The latest craze in the video gamer's world has been the release of several "next-generation" consoles, competing against each other in a melee for supremacy.
             However with the release of Nintendo's Gamecube and Microsoft's X-Box in November to compete directly with Sony's Playstation 2, the battle has ensued for the 
holiday shopping season to see which company will rise above the rest to come out the winner of the "next-generation" war.
             Microsoft's X-Box, clearly the best of the three competing consoles will more than likely be the first to fail. Although the graphics and game presentation are nearly 
identical to the PS2 and the DVD play feature is actually better than Sony's console, with equal video quality and better audio, the X-Box, as Microsoft's first home system, 
will not have the consumer-trust that Nintendo and Sony have built over the years.
             In addition, Sony, which has already grabbed the teen/adult audience with its more violent and/or realistic games and Nintendo which will ultimately take the younger 
audience with its familiar cast of childlike characters like Mario, Kirby and Link, will make it difficult for Microsoft to find its place in the market and push it out of 
consumer's eyes long enough for the X-Box to die out.
             Nintendo, which has had the longest run in the home-console market of the three competitors with its Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the 1980s, the Super 
NES in the early 90s and the Nintendo 64 in the late 90s, may find its fate in the beginning of the new millennium to be similar to that of Sega's, who suffered a slow death 
after their wildly successful Genesis unit with four straight failed systems (32X, Sega CD, Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast). 
             The veteran company, which fell out of good-graces with its consumers during the N64 days by releasing only 2 or 3 exceptional titles per year compared to Sony's 
waves of hits on its PS1 console, made its biggest mistake in the "next-generation" war by not making its new system DVD compatible.
             “The lack of a DVD drive on the Gamecube will hurt Nintendo because people see the X-Box and PS2 as combo deals,” freshman Bobby Walling explained. “Even 
though Gamecube is cheaper, it just doesn’t have the selling power of the other two because X-Box and PS2 have the ability to play CDs, DVDs and their games.”
             “The one advantage Nintendo does have going for it though is its characters that many gamers grew up on,” said freshman Chris Hemphill.  “Many people will 
probably buy the Gamecube just to get the next Mario game, or the next Zelda game, that they can only get through Nintendo.”
             The last of the three “next-generation” consoles is Sony’s Playstation 2, which has sold over 21 million units since its release late last year. The console quickly 
rose to “Tickle-Me Elmo” status when the overwhelming demand far exceeded the supply, leaving some to buy theirs in online auctions for ludicrous prices of up to 
$6,000.  
             Although the DVD-play feature played a major role in the success of the Sony console, the greatest factor in the system’s rise was the timing of its release.  
Microsoft’s X-Box, which may have served as a formidable opponent to the PS2 if released at the same time, was instead released a year later, when almost anyone 
who would have wanted a next-generation console had already bought a PS2.
             “Part of what’s making the PS2 such a success is that compared to Nintendo, whose games are clearly geared towards children, Sony’s games are directed 
towards mature males,” Walling explained. “There is a clear difference in the games because the PS2 has titles like Grand Theft Auto III, where players go around 
stealing cars and killing people, and the Gamecube has things like Luigi’s Mansion, where you fight ghosts with a flashlight.
             The likely result of the “next-generation” wars will be the coming of Sony’s golden age.  With little competition from Microsoft and Nintendo, Sony will enjoy a 
long and successful run with PS2 until 2006 when it is rumored that the PS3 will be released.  Although Nintendo will likely fall out with a series of Sega-like console 
failures, a well-timed system release from Microsoft could give Sony’s next effort big competition in the future.