Video game consoles duking it out ...
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas !This Christmas season would be the battleground for video game console companies to duke it out, as each of the Big-3 have gotten their gears together in front of game-hungry consumers. Microsoft's bad boy has been out there the longest, the XBox 360 had a year-long headstart in this race. Nintendo and Sony sent out their best efforts almost within days of each other, with the Wii and the Playstation 3 respectively.
Personally, I do not claim any allegiance to any console system. I have had the original Playstation, the original XBox as well as the GameCube. I don't consider myself a die-hard gaming enthusiast, but I do enjoy a few good games every so often. Therefore, this next generation consoles are rather tempting to say the least because I should be in the market for one of them soon if not immediately.
One of the first criteria for consideration would be price. In this case, the ladder in ascending order appears to be XBox 360, Wii and Playstation 3. Many folks on and off the web have expressed dissatisfaction with Sony's decision to price the Playstation 3 at such a high level. Yes, the Playstation 3 hardware is perhaps a more expensive and capable assembly with better expansion prospects, graphics as well as home entertainment compatibility. However, the issue here is probably going to be more so about affordability than it is about hardware capabilities. Hence, in this round, the XBox 360 and Wii would have the upper hands in my mind.
Second criteria, games - games - games. Which among the Big-3 has the game selections that I am looking for ? I enjoy a lot of sports games, such as the Madden series, NBA basketball and also other sports-related titles. I also like IQ-enhancing puzzle-based games. I am not into first-person-shooter(FPS) titles. In this round, I believe it is going to be a 3-way tie because all three console systems are well-stocked with sports titles.
The next criteria in my opinion comes down to aesthetics and user-interface. Somehow, as I migrated from one platform to the next ... Playstation -> XBox -> Gamecube ... the biggest difficulty for me is the controls. I have a hard time adjusting to the X-Y-Z and A-B-C buttons for the different console systems. The user-interface and controls are complicated compared to the good 'ol days of Atari. This time around, Nintendo even created a whole new form of controls by going with the 'Nunchuk' and 'Wii Remote(Wiimote)' concepts. As reluctant as I ought to be, I am leaning towards the Wii for this round, simply for curiosity sake. On the innovation front, 2006 kicks-off a lot of promises for each of the Big-3 video game console makers. I am looking forward to put one of them in my home.
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posted by Jeff
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