Console War Discussion

[supergetterv]

What's a video game forum section without some kind of discussion about the the consoles? Just some pros and cons on the major gaming console on the market today. What are some of your opinions on the various consoles? As for me I'll start with Sony's PS3,

Pros: Hardware, from the CPU/GPU, the PS3 just has the best hardware when compared to the Wii and 360.
Metal Gear Solid 4, the only game that I would get for the PS3.
Free Online PSN gaming.

Pro/Con: The blu-Ray player. Yahoo Tech rank it as one of the worst technology of 2008. But with HD DVD out of the way, this is one of the ways to get crystal clear movies.

Cons: Software sales, I believe this is due to a smaller install base. Yeah there are a lot of games, but as the NPD numbers shows, the sales of these games are very slow.In most cases, if a game is sold on multiple platforms, the 360 version almost always dominate the PS3 counterpart. But this is understandable since there are at least twice as many 360 owners out there. Again, the best selling game for the PS3 for the year of 2008 is Metal Gear Solid 4.
Some complain about the PSN, citing that there are just too many problems with the network. I've played Call of Duty 4 on the PS3, seems to run fine, but it was somewhat slower when it comes to finding matches, but that's understandable since there are fewer players playing online.

Now the Xbox 360.
Pros: More players on the XLIVE network. For those that like to play online, xbox live has a lot more gamers. Not much waiting time in any game whether you want to play multiplayer co-op or compete.
More install base when compared to the PS3, so 3rd party software developer sale more games on the 360, and there are more players playing the games. Games like GTA4, COD World@WAR, Madden, Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead, the 360 sold more copies so there are just more players.
Cons: Having to pay for Xbox Live. The 40$ a year, if you get the prepay card from NEWegg, but still, you have to pay to play.
System stability, the hardware is just not that good,all 360 owner worry about the RROD.

And Last but not least the Wii.

Pros: The best selling console in this generation of Consoles. A kids best friend. Gaming for all ages and gender. Great party system, Wii party's are a blast. 1st party games, Nintendo doesn't really rely on 3rd party softwares. Anything with the prefix Wii sells like crazy, Wii-Fit, Wii-Music, the list goes on and on.

Cons: Most games are just made for casual gamers. Online mode is just not that good, come on, you want my friends to jot down numbers?

All I am stating are just some of the obvious fact that I have speculated from various reports. Most are from NPD. I personally think that all the consoles are great in there own way. And I'm not favoring any one system, I just use my 360 more than my Wii because there are more games to my liking.

[Chen]

You know even though the PS3 has more powerful hardware than the 360 I find games look better on the XBox. It could be that the 360 is just easier for developers to create games for but I'm not sure also the price is a big factor. You can get a base Xbox in Canada for $199 while the cheapest PS3 is $400, true the PS3 comes with a hard drive and Blu-ray player but I buy video game consoles to play video games, if I wanted a Blu-ray player there are much better ones out there than the PS3's and cheaper too. But if I had the money I would buy both but as it is right now I would get a Xbox 360 because of shooters like Halo and Gears plus with the fact that Final Fantasy XIII is coming for the 360 takes a lot of the allure away from the PS3, but as you said I've heard some horror stories about the 360 and the dreaded flashing red light.

[00silvergt]

Chen, I agree with you, but the notion that the Ps3 is better hardware is correct and incorrect at the same time. The CPU or the main processor on the PS3 is more advanced than the Processor inside the 360, on paper and at a far glance. However, closely inspected the 360 has better bandwidth and better access to the memory than the PS3 cell. The PS3 has a 128 bit Cell CPU and a 7-core floating point processor, while the 360 has a 3-core processor with a built-in FPU. But the PS3's processors do not have the benefit of cache, branch prediction and direct access to the system EDRAM. With the power of the PS3 concentrated mainly on the SPE's or DSP (floating point) processors, it is more efficient for DSP processing and has a huge disadvantage to general computer functions.

Most programmers do not want to program to 7 DSP cores to do the general computing since it will not do so efficiently. So the Xbox 360 has the advantage there. The 360 is not too far removed from the PC line, so programmers can work in an environment that they are familiar with. One of the main reason why PS3 games are slower to come by and the PS3 launched with so few titles, was that the programmers were having a hard time programming efficiently for the PS3. In fact, most multiplatform games are usually first programmed for the 360 and then ported to the PS3. Hence, generally 360 games run better.

Another feature to consider is that albeit on paper the PS3's RSX GPU looks superior to the Xbox 360's Nvidia 6800Ultra, the RSX is bottlenecked by it's lack of bandwidth to process the data through the SPE's and the CPU. The RSX has a faster clock 550Mhz v. 400MHz, and more transistors that the 6800Ultra. But the poorly designed architecture of the PS3 does not allow the system to take full advantage of this hardware since the PS3's bandwidth is limited by it's 7 SPE's and the CPU which has no cache and direct access to the memory.

The 360 has a graphics bandwidth of 22.4GB/s of Video RAM and 256GB/s of system RAM. The PS3 has 22.4GB/s of Video RAM and 25.6GB/s of System RAM. Overall Bandwidth of the PS3 is 48GB/s and the 360 has 278.4GB/s.

That translate to more fluid, better rendering over the PS3. So the PS3 has better specs on paper, better processor, better GPU, but the overall architecture of the system was not well thought out. The 360, having the advantage of working from an existing, proven platform, had this advantage of maximizing bandwidth and creating an environment that is easier for developers to develop for.

Of course, I'm talking architecture, the dreaded 3 rings of death is a totally different story all together. That was a flaw in 1) manufacturing, MS was using cheap components and cheap labor to manufacture. 2) Poorly designed cooling and ventilation on the 360 chassis.

It is also worthwhile to note, that the PS3's decision to make their games region-free and open the architecture on the USB and SATA, wherein you can add hard drives freely, easily and more economical than the MS, proprietary solution, makes the PS3 a friendlier system to own.

[Chen]

Thanks for the info! I think if I ever get some extra cash I'll probably get a 360, I don't play hours on end and it has more games that I like. Also I was reading that the new processor in the PS3 has a new kind of emulator which makes it no longer backwards compatible?

[Cyrano]

PS3 backwards compatibility is somewhat hit-and-miss. At the system's launch (20 and 60 GB models), there was a chip in the system that took care of all PS2/PS games, and did a pretty good job of it (although not flawless). The next set of systems didn't have that chip, instead they switched over to software emulation, which was a little shaky at first. Firmware updates are said to have improved the quality of the BC since then, to just slightly worse than the original chip. I believe that only the 80GB model has software BC now, and the less expensive model has zero compatibility with PS2/PS games.

Really, the best solution is to hold onto your PS2, no matter what PS3 you have or get. Even with the 60GB model, there are some games you just can't play.

[supergetterv]

Wait, the 80GB model is consider to be the less expensive model now @ 399,since the 160GB version is 499. Both have no backwards compatibility. Aside from games not working, a cousin of mines said that PS2 games just look awful on the PS3, which was supposed to upscale the PS2 game into HD. Because of the upcoming switch to DTV, I have an old 27" Wega that will be kinda useless, so my old system are coming out of retirement because I am going to build one of those arcade cabinet and I am going to hook every one of my old consoles to that TV.

[00silvergt]

Even with the Emotion Chip (PS2) on the board (like mine) the backwards compatibility was iffy, so I can imagine how it would be like on a software emu...I still have my PS2, actually I have 4 of them! LOL

I say, if backwards compatibility is worth it to you, find an older 60GB, like I did and simply swap out the hard drive, like I did, I have over 200GB. I found the HDD in Craig's List for $50, brand new!

[00silvergt]

In the topic of console wars, I have this to say. We are 2-3 years into the current generation of systems and the clear winner seems to be the Nintendo Wii. Out of the 3 systems, it has been successfully made a profit, been sold out almost throughout it's lifetime. What Microsoft and Sony don't seem to get is that the majority of gamers emphasize the fun factor in gaming above all else. The PS3 and 360 on a geeks POV is by far better systems than the Wii, but neither has been able to demand the same desire as the Wii. Don't believe me? Go out tonight and try to get one...I bet you there is a waitng list or a it is simply not available. Why? Because it is fun, Microsoft, Sony. Most mainstream gamers are not looking for eye candy, depth of story and incredible sound. Most mainstream gamers are looking for fun and cutesy. Nintendo has this niche. Unfortunately for MS and Sony, they have to find or invent their own, now. The Xbox has the advantage because it came out first, has an easier environment to program for, and doesn't have the steep royalties put on the publishers like Sony does. The PS3 has better hardware, but it is poorly designed so the harmonious blend of hardware and performance doesn't seem to be there, even from Sony's own titles. But Sony did one thing right, they backed the right next-gen movie format and is not as strict on it's region coding for games and has virtually no restrictions on add on hardware. Ever tried to write anything to the 360 via USB? No, naturally, because you can't. Microsoft restricted USB to be read only. Also you can only buy Microsoft Hard Drives which are limited to 120GB, which sells for $149.99. In this day of age where PC hardware is in expensive (I bought a TB SATA drive for under $100) 120GB for $150 is ridiculous. Sony also offers a free online service where MS sells Xbox Live, sure you can get a free account with MS, but that sucks!

But with that said, MS, being able to make some money off of the hardware, being first has its definite advantages and it helps to have a better library than the PS3, which strength only lies on the its exclusive titles, which is dwindling...the 360 can now be had for the same price as the original Xbox at the 1/2 way point of its service life of 199.99 with 2 games. I think we will start hearing chatter about a predecessor sometime in the 3rd or 4th quarter of 2009. Microsoft is not a stupid company and knows that they have the resources, mainly capitalization and the advantage of not trying to reinvent the wheel, would try to produce the next generation console first, once again. Sony would be in rut, since they were not able to produce a harmonious balance with their hardware would find itself with some problems producing their next gen console which may lead them to problems. Or they may bow out of the console war in favor of software, much like Sega did. Nintendo having the niche of cutesy, kiddy but fun games will always have an audience and it is likely MS will win over the hardcore gamer that wants more, which really leaves Sony to making games, TV's, Blu-Ray players, Movies and maybe the PSP? Since MS has not entered the handheld arena yet.

These are my predictions for the future of gaming. But currently, unless Sony can sell more consoles, I can't see the PS3 shifting their price which may lead to further decay into their standing. Sony claims to be losing money even selling them at the current price point, so how can they sell them for less? The only thing they can do would stay at the niche market of giving you more for the same as the PC vendors have. They do offer an excellent Blu-ray player, but with this format winning the format war, I can see players going way below the PS3 current asking price and they will no longer have the advantage of selling that side of the system. When Blu-Ray players will sell sub $100 like DVD players have, it will be curtains for the PS3.

Sony needs to get off its uppity butt that they are the best, because the truth is quite the opposite. They no longer have the advantage and lost it when the PS3 came out. It stands to reason why the PS2 is still a viable video game system. Sony is holding on to what they have left.

Sony needs to realize that when you can do it faster, better and cheaper, on another system, we will flock and give our money to the other guy, and not to Sony because we have some affections for the company. They carry the same attitude in TV's, but they need to be careful since Sharp and Samsung is looking at the crown that Sony has in that realm as well. Especially Samsung, a Korean company which is really going to start giving Sony unbearable hemorrhoids for the impaling Samsung is going to give Sony in home entertainment.

[supergetterv]

Nintendo is winning in this generation because they went back to the roots, and design a system, purely for games, and their target audience is mainly kids, but the best part of their strategy was to sell to casual gamers, people that usually don't even play games. Parents aren't likely to buy their young kids a 360 or a PS3. The Wii is a TOY, and that how I see it. They are simply reclaiming what was rightfully theirs to begin with. It's predessor the Gamecube and the Nintendo64 failed because of the lack or 3rd party support, due to their weird format. The N64 was still in cartridge base, and like SONY, Nintendo's SNES was a big hit, so they were high on there BUTTS, which alienated a lot of 3rd party software developers. The GAMECUBE's small disc was also a reason for 3rd party software developers to avoid them. Konami gave Nintendo the okay to redo Metal Gear Solid, using the MGS2 game engine, and like the PS version, the GC version required 2 disc. But even a blockbuster title like MGS failed on that system because the console simply because their isn't enough games produced for it. But as for this generation, almost every software company want to develop games for the Wii, and why not. Games like Carnival Games, produce by RockStargames, probably cost them very little in to produce/development cost and they are able to sell to over 30 million protential buyers.

The Wii may win this gen, but I still glad there is still a 360 and a PS3 choice. I've always put gameplay in front over graphics when it comes to games, but the games that the Wii offers just isn't the type I like to play. If I was still 10 or so, those Wii games would definately satisfy me. But Games like Mario party, Mario Galaxy and SmashBrothers just doesn't do it for me anymore. I still think that Wii Sports is probably the best game made on the Wii, but that game is only fun when there are other casual players to play with, likely my MOM/DAD/UNCLE/AUNT and so forth. It's sad that the game got ripped off and now there is a 30$ bootleg version selling at Macy's.

I don't think MS is getting out of the Home Console market simply because there is just too much money to make. As someone else pointed out in another forum, the top selling games, Software titles, for Home Consoles was dominated by the 360 in the year of 2008. They have the number 1 selling title in 9 out of 11 month in 2008. The 360 was only topped in March & May of 2008 when Super Smash Bros and Metal Gear Solid 4 took it.

Sony will be entering in their 3rd year and I believe that those that bought it for the blu ray playback capabilities have done so. Now, they should really focus on bringing back the hardcore gamers, and the only way to do that is to bring out the blockbuster titles. God of War, Kingdom Heart 3, and various other exclusive they still have, those would have to win over gamers next years.

[recca74]

Dec 23, 2008 1:19:57 GMT -5 supergetterv said:

Sony will be entering in their 3rd year and I believe that those that bought it for the blu ray playback capabilities have done so. Now, they should really focus on bringing back the hardcore gamers, and the only way to do that is to bring out the blockbuster titles. God of War, Kingdom Heart 3, and various other exclusive they still have, those would have to win over gamers next years.

Great and civil discussion here guys. My hats off. You wouldn't be able to do it this classy at some forums.

Hmmm... Sony, MS, Nintendo.... OK, so far, I'm still rockin' the American and Japanese versions of the PS2. I also have a Japanese DC as well. I've yet to pick up one of these new SuperConsoles because of finances right now.

I guess I'm still on the fence. Sony's BR functionality is very tempting. MS has the better library, and the Wii....I'm just not feeling it really.....the exception there being a possible US TatvsCap release (I won't hold my breath).

That being said. I'm really quite disappointed in Sony for the many reasons mentioned above. I mean, does Sony have exclusives anymore?? Just about every title released has gone cross-platfom. I mean the next wave of games coming out seem to have 360 releases as well. Tekken6, FFXIII, and goodness knows whats next.

I think Sony also did themselves a huge disservice prior to release with all the promises in terms of hype around graphics, controller functionality, launch titles, delays and the like. That's what I'll remember as a gamer. Finally, the lack of exclusives and lackluster Library...inexcusable, Sony. At least IMHO.

I've played the 360 and it's a good console (not really mind blowing, but good). It still has yet to release something domestically to make me want to rush out and get it. To date, I've never laid hands on a PS3. Never really wanted too either. I want to want a PS3, but Sony makes it kinda hard with their inflated prices and poor handling of the console in general.

[00silvergt]

Dec 23, 2008 1:19:57 GMT -5 supergetterv said:

Nintendo is winning in this generation because they went back to the roots, and design a system, purely for games, and their target audience is mainly kids, but the best part of their strategy was to sell to casual gamers, people that usually don't even play games. Parents aren't likely to buy their young kids a 360 or a PS3. The Wii is a TOY, and that how I see it. They are simply reclaiming what was rightfully theirs to begin with. It's predessor the Gamecube and the Nintendo64 failed because of the lack or 3rd party support, due to their weird format. The N64 was still in cartridge base, and like SONY, Nintendo's SNES was a big hit, so they were high on there BUTTS, which alienated a lot of 3rd party software developers. The GAMECUBE's small disc was also a reason for 3rd party software developers to avoid them. Konami gave Nintendo the okay to redo Metal Gear Solid, using the MGS2 game engine, and like the PS version, the GC version required 2 disc. But even a blockbuster title like MGS failed on that system because the console simply because their isn't enough games produced for it. But as for this generation, almost every software company want to develop games for the Wii, and why not. Games like Carnival Games, produce by RockStargames, probably cost them very little in to produce/development cost and they are able to sell to over 30 million protential buyers.

The Wii may win this gen, but I still glad there is still a 360 and a PS3 choice. I've always put gameplay in front over graphics when it comes to games, but the games that the Wii offers just isn't the type I like to play. If I was still 10 or so, those Wii games would definately satisfy me. But Games like Mario party, Mario Galaxy and SmashBrothers just doesn't do it for me anymore. I still think that Wii Sports is probably the best game made on the Wii, but that game is only fun when there are other casual players to play with, likely my MOM/DAD/UNCLE/AUNT and so forth. It's sad that the game got ripped off and now there is a 30$ bootleg version selling at Macy's.

I don't think MS is getting out of the Home Console market simply because there is just too much money to make. As someone else pointed out in another forum, the top selling games, Software titles, for Home Consoles was dominated by the 360 in the year of 2008. They have the number 1 selling title in 9 out of 11 month in 2008. The 360 was only topped in March & May of 2008 when Super Smash Bros and Metal Gear Solid 4 took it.

Sony will be entering in their 3rd year and I believe that those that bought it for the blu ray playback capabilities have done so. Now, they should really focus on bringing back the hardcore gamers, and the only way to do that is to bring out the blockbuster titles. God of War, Kingdom Heart 3, and various other exclusive they still have, those would have to win over gamers next years.

Actually, quite the contrary, many owners of the Wii are of the 20-30+ demographics, the highest grossing item according to EGM for Oct to Nov. is the Wii fit followed by two Wii games. I am with you, I have the Wii, but I do want, not necessarily more or less from a game, but different. The Wii has a great approach and ingenius interface.

I disagree about Blu-ray. I think many sat out the sidelines and waited which format was to be declared the winner and then determine how they would go about changing their collection. We both know that this is not the time to spending unnecessarily like buying movies you already have on Blu-ray. I think we will see some people buying the PS3 for Blu-ray until standalone players are priced much better. Even at $50 less than the $299 PS3, one can still make the argument for the PS3 viable since you are getting a whole lot more than just a blu-ray player and a game console.

Microsoft got into the fray because of their ultimate goal and doctrine, they want to be involved in almost every facet of our entertainment and lives. By teaming up with Sega on the Dreamcast, MS learned that they want/need to be in our living rooms and family rooms and not only in our PC's. Microsoft is working on a MS branded Phone, MS IP TV, etc. MS wants us to think of them each time we think of entertainment. They have the money, the power and ability to do so. But face it most companies are in business for one ultimate thing, money...everything else is gravy! lol ;D Especially since we Americans spend over 50% of our incomes on Entertainment, that's embarassing! LOL ;D

[supergetterv]

SilverGT, you have to check your sources, the top selling game for the month of Oct 2008 was Fable 2. Here is a link to 1up.com which is in association with the EGM books.
www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3171305
And as for Nov 2008, Gears of War 2 sold over 1.5 million copies, as for the Wii-fit, it did sell great but just wasn't good enough to be the top selling game in any of the months in 2008, wait, they could be in this month, since there really isn't any big titles being release this month.
NPD sales number for Nov 2008.
www.gamespot.com/news/6202243.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=hot-stories&tag=hot-stories;title;1

As for the 20-30 demographic, that's part of the reason the Wii was so successful. It was the cheapest ( in terms of price ) for a next GEN system, and Nintendo's clever limited supply strategy kept all these causal gamers interested. So in the beginning, the big part of the demographic belonged to the 20-30 year old. But I don't believe that is the case now, given the lineup of games and seeing just how many parents, especially MOMS are buying the system for there kids.

[Chen]

My buddy owns a Wii and a 360 and from what I can tell he uses the Wii when he has company over it's basically like a new generation of cards or dominos, something a group of friends play while their getting drunk lol. He plays the 360 when he's alone and seriously wants to enjoy a game and that's how I see it. The Wii is just fun cuz of interactivity but for serious gamers I think the 360/PS3 is still the way to go IMHO.

[supergetterv]

You are right Chen, the Wii is a great for drinking games. Ever try the fencing game from Mario VS Sonic OLympics when your balance is off. But then again, these games are fun the first couple of times but the novelty wears off. I know because I have one that just sit in the living room collecting dust. And it's not like I don't buy games for it. I have over ten titles for it, from Super Smash Bros, Mario Galaxy, Wii-Fit etc... Funny thing about Wii-fit is that everyone was so amaze by it, especially the hola hoops. Even my mom played that one. But after 1 week, the board along with the system, again just sit there. During the first year of the Wii release, I went to a lot of Wii-parties, and now I can't even remember the last one that was held. When friends come over now days, they don't even ask to play the Wii anymore, and I don't blame them, they are causal gamers that don't really play games. Actually thinking about doing a software mod on mines so that I can add a new homebrew channel to the Wii enabling me to play backups, imports and run various other homebrew emulators. From what I understand, all you need is a old copy of Twilight Princess and a SD memory card to install this Software modification.

[Kidchuckle]

Dec 19, 2008 9:45:34 GMT -5 Chen said:

You know even though the PS3 has more powerful hardware than the 360 I find games look better on the XBox. It could be that the 360 is just easier for developers to create games for but I'm not sure also the price is a big factor. You can get a base Xbox in Canada for $199 while the cheapest PS3 is $400, true the PS3 comes with a hard drive and Blu-ray player but I buy video game consoles to play video games, if I wanted a Blu-ray player there are much better ones out there than the PS3's and cheaper too. But if I had the money I would buy both but as it is right now I would get a Xbox 360 because of shooters like Halo and Gears plus with the fact that Final Fantasy XIII is coming for the 360 takes a lot of the allure away from the PS3, but as you said I've heard some horror stories about the 360 and the dreaded flashing red light.

well when I used to work FT at a game studio. the programmers complained that the ps3 had barely any techsupport. Plus it was very difficult to develop and to run smooth optimially. Thats probably why mgs4 was so good(sony probably gave it more dev support then any other developer). Microsoft support already a good support system.


but I think its a matter of time before PS3 gets into full stride. I mean xbox 360 has already had some steam before ps3 came out. But I think Sony needs to prioritize on helping to support their developers if they wan to get ahead. Hardware is great. but if you make it hard to develop on.. what good is hardware.

But the lack of users for ps3 seems to be a big issue. If you like online play. I know most of my friends have xbox360. I only know a few who own ps3's (most of my gamer friends work in the industry still).

yeah totally agree with you guys on the wii.
It'smore for a general audience to enterain a lot of friends.
But the gaming experience seems to change as a non social game.
There's not too many games that push for deep gaming experience.
Plus most of the games on their are pushed for a young demographic.
While xbox 360 and ps3 reach more on the mature level.

[00silvergt]

Dec 24, 2008 2:55:12 GMT -5 supergetterv said:

SilverGT, you have to check your sources, the top selling game for the month of Oct 2008 was Fable 2. Here is a link to 1up.com which is in association with the EGM books.
www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3171305
And as for Nov 2008, Gears of War 2 sold over 1.5 million copies, as for the Wii-fit, it did sell great but just wasn't good enough to be the top selling game in any of the months in 2008, wait, they could be in this month, since there really isn't any big titles being release this month.
NPD sales number for Nov 2008.
www.gamespot.com/news/6202243.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=hot-stories&tag=hot-stories;title;1

As for the 20-30 demographic, that's part of the reason the Wii was so successful. It was the cheapest ( in terms of price ) for a next GEN system, and Nintendo's clever limited supply strategy kept all these causal gamers interested. So in the beginning, the big part of the demographic belonged to the 20-30 year old. But I don't believe that is the case now, given the lineup of games and seeing just how many parents, especially MOMS are buying the system for there kids.

My current EGM, the one with Wolverine on the cover) states that the Wii Fit is the top selling "game" then followed by two Wii games. So I feel pretty accurate there.

The cheapest system is the Xbox 360 arcade which has dropped in price twice since it was launched. Currently at $199. Soccer Moms, or whomever is buying it, the Wii is the only system that is currently sold out at most retail outlets and continue to sell out. The 360 and the PS3 tried at launch to play with the availability in order to artificial create demand for their systems. However, easily 6 months after either system was launched you can find it everywhere including craig's list and eBay priced below retail. This is not the case for the Wii, second year out, and not only can you not find this system at local retail outlets, since they sell out almost the same day they come out, you will find systems at Craig's list and eBay for above retail, typically $299 and up. So I don't get your rationalization that Wii's sell because of price point. Wii's sell because it changes the Video Gaming world of out of shape, litargic, 30-somethings sitting on a couch and vegetating while killing something.

Wii, offers playability that allows the players to feel active, albeit I found how to cheat and not really look like a moron exercising in front of my TV. ;D

This is the selling point of this system, coupled by the different variety of family friendly games available.

Like I've said, I have all three systems and the Wii only gets turned on by the kids. I would normally use the PS3 to watch movies, play some games. The 360 is what I would use to play most of the games and sometimes watch a movie.

But I'm not like the general public, which seems to favor the Wii, especially since most of these people will only choose one system. So, demand speaks for itself. 2 years running and it is still hard to find one, something no system has been able to do. Even after Nintendo ramped up production, it still could not keep up with a public that demands to get one at any price point in some cases.

The Wii offers the least when it comes to extras, the online gameplay sucks, no hard drive, games are kiddie, graphics and sound is far worst than either two next gen system, but it beats the pants out of the other two in sales.

[KingboyD]

I've got the Wii, but it really sucks seeing all the good games coming out for other systems. Plus, when games do come out on the Wii, they are dumbed down versions of the game. Take Guitar Hero, for instance. There are less downloads, and the graphics are worse (less options for designing your own character). Furthermore, you need a separate Wii controller for each instrument (other game systems don't require these). That's an extra $40 a pop!!

But the reason we got a Wii was that my wife wanted Wii Fit, plus we alreayd have a Gamecube, so if anything happens to my console, we can still play the Gamecube games on the Wii.

As others have already said, if you're looking into some hardcore gaming with great graphics, stay away from the Wii.

[modernrider]

I traded in my old xbox and a complete (and working) ps2 i found on the street (reallY) and picked up a Xbox arcade system with wireless controller for a little under $130.00. Such a deal.-and the games can be had cheap on e-bay.

i still want a ps3 but hard to justify $500.00.

landlord's kid go a wii-its a really fun party-type machine (girls love it!) but the x-box will give you more options.

[supergetterv]

A couple of YAHOO headlines on 12/30/08. This one claims that the PSP will die off in 2009.

videogames.yahoo.com/feature/goodbye-sony-psp/1276225

And this one, more Sony bashing.

videogames.yahoo.com/feature/console-wars-who-won-08-/1276642

The Wii Strategic limited supply was one of the reasons for its success. In the beginning, a lot of these systems were purchase in bulk by scalpers which in turn sold them on craigslist and ebay. NPD only count the retail sales numbers and not the scalpers resale numbers. Can't argue with the point in which people over paid for it on Ebay. All I know was that I got mines at Target in 2007 at 249.99, and not the scalpers price. So to me anyway, one of the reason that the Wii sold so well was that it was cheaper. Cheaper for scalpers to buy and resale and cheaper for people that waited in line for it. To this day the Wii is still profitable on Ebay, people are still paying 50 to 75 more for it, and as long as that continues, there is no reason for it not to be continually be out of stock. It's now no longer the cheapest system on the market, but I still believe that more kids, the ones 12 and under want the Wii more so than a PS3 or 360, and that reason alone is why the Wii will continue to be the best seller in this generation of Console war.

[xiombarg]

For multi player in general I think the Wii wins hands down. Super Smash Bros., Mario cart, Wii Olympics are just great multi player games, and nothing is more boring in a social gathering than watching a person play uber-repetive hits like God of War or Ninja Gaiden.