Sony Corp is counting on "Gran Turismo 3," a video game that puts players behind the wheel of cars such as the Aston Martin Vanquish, to win customers for its Play-Station2 console before Microsoft Corp and Nintendo Co introduce competing systems.
"Gran Turismo 3," heralded as one of the first games to showcase PlayStation2's processing power, is expected to bring the console back into the spotlight after production glitches and mediocre games slowed sales, analysts said.
The game went on sale this week.
The lack of blockbuster games has hindered Sony's effort to build its head start over Xbox and GameCube into an insurmountable lead, analysts said. The question is whether "Gran Turismo 3" and games such as Konami Co's "Metal Gear Solid 2" will be enough to lure customers with the November release of Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube only a few months away.
"It's become a much closer race than it could have been," said Sam Nordberg, an analyst with money manager Lord Abbett & Co.
``It's Sony's market to lose and they've done everything wrong so far. Now everybody's holding their breath and waiting for the next two systems to come out.'' Sony is attempting a strategy that it used successfully in the past.
The original PlayStation trumped Nintendo's N64 in part because it had more games available at cheaper prices.
So far, though, many PlayStation 2 games have been mediocre, as game developers learned to work with the complex system, cooling enthusiasm for the console device, analysts said.
``Gran Turismo 3'' highlights the advanced features of PlayStation 2, including realistic graphics that show light reflecting from raindrops.
Players can choose from among more than 150 cars, including the Vanquish luxury sports car from Ford Motor Co's Aston Martin unit.
Sony will sell the game in a package with a PlayStation2 console for about US$330, or US$20 cheaper than the cost of both items purchased separately.
``It's a showcase game and it's a system-seller,'' said Miguel Iribarren, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities.
"Sony wants to crescendo at the time these other systems launch."
The arrival of "Gran Turismo 3" has grown in significance because of Sony's stumbles in delivering PlayStation2.
This time last year, Sony seemed like a sure bet to extend its dominance of the US$20 billion game industry with PlayStation2, which also plays digital versatile disc movies.
The device was expected to broaden the market created in part by the original PlayStation, which has had record sales of more than 70 million units worldwide.
Newsweek magazine featured PlayStation2 on its cover in March 2000, calling it "divine" and "a miracle."
Then production problems and parts shortages caused Sony to miss sales targets after introducing PlayStation2 in the US on Oct. 26. The device, one of the hottest holiday gifts last year, was rarely seen on store shelves because of the short supply.
Supplies of PlayStation2 have improved so that merchants have it in stock on a regular basis. Retailers such as Best Buy Co, Toys R Us Inc and Circuit City Group have featured PlayStation2 in advertisements in recent weeks.
Gamers who missed out earlier, though, may wait to see GameCube and Xbox before deciding what to buy, analysts said.
"Inboxes are flooded with people asking us if they should wait for the GameCube and Xbox or buy a PS2 now," said Jeff Gerstmann, executive editor of Web site Gamespot.com, in a recent editorial.
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