Sony has officially joined the next generation console wars this week, and brought some big guns with them in the process. Behold the Next Generation Playstation, with the Emotion Engine, DVD storage and backwards compatibility to the original Playstation, one of the most successful videogame platforms of all time. Not only did Sony strike back at Sega's Dreamcast, but they have turned the entire news media towards the PS2 and away from Sega and Dreamcast. Sony has shown that they are fully prepared to conquer the next wave of console gaming. But as we speak, Sega is preparing the details on the Dreamcast launch, which could make or break the company as a future console producer. Does Sega stand a chance against Sony's impending 75 million polygon pusher? Absolutely.

I have to admit, when I read the morning news about Sony's PS2 announcement, I was floored. Who wouldn't be excited by a machine that'll be able to produce 20 million polygons per second with standard polygons and 13 with Bezier curves? Real physics, moving hair, realistic facial movement, and a Final Fantasy VIII ballroom dance in realtime made me wonder how Sony could ever be stopped; exactly what Sony wanted me to think. However, after the hype of the news stories faded away, I realized that Sony's impressive specs are nothing more than a spectacular array of numbers designed to impress developers and scare hardware makers. No price point, no development kit info, and most importantly, no games make the Next Generation Playstation as mythical than it was even before Tuesday's announcement.

Despite Sony's obliterating hardware claims, the Dreamcast is still a very impressive piece of hardware that has received outspoken support and praise from hundreds in the development community; support that the PS2 has yet to receive. I have a very hard time believing that after the Sony's announcement, the hundreds of third-party developers that signed on to develop for the DC will abandon Sega simply because of the PS2's impressive specs. Some very high profile titles are being developed for the Dreamcast, and companies like Capcom aren't likely to waste valuable time and resources on a system that did not have any potential. In fact, the first game they announced was a brand new Resident Evil! This support continues to maintain as third-parties continue to announce new DC titles daily. Remember, the next generation fight against Sega and Sony will be large supported system against large supported system, not a repeat of the no support Saturn vs. the infinitely supported Playstation.

The experience Sega has in creating outstanding first party titles is unparalleled to Sony's apparent lack to do so. Titles like Shen Mue show that Sega is willing to spend extreme amounts of money to create compelling original games to win the console wars, and if this first-generation title is any indication of what gamers will be seeing in the future, Sega is more than prepared for a fight.