Nick Cook (development director of Warzone 2100 creators - Pumpkin Studios)

The interactive entertainment industry has rapidly evolved since the ‘80s. It has constantly claimed to be a mass market throughout this period. It wasn't, however, until recent times that this claim has really stood up to close scrutiny, and without doubt the PlayStation must now be ranked as one of the first real litmus tests of this expression.

The PlayStation is a true mass market phenomenon and has provided a stable development model for the last few years. This alone is invaluable in the face of fast-moving PC specifications which can be difficult to factor in when developing a product, particularly when that product can take up to three years to produce and bring to market.

The evolution of the PlayStation 2, however, was inevitable if Sony were to remain competitive on a long-term basis. It makes every sort of economic sense, particularly as it will be 'backwardly compatible'. PlayStation owners throughout the land will thank them for this decision!

What has really surprised everybody is just how powerful the specifications are for the new Sony beast. In an industry where there is a major inevitable move to three-dimensional realisations of games, processing power is paramount. There can never be too much and developers will always push games to the limit in order to deliver increasingly rich and diverse gaming worlds.

PlayStation 2 will up the anti for the whole industry. What I can tell you for certain is that developers will be falling over themselves to tap into this new potential. If you thought PlayStation games are good now, make a note of this date in your diary and refer back to it in three years’ time. By then, developers will really be starting to deliver products which fully realise the potential of this new platform. Today’s products will seem very antiquated by comparison, I promise you that!

Sega will have a clear run at the market for at least six months until the PlayStation arrives next year. They have a good platform in the Dreamcast. Whether this is enough for them to weather the impact of PlayStation 2 remains to be seen. I hope so; Sega has always been a key part of the industry and competition has always been a good thing. After all, without it we wouldn't have PlayStation 2!