mattkr answered: re:i need some comparison between PS3 Wii and XBOX360 apart from the price issue. thanks. …

This will surely be an interesting match to watch. Even though I’m a Playstation fan, I think the Wii has the edge here. While I think the PS3 is a great upgrade to the PS2, it’s price-point is going to keep many people away. Especially since as of launch, they don’t really have any compelling games. Sure the graphics on the new games look phenomenal, but there’s nothing innovative about any of them. Kind of like a new coat of paint on an old car. Combine that with the delayed launch, and I think Sony may really have shot itself in the foot with this one.

As far as the Blu-Ray drive, I see a couple of issues with it. First of all (and this actually applies to the system as a whole as well) HDTVs are still a minority in the US, the big ones at least. They’re just to far beyond the range of most people’s budgets. I was even told by a Sony rep at a PS3 event that I attended, that if I didn’t already have a 1080p HDTV, it wouldn’t be worth it for me to get a PS3 as I wouldn’t be able to use it to it’s potential. Next, I just don’t see many people going out and updating their entire movie collection to ANY HD media format, either HD DVD or Blu-Ray, especially with what’s going on with Apple’s iTV. With broadband speeds getting faster and more affordable, it is my belief that by the time 1080p HDTVs are in the majority, it will be far easier to download HD content than to go and buy media that will take up physical space in you home.

One thing the PS3 does have on the other consoles, is it’s backwards compatability. Which it’s why it’s a good upgrade for owners of the the PSone and PS2.

The Wii on the other hand, while not as powerfull graphically, has some extremely innovative games. Also more affordable than either of the two consoles, it has a shot at recapturing the video game market.

The XboX stands to gain ground on Sony of course. But hey, it’s Microsoft, they’ll mess it up somehow.
ballonknot | 11.21.06 – 4:17 am | #

I would hardly call the GameCube “failed.” I think it’s an excellent platform and continues to showcase Nintendo’s ability to come up with new, creative, original, and interactive games as opposed to just showing blood in more gory detail.

For example: Pikmin is an ingenious game that is essentially the 3rd dimension of Lemmings.
The Donkey Kong bongoes, while conceptually silly, has turned out to be a great party game and is as fun to watch people play as it is to play.
In general, I think the GameCube has a lot more party/communal games that requires actual interaction that is fun for all ages and abilities.
After playing the Wii, I think it really has the potential to revolutionize what we think of as “gaming” and is really the next “generation” of gaming (the first being games played with controllers and buttons….the second being physically interactive and subversive games).
Ben Ku | 11.21.06 – 7:10 am | #

I have no dog in this battle, though I am usually drawn to underdogs, so I find myself cheering for Microsoft and Nintendo. I’ll likely grab whichever best meets my criteria of value: Low offensiveness to high value ratio.

That said, Mr. Eran, do you plan on finishing some of your past series? You seemed to leave them hanging with anounced forthcoming updates. The “Leopard vs. Vista” and “Why Apple Bounced Back” come to mind. I became a regular reader after finding you through MacSurfer as the Why Apple Bounced Back series began and I have been hoping to see the next post ever since.
Eric Anondson | 11.21.06 – 11:16 am | #

I have no dog in this battle, though I am usually drawn to underdogs, so I find myself cheering for Microsoft and Nintendo. I’ll likely grab whichever best meets my criteria of value: Low offensiveness to high value ratio.

That said, Mr. Eran, do you plan on finishing some of your past series? You seemed to leave them hanging with anounced forthcoming updates. The “Leopard vs. Vista” and “Why Apple Bounced Back” come to mind. I became a regular reader after finding you through MacSurfer as the Why Apple Bounced Back series began and I have been hoping to see the next post ever since.
Eric Anondson | 11.21.06 – 11:16 am | #

I hate Microsoft, but I love the 360, I really want them to beat SONY this time around. I think the WII is going to grab first place is this battle though. It has a lot of good buzz and the innovative controls, number of consoles availiable, and
cheap price have given it a distinct advantage. Its going to be a no brainer purchase for parents and a low price second system for the hard core gamers that buy a 360 or PS3.
Joey | Homepage | 11.21.06 – 11:42 am | #

I wouldn’t call Gamecube a failure. I believe Nintendo made money on the consoles, as opposed to Sony and Microsoft who did not.
Tyk | 11.21.06 – 12:09 pm | #

I wouldn’t call the GameCube a failure either. As mentioned in the article, it’s a family system, not one for cloistered socially inept nerds who spend their whole day blasting away at freakish monsters. It’s a great system for me and my six year old son to play games together and have a great time.

A friend of mine has an Xbox 360 and it’s a total piece of sheis. In less than three hours it crashed no less than five times with four different games.

The PS3 is totally overpriced, it’s running on nothing more than hype; people who really want to play games will buy something else, or stick with their PS2. The only reason the PS3 is selling at all is because of the aftermarket mark-up that’s going on with it.
Paul T | 11.21.06 – 2:11 pm | #

Nice shift of gears in the article list. I have a PS2 and love GT3, but the price and availability of the PS3 makes it out of the question. I am interested in the Wii for the change of more active gaming -rather than the sit with a controller in hand – the movement options seem like a winner to me.
Jim F. | Homepage | 11.23.06 – 6:30 pm | #

ps3 is 2x as powerful as the 360 and probally llike 50000x more powerful then the wii. But the wii has amazing controller features. the 360 is poor and mine crashed and i sold it. I will either get the ps3 or the wii
Anonymous | 11.28.06 – 6:29 pm | #

To be honest the Wii is horriable.. i mean ya its kool to bring vertuial realality too gaming but the 306 is better but the PS3 has them both beat. To be honest i’d rather take the 360 because the online and i jus like Microsoft. So I take the 360 over PS3 and Wii, even Though the PS3 is better.
Justin | 12.18.06 – 12:46 pm | #

I definitely want to get a Wii as soon as I can. Seems like so much fun.

That being said, it would be interesting to do an objective analysis of the situation the three players are in. The position that Wii enjoys now reminds me of Clayton Christensen’s concept of low-end disruption. A new product that delivers an innovative way of doing things but not as good as the leaders in the market. That’s exactly what the Wii is. It is a fun gaming system that ropes in people who’ve never played games before – a huge untapped market of grown ups – what are also known as casual gamers. Yes, the graphics aren’t as powerful as that of an Xbox 360. The real gaming enthusiasts are not going to play hours and hours on the Wii (although some of them might get it as a second system).

The most probable outcome of this scenario is Nintendo coming out as a winner in console gaming but only if they continue to innovate along the lines of more “interactive gaming”. The next generation system from Nintendo should have a more intuitive control (if possible) and better graphics as well. Microsoft and Sony have a chance to reclaim their top positions if they do drastic changes to their roadmaps and innovate more in the direction of “interactive gaming”. Nintendo should make their future moves with the presumption that they will. Interesting times.
Prasad S | 12.22.06 – 11:54 am | #

I have a WII and its good for the interactivity. Older games from previous consoles was one reason for me to get one and also that PS3 and XBOX360 are expensive but also repetitive no matter what you do.

That said – the WII has poor graphics, a real boon. So Nintendo should improve this and also for sure assume that M$ and Sony will build a complete interactive system just like WII the next time around – with killer graphics.
TS | Homepage | 01.04.07 – 12:17 pm | #

I own a Wii and like it very much. I get a lot of grief over owning one because all of my friends own the xbox 360.

Ive played the games, and have seen many of the amzing graphics that the 360 can put out. After watching somebody being choped up over 60 times by a chain saw it gets boring and fast. Im mostly talking about the game Gears of War. its a game on steroids. the story line is terrible the only reason why that game was made was so they could put a chain saw on a gun. because if a kid saw that on a game case they are goign to get it.

so i asked my freinds i bet u couldent name 5 games on xbox that dident have a gun or chain saw *besides sports games.

they could only name 2 or 3.

So as its looking if u love voilence and is all about gore and eventual boredom get your hands on the costly 360

The playstation has very good graphics but it seems that EA games pretty much owns that sytem. not to mention playstaion has never made thier own games unlike microsoft and Nintendo. that meens that playstaion doesnt invest their money in new gaming but simply greeds it all.

Lastly if u think about it if virtual remotes where made for every system since the beggining. Then nintendo would make a controler. poeple would complain like they are doing now about how they *actualy have to do something* how lazy people can be

so go on sit down, hey! lay down and kill people with chain saws and guns till it gets boring then give it back to the store and repeat the process. hey at least your not playing a nintendo game that are made to entertain for longer periods of time.
anonymouse | 01.04.07 – 5:54 pm | #

ps3 will be better than both consoles and 360 is putting up a figh and the wii controller and pric will urely be in thhe lead but ps3 has amazing graphichs amd blu ray so for my liking i choose the ps3
Adeel | 01.11.07 – 9:32 am | #

Sega megadrive ftw
Josh | 02.24.07 – 4:59 am | #

as an avid console gamer on multiformat systems the ps3 is not as good as the 360 because with the 360 it was already connected to the xbox live server when connected to a router you can also find ,talk and play against your friends of which the ps3 is incapable of doing at the moment so to say that the ps3 is a pc alternative is a joke at the end of the day it is just a good games console with an expensive hdvd drive
john clarke | 04.01.07 – 2:22 pm | #

the ps3 is not full backwards compatable with the ps2 or ps1just like the 360 is not fully compatable with the xbox
john clarke | 04.01.07 – 2:24 pm | #

i think this decision is a tough one especailly as all consoles are putting up a good fight.

personally, the xbox 360 is not in with the contenders. It doesn’t look as good and lacks in classic games such as GTA, zelda and mario. it is too big and at about £300, its way too expensive.

next, the playstation 3. i have always been a playstation person and never really considered the other options. this console looks great, performs well, and is equiped with loads of high-tech gadgets and gismos. However, it is way too expensive at £425. but, this doesn’t put me off. i still want one.

finally, the nintendo wii. firstly the name is silly and the revolution is better. it would also be better if it came in a choice of colours as the blue ring round the area in which you insert the discs would look excellently retro, as samsung has done this with their nv range. but, the good point weigh out the bad points as the look is brilliant anyway. the games are fantastic, especailly wii sports, and the quality of image is good. the idea of doing the actions your self is priceless as this is what any gamer would actually want to do. imagine fighting off the deamons yourself, not on a controller that vibrates when you’ve done it. you get that sense of accomplishment and achievment. this also encourages good exercise.

in conclusion, the xbox 360 is no contender. but the ps3 is well worth getting, however i wouldn’t buy one now. wait till christmas when the price drops. the nintendo wii is the on to buy now. its excellent.
H | 04.10.07 – 9:58 am | #

I have a NES!

NES > Xbox 360 > Wii > PS3
lex | 04.11.07 – 1:00 am | #

I have already bought a Wii and sadly I don’t see it lasting for more than two years even with all the hype and good buzz surrounding it. The major problem has been that the number of quality games have been thin on the ground. Zelda and Rayman have been the only two games that ocupied me for more than an hour at a time. The rest are just throwaway titles with little to recommend them. The reason the GameCube ‘failed’ (I bought a GameCube as well) was that the number of quality games on that system were so few, it was painful. It seems that Nintendo are trying to rectify that problem, but they sure are taking their sweet time about it! I’ve alreay stopped playing the Wii and have it as some sort of decoration under the TV.

I think that in 2-3 years there will be more HD TVs as prices continually drop. Sure its not all about graphical prowess, but its not the gamers that make the games. Most developers thinks of progress as the next best thing in graphics. Think about it: why was Half-Life 2 so hyped up even though gameplay-wise it was far inferior to Half-Life 1? Why is Crysis so hyped up? Answer: graphics. No matter what gamers want, the developers tell us what the next best thing is and we lap it up. Its the same thing in the fashion industry! If bump-mapping is the new exciting thing for example, then the systems that take advantage of those features will be the most popular. I applaud Nintendo’s creative thinking, but they just don’t have the 3rd party support (read: industry clout) to change things significantly. The contrast will be starker when more people have HDTVs. Nintendo will have to come up wih either a new console or somehow conitinually find innovative ways of using the controller (something of a tall order in a five year span). And no matter how much we say otherwise, the vast majority of gamers out there (the more serious ones) are graphics junkies. No matter how much we liked playing Twilight Princess, can one of you honestly say that you never thought “Damn, wonder what it would have looked like in High Def!”.

I just hope I’m wrong cuz I’m tired of the same old gameplay with better graphics!
Said | 04.12.07 – 4:20 am | #

I think your comment is somewhat biased. Sony and the Wii has more access to their older games than do M$. 360 has only backward compatability with only less than half their xbox games. And since when did Sony has a hdvd?
Jordan | 04.12.07 – 11:14 am | #

Well,

I wasn’t going to say anything, but I guess that didn’t work out too well. Basically, I wanted to point out that Nintendo has been doing one thing and one thing well for far longer than either Sony or Microsoft have made consoles and that is exclusively make video games and compatible systems. While I think personal opinion often gets the best of is on this issue and I am no exception, there is one thing that can objectively be said. If anyone is going to “win back the market” it’s Nintendo. Neither Sony nor Microsoft need to win back anything as Microsoft has never “won” the position of leader to begin with and Sony has never “lost” it since it first “won” it relatively recently.

My point is, the options are Nintendo reclaiming its throne, Sony holding on to its throne or Microsoft ascending for the first time to the throne. My personal hope is that Nintendo wins back what I believe is rightfully theirs as the company with the most experience and–without contest–the most dedication (exclusively video games, people). Then again, I’ve just been hooked since my first NES way back in the day and feel that its somewhat unfortunate that some people grew up on PlayStation and never felt the thrill of seeing how Nintendo and Sega duked it out–two companies dedicated to one common goal. I wish Sega was still a contender even though I rooted for Nintendo at the time.

Peace,

Brian
Brian | 05.26.07 – 3:52 pm | #

I’m still waiting for an upgrade to my Atari 2600, nothing has been able to match it yet.
Kris | 05.29.07 – 3:51 pm | #

I thought your reviews were very interesting, they brought up some points that I never thought of.
However, you seem somewhat biased in your reviews.
It seems that you don’t care for microsoft.
But still, you did hit some points about micrsoft that I didn’t think of.
Alex | 07.22.07 – 4:07 pm | #