Video games galore — an informative look

Gustavo E. Codorva
Special to the Hornet
Published December 2, 1999

With the Christmas season rapidly arriving many consumers are wondering which video game is better to buy both as a gift and for themselves.

With advancing technology, there are so many systems to choose, from Sony’s Playstation, Nintendo 64, and Sega’s Dreamcast.

Which system is better, and which should a potential Christmas shopper choose? A investigative trip to Funcoland helped to decide. Daniel Sanchez, a Funcoland employee, gave the ins and outs on the history and difference between video game systems.

Home video game systems are not new. Atari, Nintendo, and Sega have been battling out for supremacy of the video game kingdom for years.

Sony is rather new to video games and currently have the best selling system on the market with their Playstation, according to Sanchez..

The big three competing today are Sony, Nintendo, and Sega just reentered the US market after a brief hiatus.

Sony Playstation first hit the US market in 1995. Currently it is the best selling system in the market today.

Its games run on CD-ROMs and the system utililyzes a 32-bit RISC processor. The CD-ROM drive also allows the Playstation to double as a CD player. Playstation's game library is stocked with over 1000 games.

The Playstation runs for about 99 dollars retail. It comes with one controller, and no games.

Games range from $20-50, extra controllers cost about $30. In addition to the extra controllers and games, users must also buy a memory card which enables game players to store their saved games. The memory card sells for $20 dollars retail

Nintendo 64 hit the shelves in 1996. Its faster processor enabled this system to process more bits then any other system on the market at that time.

It blew gamers away with beautifully rendered graphics. The difference between the N64 and the Playstation is that the 64 uses a cartridge-based system.

The main issue between the two is the speed at which games load. The cartridge is much faster and provides faster and smoother gameplay, whereas the CD-ROM provides more realistic graphics, and superior sound.

One unique feature about the N64 is the 4-controller slot which allows up to four players to play at one time.

The N64 retails for about $99. Included in that price is one controller but no games. Games range from $20-60 a piece.

Optional devices include extra controllers which retail for approximately $30, and memory cards which cost $15.

Sega’s Dreamcast is the newest system available on the market. It was released earlier this year, and already gamers are declaring it the best system yet.

"Its graphics, smooth gameplay, and superior sound blow out anything on the market today," said Sanchez.

Dreamcast has a 128-bit processor which is faster than any other system on the market today.

Its games are run on GD-ROM which are more sensitive then CD-ROMs but can hold the equivalent of 3 CDs worth of information.

Currently the game library is near fifty with many more games slated for release after the Christmas Season.

Dreamcast controllers retail for $30, with memory cards retailing for the same amount.

The future of video game systems appears to be very bright. The release of Deamcast along with the planned releases of Sony’s Playstation 2, and Nintendo’s new system, code named "Dolphin", insure that gamers will be eagerly anticipating the future.

Both the "Dolphin" and the Playstation 2 plan to use 128-bit processors, but will utilize a DVD-ROM based technology. This will enable both systems to play DVD movies, and take advantage of new technology.

Also the Playstation 2 is being built to be compatible with the Playstation. This means that all controllers, memory cards and games will work with the new system so that consumers will not be forced to buy new peripherals.

Both new systems expect to debut sometime next year.