"We've always said that this business is driven by creative content. Software is king."
And so even though the hardware in the Xbox and the Game Cube may be superior, Sony can point to the more than 100 game titles available for the Playstation 2... .and the 13 hundred developed for the original machine which work on the PS 2 as well. Sony's success has been astounding... 33 million original Playstations sold and another 5 million PS 2s since its introduction last year. This holiday season... the contest between Nintendo and Microsoft seems to be which one will be in second place. Nintendo VP Perrin Kaplan...
"Well I think Nintendo will sell everything it has and Microsoft will sell everything that they have... so to determine a true winner by the end of the year will be difficult. I think it's important to look at the software sold and then as we get into 2002, what will continue to make your average consumer who is not a quote-unquote hard core gamer decide to make the purchase... I think that's when it will really count."
While the video game business is expected to grow as much as 40 percent next year... the question is... is there room in the market for all three consoles? Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates...
"The competitive dynamics are a little hard to predict... how many companies will end up having a success."
Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.