Sega has effectively ceased production of the Dreamcast, Nintendo introduced a new handheld as well as a new dedicated games console, Sony's PS2 honeymoon period is over, a bullish Microsoft has entered the console arena, and the world's biggest gaming trade event passed just a month or so ago. During the span of a few days, the companies listed above, as well as hunderds of others, were supposed to impress us, introduce us to levels of graphics and gameplay previously unheard of, and keep us excited in the future of gaming so we will continue to pump our dollars, yen, euros, etcetera in the industry they represent. All the ingredients for a big menu to feast on were there, yet somehow almost all companies involved screwed up and ended up serving us a Happy Meal instead of a rich buffet.

It was the reactions after the show, however, from both the general public and the press sickened me. They proved to me what I had been thinking all along: the video game industry as the last bastion standing against the Borg has been assimilated as well.

No longer does quality and reality matter; it's all about perception and being part of a certain group in order to give oneself an identity to feel part of a bigger being and attach one's ego to the success of that being.

It was a slow and lengthy process, but it has now been completed. The video game industry, pretty much like the rest of the entertainment industry, is now fully assimilated. Our opinions and feelings are being marketed in a sickening way, every reaction to the contrary is being absorbed by the Borg and marketed back to us, and as such it is being turned into the mainstream. Insane Clown Posse as well as gangsta rap and others in previous years are perfect examples of how the Borg sees something getting attention from rebellious people and finds a way to turn it to mainstream success, thus killing the true intentions of those people and turning a rebellious attitude in yet another marketing gimmick.

So what was it exactly that made the show and the subsequent reporting below par? What was it that made me feel hungry and unsatisfied with the served portions?

In my opinion, it was the fact that - in contrast to previous years -no one was trying to change the status quo. Everybody played nice and almost no one rebelled .

I'll try to illustrate my point company by company.

The dissapointments:

Sony

Sony, as the clear-cut market leader, had strength in numbers. Arrogance reigned supreme and the bigger third parties are forced to make their biggest games for the PS2 platform or face lower sales than previous years. Sony knows this and acts acordingly by bullying retailers and third-parties (carry Bleemcast and it will lower the allotment of PS2 consoles, for instance).

On the third-party side, Working Designs had to delay the U.S. version of Silpheed: The Lost Planet several times because Sony didn't feel like approving the title and instead kept on demanding small changes to the game - the same game that had been approved for Japan a long time prior. When it was finally approved, the game actually had very few changes.

Sony's arrogance was further heightened by the fact that Sega is now a partial ally instead of a competitor, Nintendo doesnt seem interested in putting up a fight, and Microsoft is unable to captivate the audience. But more about that in the segments about those companies.

As I mentioned in the intro, Sony's honeymoon is over. The PS2 has been released and it's time to impress with the actual product and content, but sadly, Sony, as always, didn't have much to show. The company is still relying on its third-parties (many of which are unhappy but have no real alternatives), with few exciting products of its own. Sony is well aware of its weaknesses, but unfortunately, they also know that their strengths (name recognition and user base, mainly) are bigger factors than the actual lack of content, so it doesn't really care about providing developers with the tools they crave to make more exciting games, nor do Sony care about providing quality content itself (not to the level of a Sega or Nintendo or even some of the bigger third-parties, anyway).

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