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Console Wars By: PoisonRamune, the Apathetic Lizardman With both the Wii and PS3 both celebrating recent second birthdays, it’s safe to say that we are now at the “established point” in the seventh generation of consoles. No longer are we in the early part of a console’s life, where developers are still struggling with the platform's hardware capabilities and limitations. This is a time where the great games should “just happen.” With that being said, it’s understandable that many are interested in what console is top dog. I honestly believe that the current winner of the console wars is not even a console, but rather a handheld. And the console that’s going to come up on top in the end is going to be the PC. In many ways, you can call the Xbox 360 the winner of the console wars. With its massive library of games in both disc and downloadable form, the console shines for “hardcore gamers.” It also has one of the best and easiest to use online gaming interfaces I have ever used. Its online system is becoming so good, that you are able to play with/against people using the PC version of certain games. This alone would push the console into the top spot, since online gaming is not just a trend in modern gaming, but more so a demand from gamers today. In fact, I now get a little upset when a game only offers “leaderboards” as its online content. However, with poor sales overseas (especially in Asia) the console failed to gain a foothold in the global market. After the world switched over to Blu-Ray and hardware errors (such as the Red Ring of Death and disc scratching DVD drives) began to surface more frequently, the console saw a significant decline in sales with the launch of the Wii and the new near matching price point of the PS3. In terms of sales, one can say the Wii is easily winning the console wars. With Wii Sports recently beating out Super Mario Bros as “Best Selling Video Game of ALL Time” (this includes Halo 2 or 3, you newbs), it’s pretty safe to say that more Wii’s have been sold than Nintendo Entertainment Systems. The Wii’s popularity has become so insane that it now seems like the “perfect gift” for dumb adults to buy each other, even if they haven’t touched a video game controller since the 8-bit era. It’s pretty much become like a DVD player or CuisinArt. Even though sales have been good for the system, its game library needs a lot of work. Many of the games are nothing but mini-game collections, and thus I’m led to believe the Wii is really made for drunks or people who have ADHD (or maybe drunk kids with ADHD). Even the first party games are starting to fall into this trap. Nintendo feels they need to include pointless mock masturbation wherever they can, even when pushing the A, B, C or Z button would have sufficed. Another thing that keeps the Wii from being great is their lack of trust in people’s video game competence. Many of the Wii games that are from established franchises seem incredibly dumbed down. Most notably Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3, both games were significantly easier than their Gamecube prequels. I find this a little insulting, it’s like Nintendo is calling you so stupid that you’ll never learn how to play a “real video game” so they feel they need to give you the baby version there of. The PS3 would actually be the winner of the spec war. With its cell microprocessor and Blu-Ray DVD drive, it’s the strongest of strong right now. Its fair array of strong console exclusive titles, such as: Valkyria Chronicles, Little Big Planet and Metal Gear Solid 4 make the PS3 a pretty dominant force in the gaming world. Despite having heavy hitting power, the PS3 was primarily bought as a cheap DVD player rather than video game console. This is evidenced by the large discrepancy in sales between cross platform titles and subpar sales in console exclusive titles as well. The higher than other console price point is also a contributing factor in the PS3’s low sales. Also, the lack of/confusing provisos with the PS3’s backwards compatibility even gives rabid Sony fans a reason to turn away from the system. In the end the PS3 seems to be doing better as a cheap Blu-Ray player than as gaming system. Currently, I believe the DS is winning the console war. Perhaps, it’s because of the 2 year lead it got on the Xbox360, but the handheld is doing everything right. Games coming out for it are fun, fresh and innovative. They utilize the touch screen and microphone amazingly well. Most importantly the system shows no sign of dying (even though that stupid DSi’s release tells us we should be seeing a NEW Nintendo handheld console in the next 2-3 years, as shown by former release patterns). In fact, it’s alive and kicking ass, while the PSP is struggling to get a revival in its third party development line-up. Maybe, it’s because we finally had 20 years of “Gameboy,” but Ninten-do what others don’t (and I’m not talking about the Wii here, see above. I just wanted to parody that old SEGA ad). In the end, I have a feeling that the big 3 will either be forced to merge and finally make that stupid Sony/Nintendo hybrid system. Or all will die at the hands of the PC; the personal computer even going to replace our TV in terms of family entertainment hub. In a way, it already has begun its assault. It already has a good deal of the gaming market with its copious amount of amazing games. Plus, more people are choosing to use Blu-Ray DVD drive, large LCD monitors, and quality PC speakers to watch their favorite movies. Add to the fact that the popularity of streaming video and audio has skyrocketed in the recent years and the PC really is tomorrow’s entertainment center. While I am trying to say every console sucks. I’m not trying to deter you from buying any one you really had your heart set on getting. This is more so a warning to you, that when the consoles all die out; you had better have a PC and a DS... I’ll be waiting for you (and yes, I will have a gaming PC by then and not just a Linux box).
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