European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 14, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Video game designers taking serious look at pcs a a a. A a a a a a a a a Washington Post computers entered Many Homes As educational tools but have since become popular playing Fields for games. By Tim Dahlberg the associated press he family computer has become the video game player of Choice in Many households leaving game designers trying to decide whether to create new products for the pc or traditional game machines connected to the to. Computers will have More Power than a regular game machines until next Winter when new systems come from Nintendo Sega and Sony. And that has left some game creators paying More attention to the computer. Next generation a new Magazine covering the Industry described the looming video game wars of 1995&Quot on the cover of its premiere Issue. Personal computers dominated the game manufacturer tents at the Winter consumer electronics show in Las vegas with designers showing off capabilities on compact discs or cd rooms that weren t possible on old Cartridge based games. Quot the one thing i see is that 1995 is going to be the year of the pc Quot said Brian Fargo president of interplay productions in which creates games for both computers and video game machines Quot All these other formats will not come out until late next year so you be got this whole year  \ a a a a. A. Quot a. A even after that it will take several years before the new systems reach Market saturation to sell games in volume. Quot in the near term the desktop will probably Rule Quot said Bobby Kotick president and chief executive of act vision. Quot with pcs you be got a healthy installed base and the ability to do some really compelling . But video game machine executives note the pc is not optimal for games Quot they Are not yet at the level of doing the fastest video games the most graphic intensive video games Quot said Tom Kalinske chief executive of Sega of America inc., during a news conference at the Trade show. Nonetheless Sega will begin producing games for personal computers this year. Quot this is a growing Market and Sega will publish cd rom titles Quot Kalinske said. Ted Hoff senior vice president of Fox interactive of Revedy Hills calif., said Quot the Market is the pc until Sony Sega and the others come in with a cd based machine under $300 and capture  Nintendo s Ultra 64 will still rely on Cartridge games while the Sony playstation and Sega Saturn will play compact disc based games. All will be run by chips that Are More powerful than those in pcs. And All will Cost substantially less than pcs. But they will be More than the $100 to $150 of today s video game players Sega has said Saturn will Cost Between $300 and $500, that May not matter to parents who decide it s Worth. Spending $1,000 to $1,500 More for a pc that can do Many More things than play games Quot i think the pc in the 1990s has become what the encyclopedia was when i was growing up Quot said Tom Zito chief executive of game creator digital pictures inc., which is developing More pc games this year. Quot the encyclopedia Salesman cleverly convinced parents that if they did t buy this their children were going to be educationally disadvantaged. The same argument is used for pcs. So the Parent can justify. A it a. Spending $2,000 for a pc rather than $500 for a game  a. A. A. A a a. A ultimately the Choice of a game machine May depend on whether players have More fun playing on a to or in front of the computer screen. In some Homes families will choose both. Quot of believe both worlds continue to live very healthily with each other Quot Sega s Kalinske said. Quot it s not an either or  1 a a Nintendo intends to upgrade its systems. Not to sets no longer something just to look at by John Markoff the new York times All it the rumpus room revolution. American Consumers Are now shelling out nearly As much for personal computers As for television sets the consumer electronics Industry announced last week at its annual Winter Trade show in tas vegas. In fact based on the new and future gadgets on display the to set itself is rapidly becoming a computer. The digital technology at the heart of computers is moving into televisions and video recorders and combination to telephones port ending new combinations of Home entertainment and information. The products and prototypes in Las vegas included the at amp to Home information Center a computerized system that links the Telephone to the television. The system a Small Box that sits on the television set is supposed to permit the consumer to display news traffic stocks weather and electronic mail As Well As Home banking and shopping information As such services become available. At amp to plans to begin Selling the systems this Spring in the company s phone Center stores for $329, and Sony and Sharp electronics demonstrated digital video players using disks the same size As audio cd that will soon be Able to hold full length motion pictures. The players expected to reach the Market Early next year at prices yet to be announced Promise crisper pictures and sounds and such computer capabilities As random Access searches that will let a viewer summon Forth any seen Len. A movie. A for electronics companies assuming Consumers Rise to the bait the coming computerization of television heralds the next turn in the obsolescence Cycle that periodically pumps new life into the consumer electronics Industry. A. It has happened before the transistor pushed aside the vacuum tube the color television made Black and White old fashioned and the cd player relegated the a phonograph to the attic now the Var and Quot analog Quot television May soon be overtaken by must haves like digital video disks and to sets based on the digital High definition television or a div Standard Quot the digital age has arrived Quot said Joseph p. Clayton who is executive vice president of Thomson consumer electronics As Well As an official with the electronic industries association which is sponsoring the Las vegas show. Quot Consumers Are becoming More comfortable with sophisticated electronic  indeed sales figures Back that up. The association reported last week that spending for Home computers in the United states in 1994 a $8.07 billion a approached that for television sets $8.4 billion. To be sure More. Television sets a 25.4 million a were toted into Homes in 1994 than were personal computers �?6.7 million. Still there is clearly a consumer appetite for Home electronics devices that provide both entertainment and information. And that increasingly Means digital devices that convert All text sound pictures and video into a Forror that can be recorded and played Back transmitted and received it As electronic pulses represented by the 1 s and 0 s of computer code. Digital television is already catching on. The digital satellite system introduced last fall by Thomson s Ria division which receives to programming transmitted digitally from satellites operated by pm Hughes electronics has already sold More than 1 million units. So far this satellite to system has no True Quot interactive Quot capabilities to let viewers Send information Back through their to sets. But Thomson and the computer workstation maker Sun Micro systems said they had started developing interactive technology to give the Ria satellite system some of the capabilities of a networked computer. The personal computer Industry was in Las vegas in Force too with Compaq ism Hewlett Packard Intel ast research and acer America sponsoring exhibit Booths. And seeking to capitalize on the increasing. Presence of the personal computer in Homes Microsoft corp. Is introducing software nicknamed Bob that is intended to make computers More accessible to neophytes. _ Quot a a Quot i or Quot \ Huc f sin. L.11 -. \ -7 1 i a a Lucen t self new from the Winter consumer electronics show the lightweight non lethal air Taser stuns attackers with electrical probes attached to 15 feet of coiled wire. Small Advance in communicators. Motorola corp. Will soon begin Selling a version of Apple computer inc s Newton handheld computer that can Send and receive wireless messages. The device called Marco will Cost Between $900 and $1,400 depending on features Motorola said. It will go on Sale later this month. The company in recent weeks started shipping a similar handheld computer called envoy based on software developed by general magic inc Motorola the world s largest maker of cellular telephones is seeking to promote greater use of wireless communications. A a a. A. A a the associated press the wireless Motorola spor Strax lets a fan receive up to Date information on a game and Tell at a. Glance what s happening. The now communicator is about the sire of a pager. The new Fox Vixen radar laser Detector claims it has a wider Range. It was one of More than 41,000 gizmos displayed at the Las vegas show Many of them for the car. 16 the stars and stripes saturday january 14, 1995