In case your time has kept on slippin' ... into the future, the November issue of EGM (and today's date) reminds us that Sony and Nintendo next-gen offerings are only a month a way; Nov. 17 and 19 respectively. With that, the gamer mag has a feature comparing PS2 and GameCube launches by the numbers to see if history can teach us anything about the launch potential of the PS3 and Wii.
PlayStation 2
Number of launch titles: 29
Average EGM review score: 71%
Launch pro: Diverse and high number of games
Launch con: Majority of launch titles were "rushed-out rubbish"
PS3 launch outlook: EGM believes Sony can have a successful launch depending on the final number of launch titles which is still unknown. Like everyone else, they believe availability will at least hurt the system's initial potential.
GameCube
Number of launch titles: 10
Average EGM review score: 77%
Launch pro: "Not a lot" despite what the print mag calls above-average third-party games.
Launch con: Lack of games (see above) sans a big franchise
Wii launch outlook: $250 price, Wii Sports packed-in, and upwards of 25 launch titles including Zelda are a good thing. Third-party publisher's ability to deliver games and those searching for "next-gen" graphics may be turned off by Wii, however.