Is There Life before Playstation 2?
Ten-year-old Satoshi Kusakabe is a typical Japanese youth. He loves his Pokemon trading cards, Game Boy, and video-game collection. The native of Yamagata in northern Japan owns several dozen software titles and–get this–three video-game consoles: a Nintendo 64, a Sony PlayStation, and a Sega Saturn. So in 2000, will Satoshi buy the new Sega Dreamcast or Sony Corp.’s upcoming PlayStation 2? It’s a no-brainer. “I’m getting the new PlayStation,” he says. “It’s supposed to have the best performance.” In five short years, Sony has morphed from a maker of Trinitron TVs and camcorders into the King of Games. The buzz about the new PS2, due in March, is so loud that game-crazed Japanese kids are shunning Dreamcast to wait for Sony. Never mind the fact that the Sega Enterprises Ltd. machine won raves for its speed and mesmerizing graphics, and that it sells for $199, compared to an expected $385 for the PS2. Even in the U.S., where Dreamcast is a hit, many gamesters will wait for the PS2’s f
