So you say you got two grand burning a hole in your pocket?
…Cause if you have that kind of cash, then you can buy every system that I talk about here and games and accessories for each.
Why you want the Wii:
The Wii is easily the most innovative system on the market now. Instead of making another tried and true formulaic console, the folks at Nintendo decided to make a system that dumps the traditional controller in lieu of a Wiimote, a remote control shaped device with several buttons and a trigger. This novel little item is tied into the game and system by way of the sensor bar, a thin optical device that sits either above or below the TV (you tell the system which during initial setup). Moving the Wiimote and its connection device, the nunchuk, registers on the screen and gamers will have one fine time swinging the remote around like a sword in games like Zelda and Red Steel, or whipping it around for the sports titles and some racing games are coming complete with a small steering wheel that the Wiimote locks into. The possibilities are truly up to the imagination of the developers.
In a world where you can buy a gaming system for thousands of dollars on eBay, the Nintendo Wii is a bright shinning spot in the battle of big budget consoles. Costing a paltry $249.99, this is easily the cheapest of all the new console systems. A fair price for what will arguably be an interesting gaming console that is guaranteed to include plenty of games featuring plumbers and pokemon.
The games are going to cost the same as the last generation of titles, that being $50 bucks. While other systems sell most of their games for $60, the Wii has remained rigid in its pricing, and that included A-list titles like Zelda and games that come with additional equipment. This is a boon for the consumer who hates to dump so much money for a game that may or may not provide entertainment value. If you don’t think a $10 differnce is a big deal, then think of it this way, ten Wii games costs $500, ten PS3 games costs $600, with the money you save you could buy two additional games.
Proprietary license, some of the biggest names in all of video games fly under the Nintendo banner, The Mario Bros., Pokemaon, Donkey Kong, in fact one of the biggest hits of the season is a launch title that will only be playable on the Wii, that being Zelda. You will not see these titles on the other systems, and there are fans of these characters that have been coming back for the past 20 years: now that’s loyalty.
The Wii features a wireless connection that allows players to go online, create a Mii (get it, me) and begin filling up these little boxes called channels with downloadable games from the past Nintendo systems. There isn’t a ton available yet, but the ones that are are top tier titles that Nintendo has produced over the years. Plus, Nintendo has secured several titles from the Sega Genesis as well, so you can look forward to some retro gaming.
Backwards compatibility. Popping off the two top panels on the Wii will allow you to plug in GameCube controllers and memory cards so you can play one of the four “worth a crap” titles the GC had on it. More importantly, you can pull the Gamecube out of that coveted entertainment center space without upsetting the kids who love to play their GC titles.
The SD card inputs. The Wii has this little door on the front that opens up and can accept media cards, so putting pictures and music is as easy as cake. This is also the format for saving game information if you want to bring it over to a friend’s house.
That favorable price point does come with its limitations. Most notably the power under the hood that the Wii is sorely lacking when compared to the other new consoles. In fact, the Wii only barely more powerful the the first Xbox and lacks the necessary graphical punch and processing power the PS3 and 360 have. So while games that come out on all three systems (like Call of Duty 3), you can expect the least amount of eye candy on the Wii. Game studios more then likely will develop titles for the two more powerful systems and then dumb it down for the Wii, not vice versa.
The Wiimote and Nunchuk are more expensive then the other two system’s controllers. Buying an extra PS3 or 360 controller will cost you $40 to $50 bucks depending if you go with a first or third party controller. Buying another Wiimote will cost you $40 and another Nunchuk $20. $60 is kind of underhanded by Nintendo since at this point I have yet to see a 3rd party controller for the Wii and the two are sold seperately.
The cable hook ups. If I’m gonna spend a ton of cash on a nice new HDTV with every hookup imaginable, then the least a developer could do is provide cables that take advantage of the power of these new fancy TVs. Instead, the Wii comes standard with a set of regualr RCA A/V cables (red, white, yellow). Yes you can buy component cables for various prices, but I haven’t found any in stock anywhere I go. Still they do exist, shame they didn’t come standard.
Yes, I know that Sony dropped the ball by horribly undershipping the holiday’s most in-demand item, but they have a had a sucessful track record in terms of total console sales and popularity. The PS3 is the largest of all the systems and comes with a blu-ray DVD player built in, which is why Sony loses $200 plus on each console sold. But, after the first of the year you can expect a large in-flux of systems and those smart enough to not spend $3000 on ebay for one, will be rewarded with a very powerful gaming and entertainment machine.
Why you want a PS3:
The PS3 is a very popular line of gaming systems. Look at the history, the PS1 outsold the Sega Saturn and N64 by a mile, the PS2 sold 25 million plus systems worldwide and creamed the Xbox and Gamecube. And just like the popular kids at school always had the most friends, the most popular system has an awful lot of developer friends. In fact some mega titles are headed the way of the PS3 including the next installment of the Final Fantasy series and most certainly a God of War 3 game will make an appearance. The initial release of games has been disappointing (except Resistance: Fall of Man) but don’t expect that to last very long.
It hooks up with the PSP easily. You can swap photos on the go, exchange music and do some other fluff stuff. The biggies are going to be the games that tie together for both systems (think SOCOM titles that when hooked up together), unlock weapons and levels for each system. And then there’s the talk about being able to take PS1 titles and transfer them from the PS3 to the PSP, that could be something really cool.
HDMI, the premiere AV hookup. Although it only comes with a standard set of AV cables, you can purchase an HDMI cable that plugs directly into you PS3 to your high def television for an unprecedented video connection. Plus, plugging in your fiber optic cable in the back of the PS3 to your receiver will allow for Dolby Digital audio, which quite frankly should be the standard now, but sadly is not. This is a plus because at least the machine comes with an HDMI plug in, it stinks you have to go buy a cable after forking out so much money, but hey, what are ya gonna do?
Backwards compatibility. You can play games from the PS1 and PS2, but it can be a bit rough to do at first since many games require you plugging in the wireless controller and going online to find patches to play the game. So while you don’t have to throw out your library of PS2 titles, things are not as smooth as they should be.
60 gig hard drive. Even if you purchase the core, 20 gig system, memory cards are but a memory. 60 gigs is a ton of room for a gaming console, so count on using it to download demos, of games, product updates, game levels and upgrades, pretty much anything you want.
The premiere system come with wireless network so you can game from anywhere in the house without any problems. Oh sure it has the port for connecting a standard LAN line, but being able to play upstairs when the kids are watching a movie downstairs is a bonus.
The price of a cheap PS3 is still more expensive then the deluxe 360 model. This may start to hurt Sony, oh sure, every one and their grandma wants one for the holidays, but come April or May, do you think your Mom and Dad are gonna want to drop $600 bucks on a system. The holidays bring out the generosity in people, but the other 11 months of the year it’s old-man-mizer time and he does not want to drop that kind of scratch on a game system.
Blu-ray, what the hell is Blu-ray? Well, to be honest with you, this is the reason these things cost so much. Check your local Best Buy ad, they sell Blu-ray players for $999.99. It is supposed to be the new standard for DVD, the Blu-ray disc, it can hold six times (whatever) the content on a single disc then a traditional DVD can.
Problem is, most people have no desire to upgrade to a new DVD standard, especially if, like me, you have a gazillion DVDs and re-buying them is NOT an option. Plus to be honest with you, watching the copy of “Ballad of Ricky Bobby” that came with my PS3, I wasn’t all that impressed. And yes, I am running a HDTV, so count me out. Sony has had a history of jumping on the wrong “AV medium”. Years ago, they said BETAMAX would be the videotape standard, it was VHS. Then they said minidiscs and their players would be the new hot thing, people stuck with their CDs. We’ve been down this road before people, I don’t see it being a new hot thing.
The wireless controllers work great until you have to charge them, then the provided cable is only four feet long. You can play while it’s charging, but nobody can play comfortably with such a short cable. Again, you must go buy another cable to make it so you can still comfortably game from your chair or couch.
Additional controllers don’t come with a charging cable. You believe that?! Spend $50 on another controller, and then you still have to buy another USB charging cable. What’s worse, they aren’t expensive, so why didn’t they include it? The PS3 has four USB port on the front for charging the damn things; it’s just plain silly not to include it.
Signing up to get online is a cumbersome experience. You have to register a credit card to prove you are “of age” they promise to never bill you, but the first time I tried it said the registration failed and so I had to go back through the long and tiring process. I know Sony is desperately trying to compete with Xbox live, but they still have a way to go to making this an enjoyable online community experience.
Microsoft unveiled its console juggernaut last November to an uneasy reception. There were some problems with some systems and of course not enough were around for everyone, but it has been smooth sailing for a while now and with an estimated 7 million plus consoles sold, the others have an uphill battle to climb if they want to catch up (especially if Sony only releases 188,000 at a time). You can go into a store right now and purchase a system without much chance of being denied one.
Why you want an Xbox 360:
The system still hasn’t hit its potential stride. We are now starting to see glimpses of what the 360 can do. Games like Gears of War is the best looking game ever made for a console and Xbox live just released an option to start renting movies in HD through its Live service. There is a ton of free and cheap games to purchase for download and online players are benefitting from this second incarnation of what online gaming should be. Your friends can see what games you have played and how many of the achievements you have unlocked in each game, this is just another way to compete against others that makes online gaming great. The other two wish they had the online thing down as well as Microsoft.
There’s over 100 games to play already. A year makes all the difference in the world, while the best looking games have just come out for the system, there is still more top tier titles available on the 360 than the Wii and PS3 combined. With bonafide hits like Kameo, Prey, Dead Rising, Burnout Revenge, NBA 2K7 and Oblivion, you have pretty much every genre covered with a title that is sure to please. And even though the other two systems have certain titles exclusive to them, the 360 has some mega titles of its own coming out as well (if you think HALO 3 is gonna be a dud, then think again).
The system comes standard with both AV and high-def component cables. Only the Xbox can boast that it will play on pretty much any tv and get the best picture out of it no matter what. A set of HD cables is a godsend in an era where nobody wants to give an inch when it comes to cables. I keep bringing this up on all systems, because it is important to know that all these expensive TVs that are being made will connect up easily and look good to boot.
The play and charge kit does it right. You can buy a play and charge kit which will replace standard batteries in the wireless controller and give you a nice long charge for gaming. You can charge your controllers even when the system is shut off and the long nine-foot cord makes it so you can continue to play in comfort even while charging. Plus, for this kind of value, it’s only twenty bucks.
Again, another system with a hard drive built in. Buying the premium system gives you a built in 20 hard drive, again, no memeory cards needed to save all those games. It too can download movie previews, game demos and other stuff, I’ve been putting stuff on and taking it off for almost a year now, I’ve still got plenty of room.
Why you may not want an Xbox 360:
While Sony has the Blu-ray, Microsoft recently released a High Def DVD add on that you can buy and plug in for $200. No one knows if either Blu-ray or HD DVD will catch on, and buying movies for yet another format is just gonna tick people off. When the dust settles my thought is everyone will still only be playing regular DVDs.
The core gaming system really scrapes the bottom of the barrel. At least the Sony core system has a small hard drive, the Xbox core system either forces you to buy the memory cards or shell out the $100 you should have spent in the first place on the hard drive. At this point there is no alternative. I had thought that Microsoft may have produced a small 5 gig hard drive for those who may need a small one, but they have not. In fact, they haven’t even produced another hard drive either bigger or smaller.
Backward compatability is a pain in the butt. Unless the game is a Microsoft produced title (HALO, Amped) playing involves going online and trying to find an update that will allow you to play it. By the time you get it all done and ready you are so ticked off and frustrated you probably won’t want to play anymore.