Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft have never let a bit of competition disturb their money-making schemes. Since the days of
Sega vs Nintendo, Ninty have been steadily collecting fans through the decade until Sega's demise, where Sony snapped some
of them up. With the addition of Microsoft's XBox, the three companies have been at loggerheads ever since. The new generation
of consoles are on their way - do you know what you're rooting for?
Sony Playstation 3
"Sony have the imagination of a soggy cheese sandwich".
As true as it may be, Sony have been the most successful in the console market in recent years. Unfortunately, little
is currently known about the successor to the grand PS2. It's more than likely to be backwards-compatible, allowing gamers
to play PSX, PSOne, and PS2 games on their new consoles, but no new features have been announced, only rumours. Fans of GTA,
Tomb Raider and numerous racing games will be quick to snap up this console (ranged around £300) but it should have much more
to offer. Hopefully, Sony will have ironed out the problems from their flop of a PSP before they come back to home consoles...
Gamecube 2 (Revolution)
The most popular console/corporation around the STCOnline forum, Nintendo and the Gamecube have pleased Mario, Samus
and Link fans the world over. As well as the variety in the GC's games and it's reassuring label, Nintendo's Revolution seems
to be introducing features that will stun the gaming population. Early reports link the system to react with inanimate objects
to create 'real' objects within the game. Awesome stuff! Nintendo aren't scared of using new technology, using the new DS
as a base for their 'Touch Me' technology, currently a worldwide success. Add to the fact that our own Sonic seems to be grounded
at Nintendo for the time being and you have a sure-fire success!
XBox 2 (Xenon)
Microsoft are sticking to what they know best by concentrating on their online technology this time around. Game Guru
Ryan Hamlet reports that Microsoft are set to make every XBox game online compatible to increase the multiplayer joy! The
jury's still out on whether this can be a possible acheivement. As well as this, league tables and personal stats will be
available online and offline on the successes you've made in each and every game. It's a competitive and fun way for Boomers
to show off their 'mad skillz'. The big downer though, is that the new XBox may not be backward-compatible, a big downer for
fans of Halo and Microsoft's other big names that wanted to make a bit of money by selling their old XBox.
With the E3 event only a month away, it sure will be an exciting time for the producers to advertise their masterpieces
and keep their franchises alive. Check back to STC-M to read up on more features of your favourite consoles!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Short Bursts!
The second trailer for the forthcoming Shadow the Hedgehog game is out and viewable at Gamespot, IGN and other
good game sites. This one has been the one to make and break people's opinions of the ground-breaking new Sonic adventure
so be sure to check it out.
Yet another Sonic collection is on the horizon. Tentitively titled 'Sonic Gems', not very much info is known
about this. Boomers desperately want this to be the first to include the fabled Sonic CD, Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic the
Fighters, others want a collection of the next-gen games on DVD while the rest would like a handheld form of Sonic Mega Collection.
Either way, only a beta logo has been released of yet so read STC Masterpieces in the future for more news.
Fans of the Ratchet and Clank series will be pleased to hear that it's continuing with the forthcoming 'Ratchet:
Deadlocked'. Adding more online features to the game, Boomer Sin Scorpion (yes, the same in the strip! - MD) hopes that they
don't sacrifice the stunning gameplay but check it out for yourself!
