Retailers worrying about lack of big games

Retail is getting nervous about the dearth of quality PlayStation releases, according to Computer Trade Weekly. This time last year, World Cup '98, Grand Theft Auto, Gran Turismo and Resident Evil 2 were all in the charts.

But having said that, how many of them were 'must have' titles? Okay, so GT was massive but a cursory glance at Sony's release schedule reveals that Driver, Ape Escape, V-Rally 2 and Silent Hill are all due in the shops in the next few weeks. Hardly a desert, then. And you'd be quite within your rights to claim that it's a better line-up than last year's 'big four'.

"Driver is going to be huge," a spokesman for Sony told CTW. "V-Rally 2 will do incredibly well if the feedback we've been getting from the specialist press is anything to go by and with Wimbledon approaching, Anna Kournikova's Smash Court Tennis should do well. Syphon Filter is going to be massive - and so are Ape Escape, Croc 2 and Silent Hill".

The main problem seems to be that folk are increasingly picking up Platinum titles instead of full-priced games. Perhaps there's a message here. Yes, videogames are far too expensive. Isn't it about time they cost the same as a music CD or a new hardback book - against which they're competing for our cash? £14.99 sounds about right, eh?