Console wars hot up

GameCube will rely on characters such as Mario

As Nintendo launches its latest console, the GameCube, BBC News Online's Darren Waters looks at the increased competition in the marketplace.

Does three into one go?

That is the question as Nintendo launches its super console, the GameCube, in Japan to compete with Sony's Playstation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox, which is released next month in the US.

GameCube launches in Japan on Friday

The three machines represent the next generation of console gaming with CD quality sound, photo-real images and the ability to play DVD movies - apart from the GameCube - as well as connect to the internet for multi-player online gaming.

The three machines have differing specifications and capabilities and the consumer now has a difficult choice to make.

Market place

The three companies hope simply that the market place is big enough to accommodate their console but considering Nintendo feels that in the next-generation console wars, only two platforms will capture the market share needed to survive, it seems there might be a loser.

Xbox is Microsoft's first foray into console gaming

Sony has a strong foothold in the market place, with more than 10 million Playstation 2 consoles already sold despite teething problems at launch and a lack of quality software to promote the machine.

Of course, a games console is only as good as the games on it and it will be the software that will eventually determine success.

Youth market

Since launch, the quality of software on the Playstation 2 has improved and "killer applications" such as Gran Turismo 3 have made the machine more attractive to consumers.

Nintendo's advantage is its dominance in the youth market, where previous machines, such as the GameBoy, have sold more than 100 million handheld consoles and the new GameBoy Advance has shifted more than a million units since launch earlier this year.

Its software, with a reliance on established characters such as Mario and Zelda, should also ensure it will capture much of the youth market.

The console is purple, sleek and fun-looking while Sony's is designed to resemble a serious piece of entertainment kit, such as a DVD player, and the Xbox is a sturdy, cumbersome object which exudes power and performance.

Sony's original console, the Playstation, proved that games console were not only attractive to children and to teenagers and some surveys state that up to a quarter of all US households have one.

Favourable responses

Games based around sports simulations and role playing action adventure proved that 20 to 25 years olds were also interested in console gaming.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider on the original Playstation was the progenitor of a host of games for slightly older game players and Playstation 2 has capitalised on that market.

Xbox games offer quality graphics

Microsoft is the unknown quantity with no track record in console gaming but the resources of the company and initial favourable responses to the machine seem to indicate it will do well, at least in the United States.

The machine could struggle to sell well in Europe and Japan, where Sony and Nintendo have a firm foothold, but a reported $500m marketing budget will help.

The claims for the technology are grand - "Xbox is going to change video games the way MTV changed music," Robbie Bach, chief Xbox officer has said.

Microsoft has built the console around existing PC technology which has assisted games developers in pushing ahead with their plans.

If Microsoft can launch on November 8 in the US with a clutch of exciting titles, with the financial muscle it has at its disposal, Sony and Nintendo should be worried.