by Ken Gagne

Video games — it's not just for kids anymore. What was once a children's market is rapidly evolving to include all age groups. With the growing number of options available in gameplay, from intriguing puzzlers to simplistic shooters to forceful fighters, video games are no longer a holiday highlight strictly for children. As the holiday hits reach the retail and rental shelves, this trend can be seen both nationwide and locally. "We have adults who come in here and rent strictly games," said Sherry Clark, manager at Blockbuster Video in Fitchburg. "More and more adults are renting them for themselves." 

Research conducted by the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) indicates that adults of 18 and older make of 46.5% of the current gaming audience. With the ratings system, more teen and adult content is becoming available, while still leaving scores of titles appropriate for younger gamers. It is perhaps due to this increased audience that 1997 has been such a phenomenal year for the gaming industry, marking it at over $5 billion in sales this year alone. 

The current market struggle between Nintendo and Sony is fierce indeed.  Many experts conjectured that Nintendo had erred when making their Nintendo 64 console a cartridge-based system. CD-ROMs, as employed by the Sony PlayStation, generally store more data, making for bigger and more impressive adventures, but are more easily damaged. Playing on that fact, the more durable Nintendo cartridges are parent-pleasers when it comes to entertaining their kids. "They last longer, we get more rents out of them, so why wouldn't we want something that is going to stay in our library?" Clark said, regarding the popularity of Nintendo's system. "The trouble we have is, there aren't enough Nintendo 64 games out there!" 

Whereas the current battle is between Nintendo and Sony, these positions were once held by Nintendo and Sega. The Sega Saturn was the first of the current generation of game consoles on the market, but poor marketing and a smaller library of titles quickly diminished its stature. Some chains, such as Kay-Bee and Target, do not carry any Sega merchandise at all.  This does not bode well for the gaming company, which is currently the only party slated to release a new gaming console in 1998. Code-named "Dural" or "Black Belt," its success will depend on whether or not gamers have lost faith in the once-mighty Sega corporation. 

The possibility for the market to ever support three competitors is slim, but always possible depending on what a new console has to offer. "There is the potential [for the market] to sustain a new hardware platform," commented Doug Lowenstein, president of IDSA. "Consumer interest isn't driven by abstract concepts of polygons and data, but by what the games will be." Game publishers are already being forced to choose among various platforms. Due to the cartridge nature of their games, Nintendo has lost several supporters, including Squaresoft, makers of the wildly successful Final Fantasy series. The programming limitations and high cost of producing a cartridge game has turned many a developer to Sony.  Now that they are already there, it will be difficult for Sega to entice them away. 

And now, with the digital video disc format — known as DVD — the market stands to be divided even farther. DVD holds even more information than a CD, and threatens to replace laser discs, audio discs, and computer CD-ROMs. 

One thing that does not seem to be changing anytime soon is the distinction between computers and video game consoles. When the original Nintendo hit the market about ten years ago, the popularity of action titles on this platform caused the computer gaming scene to suffer. It is only within recent years that the success of games such as DOOM and Diablo has given this computers the surge they needed. Even while most software applications run on computers today are for entertainment purposes, overall, most games are still played on consoles. The greatest advantage computers have in this area is the ease of access to the Internet, capable of multiplayer games and contests. Past console experiments in this field, such as Catapult's XBAND and the Sega Netlink have proven it to not yet be a viable market. 

The electronic entertainment industry is a rapidly-changing one, both in the technological aspects and in the consumer base it serves. As the 21st century looms in the horizon, it will be interesting to see what companies stand to benefit the most, and how this will affect us as gamers.

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This article is copyright (c) 1997, 2007 by Ken Gagne. All rights reserved. Not to be distributed without permission.

Original publication: Sentinel & Enterprise, 22-Dec-97

by Ken Gagne

Only a year after the Olympics, the city of Atlanta once again swelled. This time, 40,000 retailers, developers, press media, and other industry members stormed the Georgia Dome and World Congress Center for the third annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, or trade show. Attendants had three days to explore 535,000 square feet of 486 exhibitors displaying over 1500 new titles. This was the first E3 in which no new home gaming console was released, allowing software to take the primary focus. 

Nintendo didn't steal the show, as it had in past years, but it did have a powerful lineup of software. Banjo-Kazooie, formerly code named "Dream," was announced for the first time and is slated to be their big seller this holiday season. It stars Banjo, a musical bear, and Kazooie, a bird that lives in Banjo's backpack. Players may switch between the two at any time or perform several combination moves, or even be transformed into a number of other animals by the witch doctor. Banjo-Kazooie relies heavily on the Super Mario 64 game engine; it appears to be a great game, but without many innovations. The game is to be releleased the week of Thanksgiving. 

Starfox for the Super Nintendo system was the first game to use the Super FX graphics chip, and its sequel, Starfox 64, is first to support the new Nintendo 64 Rumble Pak. This device slips into the memory slot of the controller and provides force feedback to the player. For example, when gamer's Arwing ship is hit, the controller will vibrate a little; when the ship crashes, the controller shakes a whole lot. The game itself uses a more 3D environment than the original and includes several game modes, including four-player simultaneous battle. Due on June 30th, Starfox 64 will surely be a big seller this summer. 

Other Nintendo 64 titles due in 1997 include: Goldeneye, based on the James Bond movie; Tetrisphere, a 3D puzzler; Aero Fighters Assault, a seek-and-destroy flight simulator from the makers of Pilotwings; and Bomberman, the ultimate party game with up to four players. Long-anticipated sequels F-Zero 64 and Zelda 64 were shown on video, but were not playable. Both will be available in 1998. 

Nintendo also announced they will be charging a lower royalty for third parties to release games. This means consumers will not be paying anymore market prices above $69.99. Unfortunately, Nintendo of America is not putting any new development into 16-bit Super Nintendo titles. The remainder of what's to be released is mostly old titles hitting the shelves again, such as F-Zero, Super Metroid, and Arkanoid. 

Nintendo's main competitor in the market today, Sony, was not without its own new flagship titles for the PlayStation. Blasto was one of the new titles with a Buck Rogers and The Tick mixed theme. It is a clumsy jump-and-shoot adventure with a Tomb Raider interface and cartoony graphics. 

If not for Blasto, then players will buy the PlayStation for Final Fantasy VII alone. This role-playing game continues a long series of successful titles from Squaresoft which, up until this point, ran on the various Nintendo systems. Final Fantasy VII — called such because this is the seventh game in Japan, but only the fourth in America — is comprised of three discs containing real-time battles, pre-rendered graphics, and an involving storyline. Watch for this one in early September. 

Several other titles will guarantee Sony strong sales in 1997. Sequels to some of their past bestsellers, such as Crash Bandicoot 2, Tomb Raider 2, Jet Moto 2, and Cool Boarders 2, will all be released soon. Original software will also be a part of their lineup, such as Parappa the Rapper and Spawn: The Eternal. 

Sega has had a hard time capturing a portion of the console gaming market, despite strong software lineups. A few weeks before E3, a price reduction on the Sega Saturn console system, Netlink Internet hardware for the Saturn, and the Saturn-Netlink package was announced. This points the console at a selling point matching that of Sony's and Nintendo's systems. Many future titles, such as Saturn Bomberman, will be multiplayer both live and across the Internet, via Netlink. 

This year's E3 Sega booth included a number of Sonic the Hedgehog titles, such as Sonic Jam, a compilation of Sonic games that appeared on the Genesis. There was also Sonic R, which is a racing game using an over-the-shoulder perspective and starring Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and the rest of the gang. Sega Ages is another collection of old Sega titles, such as Outrun and Harrier. 

There has also been a change in Sega's policy regarding their support of the PC platform. Previously, they would release games to the Saturn, and follow with their computer counterparts six to twelve months later. Future titles will be simultaneously released for both systems. This may foreshadow a move on Sega's part to publishing computer software only, considering the dismal sales of the Saturn. Stephen Race, chief executive officer of computer software giant Microprose, noted, "… take a look at the history of the video game industry; it's never tolerated more than two successful companies at any one time." 

The shelves of all three systems are also being lined with hits from third parties, such as Capcom. Their third monstrous fighting title, Darkstalkers 3, will be appearing on both PlayStation and Saturn, as will Marvel Super Heroes. The Resident Evil line is exploding everywhere with Resident Evil: Director's Cut on PlayStation, which is an expanded version of the original; Resident Evil 2 on PlayStation; Resident Evil on Saturn, including a new survival mode; and Resident Evil on PC, courtesy of Virgin. A pair of adventure games which had only a cult following in the arcade will finally make it home when Dungeons & Dragons Collection arrives on the Saturn. This title includes both Towers of Doom and Shadows of Mysteria, side-scrolling action games set in a popular fantasy world. 

The Electronic Entertainment Expo provides a glimpse into the future of the industry it represents. "E3 is the culmination of thousands of interactive entertainment industry professionals, each with their own ideals, coming together to advance the industry as a whole," said Hal Halpin, publisher of Show Daily, the official E3 magazine. With so much to see and test, it is clear that some of what was shown will maintain what is already a popular source of home entertainment the sustenance required to continue well into the 21st century.

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This article is copyright (c) 1997, 2007 by Ken Gagne. All rights reserved. Not to be distributed without permission.

Original publication: Sentinel & Enterprise, 23-Jun-97