Interview: Bill Kunkel — The Game Doctor - Page 6

BK: Of course inflation will change that number, but whatever $300 was worth in, say, 1990, you can't go higher than that for any system.

BK: They also make you buy the memory cards and an extra controller — and what happened to the game that comes WITH the system?

RF: A $299 console in 1995 costs about $380 today. They kind of chucked the pack-in out with the launch of Playstation.

BK: I wouldn't try selling a console system, bare bones, for more than $350.

RF: The $399 Xbox 360 isn't a bad buy. I'd love to pay nothing for it but that's not going to happen.

BK: Well I was spoiled. I bought an Odyssey2 in 1978 and didn't have to pay for a new system until the late 90s, so I'm not as quick to jump in and debug somebody's new system. I never buy a system the first year it's out. The people who do wind up bug testing the thing, the company rebuilds it, sells it for less, and makes games that aren't compatible with their "older" systems.

RF: And that's another point. The majority of folks who buy any successful system don't buy it within the first year at "full price."

BK: Of course not. They don't want another Dreamcast or Saturn.

RF: I do! But I want them to succeed.

BK: Though both systems were well worth owning.

RF: Yeah.

BK: I let the market fight it out. But really, Sony's backwards compatibility is so sweet, I can still play my favorite PS games and if I buy a PS3, I'll be able to play NHL Hockey '06 on it.

RF: In this round, I'm digging Nintendo's backwards compatibility. Sony will let you play PS and PS2 games on PS3 but there's no memory card or controller plugs. so if I want to play Taiko Drum Master with my awesome PS2 drum, I can't. Microsoft is the same way. Nintendo has pretty much provided a Gamecube and Revolution console in one. Sony's backwards compatibility is good for most games but it could have been a tick better.

BK: And Sony's online play isn't close to where it should be.

RF: Right, they're promising a lot; well the rumor is they're promising a lot with their Xbox Live Killer. We'll see.

BK: Ever know a company to say, "Our next gen system really isn't going to be that impressive?"

RF: No not really. They all love to talk shit, I guess that's their jobs.

BK: Yeah, but this four to five year cycle is ridiculous. They have got to let these systems to hang out longer and stop getting people all worked up about what's coming NEXT. Give the systems seven to eight years, let the developers teach them how to stand up and do tricks and when you can make a quantum leap, then make it. But with these guys, it's planned obsolescence on a four year rotation and it kills the existing systems.

Article Author: Rob Faraldi

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