Sony, Nintendo pumped to beat the Xbox

In this story: Sony sitting pretty Nintendo knows good gaming RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Staff and wire reports

TOKYO, Japan -- Sony and Nintendo have only two words for Microsoft: back off.

On gaming turf, the kings of the home console and handheld game sector are convinced of their continued market dominance, even in light of the November 8 Microsoft gaming debut with the Xbox.

At the Electronic Entertainment Expo this week, both companies flaunted their strategic advantages over the much-hyped Xbox, with Sony stressing its existing market lead and Nintendo its creative assets.

Sony sitting pretty

Sony is the world's home gaming console leader, with 60 percent of the U.S. market held by its original PlayStation and its nearly year-old successor.

Sitting pretty with its market dominance, Sony is undaunted by the latest video gaming entrant -- Microsoft's Xbox, a machine that critics are already lauding for its superior technology.

"It's hard to compete with us right now," said Andrew House, Sony Computer Entertainment Executive Vice President.

"The key thing in this industry is momentum."

At the expo, Sony hosted a lengthy presentation on its plans to convert the PlayStation 2 into a home entertainment hub, with new Internet capabilities and accessories that effective turn the gaming machine into a PC.

"The PlayStation 2 is poised for the lead position, but we're also poised for new territory," said Kazuo Kirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America.

"This year we are going to deliver on the online and connectivity promised that we made last year."

On Wednesday, Sony announced an alliance with Net media software firm RealNetworks to make the PlayStation 2 capable of playing audio and video broadcast or downloaded over the Web.

The RealNetworks deal followed an earlier pact with AOL Time Warner to infuse the gaming console with Internet features like email, chat and Web surfing.

As part of its vision of becoming an all-in-one home entertainment system, Sony said it would begin selling add-ons to both its consoles, including a $39 Ethernet network adapter to connect to the Internet, for launch in November.

Sony also has no intentions to lower its PlayStation 2 retail price tag of $299. Microsoft plans to sell the Xbox for $300. Nintendo is expected to price its GameCube below both units.

Nintendo knows good gaming

At the game industry trade show, Nintendo thrilled audiences with its boxy purple GameCube and new gaming titles.

In contrast to Microsoft's emphasis on tech and Sony's emphasis on market share, Nintendo played to its own creative strengths, namely the strong franchises in characters like Mario and Pokemon.

"If you want our world-known names, you can't have them unless you own the Nintendo machine," said Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's director and general manager of corporate planning.

"We believe we know what makes a good game better than anyone else," Iwata said.

GameCube games include "Luigi's Mansion" feature the less-known brother of the popular Mario character, fighting game "Super Smash Bros. Melee" and an all-new title called "Pikmin" featuring armies of ant-like creatures.

"With Nintendo content, it's going to make it hard for Microsoft, and (Nintendo) is probably going to come in at a cheaper price," said Zachary Liggett, a Tokyo-based analyst with WestLB Securities.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Sony, AOL in alliance for PlayStation 2 consoles
May 15, 2001
Sony takes PlayStation2 online
May 16, 2001
Microsoft polishes Xbox for big video game expo
May 14, 2001

Nintendo
Microsoft
Playstation

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.