That compares to some 28 million PlayStation boxes already in U.S. homes. Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s new Gameboy Advance and Gamecube and Microsoft Corp.'s much-touted Xbox, all due out next year, also are in the pipeline at many game video game makers. We're not presumptuous enough to say which consoles will be most successful. Activision's rival for the title of second largest U.S. independent video game developer, THQ, also aims to provide games for the new platforms. But Electronic Arts' focus so far for new consoles has been solely on PlayStation2.
Strategies clearly differ among leading video game makers.
Electronic Arts is planning a hearty roll-out for PlayStation 2, putting its top brands on the shelf in hopes of capturing initial market share from the first buyers of the new console. Those users, called early adopters in the industry, are expected to be the biggest fanatics. The software defines the hardware, as we say in the industry. They've got to find out what these things can do. Games due out for the launch from EA are mostly sports titles, and include Madden NFL 2001, SSX, Kessen, NHL 2001, XSquad and Swing Away Golf.