CHIP72

Not to mention a Pac Booster option!

yes but if i sell a million more units (just for exacmple) and lose 2 million dollars , instead of making money, how is that a success? The xbox lost money on each sale unless you bought 2-3 games and an extra controller at LEAST just to break even. In fact the year that the ps2 slim came out they purposely made the suply of the system low so that peoplw would buy xbox consoles, make M$ lose money, then buy the slims in the spring when they were on shelves as it was what they wanted in the first place. Considering how much money the xbox actually lost in its life instead of turning profit id say it was the biggest failure of the 3, despite sales. If you dont make money, which is in the end the only reason why they are doing this, who cares how much you sell... Considering video games are Nintendo's primary (and almost only) business whereas with both Microsoft and Sony video games are only part of the business, I think Microsoft and Nintendo would view selling consoles at a significant loss differently. If Nintendo did that, they'd be out of business. With Microsoft however, it is all about gaining market share. Microsoft's market share in the last generation was the second-largest and a little larger than Nintendo's, so considering Microsoft wasn't even a player in the PS1/N64/Saturn generation, they were probably satisfied with the XBox's sales. Obviously Microsoft's goal is to sell more units and get a bigger market share this time around. Incidentally, I remember November/December 2004 - due to their shortages the PS2 couldn't be found the last few weeks before Christmas and many, many people then bought the XBox and THAT system couldn't be found the last couple weeks before Christmas. Meanwhile, the Gamecube was still readily available at most stores at that time. This was despite the fact the XBox (and PS2) cost (I think) 50% more than the Gamecube. (I can't remember if the XBox and PS2 were $150 or $200 at that time - they may have actually been the latter. I know the Gamecube was $100.) What does that tell you? Regardless of whether Microsoft or Nintendo or Sony sells their consoles at a profit or not, it is practically a given that if you don't sell as many consoles, 3rd parties are less likely to make games for your system. Fewer 3rd party games mean fewer games for the system period, and less general interest in the system. Most people like to have choices among the genre of games they like to play.

Another thing to consider when measuring the sales success of a console is its price relative to competing consoles. The Gamecube was always less expensive than either the PS2 or XBox, and reached the critical, impulse buy $100 price point in fall 2003 (something the PS2 still hasn't reached and the XBox never did reach), yet the PS2 sold much, much better and the XBox sold more units, especially in the United States. That's a major reason why the Gamecube was never considered a particularly successful system.

My family drank a lot of Kool-Aid back in the day, and my parents were compulsive about saving the points on products, so we easily had enough points to get the game for free when the promotion was first announced. I think it took something like 4-6 months for Mattel (or the Kool-Aid company - don't remember who we had to contact) to send us the game; I think we sent away for the game in mid-1983 and didn't get until late 1983 or something like that. What a strange but cool game; I always liked that game. It was kind of amusing to see your guy bounce around all over the screen when the game was over.

Just curious, did the price tag say $10 or did you have it scanned? With a price change on so many games, I would not be surprised at all if they missed some when re-tagging them. ..Al The price tag said $9.99, but I also had it scanned and it still came up as $9.99. I then checked the Best Buy website while at the store, and it did not indicate Enthusia Professional Racing was $1.99 (actually, it didn't have anything at all about that game on the website). Incidentally, as was noted by other people above, the local Best Buy did not have the vast majority of games that were on the list, but I expected that. A couple games it probably did have as recently as about 1 1/2 weeks ago that were on the discount game list and I'd guess were sold (and sold out) at those discount prices included Sega Classics for the PS2 and Sonic Riders for the XBox.

I was just out at the local Best Buy. It appears not all games on that list are on sale at all Best Buy stores. For example, Enthusia Professional Racing was still $10 at my local Best Buy, not $2. Some games on the list WERE discounted at the local store. All of the $1.99 games were gone, but some of the $4.99 and $9.99 games were still available.

To me, it's a close call between the Dreamcast and the Genesis. I voted for the Dreamcast.

Most of you probably already know this, but according to gamespot.com, Raiden III (PS2) and Radio Allergy (Gamecube) are both scheduled to be released on March 20th.

Some Gamecrazy stores I've seen are actually stand-alone stores (i.e. not part of a Hollywood Video).

Where I live Taito Legends on both the PS2 and XBox has been $10 at Best Buy since November. I think I saw it at one other chain for $10 before Christmas too. Of course, I should note I only bought a PS2 back in early November 2006, and got Taito Legends for $10 at Best Buy the day I bought the system.

I bought my Atari 2600 in March 1983 when I was 10 years old. In addition to getting Combat as the pack in game, I also bought Space Jockey for $6. What's kind of funny about the above is today most people think Combat was a great game and Space Jockey was a mediocre or bad game. However, I liked Space Jockey A LOT more then (and still think Space Jockey is decent now, though it is repetitive and VERY easy). Heck, to this day I don't understand everybody's love for Combat; it's a 2-player only game with too small a playfield for most variations on the cartridge IMO. Incidentally, I always liked Air Sea Battle (aka Target Fun), though the one player variations are too easy.

I'm pretty confident that among "regular" consoles (i.e. excluding handhelds), the PS2 sold the most units of any system in 2006.

FWIW, I think Checkered Flag is better than Club Drive (it at least has a point to it!) but as others have said above, the control (or lack thereof) makes the game very mediocre. If you really like the Jaguar and really like racing games, then I think Checkered Flag is worth $10. If you aren't that big on racing games however, you'd be better saving your money or getting one of the better racing games mentioned above (Super Burnout, Power Drive Rally).

I find it perpetually funny that people talk as if the PS3 will ALWAYS be $600. It is very expensive NOW, but it won't be 2 years from now. It also has a moderate advantage over the XBox 360 and a huge advantage over the Wii in HDTV capabilities, which I think in a year or two will be very important.

High definition console support isn't a huge issue right now, but it will be in about 2 years (late 2008)...which just so happens to be the time the newest generation of video game systems will be in the middle of their era. I don't think being highly underpowered compared to the competition in the middle of an era will benefit Nintendo. FWIW, I also believe A) both Microsoft and Sony will release a motion sensor controller/unit within the next year and B) the excitement over the Wii's motion sensor controller will subside significantly once people become more accustomed to it and it doesn't seem so new anymore.

My predictions: 1) The PS3, after a very slow start to the year, picks up significant steam as AAA titles start to be released in volume. Due to high manufacturing costs, the cost will not drop significantly by December 2007 (no more than $100 price reduction down to $500 for the 60 GB model) but Sony will offset that by including a game or two with the unit. That will happen once those aforementioned AAA titles start appearing in mass quantities. Sony will also release an enhanced controller and sensor not dissimilar to what the Wii has. 2) The Wii will continue to interest casual or non-gamers with its (pardon the semi-pun) revolutionary control, but hardcore gamers will increasingly cool to the system as they get accustomed to the control scheme and get more and more annoyed with the much poorer graphics on the system and lack of adult-oriented games compared to the PS3 and XBox 360. Nintendo's legendary issues with releasing a limited number of first party games and tight regulations on third party games will also ensure the Wii has the fewest games available, though the difference in number of games will be more akin to the small/moderate Gamecube disadvantage rather than the huge N64 disadvantage relative to competing systems. The Wii will increasingly become viewed as a gamers' "other system" that people may have in addition to a PS3 or XBox 360, and the number of games sold per unit ratio will be lower for the Wii than for the PS3 or XBox 360, making Nintendo's ability to make profits on the hardware and non-related handheld units all the more important. 3) The XBox 360 will come down in price by $50-$100 for the 40 GB model in either May or (more likely) September, prompting responses from Sony and Nintendo. The unit will continue to post strong sales among semi-hardcore gamers and will syphon off sales from Sony in 2007. Depending on the games released for the system (and the games released or not released for the PS3), the XBox COULD start becoming the primary system of choice in North America by the end of the year and probably will enjoy greater total sales in 2007 than either the PS3 or Wii. Like Sony, Microsoft will release a controller and sensor similar to what is available on the Wii. 4) The PS2 will have its final banner year as a system as many players will not want to upgrade to an XBox 360 or (especially) PS3 due to cost, or the Wii due to poor graphics and a limited library. PS2 sales will fall behind the XBox 360 but be ahead of the PS3 and Wii until at least the last 2 months of 2007. The system will fall to $100 in price by May 2007, prompting increased sales among budget-minded gamers who currently have only a Gamecube or no current generation system (excluding the long-dead Dreamcast). Budget-minded gamers will also go to town on the large library of quality games priced at $20 or less. 5) The XBox will see a significant decline in titles released, but more titles will be released for the system than many expect, due to higher demand and usage for the system than Microsoft expects. People already owning an XBox, like PS2 owners, will benefit from a deep library of quality games and buy many good but cheap games to fill their collections. 6) The Gamecube will have its last year of support from Nintendo and due to Nintendo's focus on the Wii and third parties' higher interest in the PS2 and XBox (for similar level systems), the Gamecube will fall off even faster than the XBox in terms of new games produced. Nintendo may reduce the Gamecube price to $70 or $80 in response to the PS2 price drop and it is possible, though not likely, the Gamecube could be as cheap as $50 by November 2007 as both Nintendo and stores try to clear out inventory. (Such a price drop will more likely occur in 2008.)

To be totally honest its not worth much seeing as Mario Kart isn't on the Jag Well, if you have a SNES, I'd say it is worth pondering... Just for the record, I've always had a soft spot for Atari AND have long been anti-Nintendo (mainly because their systems are pathetically bad at having the kinds of genres of games that I like), so my statement has nothing to do with being anti-Atari, anti-Jaguar, and/or pro-Nintendo.

I think the fact it is so close to Christmas and many people have already bought many of their Christmas presents hurts potential "Santa Claus" PS3 purchases. Most people aren't going to pick up a $600 item on a whim. FWIW, I heard on the radio the other day the results of a survey that asked single men and women what they wanted most for Christmas. The PS3 ranked #3 for men, while the Wii didn't make either list.

FWIW, IMO the SNES Super Mario Kart is significantly better (i.e. more fun) than Atari Karts. The two games are very similar too.

I think the first time I played a game on the Atari 2600 was January 1981 at a classmate's birthday party. I remember playing Space Invaders. If that was my first experience with the Atari 2600, I would have just turned 8 years old. I finally got the Atari 2600 for myself in March 1983 when I was 10 years old.

Tennis for the Atari 2600 is an excellent game, but Virtua Tennis for the Dreamcast is definitely better IMO. Tecmo Super Bowl for the NES was also better than Tecmo Bowl, though both were great. Finally, One on One is a good game, but doesn't deserve to be in the top 10. Some other worthy sports games from the pre-32/64 bit era not mentioned: *Basketball (Atari 2600) *Major League Baseball (Intellivision) *Ice Hockey (NES) *Baseball Stars/Little League Baseball (NES) *NHL '94 (Genesis/SNES) *PGA Tour II/PGA European Tour/PGA Tour III (Genesis/SNES) *FIFA Soccer series (Genesis/SNES) *World Series Baseball series (Genesis) BTW, the handheld LCD Coleco football games from the early 1980's were pretty damn good too, as were their baseball and bowling handheld games.

It would spending $47.69 on NFL Football for the NES back in summer 1991. I was really hungry for another football game besides Tecmo Bowl, which I had played to death (Tecmo Super Bowl didn't come out until near the end of that year), and though NES Play Action Football was a decent alternative that I liked, I wanted another game that played sorta like Tecmo Bowl. Hah, I was in for a rude surprise!

Uh, after the Nintendo 64 launched with its analog control feature in 1996, both Sony and Sega quickly put out controllers that had analog controls. Sony's controller even went one better by having a built-in rumble feature. I doubt Nintendo has patents that prevent all or almost all types of motion sensor controllers. I have a feeling Sony and Microsoft will be manufacturing motion sensor controllers (or in Sony's case, perhaps an enhanced motion sensor controller) within a year.

One of the local Circuit City stores where I live got a shipment of 15 units today. I picked one up for my brother (60 GB version), after calling him to see if he wanted one. I was lucky in that the units weren't even out on the floor yet, but one of the staff people there was telling people in the video game section they just had some units delivered. It was also fortuitous that I even went to that Circuit City - it was sorta a last minute decision in large part because I hadn't been to that store since Black Friday and wanted to see what cheap PS2 and XBox games they had compared to the Circuit City closest to where I live. Incidentally, if you do manage to get a PS3 at Circuit City, you get a $50 gift card. The store has a deal between 12/11 and 12/23 where if you spend over $100, you get a specified value gift card. If you spend between $500 and $999.99, you get a $50 gift card. Also, for sales tax purposes my clerk rang up the unit as if it were $550, so I (well, actually my brother) saved $3 in PA sales tax.

You could change "Virtua Fighter" and "Battle Arena Toshinden" to "Daytona USA" and "Ridge Racer" respectively and the exact same thing was also true in many people's eyes.