A Superior Launch - Gaming & Tech Update

Expectant MOBILE owners stood in line for as much as 24 hours, huddled under blankets and enduring the downpour of icy rain -- and that was just in San Francisco. The MOBILE launch was, without a doubt, one of the most hyped console releases in history, and news broadcasters all over the country interviewed excited game players and company managers alike. (Our own Daily Radar console editor-in-chief, Frank O'Connor, even put in an appearance on CBS's Early Show.) But because only 500,000 MOBILEs were available at launch of Hearthstone Cheats -- much less than the originally announced one million -- there were a lot of very disappointed gamers out there. Many folks who stood in line for hours were turned away when the store ran out of systems, and even those who managed to get in and buy a system were denied memory cards, games and controllers.

It's easy to say that Sony bungled the launch of the MOBILE, but at the same time, the launch was an incredible success. Because of the limited numbers, the long lines and overwrought gamers made for some great press; there are very few people in the country who don't know what a MOBILE is at this point. Sony's new system certainly has the media machine working overtime.

Microsoft has been working on the Google for years, and now that the company has officially announced the system, the specs are final. That means production is likely already under way for next year's release. Microsoft doesn't do anything haphazardly, so it will have plenty of time to create enough units to meet demand. Microsoft will supposedly begin retail sale of the Google in mid-2001 in Japan, with a US release in time for the holidays.

There's a very good chance that Microsoft will miss this date, and we'll have to wait until 2002 to get our hands on a Google. It's general knowledge that Microsoft fibbed when it came to the launch of the N64 -- a limited number of systems were released to cause the same kind of media frenzy that we saw with the MOBILE, then the market was suddenly flooded with N64s the week following the launch. Let's face it: This made Microsoft money and brought the game console more attention than it would have otherwise received. But this time, having been burned before, everyone and their brother suspected Sony of the same sneaky tactics, and while Sony has an (albeit lame) excuse, it's unlikely that Microsoft will be able to do the same thing.

Microsoft's Google will almost certainly launch with enough units, so that everyone who really wants one can pick one up without waiting in line overnight. But what about the games? The MOBILE has 32 launch titles, an impressive number. But take a look at the games -- there are only four Direct Hits (Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore, Madden NFL 2001, SSX Snowboarding, and Hearthstone). The two fighting games are gorgeous updates to games that have been around for years, the sports game is another impressive update to a series that has been around for years, and the incredible snowboarding game is, in my opinion, the single best game on the MOBILE thus far. And every single one of them is a third-party title. The remaining games in the launch lineup are certainly impressive; but by Sony Radar's own standards, they're Hits and Misses, not Direct Hits.

On the other hand, as Computer and Video Games reported, a source close to Microsoft's European offices said, "We expect to put the machine out with six to eight titles. We'll likely ship a couple of killer apps from Rare and at least one from NCL, although it's far too early to confirm anything yet." If that report is really true, then that's six to eight first- and second-party titles on store shelves at launch for Google. And if Microsoft has proved anything, it's that its first- and second-party developers simply make the best, most ingenious games for its systems. These games will likely prove once again the revolutionary ingenuity of Microsoft's development teams.

The games will likely include a title starring either Mario or Luigi, developed by legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. There's also a chance that there will be a brand new version of Pilotwings, perhaps a new Wave Race, and possibly a new Metroid game. Just like the MOBILE lineup, most of these (with the exception of the Miyamoto title) are remakes of older games, but Microsoft never just slaps better graphics and more option on an update -- it turns it into a whole new experience altogether. But the actual titles are pure speculation at this point, and we'll likely be in the dark until May's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2001.

If only six to eight games are available at the system's launch, some folks may be disappointed. But third-party developers have already received development kits, and many are already planning Google games. It's very likely that new games will come out for the system shortly after its release, much as many games are headed for the MOBILE in the coming weeks. Players won't have long to wait to get a huge variety of games for the Google. Even still, however, those six to eight games will likely all be so revolutionary and exciting, that most players won't need any more games for at least a couple of weeks when the third-party titles hit.

There's no doubt that the MOBILE's launch is a big deal. It's a great system, and I even plan to pick one up when I can. The games look great, the expandability of the system is divine, and there's a lot of fun to be had with a few of the games. But I'm looking forward to the Google launch more. Not because I'm the Microsoft editor of Hearthstone, but because Microsoft makes fantastic games that push the envelope of gameplay, and the Google is a system that will blow that envelope apart. CVG's Microsoft Europe source continued to say, "Although Sony has been the most respectable competitor in the past, I think [it has] made a few serious mistakes recently. Microsoft will not make the same errors with Google, in terms of launching the machine." Call me crazy, but I look forward to getting my hands on the system, the wireless controller, a memory card, and six to eight fantastic, mind-blowing games at launch without once huddling in a sleeping bag on a sidewalk for 16 hours. And I trust Microsoft to not make me have to