The following is a poorly thought out and not at all planned discussion with myself about the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii. The information I have on the systems is only what I’ve gleaned from my random web surfing with little to no actual research involved. However, you should take my conclusions very seriously, because despite my lack of research or thought, I tend to be right.
Xbox360 – Costs what? $500? One plus is it’s been out for like 6 months now, and so they have a big head start on games. Wee… that’s swell. Unfortunately for them they haven’t come out with anything very special in the game department, at least not to me. I hear Xbox Live is pretty kicking, which is good. However, all the new consoles will have similar set ups, and unless those set ups suck, I don’t think Xbox Live will be worth the $250. Microsoft has a small disadvantage in that it’s old. As such it has slightly crappier graphics that the PS3, at least that’s what I’m expecting. The thing still puts out a very quality image however. Microsoft makes these though… Microsoft. Everyone hates Microsoft right? Supposedly they have some either pretty cool or pretty evil plans around Vista (the upcoming Microsoft OS) and gaming, and it is rumored that it may link to the Xbox 360 somehow. So depending on how Microsoft handles that end of things, the Xbox 360 could become more or less appealing. I doubt anything they do will be enough to put it into the something I’ll buy as a poor college kid category though.
PS3 – Due out in November or something. Costs $600 unless you wanna pay $500 and get totally screwed out of like 60 gigs of memory and the modem. Has the most impressive graphics by the numbers, and probably actually does have the most impressive graphics. However, these graphics will not really show up unless you have an HDTV to play them on. Assuming you do, they’ll barely be better than the Xbox 360 or the Wii… at least that’s how I figure it. And as we all know, graphics are hardly anything. Sony has been screwing up big time on the release of this product, saying features exist and then taking it back months later, pushing back dates of release and information, and then announcing the motion sensitive controller about 3 months after Wii did their big Wii remote thing. Now, they may not be copying, because let’s face it, everyone’s had that idea, but it still doesn’t look good. Not to mention the whole root-kit scandal and the fact that I only know of one function PS2 out of the dozen or so I have contact with (and even that one froze up today and cost me minutes of game time… minutes!). Shame on you Sony. The PS3 still has claim to some of the best game titles (Final Fantacy) and developers though, and what else is going to play your old PS games now that your PS2 broke?
Wii – Cost $250!!!!! Release November 17th or something like that. Right in time for my birthday. If you read the press at all, both Microsoft and Sony are telling people to buy the Wii as well as their system. The Wii features tons of unique games shaped around their new controller system which utilizes motion detection. Watch a video, it’s hard to describe. Many people are/were skeptical of it actually working, but post E3 sentiment is that it works and that it’s very fun. And if you hate it you don’t have to use the new controllers. The Wii has the least impressive numbers from a processing power perspective, but they make up for it by being smart. They have a new chip setup that allows them to make prettier graphics with less power using specialized chips. They have a whole chip just for physics, for example. The Wii also comes with free access to every old Nintendo game up to the GameCube, those one’s cost money, and Nintendo recently acquired right to Sega games and announced that the big Sega games will also be available through the Wii. Nintendo also lays claim to some important game titles that you’re not going to find anywhere else. Frankly, with the new controller scheme, it seems likely the Wii experience will be unavailable on the competing systems, even disregarding specific games. Recently it was announced that the Nintendo DS will be able to link to the Wii and be used as a controller, so if you have both, I’m sure that will be fairly cool as well. From a game development stand point, I hear Wii is about 10 times better than it competitors. Apparently 3 guys working for 2 months can make a decent game for the Wii, but it takes teams of 40 working for 2 years to make a game for the PS3 or Xbox 360. This means Wii will be the home of inde game makers, and the testing grounds for all the new stuff that happens in the industry. Also, anything that comes out on the other systems will be portable (that’s port-able, able to be ported, made to work on another system) rather quickly, so the only reason a game wouldn’t be available on the Wii is licensing issues. Plus, hopefully, games will be cheaper.
Six’s #1 Pick is the Wii. By far. You have to have it. Very innovative and fun, titles like Zelda, Metroid, Smash Bros, and of course Mario aren’t going to be found anywhere else. And at a price of only $250, even if you only play it when you have a few friends around, it’ll still be worth the money. The price does cause the graphics to suffer a little, but you won’t care if you are a true gamer. It’s all about the gameplay, and Nintendo has been the only company releasing decent games for a while now.
Six’s #2 Pick is the PS3. I sorta hate Sony lately, and they have been screwing the new PS as much as they can, but it’s still a PS. It will have the best graphics around, and it should by the cost and the 1 year late release compared to Xbox 360. I’ll wait around on the system until they get a couple games I really want to play out. Hopefully I can get a deal on it by then. I’m also waiting to hear what they do with the online aspect of the system. Online gaming is going to be very important in this upcoming generation, so they better not screw it up. I may never end up with one… I mean, $600!
Six’s #3 Pick is the Xbox 360. It depends though. Do you love Halo? If you love Halo… I guess you have to get the Xbox 360. Here’s the thing… I’m a little predjudiced against the Xbox because Microsoft is a big n00b in the console market and they’re just trying to buy a monopoly. I’ve seen some really cool videos from the console, but I’ve had very little experience with it, or the old Xbox. It’s possible Microsoft will pull something out that will make it worth it to buy they’re system, but right now, I haven’t seen it. I suggest they lower the price of the console to about $350 right when the PS3 comes out… that’d make a lot of people think harder.
So there you have it. Everything you need to know. Buy a Wii.
And now for something, completely different. It’s safe, despite where it comes from. It’s also old, so you might have seen it, but you need to remember it again.
Oh, I guess I could talk about news about me and such. Mom and Dad left me alone in this house that alternates between too hot and too cold, with no light and no food. Well, actually, they just went up to Seattle for a few days. They informed me about 2 hours before they were planning to leave, and they let me duck out because there wasn’t really going to be anything for me to do up there. As for the too cold thing, that’s just a lie, I just thought it seemed more impressive. Food, they left, but it’s way in the kitchen, so I’ll probably starve. Oh yeah, and I could turn on a light, cause of electricity and all… but that’s on the other side of the room, so I’ll probably just give myself cataracks by staring at the monitor. /joke Gees!