E3 to preview 4Q game consoles

DSN Retailing Today, May 1, 2001 by Doug Desjardins

Showdown imminent between Microsoft and Nintendo

LOS ANGELES -- Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo will fire the opening salvos in what promises to be an epic battle in the $6 billion video game industry at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the Los Angeles Convention Center May 16 to 19.

This annual gathering of video game manufacturers and retailers is expected to attract a near-record crowd as gamers turn out to hear about launch dates and pricing for Microsoft's X-Box and Nintendo's Game-Cube, next generation consoles that will debut this fall.

Industry titan Sony Corp. will be on hand to promote its next wave of titles for the Playstation 2 console it bowed last October. "This show has always been about the software, but hardware will be a major event this year," said Doug Lowenstein, president of the Interactive Digital Software Association, which organizes E3. "You're going to have major announcements about two new competing hardware platforms, and it will mark the first time the next generation battle is fully joined."

This battle will kick off May 16 with a six-hour press conference marathon in downtown Los Angeles. Microsoft will deliver the goods on X-Box at an 8 a.m. session at the Los Angeles Entertainment Center followed by a 10:30 a.m. Nintendo press conference on GameCube and Game Boy Advance at the Biltmore Hotel. Sony will unveil its new release lineup for PlayStation 2 at a noon press briefing at L.A. Center Studios.

As usual, the show floor will be an exercise in sensory over-load as game developers display their new products on huge screens with booming surround sound. Lowenstein said the floor at the Los Angeles Convention Center will be about the same size as the 2000 show, which featured more than 430 exhibitors, and attendance should approach last year's total of 62,000.

While E3 has always provided a showcase for cutting-edge software and new innovations in gaming, this year's show has an added dimension with the arrival of Microsoft, a major new player with big ambitions and deep pockets.

The software giant is expected to announce the launch date, price and game lineup for X-Box, its first venture into video gaming. The black, cube-shaped console with its green X logo will feature a high-speed modem, an eight-gigabyte hard drive, a 733-megahertz Intel processor and a DVD drive. X-Box is expected to debut sometime in early November with more than a dozen games and a price of about $299.

Microsoft plans to spend $500 million to market X-Box after its autumn launch and has scheduled a 50-city tour across the United States to give consumers a look at the console. The company has also teamed up with Japanese Internet firm NTT Communications to start an on-line gaming service some time in 2002.

Nintendo is also expected to announce a launch date and price for its GameCube, the next generation platform that will succeed Nintendo 64 in late autumn. The dark blue console will feature a 400-megahertz processor, a 56K modem with a broadband adapter and a drive that will play discs slightly smaller than CDs. The GameCube launch is expected in late October or early November.

The company will also be promoting its new hand-held console Game Boy Advance, which is scheduled to debut in the United States on June 11. The successor to the popular Game Boy Color console, which generated close to $1 billion in U.S. sales last year, will be priced at $99.95.

Nintendo has a $75 million promotional campaign planned for the console that will roll out with a slate of 24 new titles. Game Boy Advance will also serve a dual purpose as a hand controller for its larger sibling GameCube.

"This is certainly our most important show since we launched Nintendo 64," said Perrin Kaplan, vp of corporate affairs for Nintendo of America. "We're launching two new systems this year, so it's safe to say this is our most important show ever."

Sony Corp. won't have a new console to trot out, but the industry leader will have a slate of new games to promote for Playstation 2, including the latest installment of its popular race car series Gran Turismo 3.

"We're going to have an impressive lineup of software that will deliver the amazing graphics and content people have come to expect from Playstation," said Sony spokeswoman Stephanie Iwamasa.

As far as Sony is concerned, rivals Microsoft and Nintendo are playing a game of catch-up. Playstation 2 launched last October and, despite early production problems, has sold more than three million units in the United States.

Sega Inc. will use E3 to play up its new role as a software developer. The company exited the game console market in March after six troubled years in which its Saturn and Dreamcast consoles failed to catch on with consumers. The company is now producing games for the three major players and is expected to have a heavy presence in the lineup of titles that will be available for the launch of X-Box.

Though quality games are still the key to success for any new console, the next generation players unveiling at E3 will include some added extras that could appeal to consumers who are looking for systems that do more than just play games.