"In gaming terms, this is up there with the invention of the
steam engine." -
Steven Kent
It was just last year that venerated gaming journalist, Steven Kent,
had demonstrated his admiration for Sony’s PlayStation 2 through
such declarations (above). Author of The First Quarter, and a
contributing editor for MSNBC, Seattle Times, and NextGen Magazine,
Kent’s satisfaction with the system was made known through
numerous publications and echoed by the mainstream media.
Though not sinking near the level of Sony fan boys, Kent did his
fair share of PS2-backing journalism for quite some time. During
this period, he seemed completely convinced that Sony would be the
new market leader and his viewpoint was reflected in article after
article.
It should be noted that Kent began to recognize PS2’s faults in
his writing soon after the US launch. However, it wasn’t until the
last days of ’00 that he truly eased up on Sony - commenting, “[PlayStation
2] is a very polished piece of electronics. But I am not yet
convinced that it has the soul of a game machine, and I am not sure
that it will be the best console out once Microsoft and Nintendo
enter the market next year.”
It took this year’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles for Steven Kent to
finally recognize the GameCube for its potential – writing such
stories as “E3:
Nintendo Rules the Show.” Kent’s recent article, “Gamers,
Resist the Temptation,” reflects his new found love for the
GameCube more than any other. The article reads in part:
“Now
is a great time to be a gamer. But with a slew of new games and
consoles being released in the coming months, now is not the time to
be buying new hardware [A reference to PS2 if I have ever seen
one]…
In terms of sheer quality, Nintendo looks to have the best line-up
of games, most of which will be exclusive to GameCube. And this is
where Sony’s reliance on third-party publishers breaks down.
In the past, Nintendo used cartridge games on its Nintendo 64; thus
games on PlayStation were often bigger and better. But now, with
PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox being so similar in power, that
distinction is gone.”
The article reflects every issue
from software development times to system support and how the
GameCube differs from the PS2 in each respect.
A new direction for mainstream
press?
For months GameCube fans have been dismayed with the
biased-by-ignorance industry coverage from every news publication
and financial analyst on earth. It took long enough but Nintendo’s
impressive showing at this year’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles may have
finally shattered the fogged lens through which journalists saw the
industry. After the event, many news publications credited Nintendo
with taking the show and Merrill Lynch raised their recommendation
on Nintendo to a Buy and revised system sales expectations ten fold.
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