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How I launched 3 consoles and found true love at Babbage's store no. 9 (2013)

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Re: How I launched 3 consoles and found true love at Babbage's store no. 9 (2013)

#21

Post by kevinsync »

georgeecollins wrote: post #17
ErneX wrote: post #8

I’ll never forget the PS2 US launch. I visited the US for holidays and landed just the day before launch. I thought I was going to be able to get one unit the next day if I asked in a few shops if they knew they were going to have stock. After my sister took me to a few it was clear it was going to be next to impossible, some were going to get as few as a dozen of them and those were already reserved. But in the last…

Can you imagine what it was like to work on the PS2? Everyone knew it was going to be huge and it was so hard to get the dev kit. I remember I had to fly somewhere with my prototype game and my development PS2 hardware. That was not long after "911" and TSA was very strict. They were like: what the hell is weird piece of electronics. Those were very exciting times.

The very first time I ever flew was very shortly after 9/11. TSA hadn't been created yet, but the airports were still nervous energy and chaos from what had happened. I remember my carry-on was like a thick plastic grocery bag with a couple dozen vinyl records and I may have had a very small backpack with god knows what banging around inside (loose items, a crappy cell phone, likely some booze LOL). Got to the airport at the last minute and had to run full speed to get to the gate looking like a crazy person. Surprisingly nobody really batted an eye, and man oh man how things would change in just a couple of months!

Re: How I launched 3 consoles and found true love at Babbage's store no. 9 (2013)

#22

Post by bombcar »

blargthorwars wrote: post #2

I lived through this, and it captures the era well. I'm trying to see through young eyes, but I can't stress how new things seemed every year during this era. Nowadays, there doesn't seem to be as much progress, just better iteration.

The leaps and jumps were amazing - compare SimCity to SimCity 2000 and Simcity 3000 - all a few short years apart.

Sometime around the Wii (being just a souped-up gamecube) or thereafter it stoped being generational leaps and started being refinement.

Re: How I launched 3 consoles and found true love at Babbage's store no. 9 (2013)

#24

Post by ineedasername »

ErneX wrote: post #8

I’ll never forget the PS2 US launch. I visited the US for holidays and landed just the day before launch. I thought I was going to be able to get one unit the next day if I asked in a few shops if they knew they were going to have stock. After my sister took me to a few it was clear it was going to be next to impossible, some were going to get as few as a dozen of them and those were already reserved. But in the last…

Decent people doing nice things for strangers. Always nice to hear.

Re: How I launched 3 consoles and found true love at Babbage's store no. 9 (2013)

#25

Post by dangus »

bombcar wrote: post #22
blargthorwars wrote: post #2

I lived through this, and it captures the era well. I'm trying to see through young eyes, but I can't stress how new things seemed every year during this era. Nowadays, there doesn't seem to be as much progress, just better iteration.

The leaps and jumps were amazing - compare SimCity to SimCity 2000 and Simcity 3000 - all a few short years apart. Sometime around the Wii (being just a souped-up gamecube) or thereafter it stoped being generational leaps and started being refinement.

The best example I’ve come up with for progress in this era is to look at the release schedules of Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9, and X, and compare their graphics.

Completely insane.

Re: How I launched 3 consoles and found true love at Babbage's store no. 9 (2013)

#26

Post by dangus »

heraldgeezer wrote: post #6

I mean the PS2 was a bigger hit than the PS1 and anything Nintendo put out so that analysis wains. The jump in graphics was massive.

Yeah a bit of some odd analysis in the article with who won those console wars.

Speaking of graphics, it’s still worth pointing out that the PS2 was the weakest console of its generation in most respects save for its unique data streaming capabilities, but it did beat the GameCube and Xbox by a year. (We aren’t counting the Dreamcast here)

The PS2 sold itself easily with the integrated DVD capability.

The GameCube had very strong capabilities, but I think it was hamstrung by smaller disc capacity and Nintendo’s difficult developer situation. Sony had the customer and they were easy to work with.

I also think from a marketing standpoint, the small size and toy-ish appearance of the GameCube made it look less appealing to older demographics. The controller didn’t look as serious, either, and the C-stick was a dumb move.

Nintendo wouldn’t give in and make the normal standardized controller that we all agree is the end-state until the Switch, although you can’t fault them for the massive success they enjoyed with the Wii.

Re: How I launched 3 consoles and found true love at Babbage's store no. 9 (2013)

#27

Post by Grazester »

Stevvo wrote: post #23

"In the end, the console wars of the late 1990s were won by Nintendo" The facts/numbers do not match the author's conclusion. Playstation won, even if it did not in the author's memory.

There was no disputing it. Sony won the 5th and 6th.

Re: How I launched 3 consoles and found true love at Babbage's store no. 9 (2013)

#28

Post by mchaver »

lee_ars wrote: post #5

Good times, they were. Good times indeed. (And we're still married, too!)

Great story and very nostalgic. I remember pre-ordering an N64 with my brother and getting it on launch day with Mario 64. We were blown anyway. Then Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, FFVII, Panzer Dragoon Saga and so on. Great time for a video game nerd to be growing up. What are some of your favorite games on more modern consoles?

Re: How I launched 3 consoles and found true love at Babbage's store no. 9 (2013)

#30

Post by acomjean »

nebula8804 wrote: post #11
ginko wrote: post #9

>In the end, the console wars of the late 1990s were won by Nintendo, which built on the momentum of the Nintendo 64 by launching the GameCube in 2001, along with an arsenal of handheld systems Does the author live in a parallel universe where Sony didn't completely dominate gen 5 & gen 6 sales? >The limited amount of storage on the cartridge means that the textures laid over the game’s polygons are blurry and often…

>Does the author live in a parallel universe where Sony didn't completely dominate gen 5 & gen 6 sales? Difficult to ascertain. Sales wise of course Sony will sell more. It was N64's 388 worldwide games vs Sony's 4,074 titles. More games than you could possibly try + Lower prices + higher install base will lead to more game sales and frankly I have seen so many more "experimental" titles on Playstation. Never thought…

The PS2 was also a dvd player, in a time where many didn’t have one. It was my first dvd player (I bought a remote to make it more usable).
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