The Xbox: No threat to the GameCube

Again, I find myself apologising for a prolonged absence. This month's feeble excuses include moving house and lots of magazine work. It's good to see Cube-Europe alive and kicking on a new server again, and so I thought I'd celebrate the moment as it were, with a new article.

There have been quite a few (thankfully well-debated and sensible) threads recently in the 'Rival Consoles' board about what the GameCube is capable of compared to the Xbox, and which console has the better software line-up in the immediate and long-term future. I'd like to put a theory forward that doesn't seem to have cropped up on the boards before: The Xbox and the GameCube are not in direct competition with each other.

Allow me to explain.

First and foremost: the reason for the Xbox's creation. As much as I would love to believe that the Xbox was a true labour of love from the "hardcore gamers" within the Microsoft Corporation, I am afraid that its true reason for being is much more to do with cold, hard business sense. Its main reason for coming into existence is actually the PlayStation2. When Sony saw the incredible market position they were left with as the Sega Dreamcast started going down in flames, they started looking into other possible avenues for the PS2. Something that Sony had been interested in for a long time was the use of Linux (an open-source, free Operating System) for their various pieces of hardware. They could now see that market was opening up for them to experiment with turning the PS2 into a kind of home PC � add a keyboard, a mouse, a hard drive and an internet connection, develop a custom-made Linux operating system for it and an entirely new business opportunity is created on the back of the huge numbers of sales (which now number over 30million worldwide). It's a great idea � think of how many families have bought a PS2 because the kids want it, and then have to shell out �400+ for a PC for the internet as well? Sony have developed this kit, and sell it for about 250 I believe. What an excellent way for a family to branch out online as well, and within their own living room. Microsoft however has always been on the pulse when it comes to the world market, especially when their own products are directly affected.They took a lot of notice of Sony's plans and realised that a Linux revolution on the back of the Playstation2 would put a really nasty dent into the sales of their Windows Operating system for the PC. With time on their side however, Microsoft started looking for a solution to this rather thorny problem, and the answer rather unexpectedly came from inside their own teams. Seamus Berkley and John Allard were advocating that Microsoft made a computer games console, to push the DirectX development environment out further, and to get Microsoft a slice of the rapidly growing videogames market. It was the perfect solution: for an acceptable business outlay, Microsoft could halt the PS2 in its tracks and at the same time open up new business avenues for itself.

So the Xbox was created with a clear set of goals: do everything the PS2 does, but better, and use Microsoft's long established business connections to the advantage at every point. And it was in this way that the Xbox, which was nearly a set-top box from the outset as well as a games console, was born. It was much more powerful than the PS2, had a hard-drive and a network connection built-in (which Sony were planning to sell separately to consumers for its internet services), and which used the DirectX development environment that was familiar to many developers already (in stark comparison to the PS2's ambitious and convoluted design).

Then the marketing strategy began. Microsoft was clearly attacking a target audience: the 16-26 year-old, male gamer. They were clearly hoping to draw casual gamers, console fans and hardcore PC gamers alike to the new console on the grounds of games at launch ranging from Dead or Alive 3 to Project Gotham Racing to Halo. The war was to be a war of attrition for Microsoft, gradually chipping away at the PS2 dominance to make life as difficult as possible for the PS3. And the strategy has worked � every time Xbox sales have soured, PS2 sales have taken a slight dip. The two big black boxes are fighting for the same gaming turf.

Now you have just read an entire synopsis on the Xbox's conception, you may have noticed something: the word "GameCube" has not been used once throughout. Stop and think about it for a minute. But for the fact that the GameCube also shares the games market, its existence is totally incidental to the Xbox, in the same way that the GameBoy Advance would be. The GameCube is not a target for Microsoft, and as such they are not in direct competition with each other.

So how can you have two "next generation" games consoles in the same high street stores that are not in direct competition with each other? Well, for a good example, we can all look to Sega's strategy for the new consoles. Microsoft tried to buy out Sega (as well as Square, Nintendo and Midway) before the Xbox launched, but Sega sensibly remained independent and multi-platform. And their actions since demonstrate the way in which the GameCube and the Xbox are not going head-to-head. Sega have spread the releases of their long-running franchises across the consoles, but their divisions are interesting ones. The GameCube has picked up games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Monkey Ball, and Sega are actively involved in the TriForce project with Nintendo to co-develop arcade titles such as F-Zero. Future Sega exclusives with include Monkey Ball 2 and Skies of Arcadia. These are traditional console styles of game: accessible, suitable for all ages and the widest gaming demography possible. Now compare this with the PS2 and Xbox line-up. As exclusives the Xbox has picked up the former Dreamcast license of Jet Set Radio Future, already has Gun Valkyrie and can look forward to potentially great games such as Panzer Dragoon, Shenmue and Sega GT. The PS2 can boast only Shinobi as a really great Sega game in its line up as Virtua Fighter is now getting an Xbox port and upgrade.

This basically underlines the direction that the industry is taking, with the GameCube doing nicely on its traditional console gaming branch of the gaming industry, bolstered by Nintendo exclusives and third party franchises, and the Xbox and PS2 fighting over the same ground, with the Xbox invariably coming out on top.

This month I have been sent an Xbox unit from the Xbox magazine I am writing an article for, and sat next to my GameCube in the front room, you instantly get a feeling that they really are not in direct competition with each other. The Xbox growls "I'm for grown-ups only" at you � it's got a chunky, solid, heavy controller, lots of clever hardware and games to cater for more adult tastes. The GameCube has a clean, accessible look, a pad crafted for all sizes of hands and appeals instantly to gamers of all ages. The Xbox plays DVDs, the GameCube doesn't. The Xbox has an internet connection, the GameCube a link to the GameBoy. These consoles are not rivals - they are not fighting for the same market share.

The Playstation2 is a curious half-way house between the two, and as a result it is now struggling to get many headline games. Even the mighty Metal Gear Solid Series is now getting an Xbox port, and if Square does eventually start making GameCube content, then the PS2 is really becoming heavily reliant on 3rd party, multiplatform games for its continued success. When some of the Xbox and GameCube games like Fable and Mario Sunshine are widely available, I think Sony will start to find that the Playstation3 cannot arrive quickly enough. When it does arrive it will have to do tremendously well with both consumers and developers alike with the way the GameCube and the Xbox are carving up the Market. Once the sales of the PS2 do start to drop, I feel they will drop quite swiftly and then never recover, although with 30 million sales already this is hardly disasterous.

I believe the conclusion I would wish to draw is this: as a GameCube owner you should not feel threatened or envious of the Xbox in any way at all. If you are lucky enough to afford both, then I would recommend that all hardcore gamers get both consoles, as they compliment each other superbly well. If not, you are left with a clear choice between the two styles as to which console you would want to own.

The only fans out there that need to worry are the Playstation2 owners. The Xbox is eroding developer support for their console at an alarming rate given the 30million installed base for the PS2. For Sony the Playstation3 will probably have to do an enormous amount of work when it arrives to win back consumer confidence from the Xbox and certainly will not sell on strength of its brand name alone next time around. I would envisage that the GameCube is set to have a highly profitable and successful lifespan though, if the current market trends continue. The Xbox is serving to help carve out a niche for the GameCube, and as a result we will no doubt enjoy a lot of quality games from many sources as Nintendo have the pressure taken back off them after years of the N64 underachieving.