Thoughts on the newer consoles (fanboys beware)

[skywalker6705]

I'll probably delete this thread in a few days if it derails into inevitable console wars and flaming, but i just wanted to see what everyone though about what's up with the current generation of consoles.

Here's my take on the situation::skywalker:

Overall, this generation is being largely determined by advertizing and price. And the Wii is dominating it. The difference is largely that the Wii is appealing to people who never ever bought a game system before. If you're talking about gamers as the type of people that played Xbox/PS2/Gamecube, then you're talking about 1/2 or 5/8ths of the Wii's sales I believe. The Wii is like a boardgame: everyone can play it. For me though, I like to think of myself as part of the established group, so the Wii dominating doesn't really bug, or affect me, (as it has been mentioned a million times over), the Wii really isn't competing with the other two consoles.

Wii
Pro:
The Wii is the cheapest of all the consoles, and it's not trying to push graphics, which immediately spares them from the "it looks better on _____" argument which it might've suffered otherwise. I love the feel of the console (Nintendo hardware is always really solid stuff!) and I think it seems like an awesome system. First party Nintendo games are pretty much awesome across the board.

Con:
It's a giant DS. And while not entirely a bad thing... I have a DS. I like being able to pause and quit my game at any point, and have plenty of fun short games I can pick up and play at any time. But that's not why I want to buy a $250+ home console. I want more games that i can sit down and enjoy for a timespan greater than 10 hours. Only a few games have delivered that so far, like Twilight Princess and Metroid. But they seem to be few, and far between right now. This is honestly, my BIGGEST complaint about the Wii. I think that the controls are fun overall, and I really want to see the console mature in it's own way. Right now the third party support also has me wondering how it will fare, as most third party games have been pretty resoundingly un-exceptional (I'm looking at you Red Steel).

360
Pro:
The 360 has a good number of games out for it, and odds are, you know a few people with one. Xbox live has been running for years, and has a pretty good user base going. I'm having a hard time writing this section.

Con:
The Xbox is dead. I don't mean the 360, but the original Xbox is pretty much dead. There are no games listed for release the majority of 2007 (like 5 games in January), and none at all that I can see for 2008. This matters to me, because for a console of 360/PS3 price, it needs to last me. The Wii is cheap enough that a lack of longevity might be forgivable. The other big issue, which I am only going to lightly mention, is the RRoD, and disk scratching. It happens. Alot more than it ever should. I don't believe it's a case of "the squeeky wheel" because I know far too many people who have experienced this in person. And it doesn't make me want to trust the system alone with anyone, ever. I also hate the idea of buying ridiculously overpriced accessories for it. (the HDD prices are stupid, and MS has a proprietary wireless controller. Don't like it? Tough shit.). The console is undergoing constant under-the-hood upgrades, which is good, but discomforting.

PS3
Pro: Sony owns alot of other studios, so they have the advantage of alot of in-house games. The also own Japan (vs. 360), so you can count on you JRPGs and Anime games to hit this console in the future. The hardware is different, and could push some amazing tasks according to benchmarks. Now you have to wait for them to do that. It supports Bluetooth stuff, meaning your Phone's headset works with this console, as well as keyboards, and it includes a decent internet browser, which is awesome. It has free online multiplayer.

Con: It's expensive. More so than most people can stomach. The upcoming 40 GB version could help this problem though. Right now, there are (to my knowledge) what i consider 3 versions. The 60 gig, the upcoming 40 gig, and the 20 gig. The 20 gig is the undeniably gimped version, which includes no Wifi, no card readers, and a smaller HDD. The 60/80 have those things. The rumored 40 will be cheaper, keep wifi, but have no card readers, and only 2 USB ports. Or so it is said.


So, i bought a PS3 a while ago. Why? Because I speak Japanese, and I want to play/use Japanese software. I also want my console to not explode on me. I WANT a Wii, but I can't justify it to myself, as it's like a gamecube to me right now: there are like 5 games I HAVE to play on it... but otherwise I don't care all that much. (I bought an played a copy of Twilight Princess on a friend's Wii btw). The 360 looks tempting, but every time I think about it (this is dead serious) I hear about another of my friend's consoles ****ing up somehow. I wonder why other people don't feel as uncomfortable about buying one as I do, as at this point, they pretty much inevitably die from my experience. Nearly every Xbox blog has mentioned his happening first-hand.


repeated for emphasis:
So I want to know what you guys think about this, and what your reasoning is behind getting whatever console you did. If you're just gonna post "Lol, xbot" then don't, I'll delete it. Try and write out a good bit about why you chose whatever you did, as I want to see some other people's perspective on this.

[Zilir]

PS3 <3 Gotta by one when I get money for it.
Sadly they've lost alot of ground imo, Sony. But they still have Square-Enix. Can't wait for FF and DQ for PS3 (I at least hope they aint gonna go and develop that stuff for X360 :<)

Wii is probably another thing that bothers me as well. I'd really love to have one for a few games (sadly, it is annoying as hell with the whole region-shibby here, since PAL is just bad for being able to play games) especially Hajime no Ippo, but that will probably not even come close to Europe, so I'd have to import a japanese Wii...

Thank god for the PS3s games being region free. :3

[Mooncrow]

the Wii really has dominated the first part of the war, but sadly it's going to have to fight pretty hard to maintain its spot. As much fun as it is (and omg is it fun) it needs a really good depth of games to compete in the long run.

I own the Wii and the PS3, but long term I see me pulling the Wii out at parties, etc while most of my actual game purchases go to the PS3.

[Fiendish_Imp]

Got to say I've got myself a Wii. One thing that surprised me a bit that was not mentioned, is the VC for the Wii, thats a fairly decent size library of games just from that. For me the VC has let me play some awesome games I never even knew about (actraiser) and will let me play lots of games that i've always wanted to play or played very little of (SoR, Caslevania IV), and games that have significance from my past (SMW, SF:II).

Coming out soon is the SSB: Brawl, and another Mario KArt. Both will take advantage of the free wi-fi, and just those games would justify me getting it. (although Twilight Princess did that already almost haha, as I already bought one long time ago ^^)


360, i can see myself getting, some very good games on it. But as others mentioned, I frequently hear of people having problems with them.


PS3, its expensive, and no games on it that I even care about yet.

[B-One]

I'm a wii fan too^^. I got one and just looove it. The fact that they give a free game with it when you buy it was good and the prize is bearable^^. The VC is just awesome for game nostalgics like me... Awesome new games are comming soon, like impy said...I would like to add, soul calibur...got to see how we can fight with the wiimotesXD. And also mario galaxy which is a sequel to the all time popular Mario 64 (anyone got the 120stars?:3)...For the longevity thing...I'm hoping for at least one or 2 more Zeldas^^. Another good thing about the wii is all those gadgets:D. The wii zapper is going out soon (looks like a gun made for FPS). And game for everyone: Wii Fitness comming out with actual training while playing... I love my wii:3 Only down side: the graphix... but the games are still fun:p

360: hate it, always did (hated xbox also...) hate the console, the controlers...only good thing are the games (bioshock and Halo...)

PS3: Will buy it when it becomes cheaper, it's awesome. Awesome graphic and features. Can't wait for FF and KH^^. But for now it's too expensive for a jobless 17 year old like me, and most of the games right now are kinda boring...

[morbid587]

i really like the wii, its one hell of a unique system. although it is abit short on interesting video games (depends on a person liking as well). as for the x360 woo man i love it. it has some awsome graphics, hell of a list of games, and xboxlive wooo. it also has the arcade which is awsome becuase i get to play soem classic games from the past. i use to be a pc gamer so im a bit picky when it comes to graphics, and in my opinion i prefered the x360 than the ps3.

[Mooncrow]

That's true, I had completely forgotten about the VC, that is an awesome feature.

[Edward Newgate]

I think the PS3's biggest problem right now is the lack of good games, and it seems like its gonna stay that way till next year at least. The Xbox 360 is okay, but it is not anything more than mediocre. The Wii i can see becoming a backseat sort of thing if they dont come out with some more good games. Like you said, it is really fun, but i personally can only take so much of the short fun pointless games.

[B-One]

Completely agreeing with you^^. That's why new games are comming soon:p

[skywalker6705]

Just as a general info point: The PS3 does have a $400 version now, which is about the same as 360. The 360 elite is $480, which is $20 cheaper than an 80GB PS3. As of this month, the price playing field is essentially level. Now MS needs to cut it again, and Sony needs to get their marketing department in ****ing gear.

My prediction is that the Wii will remain on top indefinitely, as it's cheapest, and most accessible to everyone. A mother doesn't second guess buying her son the wii when she sees Mario. Mario is a safe character. She totally hesitates when the system's front runner is a Green Armored Space Marine. I've been able to get my family to play the Wii, but not the PS3 or 360. There's just this general entry barrier that the controller presents. Like learning how to use a keyboard for the first time.

Sony really needs a mascot now that I think about it. They should totally see if Kojima will let them adopt Snake as their mascot, cause he's totally what I think of.

I want Microsoft to stop buying and killing my developers! Rare is dead now (And subsequently, one of my favorite FPS series ever, Perfect Dark, is gone (PDZ sucked)), and rumor has it that the guys at Bungie (head honchos and stuff) are probably going to leave in the next few years.

[Fiendish_Imp]

Hmm not sure about snake being the sony mascot, given they even let nintendo use him in Smash Bros game as a new character.

[real0st]

In my opinion, the only one worth getting now is Wii. It's not a kind of system you want to play when you wanna play video games after a long day of work, but it does help people actually get off the couch for watching video games (if you try to do things realistically).

Xbox360 has their star, Halo 3, out now, but I think it's all hype. Halo's a good game, but I think people assume it's gonna be a great game just because it's based off the Halo franchise. But if you're looking for improvements, I doubt there's gonna be much, just the same fun Halo with new guns.

PS3 is a no-go for me. Not enough games for a fairly expensive system. The only thing I'd want from PS3 is Kingdom Hearts III (which is LOOONGGGGG away). Yes I'm a Kingdom Hearts nut. But as of now, no games that intrigue me.

I currently don't own these systems, just tried them @ friend's houses. But I plan on getting a PS3 (if they got continuations of old games like Onimusha, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid). Otherwise I'll get the Wii [never played much Halo to get into it]

This reminded me of a comic about the sales of PS3 and Wii. Pretty funny if you get it. AND if you remember what happened when PS3 first came out.
http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=212

[B-One]

lol at thatXD. And yeah..if they ever get KH 3 out, i'll buy PS3 for sure:3. A couple of FF would be good too:p

[Fiendish_Imp]

lol i saw that comic before. VgCats has some pretty funny ones, and a few OP ones also.

I wouldn't go as far as saying its not worth it to buy a xBox 360, Halo isnt their only property thats good. You can make a case for Ps3 not being worth it as for the current price the selection of games is low, and also lots of bad news of games being delayed for it, or franchises that are going to be on xBox also which also takes some of the desire away.


Oh and don't think i mentioned this but, i forgot about the bleach game finally going to come out here for the Wii. woot

[B-One]

Yeah it seems GREAT^^. Wanna chop down some peeps yaaaar (do I sound like a psycho???)XD

[Fiendish_Imp]

no i have dreams of going through a mall with 3 swords slashing down peeps... but now i sound psyco lol. Cutting down peeps ftw xD muahahahaha. ^^''

[B-One]

You really are fiendish...:3. Lol. A new thing to add on the good points of Wii. Recently they uploaded imported japan game on the VC. We can now download Sin and Punishments...which wasn't release in NorTh America. They even kept the Japanese subtitle:p

[sanjirosan]

Ah, such a good thread, well I will make my mark here and revive this jewel of a post.

First off the Wii:
Pros:
Hands down the cheapest console out there, but that is not all. As others have said, with the lack of "great" games out on the system it should hurt it, but the thing is, look at how long it has been out, and it really does have some solid titles in its library. The Wii has met the mark in every aspect but graphics, there system is solid and reliable, plus backwards compatible, it has solid games and great games in the works, plus I am not sure if the action replay trick does not work on import games, if a new AR comes out for the Wii it might allow the same thing just like the GameCube. The Wii also have its innovative controller and ease of play, any body, and I mean anybody, can pick up a Wiimote and go at it, have fun and really want to pick it up again, plus all of the cool things you can buy to customize your Wii and Wiimotes will make your head spin. Lastly, let us not forget the Virtual Console, that is where the old and the new come together, and that is really something that Wii does well, and cheaply i might add, no subscriptions, now monthly fees, just buy some points and go to town, plus with the wi-fi already there and no connection cost, you don't feel like you "need" to play to get your moneys worth
Cons:
Yes there is a graphics low in the Wii, but honestly its not really that bad, and looking at games like LoZ:TP you cant tell me it does not look awesome, so i really omit the graphics argument. There is also the matter of most of the games being so short, i don't really think that is much of a problem, just look at the early days of the other systems, and see how many games were out that were not even worth your time, at least most(85% by my count) of the Wii games have something unique to offer the gamer, and that is something allot of "hardcore" gamers miss, we become too jaded with pretty graphics and infinite hours of game play, but really its all about having fun, and this is where the Wii shines

second is Xbox360:
Pros:
First off the 360 has some great games, really strong titles that you really wont find anyplace else, this is really the driving force behind the sales of the system. Secondly, the system have good specs, and for the most part is worth the cost in parts alone, good parts always translates to a solid foundation for games, what the developer does after that is up to them. Thirdly, Xbox Live is nice, and it is really good to be able to hop on and see what all your friends are doing and playing, chit chat, DL things, play oldschool stuff, all and all its something that compliments the system and is needed to truly enjoy it

Cons:
First off i dont take the price into consideration here, because for all that is in it, it really is worth it, but what i do hold issue with is the push that you need to buy the most expensive one to have all of the applications that the system has to offer, its like selling a guy a brand new Jag for 400$ but then telling him that he should have got the one for 800 cause the one he got has no steering wheel, no brakes and most of all no engine, it just ain't right. Secondly, Lack of true backwards compatibility, if you don't have the HDD you cant play old games, and not even all of the old games will work, they actually need you to DL a patch just to play them. Thirdly, the hardware just cant stay working, more then 50% of the consoles have had problems, no matter what the conditions were that they were used, granted MS will fix them for free(if there under the warranty) but the time it takes to send and receive it is time lost that could have been spent enjoying the system. Lastly, IT has the MS name, and with it came all of the problems, i need not say more

Finally the PS3:
Pros and Cons:
First off I have to say that this section really is hard for me to write, but only for the reason that Sony has really shot themselves in the foot on this one. Well the games are good don't get me wrong, but there are only a few right now, and the system has been out just as long as the Wii has, so this is no excuse, especially coming from the old top dog of the block, the company has lied to its consumers and made far too many promises that they have yet to keep, there is no need for me to go into detail (sixaxsis controller my axsis*see what i did there?*), anyways, it has good games, and great games down the pipeline, but so far they have really let down there fans, and have lost allot of the industries support, even in there home country on Japan, it is really bad when a store cant even give your system away, but cant keep the DS in stock. Graphics are great, forced, but great. BlueRay, HAHHAHAHA, ah BlueRay, yeah they bumped there head on that one, especially going up against HD, its the Beta/VHS war again, and we see how that went over, yes Beta was better, but who won? Free internet and gaming, well I would hope for the cash that was just shilled out. next up, we have ourselves another Xbox ladies and gentlemen, bigger does not mean better. Lastly, learn from your rivals, when you drop the price of your system, don't take out key functions, Sony said themselves that the 400$ PS3 was not going to be Backwards Compatible, for the simple reason of, and this is a quote folks "The PS2 is still selling really well, so if they but a PS3 and a new PS2 they will still save about 30$" Still , you like that? you know, i know they are a big company and just want to turn a profit, but damn it, lie to me about it, make me forget i just spent a ton of cash I could have put to a better use, like food, or more education, or Travel

In closing, I myself have a Wii, and I love it, I will get a 360 when I get some extra scratch and as for a PS3? well lets just say I am not holding my breath, plus, all of the games i was looking forward to are coming out on the PC, so that is less of a reason for me to break the bank on a new 32X or Turbo Grafix 16 =^__^=

[Fiendish_Imp]

nice post san. Seems like you nailed it on most of all your points. Ps3 done nothing make mistakes it appears. I like how you mention the DS becuase it so rarely gets mentioned becuase it just a handheld thing, but that things is schooling things lol.

Can't believe it read all that lol

[sanjirosan]

thanks, I just hope everybody reads it, I really would like someone else to tell me what they thought of it hahahah

[B-One]

Welll you kinda looped dee loop I guess XD... I got nothing to say againts it... awesome text you get a A... lol XD.

[sanjirosan]

LOL, Well I just wrote what came to mind, sadly that tends to be the case in most things hahaha

[B-One]

Well at least you're not afrais to say what you think... that is a great quality imo^^.

[sanjirosan]

No that I am not, but honestly, its just like back in the day when the 32X and Jaguar came out, they were good systems, but way to costly, and they died, I am not saying PS3 will die, but I really think it is going to be the niche system, because the Wii and 360 are already everyplace

[Fiendish_Imp]

the not having backwards compartability on the 40 gig was the most retartred thing ever lol. Where it goes will be told in the future after they get some big games out for it, then see where its at.

[B-One]

They wasted their only comeback lol:p

[sanjirosan]

Indeed they did, and what I have been saying for a while now is, this is Segas chance to bring out a bada$$ cheap and good system

[B-One]

Nah I don't think so... I would like a turbographx3000 thought XD.

[makhan]

Did any of you play Heavenly Sword? I would like to get my hands on it, this title is haunting me lately XD But unfortunately I don't have PS3 (I don't have any console, would like to buy one, but don't have enough money, my PC is eating all my savings :/)

[Fiendish_Imp]

as cool (and complete rip of god of war) as heavenly sword looked, It still wasn't enough to get me to fork over the cash for a ps3.

[B-One]

Graphix seemed good but meh, god of war 3 will be better:p

[sanjirosan]

Yeah, most of the time I play the game that started it all, not a game that is just trying to ride the coattails of a good game

[Avatarnaruto23]

Wii's going to remain on top as long as it's the cheapest. Most peopl still won't get ps3 until it goes down to about $200 or $250

[real0st]

*Raises hand* I'm one of those people. (going for it at $200, by then i'll have enough money to buy all 3 of them at their reduced price)