Style over substance. That, in essence, is what is wrong with videogames today. That, and the fact that in the modern age, consumers are swayed so much more by advertising than in the quality of the product. Of course, advertising is where Sony and Microsoft really win over Nintendo.

In the dock stands the accused, Sony's recent title The Getaway, Sony's just-released gangster 'epic', five years in the making by development studio Team Soho. In my personal opinion, The Getaway is a perfect symbol of all that is wrong with Western gaming today. For example, Getaway's main selling point is that it 'accurately recreates 28 square miles of London's streets and landmarks'. The location of every McDonald's restaurant is accurately represented; even the cracks in the roads are perfectly modelled from real life. Great- for about an hour, when the appeal will wear off, and your attention turns to the actual game. And what utter rubbish it is- who cares if Trafalgar Square is accurately proportioned when the jerky frames of animation or the dodgy camerawork hinders you when actually playing the game? The Getaway is yet another futile attempt to merge movies and games. Message to Sony- filling games with dull non-interactive cutscenes doesn't constitute a movie-game hybrid. It constitutes a boring mess, which doesn't even nearly live up to its incredible hype. It isn't even much fun. Conor in his recent GameOff column discussed 'fantasy over reality' in great depth- I agree totally with his sentiments (which, for those of you who didn't read it, that fun, fantastical worlds are infinitely preferable to the complete realism of Sony's title) , which begs the question- why was The Getaway developed in the first place?

Simple. It's the kind of game that looks good in T.V advertisements, and couple that with people's unhealthy obsession for 'gangster games' and you've got a sure-fire winner. Especially if the host system is that mainstay of taste and quality (no, really) the PlayStation 2. The Getaway delivers a totally 'realistic' experience- such realism entails, of course, a game almost completely devoid of any real fun or excitement. Sony, for the sake of gaming, listen to this: realism is only skin deep. Fun is the basic concept for videogaming. Stop ignoring gameplay as a key factor in a game. And while you're at it, maybe finishing a game before releasing them would help- rushing out a game for the Christmas season is probably the biggest telltale sign of a lazy developer. The Getaway could have been great- but Sony chose to reap the rewards of a Christmas money-spinning launch than make a great game, which screams to me that Sony don't have a love of games- developing games is simply their vehicle to their goal- make money. Now far from me saying that making money isn't right, I just feel that the best games come from the people most passionate about gaming. I don't think Sony are passionate about gaming. Period.

Sony, in their infinite wisdom, feel obliged to bring out a big 'blockbuster' game at least once a year, and hype it up as being a revolution. As if to underline the 'fact' that their game is a cut above the rest, Sony even gave The Getaway a premiere, for heavens sake, in Leicester Square in London.

What's even more excruciating is that the mass market lapped this all up, and promptly bought the game in huge numbers on its release. The result- an average game becomes the second-fastest selling game. Ever. Because Sony took it upon themselves to ram it down everyone's throat that The Getaway is a gaming landmark. Shame on us for giving an average game such an accolade.

Praise be to the Lord then, for Nintendo. When was the last time Nintendo aggressively hyped up a game in that same fashion? I can't remember. Nintendo let their games do the talking, as they should, while Sony continue with their 'bizarre' stunts and pointless television adverts. I'm not saying that Sony's in-house teams aren't terrible developers- they just need to concentrate on the things that matter. Taking a few leaves out of Nintendo's book would help. It's a sin that we, the mass market, buy into Sony so much- believe the mediocre games they churn out are the cream of gaming. If it weren't for staunch support for the PS2 from Sega, Namco et al, the PS2 would be floundering in terms of quality software. Not that quality seems to matter as much as it should...

Quite simply, it's cool to have a PlayStation 2, and a capital offence to own a GameCube. Nintendo of Europe, despite their sterling efforts, have somewhat failed in making the 'Cube trendy. In such a stifling climate for Nintendo owners, it's a wonder that the machine is selling at all. In my own opinion, Sony sells an ever-so-slightly cynical product- largely devoid of zest, imagination or real enthusiasm or inspiration, while Nintendo, in their own in-house titles, offer so much more- beautifully crafted works of art like Mario Sunshine, Eternal Darkness, Metroid Prime, and Zelda. What more can you ask for?

Just the other day I was in my local Game store in Dublin, where I was told by a staff member that the GameCube isn't worth owning. Extraordinary. I can only put it down to brainwashing by Sony and Microsoft. In Game stores the length and breadth of Ireland (I don't know if this is the case in other European countries), Microsoft employees dressed in Xbox t-shirts distribute Xbox promotional DVDs to passers by, and engage in conversation with innocent shoppers, unsure of which console to buy. The Microsoft employees take out their specifications sheet and pronounce the Xbox to be the best console, by virtue of the fact that 'well, um, the Xbox has a hard-drive, and look, the processor of the Xbox is 733mhz compared to the GameCube's 485mhz'. Ignoring the fact that the employee has his facts utterly wrong- the unwieldy, clunky, inefficient Pentium III processor inside the Xbox is in fact only slightly more powerful than the GameCube's efficient IBM Gekko chip, this strikes me as being unfair- how are the general public expected to know that- the GameCube gets dismissed by the Microsoft employees as a 'kids console' 'not worth buying'. How are Nintendo supposed to defend themselves from this kind of unprovoked attack? Nintendo are a small company- they don't have the resources to put staff inside shops to combat this. Nintendo belong in a different age- an age when quality was put over quantity, when substance was always put over style, and when the quality of the product was the only priority. I don't think Nintendo belong in this console war- they aren't a fighting company, and in such a cutthroat industry, and when such prejudice is created against them by their rivals- how can they win?

They can win by not taking part. Nintendo Japan have previously distanced themselves from the console war. Nintendo of Europe on the other hand are trying hard, but they don't have the staff numbers to effectively mount a decent challenge on the PS2. Another reason for NoE's difficulties in this respect is that they are trying to co-ordinate Europe-wide promotional activity from one European base- in Germany, although the establishment of Nintendo UK has seen an upswing in marketing in Britain. The primary battle is for the hearts and minds of the mass market- Sony currently has the majority under its hypnotic spell. Nintendo, though, will always have a loyal fanbase, willing to stick it out through thick and thin for the company they love.

Nintendo of America are, arguably, making an altogether better fist of it- enjoying huge autonomy from the company's other worldwide operations, NOA are constantly criticizing Microsoft and Sony's policies, aggressively promoting the 'Cube and GBA through ever-improving ad campaigns and a host of impressive games ensure that the GameCube isn't being left behind by the Xbox, while the GBA continues to eat into the PS2's market share.

In Japan of course, the GameCube is destroying the Xbox in sales terms. But then, in U.S- unfriendly Japan, that is only to be expected. The GBA is also outselling the PlayStation 2. All is relatively well, then, in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Perhaps, a challenge for all of us is to try and forget sales- what do they matter for people like us? Granted, we all want to see Nintendo up there, beating off its rivals with its vastly superior software portfolio. However frustrating it may be, we have to accept that people will buy what they perceive to be 'cool'- Nintendo would do well to heed that statement, if they are indeed serious about succeeding in Europe. Word of mouth and a loyal following is key to Nintendo- Nintendo know that Zelda will sell even if they don't advertise. This loyal following is part of what makes Nintendo different from most companies in the world. Nintendo fans the world over love the company. They dare to be different, try what others don't even consider. Sure, there are good times, and bad times, but for the foreseeable future, Nintendo are here to stay. And Nintendo always have the Game Boy Advance to fall back on if the GameCube doesn't do the business, which is quite a luxury- the GBA has the handheld market sewn up the world over- although threats to the Game Boy's largely unchallenged reign are on the way next year.

Forget about sales charts, people- we have so much to look forward to next year- Metroid Prime, the Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, Animal Crossing and much more. We can look forward to Nintendo's forays into the online world, the GBA E-Reader device, the Game Boy Player, and a host of innovative games- after all, Nintendo have designated 2003 their 'Innovation Year'. Couple this with Capcom's recently announced unique innovative titles like Killer 7 and Viewtiful Joe and we have a wonderful year to look forward to.

That, surely, is the Nintendo difference.

Mark Cullinane

In Memory of Richard Callan, who died on New Years Day in Dublin. RIP.

(What do you think, people? Email me at [email protected] or leave your thoughts and comments below)