Well, it’s simple. Next Generation PlayStation will offer this self-same technology. From hard drives to keyboards, printers to force-feedback steering wheels, FireWire can support them all. Better still, it can be ‘hot plugged’. In other words, you can add peripherals to a machine with the power on, with no ill effect. FireWire also allows a mind-boggling sixty devices to be connected.

Although its name will doubtlessly change before its inclusion in the final machine – FireWire is an Apple trademark, and is currently being included in their new G3 machines – this small yet significant capability transforms NGPS into an altogether more tantalising piece of hardware. Unlike America and Europe, Japan has yet to truly embrace the PC as a home machine. Could Sony market NGPS in Japan as an all-in-one solution – both personal computer and superconsole?

It’s unlikely, however, that such marketing tactics will be used in the West. But, like the Nintendo with the NES long ago – it sported an expansion slot that allowed upgrades – Sony will undoubtedly be keen to establish the format as a games machine.

Their master vision, like any other console manufacturer, is to make their product analogous with the TV and video as essential devices for the living room. If they can get one in one in three or even one in two houses installing it, then they will be in a position to start espousing its multimedia capabilities.

Next Generation PlayStation will be an entertainment-based machine at heart, though. Unless Nintendo can produce a console that exceeds its capabilities, there is no reason for it not becoming the de facto videogame standard. That’s not to say that Sega and Nintendo will die out or disappear. Far from it. But a pyramid will form, with Sony distant at the pinnacle, and Sega and Nintendo fighting it out far beneath.

Indeed, the one thing that will support Dreamcast through the dark months of the NGPS launch is its curious kinship with PC. Rather than simply regarding it as a ‘standalone’ machine, publishers will appreciate the ease with which software can be ported between the two mediums.

In terms of software, many companies are currently keen to announce that their titles will be arriving on NGPS. But many of these are hardly ‘priority’ games, and barely warrant a mention here. The ‘big guns’, however – like Square, Namco and Sony themselves – have yet to make firm announcements. When they do, you can be sure to hear it from Future Gamer first…