PlayStation 2: The Future of Game Consoles?

On October 26th, 2000, the United States got a rare treat: The launch of yet another "revolutionary" game console. Yes, the Sony PlayStation 2 had finally arrived in the US. After much online hype and worries over supply, the first five hundred thousand consoles hit stores nationwide... and were sold out in the time it took to complete the sale transactions. The gamers among us will no doubt remember the September 9th, 1999 launch of the Sega Dreamcast here in the states. It was received with the same flurry of hype and demand, and one year later is well on its way to becoming one of the best consoles ever. In the U.S., anyway. In Japan, it's country of origin, it is a different story... but that's another review. So... will the PlayStation 2 be as much a success as the Dreamcast? We, the gamers of WPI, think so. With it's remarkably advanced graphics and impressive processing power, we can see this console going far. Unfortunately, the PS2 launch was lacking in one thing: fun, impressive, and unique launch games. Most launch games were not as good as the hype surrounding them, although one or two came out ahead. SSX, a snowboarding game, wowed us with its beautiful graphics and addictive play style. Overall, we felt this was the best of the launch games. Other games, such as Madden 2001 and Ridge Racer V were also well received. However, we fully expect to see, and in fact have already begun to see, more and more games released for the PS2 that live up to their hype. For instance, the recent release of FIFA 2001, a soccer game, shows just what will be coming out in the near future. The future of PS2 games is not in danger! FIFA 2001 has more unbelievable graphics and offers support for 1-8, yes count them, 8 players. This bodes well for the console. Pretty soon there will be PS2 consoles widely available and we will see exactly how good the system is.