Donkey Kong was chosen as the top console game --PC games were evaluated separately-- over all holiday releases for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation and Dreamcast. Despite DK64's status as top game of the season, titles for each of the other two consoles dominated the short list of predicted hot sellers. The only other N64 game mentioned in the Top 13 of holiday games was THQ's WWF Wrestlemania 2000.
Top holiday games as the experts see them and their publishers:
- No. 1 "Donkey Kong" (N64) Nintendo
(others in top 12, in alphabetical order) - "Crash Team Racing" (PSX) Sony
- "Driver" (PSX) GT Interactive
- "Final Fantasy VIII" (PSX) Electronic Arts
- "Gran Turismo 2" (PSX) Sony
- "Madden 2000" (PSX) Electronic Arts
- "NFL 2K" (Dreamcast) Sega
- "Pokemon" (Various) Nintendo
- "Resident Evil Nemesis" (PSX) Capcom
- "Sonic Adventure" (Dreamcast) Sega of America
- "Tomb Raider -- Last Revelation" (PSX) Eidos Interactive
- "WCW Mayhem" (PSX) Electronic Arts
- "WWF Wrestlemania 2000" (N64) THQ
The intent of Playdate '99 was to give consumers an edge in their holiday shopping by telling them what products their favorite specialty stores are most excited about.
"The PlayDate best-seller lists give consumers the shopping advantage of knowing what retailers are expecting to be the most popular toys and games," said Jon Salisbury, toy expert and co-founder of PlayDate Inc. "Retailers are a great objective source for these predictions, as their buy-orders are based on extensive experience in following consumer trends."
It may be a case of what comes first between the chicken of the egg since consumers ultimately determine which products are the most popular by voting with their wallets while retailers have to be sure to have a nice group of "candidates" for consumers to choose from.
IGN64 will have more on Donkey Kong 64, it's unstoppable popularity and the symbiotic relationship between consumers and retailers before the holiday season kicks into high gear.