in Shenmue? I guess I need a Dreamcast after all...

-- Chris

My problem with Nintendo has allways been the overly cute games. It's just overkill for me. PSX/DC has more "normal" games.

I really liked Intellivision (my first own game machine btw), they had a good selection of strategy games and REALLY good game designs. Something that many PC/Console games lack today.

Sea Battle against friends was really fun.

And yes it seems csipgs is emigrating over here :).

Marcus

"About consoles in general -- I've put away my N64 because I'm basically through the good titles on that console but I don't regret the investment. Why can't PC game developers play some console titles and learn how to make simple, fun games that don't take a doctoral degree to operate? Or even quite complex, fun games. Elite Force is a sad joke compared to Perfect Dark. Come on, that's on a system with the total processing capacity of the graphics card in my PC, and I have a cheap graphics card! The folks at Rare make great games instead of technology demos, and that's what's missing on the PC."

You have good points here. PC developers seem to get lazy and just assume the player will be willing to throw more processing power at a game to get it to run.

You're also right about console gamepads being better, but I still don't really like them. I like to use a pointing device as my primary interface to a game.

Speaking of the N64, did you play Ogre Battle? If so, how was it? That's one I'm interested in.

"Speaking about Nintendo, what will be the most important console of 2001? The Gameboy Advanced of course! I can't wait for all the excellent arcade ports this hand-held will be able to run, almost at the original resolution. :-D "

Heh -- yeah, I'm looking forward to it also. You could probably get a lot of old PC games to look ok on it, at least the 320x200 ones. I think the GBA is something like 240x160. Man, I'd love a GBA version of X-COM. That would be so cool!

"Speaking of the N64, did you play Ogre Battle? If so, how was it? That's one I'm interested in."

Haven't seen it anywhere yet but I'd still like to give it a try. Strategy games for the N64 are rare, and Ogre Battles has a great reputation.

"Speaking about Nintendo, what will be the most important console of 2001? The Gameboy Advanced of course! I can't wait for all the excellent arcade ports this hand-held will be able to run, almost at the original resolution. :-D "


The ironic thing about this? We are soon back to where Atari Lynx and Sega:s color handheld were 6-7 years ago :). Wonder why they failed?

Marcus

"The ironic thing about this? We are soon back to where Atari Lynx and Sega:s color handheld were 6-7 years ago :). Wonder why they failed?"

Lack of good games, short battery life? Those are my guesses. The GBA will have a 15-hour battery life, which is quite nice.

You're also forgetting the Neo Geo Pocket, which was also quite nice. It did have a good battery life too. It was trying to compete with Pokemon, unfortunately.

There's another handheld I'd love to have -- the Sega Nomad. You can play Genesis games on it. Unfortunately, it sucks batteries dry in about two hours from what I've heard.

Can you really play Hang On and Space Harrier in Shenmue?

Yep, it even costs 100 Yen to do so as it would have in 1986 when the game takes place. You can play darts and even one of those punching games where there's three things to hit and you hit the corresponding button when they pop up. The punching machine and another arcade game are there to help you gain some experience for the Quick Timer Events that occur from time to time.

It's so damn hard to explain what's so unique and cool about Shenmue without just plopping someone in front of it and letting them go. IT's the smae thing with Jet Grind Radio, Chu Chu Rocket, Space Channel 5 and Samba de Amigo (with maracas). I like games you can't describe easily. Unfortunately, the market rarely comes out of its Racing/Fighting/RTS/Action game haze long enough to notice something else exists.

As for handhelds, it's a wierd business. A black and white unit that costs beans to manufacture is still the biggest selling game system of all time. Things like the Nomad, Game Gear and Lynx were all superior, but they may as well have never come out given the minimal dent they put in the Gameboy. I don't know if even Nintendo can dethrone their old stalwart, nor if they care if they do. They're making a killing on GameBoy Color as it is! Don't rock the boat...

--Dave

How is Crazy Taxi btw? Looks like a cool game. I rented Driver 2 to the PSX I borrowed but I couldn't really get into it. I think it was too scripted for my taste, more fun to slam into Cuban police cars with old Chevies :).

Marcus

Crazy Taxi is one of my favorite games. When you first start playing, you suck, plain and simple. However, as you play more, all the simplicity starts to peel away and you see all these intricate things you can do with the car. Then you start to get really good. You can slide the car across a street through oncoming traffic and stop it on a dime right in front of the person you're picking up saving you tons of time. It's a great game that reveals more of its intricacy as you play.

Some don't like its simplicity of play, though. Pick up customers, drop them off. But if you break it down to that level you're missing all the graphic styling, detail, control, playability and sheer fun of smashing through a city to get someone from A to B. It's like a big hypodermic needle full of fun emptied into you.

Crap Dave, now I really feel like have 200$ burning in my pocket :). Pity you have to shell out 50$ to get that game too, you only get Chu Chu with the console. Plus buying the extra memory card I guess.

And they say PC:s are expensive, yeah right :).

I'll wait a couple of more weeks to see if the price goes down a notch.

Marcus

I've been lurking here, but this topic prompted me to pop out. Hello. :)

Lack of good games, short battery life?

Nah, at least not in the case of the Game Gear. The software was solid enough; if it were successful, I'm sure third parties would have supplied even better titles.

The Lynx is another story entirely... classic Atari mismanagement drove it into the abyss. As for software, the Lynx has a core group of games that drive Atari fans up the wall, though I can't say I've enjoyed my Lynx(s) too much so far. The system is physically uncomfortable, and the graphics tend to be annoyingly "chunky" and slow-moving.

You're also forgetting the Neo Geo Pocket, which was also quite nice. It did have a good battery life too.

40 hours! Pretty darn cool.

There's another handheld I'd love to have -- the Sega Nomad. You can play Genesis games on it. Unfortunately, it sucks batteries dry in about two hours from what I've heard.

Yeah, battery life means you'll only want to play it with AC. Also, the screen is *annoyingly* blurry, which kind of takes the enjoyment out of fast action games with smaller objects moving around, like shooters.

My nod for best portable so far? NEC TurboExpress. Amazingly far ahead of its time.

BenT

Have you seen this portable Atari 2600 this guy built? I want one!

Addendum to my above message: you're 100% right about the GG having abysmal battery life. My point was that the software was decent enough, though.

BenT

Yup. Turboexpress was the bomb. Wasn't it like 200 bucks, though? (Hazy teenage memory at work)

I wonder what it is about the hand-held market that only supports one system, while the console market supports two or more? There are certainly enough handheld users to go around...

I suppose the Wonderswan is doing reasonably well in Japan, so that's 2 handhelds over there.

"My nod for best portable so far? NEC TurboExpress. Amazingly far ahead of its time."

I vaguely remember it. It played the same games that the console system played, didn't it? Those were 32-bit games, weren't they?

Oh, and since we're listing handhelds, Tiger made one a couple of years ago. It was sold off the rack in most stores like Target and K-Mart. They tried to grab marketshare by attacking the lowend and getting shelf space as a toy and not a videogame.

"Addendum to my above message: you're 100% right about the GG having abysmal battery life. My point was that the software was decent enough, though."

Yeah, we had one. It was fun. It's busted now.

The handheld market is kind of odd. I tried to convince a few places to let me review some games, but most places don't want reviews. Apparently handheld games are mostly impulse buys. Players don't really want to read reviews.

I wonder what it is about the hand-held market that only supports one system, while the console market supports two or more? There are certainly enough handheld users to go around...

Pokemon? :) That's really an interesting question, though. My unofficial answer might be People Are Stupid.

Turboexpress was the bomb. Wasn't it like 200 bucks, though?

$300. :O

These days, there is one source that offers them for $135, but you need to be subscribed to a certain mailing list. Outsiders pay $160, which is still a good price. On the highway robbery side of things, the terrible Telegames store would have you pay around $375 for a PC Engine GT (the Japanese version of the TE).

I vaguely remember it. It played the same games that the console system played, didn't it? Those were 32-bit games, weren't they?

The TE was basically a portable TurboGrafx-16 with a sharp active-matrix screen, so yep, it played any and all TurboChips (the proprietary card format TG16 games used). It had an optional TV Tuner and a rarely-used multiplayer link-up cable. Ooh, and a handy wriststrap. As the name implies, the TG16 was marketed as a 16-bit system, although many argue it's really just an 8-bit CPU with a 16-bit graphics chip. Still, the quality of the games is right up there with Genesis and SNES, so I like to say 16.

Here is a half-decent write-up of the standard TG16, or at least it looks like it's half decent after a 30 second glance.

Oh, and since we're listing handhelds, Tiger made one a couple of years ago.

Game.com. They actually relaunched it early this year (or maybe it was late '99) in a last-ditch attempt to be relevant, but the system is really a bucket of suck.

BenT <-- currently wanting a SuperVision :)

Quick TurboExpress trivia. If I'm not mistaken, the device that they use in Enemy of the State starring Will Smith which holds the video disc Jon Voight is after is actually a TurboExpress.

Game.com never got any kind of market push. It was a lousy handheld, but it never really had a chance either way.

Still, I think despite it's short battery life, the most promising handheld was the Sega Nomad. You could take it with you plus you could plug it in to the TV and use it as a Genesis console on the spot. Could you do that with the TE? I don't remember. The Nomad is a nifty little gadget.

Quick TurboExpress trivia. If I'm not mistaken, the device that they use in Enemy of the State starring Will Smith which holds the video disc Jon Voight is after is actually a TurboExpress.

Nice catch! Believe it or not, there is actually a page devoted to this cameo. :)

the most promising handheld was the Sega Nomad.

Unfortunately it has a few issues. The screen is passive matrix, which translates to "blurry mess". This really hurts the playability of fast action games or games with lots of small objects, like shooters. The cartridge slot is very temperamental, meaning you might have to wedge something in behind the cartridge to achieve proper contact between the cart and unit. Worst of all, the slightest movement or vibration of the cart can freeze/crash the game. This probably stems from the Nomad being a rather shoddily-built unit... it just doesn't feel solid or high-quality the way a GBC, NGP or TE does. (Also, I've never had the "touchy cart" problem with any other handheld...)

The one thing I've found my Nomad useful for is sampling newly acquired Jap. Mega Drive games while I'm between converters for my real Genny. It's nice -- unlike regular Genesis consoles, the Nomad has no country/regional lock-out. You do have to pretty much hammer the MD carts in (they're a bit wider than US games), but hey, it works. :)

(OTOH, the TE does have regional lockout, circumvented with a common, but kinda bulky, converter.)

plus you could plug it in to the TV and use it as a Genesis console on the spot. Could you do that with the TE?

I don't think the TE had that feature, although the TV Tuner actually had a video-in, so I guess you could play a Nomad with the TE as the display device. That would be a good way to fix the screen blur problem, and double your battery usage. ;)

The Nomad is a nifty little gadget.

And not much else, unfortunately. :/

BenT