In the modern video game landscape, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft fight for living room dominance, but back in 2000, Xbox was yet to even reach the market and Sega was still clinging on for dear life.
2000 also saw Sony's launch of the PS2, arguably its most important console release – and certainly its most successful in terms of total units sold. It was against this backdrop that the BBC's Money Programme decided to take a look at the video game battle that would define an entire generation.
"Now the world's most valuable company want to conquer the games machine business, and they don't like losing," the BBC said at the time. The footage was originally broadcast on BBC Two on November 22nd, 2000.
Two giant corporations are preparing to do battle. The prize? Dominance of the fastest-growing entertainment business in the world. In two days' time, Sony launches its much sought-after PlayStation 2 games console in Britain. The computer software colossus Microsoft, meanwhile, is preparing a rival machine, Xbox, due for launch next year. They will compete head to head for tomorrow's key customers: young adults with plenty of money to spend. The winner could inherit a market set to dwarf the music and movie industries. It's a game neither can afford to lose.
The 15-minute section is packed with famous faces, including Xbox chief Robbie Bach, Xbox general manager J. Allard and Xbox designer Seamus Blackley. Playstation marketing director Alan Welsman is also featured, as is advertising executive Trevor Beattie and director David Lynch, who famously created PS2's "Welcome to the Third Place" advertising campaign.
The PS2 would go on to sell more than 155 million units, making it the most successful video game console of all time, while the Xbox could only manage 24 million units. However, it laid the foundations for the Xbox 360, which would achieve sales of 84 million against the PS3's 87.4 million – a much closer contest.