So, who is going to be the winner? This is always an interesting point of debate. It's hard to say who'll come out ahead this year, although bear in mind the market is large enough to support two, even three successful consoles nowadays. Let's take a look at the various strengths and weaknesses (or alleged ones, in the case of the GameCube and X-Box).

Sony PlayStation 2

Strengths:

Most technologically advanced console at present time

DVD compatibility

Backwards compatibility

Firewire/USB compatibility

PlayStation reputation

Currently in bed with SquareSoft

Weaknesses:

Expensive when compared to competition

Allegedly hard to develop for

Needs more A-list titles

No online support (yet)

Tooth fairy easier to find on store shelves

Summary: An immensely capable system with excellent growth potential. However, issues like internet support and a steady stream of A-list titles need to be exploited quickly before its market is eroded by Sega, Nintendo, and Microsoft. The current unit shortage may not particularly help Sony's situation either; if units aren't available until March of next year, many people will hang on to their cash in favor of Nintendo or Microsoft's new offerings next Fall (how many people do you know who passed over a Dreamcast in order to buy a PS2? The same logic applies here). Still, the Sony brand is very highly regarded and has much public mindshare... it will all come down to the games; many of which will need to be new experiences as opposed to remakes of classic PSOne titles.

Sega Dreamcast

Strengths:

Diverse library of strong 1st and 3rd party titles

Internet capability

Half the price of competition (will likely drop again
      in 1st/2nd quarter of 2001)

Inexpensive games (many at or around $39.99)

Easy to develop for

Shortage of PS2 units will likely spur sales

Weaknesses:

Not as powerful as competition

Many A-list titles delayed (Half-Life, Unreal Tournament,
      Metropolis Street Racer, etc)

Overall user-base below projections

Sega of Japan sending mixed messages about future of
      company; consumer confidence low

Questionable/insufficient marketing

Summary: An inexpensive, powerful system mired in the politics of it's parent company. While seemingly uncertain of which direction they wish to go, Sega of Japan may have a dark horse contender in the US once the price drops to $99, the mass-market acceptance number. High-quality titles from in-house production teams help this system stand out as does near-flawless online play via sega.com, but with not nearly enough public advertising exposure and the supposed eventual demise of Sega itself, establishing an identity with the consumer is tenuous at best. Still, the current PS2 shortage will help it through the end of 2000; it's continued success will depend on how soon it reaches that critical $99 price point.

Nintendo GameCube

Strengths:

Easy to develop for

Exclusive Nintendo 1st party titles

Inexpensive ($99-$149?)

Weaknesses:

Nintendo often labeled as a "kiddie" company

Range of 3rd party support unknown

Heavy reliance on existing Nintendo properties (Mario, Zelda, etc)

Launch coincides with Microsoft X-Box

Summary: Not a whole lot is known about the GameCube yet, but if screenshots tell any sort of story it looks just as capable as any of the other next-gen systems. The big question here is how much gamers are willing to shell out to play the next wave of Mario/Zelda/Donkey Kong titles...ironically, Nintendo's biggest strength (it's characters) is also one of it's biggest weaknesses. To make this system attractive, there will have to be a good supply of 3rd party titles to diversify their game lineup, otherwise the GC could end up being another N64: a machine primarily used to play the often ingenious 1st party Nintendo titles. But in all fairness, Nintendo's choice of a disc-based media and a seemingly much more friendly arrangement for 3rd party developers would point to a very bright future for the GameCube; the price point will be the final deciding factor.

Microsoft X-Box

Strengths:

Backed by Microsoft

Embraced by PC development community

Includes modem/hard drive for online connectivity out of the box

Based on spec sheets, will be the most technologically
      advanced console in history

Massive advertising budget for launch ($500 million)

Easy to port games from PC

Possible deal with SquareSoft

Weaknesses:

Japanese developer support fairly small

Unknown price point

Microsoft relatively unknown outside of PC circles

Abundance of PC-styled games may turn off typical console gamers

Launch coincides with Nintendo GameCube

Summary: Probably the biggest pile of unknowns, there's no question that Microsoft will have X-Box advertising all over the place well in advance of the system's launch. With half a billion dollars in pre-launch ad funds, there won't be a place you'll be able to hide. The main questions here are the price of the unit, and what type of support it'll get from console game developers. It's fairly well known that PC gamers and console gamers often choose different types of games, and the abundance of PC game ports to the X-Box may be a turn off to the casual console gamer. Some Japanese developers are interested in developing for the X-Box (Konami, Capcom, and SquareSoft is also rumored to be interested), but so far it looks as though most games for the system will come from US/Euro game houses. However, the biggest thing going for the X-Box is Microsoft itself. With almost limitless cash flow, Microsoft could conceivably take a major loss on every unit sold and still not flinch. With the Nintendo GameCube (a more recognizable gamebrand) launching at around the same time, Microsoft will have to have some very sharp A-list titles available at launch to attract gamers' attention, but with the alleged raw power of the machine and access to a vast array of PC game developers, there should be more than enough 'wow' factor here to get the X-Box in a considerable amount of homes if the price is right.

   So, there's a lot to consider and think about when it comes to the console market this year. Who will ultimately win in the end depends on what you the consumer buys, and everyone knows you're a fickle bunch.