CES

 "Opening the Consumer Electronics Show to the public is a giant question mark," Barry Schwartz of Schwartz Public Relations told me the day before the giant trade show opened late last month in McCormick Place. "How it's going to turn out is anybody's guess."

Now that the convention is over, we've decided to take a look back to see how it did indeed turn out. From a numerical standpoint, CES was a smashing success. According to Alan Haber of CES, the convention attracted 51,850 people from industry and a whopping 98,720 members of the general public.

But whether opening the show to consumers was a good idea is still a matter of conjecture. Virtually every trade member I talked to was against it. The biggest complaints came from the smaller companies. The response of one manufacturer representative was typical: "We hate opening this show to the public," he said. (Like the others who were sharply critical of public attendance, he asked not to be quoted by name.) "With the public being let in, we simply won't do as much business as before."

The reason for the lost business is that most of the buyers who attended the show planned to leave before the public arrived; therefore, they had to conduct their business in just two days rather than the normal four. As the owner of one local software company said, "If buyers have just two days, and have to choose between visiting Nintendo and us, guess who they are going to pick? Small companies are really suffering because of this. I heard many other companies say that if the public is let in next year, they aren't coming back."

Another reason some industry attendees opposed opening the show to the public is that they feel it will hurt current sales. As one said, "When the public comes here and sees all these great forthcoming releases demonstrated, they are going to be frustrated that they can't buy the product now. Moreover, they aren't going to go out and buy what's on the shelves now, because they've seen what better programs are coming out in six months. So they're going to wait to buy, and this will kill sales of current products."

Even some consumers were unhappy with the show. "It was a big disappointment to me," says Rob Ellis, a salesman from Chicago. "Most of the exhibits were geared more to members of the trade than to members of the general public."

Perhaps the best solution to the problem is one suggested by people like Dan Sejzer, president of Villa Crespo Software: There should be two shows, one for the public, focusing on current products, and one for the trade, focusing on upcoming releases.

Still, warts and all, CES offered a plethora of memorable sights and products. Here, then, is our annual roundup of the Best and Worst of the computer hardware and software sections of CES. Please note that many of the products mentioned here are not currently available, though all should be on store shelves by Christmas.

King of the Hill: Nintendo, as usual. With more than 77,000 square feet of exhibit space, the Nintendo display was an entire convention in itself. An array of new peripherals was unveiled, such as the Nintendo Mouse, as was a host of new products, such as Mario Paint. Nintendo also slashed prices on the Super NES system to below $100.

Most Ridiculous Nintendo Peripheral: The Work Boy (Fabtek) is an attachment to the Game Boy and includes an appointment calendar, an address book, a calculator and a currency convertor. It's just the thing for the 12-year-old entrepreneur on the go, and it should be a big hit with young drug dealers everywhere.

And the Arms Race Continues: Russia and the U.S. might be at peace, but the war has escalated between Nintendo and Sega. Both have released bazooka-like attachments that hook up to their game system. Nintendo's device of destruction is called the Super Scope; Sega's is The Menacer and has just what every kid needs, an Uzi attachment.

Cyborg of the Week: "Jake," AT&T's talking robot, looked like a cross between R2D2 and a creature from Gremlins, but he was as charming and clever as any other manufacturer's rep at the show.

Most High-Flying Program: Michael Jordan in Flight (Electronic Arts) is an astounding 3-on-3 basketball simulation that reaches new heights of technical excellence. If the finished product is as good as the demo, then give Michael another championship ring.

Best New Example of Computer Nerd Lingo: The term "twitch game," which, according to Tom Murphy of Electronic Arts, is used by game designers to describe any game that relies on quick reflexes.

Best "Twitch" Games: Twisted Flipper (Electronic Arts), Tristan (Amtex) and Take a Break Pinball (Sierra) are lively computerized pinball games with plenty of bells and whistles to satisfy even the most jaded joystick jockeys.

Most Gruesome Game: When fighters are hit hard enough in Evander Holyfield's "Real Deal" Boxing (Sega), blood graphically spurts from their heads.

Most Wholesome Promotion: Nintendo showcased its new offerings with a stage show called Turn Up the Power, with a young cast of singers and dancers so saccharine that they made Up With People look like a gang of rabble-rousers.

Most Unwholesome Promotion: Capcom promoted its line of computer games with a remarkably uncoordinated team of sleazy looking cheerleaders in skintight outfits. Sis-boom-bah-humbug!

Most Frequently Heard Excuses of the Week: "The pictures haven't all been digitized yet, but when they are, the screens will look terrific." "This program will be much quicker when it ships." "The program's acting up because there's a lot of static electricity in McCormick Place."

Most Amazing CD: Street Atlas USA (DeLorme Mapping) has detailed maps of every city and street in the entire nation. Type in a zip code or an area code and exchange, and the program instantly takes you to a map of the area. I live on a street just a couple of hundred feet long, but the program had no trouble finding it.

Most Exciting-Sounding Title: Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2: Gas Pump Girls Meet the Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X (Infocom).

Least Exciting-Sounding Title: Thomas the Tank Engine (THQ). Runner-Up: BigNose Freaks Out! (Camerica).

Celebrity Sightings: George Foreman and Vanna White, promoting video games; Steve Dahl and Garry Meier, promoting themselves.

High-Concept Award: Crash Dummies (Acclaim) features-you guessed it-the crash dummies from the Volvo commercials.

Goofiest Option: In PC Space (PC Globe), you can play around with the effects of an asteroid striking Earth by changing such variables as the size of the asteroid and its speed. You then get to watch it hitting the planet, with a report on its location, collateral damage, and crater size.

Most Humorous Product Line: Legend Entertainment offered Spellcasting 301: Spring Break, a graphics/text adventure full of sophomoric humor that even seniors will love; and Eric the Unready, a role-playing farce that pokes much overdue fun at the conventions of a very tired genre.

Sequel Worth Waiting For: Sonic the HedgeHog 2 (Sega) offers twice the levels and all the charm of the original.

Best Low-cost Software: The Coffee Break Series (Villa Crespo) is a line of simple games such as Casino Craps and Video Poker that will retail in supermarkets and drug stores for $12.95.

Spinoffs We Probably Could Live Without: Computerized versions of Where's Waldo?, Home Alone 2, the Ren and Stimpy Show, and Wayne's World (THQ).

Best Arcade Games: Felix the Cat (Hudson Soft) and Taz-Mania (Sega). Both are colorful and clever games based on popular cartoon characters.

Cleverest Icon: In Kids Works II (Davidson), clicking on the DustBuster Icon in the word processing module lets children "suck up" passages that they want to delete.

Best Kid's Software: Zoo Keeper (Davidson) uses real-life photos and sounds from the wild kingdom to spice up this fun educational product geared for kids 6-11.

Best War Games: Kingdoms (QQP) brings a variation of the Perfect General's battle system to the medieval world. V for Victory (Three-Sixty) is a striking recreation of Normandy, with a nifty look and feel. And Control of the Seas (Interstel) is a good-looking World War II simulation from the people who made Empire.

Program on the Fast Track: A-Train (Maxis) is a complex and entertaining railroad simulation combining the best features of railroad Tycoon and Sim City.

Where Were You When We Needed You?: Camerica announced a device that lets manufacturers create Nintendo games in much smaller cartridges that then retail for $19.95 instead of the more typical $59.95. Three years ago this product might have revolutionized the industry, but unfortunately, the invention now comes just as the public and manufacturers are moving away from regular Nintendo to Super NES products.