Each year, technology manufacturers unveil their latest products in Las Vegas at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, or E3. This year's E3 was highlighted by the upcoming war between the video game consoles. Right now Sony is the video game champion, but they will soon face challenges from an old adversary, Nintendo, as well as a new rival, Microsoft.
Here are the three new systems that were highlighted at E3, along with the percentage of searches they received when compared to the current champ. You can also read a review of all the video game news from E3 at Lycos Computers.
THE CHAMP: Sony's Playstation 2 dropped out of the Lycos 50 but it is still chugging along as the most popular video game system in America. It stays close to the Lycos 50 (it was #54 this week) and has overcome the product shortages of the holiday season.
#1 CONTENDER: Right now most of the excitement in the gaming world seems to be focused on the Microsoft Xbox (52%). We took a look at the Xbox when it was first announced in January and it definitely is maintaining its position as the video game system mostly likely to challenge Sony for throne.
The hype says that Xbox has computer-like power, but completely focused on gaming as opposed to word processors or spreadsheets. Xbox offers Internet support and a hard drive which will allow downloadable game extras such as new levels or characters, or customizable game soundtracks. It will be launched on November 8 at a price of $299.
Xbox searches were up about double last week, but were actually at a level more than 50 percent lower than their all-time high, just after the product was first announced in January.
#2 CONTENDER: Like the older ex-champion still trying to fight his way back to a title shot, Nintendo will introduce its Gamecube (33%) one week before the Xbox and fight for its own position in the upcoming gaming brawl. Gamers seem less interested in Gamecube at this point, and Nintendo will try to fight that with the power of its well-known characters (like Pokemon) and a lower price -- $200, about $100 less than its competitors. Gamecube searches also doubled this past week.
LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMP: Nintendo should see a lot more success in the handheld arena with the Game Boy Advance (37%). Nintendo's Game Boy has owned the handheld game space for a long, long time; believe it or not, it is Game Boy, not the Playstation One or original Nintendo, which has the biggest sales of any video game system in history.
The GBA will offer more computing power than Game Boy (like upgrading from an original Nintendo to a Super Nintendo) while still playing original Game Boy games. It also serves as a controller for Gamecube, allowing games that can be played on both systems. The system comes out much sooner than Xbox or Gamecube -- it is already available in Japan, and will appear here on June 11 for a price around $100.
Searches for the GBA have grown more steadily than for console systems, but growth has accelerated in the last three weeks as the release grows close. It is likely to make the Lycos 50 when it is released, and we'll be watching for it.
OUT TO PASTURE: Last week the Sega Dreamcast (35 %) received more searches than the Gamecube, but Sega has retired from the console wars and will now concentrate on manufacturing games for its ex-competitors' systems.
TOMORROW: Pomp, circumstance, and Vitamin C.
