[DynamicLynk]

This is crap, someone hasn't done their research comparing the Wii to a 360 is like comparing a Pinto(Wii) to a Corvette(360). Just seems like Nintendo paid someone to write that article because any gamer in their right mind would know that the Wii is for kids and family like party games, I would like to see COD4 on a Wii.

[ChrisAnderson]

I find it interesting that every single one of these articles I read fails to acknowledge one important point: a large proportion of XBOX 360 owners and Playstation 3 owners also own a Wii console. It is such a unique and dynamic system (at such a great price-point) that everyone purchases one in addition to their main console. This is why the Wii numbers will always be stronger than the competitors consoles. Playstation 3 is about to make a strong case now though with the impending termination of HD-DVD. That Blu-Ray DVD is starting to sound extra enticing now!
-Chris Anderson

[SCMVCA]

What Nintendo needs to do is make a Wii controller that can plug into the 360 or PS3. That way we can have the innovative controls (which I assume Nintendo must have a ton of patents on) on platforms with much better graphics and that the game studios are already set up to develop on.

Then, they can rake in the money selling Wii sports and other similar games without taking the loss spent selling the console itself.

[rapidfiringneurons]

SCMVCA said:

What Nintendo needs to do is make a Wii controller that can plug into the 360 or PS3. That way we can have the innovative controls (which I assume Nintendo must have a ton of patents on) on platforms with much better graphics and that the game studios are already set up to develop on.

Then, they can rake in the money selling Wii sports and other similar games without taking the loss spent selling the console itself.

Actually, the Wii is the only console which does not equal a monetary loss for its manufacturer... Nintendo makes about $92 on each Wii that they sell, whereas both Microsoft and Sony lose money on each 360 and PS3 sold, respectively. From a financial point of view, Nintendo is cleaning up, and could continue to break even after any future price breaks (up to $100).... neither Sony nor Microsoft can claim that.

[AySz88]

SCMVCA: FYI, Nintendo doesn't take a loss selling the Wii. Unless something has changed since launch day, Nintendo makes a profit off every Wii, without needing to count the games. (And I doubt that they were making a profit at launch, but not now for some reason... The price hasn't dropped or anything.)

[Izabael]

The Xbox360 does not lose money on each console anymore. Not for quite some time has that been true: www.techspot.com/news/23612-microsoft-makes-tiny-profit-on-xbox-360-hardware.html.

Do your research: XBox360 continues to outsell both Wii and PS3 in terms of total revenue (i.e. including all games sold.)

Also Xbox Live is by far the most popular online console network.

As far as the PS3: I feel it will have it's best year now that HD-DVD is dead, BUT it has an uphill battle to fight selling a $400 system in the midst of a U.S. recession. This again bodes much better for the Wii. The Xbox360 is somewhere in between so it might benefit from people who want to grow out of their Wii into a high-def gaming system. (You guys ranting about how great the Wii is do realize that (even utilizing the 480p component cable) it looks like pixelated garbage on a nice HDTV set right? The Wii is running on last generation's hardware. Sooner or later people will realize it.)

Either way, I win, as I own both MS and (quite a lot of) Nintendo stock. I also own both systems. But truth be told, we bought the Wii because of all the hype, got bored of all the games in a month and that's why we ended up getting a 360 as well.

*izabael

[cjanzen]

Everyone talks about "next gen" consoles and how the Wii isn't one of them. I guess I can understand that if it "next gen" comes down to graphics, alone. But are graphics the single defining factor in what is or is not next gen? If so, why?
If people are going to be honest about this, they have to come to terms with one very clear fact: Nintendo is the ONLY company to do something completely different with this generation of systems. Sony and Microsoft have great graphics and technology, true-- but aren't they simply creating more fine-tuned versions of their old consoles? What's really next gen about that? How is the PS2 so amazingly different than the PS3, for example?
If people want to rip on the Wii for graphics, they've got a small case--though the graphics aren't as ridiculously bad as some people would claim. But if people want to talk about the Wii not being next gen compared to other consoles... well, you know what they say about stones and glass houses.

[RunaWorld]

Infact, one thing I haven't seen anyone mention so far is the actual games on the Wii.

Everyone keeps claiming the Wii only has "party games" and you get "bored" after playing a while.

Honestly, this is not true at all. Think about Metroid Prime 3. Was that a party game?

I guess the massive single player story doesn't count then. What about the recently released (in Japan) Super Smash. Bros. Brawl?

Sure you can call it a party game, but it has a single player storyline as well. Now think of all the other great games like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Are these party games? Obviously the people who claim the Wii is only for kids and has "party games" never took into account the bestselling games on the Wii.

Go figure.

[superdynamite]

The article is moronic. The Wii is not "Next-Gen", everyone know that. It was made for a different market than PS3 & 360. It was made for the younger gamers. People who enjoy baby games. The graphics are horrible, so how could it be considered "Next-Gen". I expect more from a PC World article.

[RunaWorld]

superdynamite, have you read my previous comment?

Is Metroid Prime 3 a baby game?

Is Super Smash Bros. Brawl a baby game?

The people who claim this have to look at all the games on the Wii, not just the games marketed for the family.

True, many Wii games are marketed for the younger generation, but that doesn't mean Nintendo is leaving its hardcores.

[ScorLibran]

Predictably, as the XBox 360 and Sony Playstation are being gradually relegated to "enthusiast" niche markets, their respective fans will cry, "It's not a niche product!" and will play with numbers to make their favorites stand out. I can play with numbers to show that I won the last US presidential election, too. You're not going to think of anything new that adults have not done since long since before you were born. You're only fooling your own age group, which happens to be primarily a financially dependent one.
So if you're lamenting the loss of the #1 market position of your favorite toy: STOP WORRYING! This news does not mean that it won't be available for years to come with just as much of a game selection as it enjoys today, and even more advanced technologies as years pass. The only meaningful impact of this news is upon holders of Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft stocks, their respective boards of directors, and developrs of new technologies who seek to target the largest possible market segment(s). The rest is all.....well, kid stuff.
:8}

[charlesRovira]

Its the UI stupid.
For the same reason that DOS died, the Wii-mote is going to kill gaming as it has existed up 'till now.
Not for everything, but for most games, a better UI means better sales.

[ScorLibran]

I wouldn't call the Wii interface "stupid". Improved ergonomics are a good thing, and have a direct impact on the popularity of almost any product. Even games that haven't even begun to be adapted for a motion-sensitive interface have a world a possibilities ahead of them. It seems that most of the games kids like nowadays are first-person shooters, and the Wii-mote with its pistol-grip feel, trigger and force feedback would make an ideal gun proxy. Games which may not benefit from its interface as yet would be real-time strategy or adventure/puzzle games, but I'll bet even those types can be inventively adapted in time, as well. Plus the fact that the Wii interface wouldn't necessarily require use of its motion sensitivity - there's no reason it couldn't serve as a simple wireless handheld controller in the traditional sense. Improve its video processing and Nintendo will have a console that will compete well even in the forming 360/PS niche.



As long as the game console market centers around first-person shooters, the possibilities of the Wii interface are wide open. The video subsystem can be improved - or even completely replaced - without a negative impact on the motion interface aspect. I'll put my money on such "under the hood" expansions of the Wii long before I'll invest in significant advances in 360 or PS interface principles. The latter will likely be the only hope Sony and Microsoft would have against Nintendo's winning formula, except that it will cost them considerably more to adapt. And if 360 and PS sales end up flagging throughout the year, then this hope will slip even farther from their grasp.

[StygianAgenda]

Really m8, it comes down to more than just graphics.

Here's my observation:

1. Physics processing is phenominally better on the 360 & PS3, via hardware accelleration

2. AI capabilities are scaled to the more distributed processor designs of both systems

3. The controls are based on a proven formula, initially established by Sony, that MS has helped redefine. Both are very comfortable for adult hands.

4. the sound chipsets on both the PS3 & 360 support Fibre-I/O, out of the box. combine this with a digital sound system, and some of the games will scare the crap out of you from the sound effects alone! :)

Now, that said, I haven't personally decided to buy a Wii, and I'm not sure that I will. Here's where things turn to a discussion of tastes. Personally, I prefer the kinds of games that I find on the 360, and the PC, over any thing else currently available on the market. Being a 25 year PC user, and highly accomplished governent network administrator, I tend more toward systems that are either highly immersive, or highly modifiable. I have a PSP (hacked to run homebrew software), an original Xbox, a 360, a PS2 (haven't bothered with the PS3 yet... but I do look forward to playing around with Linux on that hardware, eventually!), and 16 computers running a variety of Operating Systems on a custom 22bit subnetted network that is linked to the net using a router modified with DD-WRT. That said, I do love classic games... one of the reasons that I hacked my PSP, but not enough to buy a Wii to run what I already have on my ancient NES & SNES that are locked up in storage... like relics in the basement of a tech museam. I checked out Super Mario Galaxy a few days ago at GameStop. It looked pretty cool, but that's about all I can say for it. Not that I had any negative opinion about it, it's just that as I've grown older, my taste in games has changed. When I was young, NES rocked the house! SNES was played daily, and we went thru a ton of controllers, from wearing them out playing Street Fighter II. Sega's systems, no different. Collected them all.... as far as that goes, there are very few systems that I didn't buy over the last 20 years or so. But, like I was saying, it's all about what appeals at what age. Now at 35 years old, I prefer games like Ghost Recon (series), Neverwinter Nights (PC), Gears of War(360), Ace Combat 6(360), Mass Effect (360), the entire Mechwarrior (PC) & mech-assault series (Xbox), Freelancer (PC), Warhammer 40K - Dawn of War (PC), and I can't leave out Tekken (series), because we still play the crap outta Tekken 5 (arguably one of the baddest fighting games to ever grace these shores). When I look at what's offered on the Wii, there's so little that interests me there.

Now, all that said... people... it's pointless to argue which system is better. Each fills the niche for the market they were designed for, and sell based on the tastes of the consumer buying them. Buying a game console nowadays comes down more to 'what do you want to play?', than it does technology, but high tech sells well amongst enthusiasts. When the 360, and for that matter the PS2 & PS3, were being designed, they were created with hardcore gamers in mind, the types that demand "the most realistic graphics, physics & audio" available. I also think that they were trying to win over a share of the PC gaming market, which is evident in some of the FPS & RTS titles that have released on both platforms. This doubly makes sense when considering that the PS3 can be loaded with Linux, which has traditionally been a great OS for using the net, but poor for gaming... though this too is always changing. At the same time however, MS has released more FPS & RTS titles than any of the competition. This is a reflection of MS trying to expand their reach in the gaming sector, which is both good and bad... but that's a discussion for another forum, chatroom, or article. B-)

Whatever you pick, or own.... enjoy! :D

[ScorLibran]

It's practically impossible to keep the kids from bickering while business trend assessments fly right over their heads. I haven't had much time for kid's games in recent years; market staying power and investment potential of the products are where my interests reside. But there are several good points in this thread regarding end product priority by individual buyers. I bought a Playstation 2 about eight years ago because I got hooked on SSX Tricky and GT3. Just as a computer purchase follows a customer's functionality requirements, so will the purchase of game consoles for kids - keeping in mind that such buying decisions are often not made by the user but by his/her parents.

[StygianAgenda]

SSX Tricky still rocks!

My friends and I call it "Tekken on Ice" because of the control scheme. ;)

[ScorLibran]

It's one of the few games I really miss playing. :8}

[AuroraDizon]

ScorLibran said:

It's practically impossible to keep the kids from bickering while business trend assessments fly right over their heads. I haven't had much time for kid's games in recent years; market staying power and investment potential of the products are where my interests reside. But there are several good points in this thread regarding end product priority by individual buyers. I bought a Playstation 2 about eight years ago because I got hooked on SSX Tricky and GT3. Just as a computer purchase follows a customer's functionality requirements, so will the purchase of game consoles for kids - keeping in mind that such buying decisions are often not made by the user but by his/her parents.

I agree with you yet to a certain point. That would be if your kid is harping for a specific game system it really does not matter that much, beyond price if the parent is willing to buy it for the child is that chances are they will buy that game system. Again that is one reason why the wii is ahead simply of cost, but "if your in for a penny your in for a pound" if they really want one thats a few more hundred you might get it for them. I think in many cases as far as regular life goes the choices of things yes do rely more on their parents then many would see, dolls etc. Although a kid can have a very strong persuasion on the parent for example choice of restaurant. If its between your not sure burger king or mcdonalds your kid starts whining about a specific toy (that can be representative in comparison to a game/gaming system) along with having a larger play area you might just go there because they want it (along with promises of this or that).

[ScorLibran]

All true. And older kids - the ones who have the most influence on what their parents buy for them - will tend to follow trends adopted by their peers. Before age 12 children are generally most influenced by their parents, and after age 12 by their friends. This has a major influence in toy and game markets, and can actually be used to predict demographic buying habits based on new or changing market trends and on the availability of popular technologies.

[jimestyle]

yea right, and this is supposedly going to happen how?
gimme a break, Wii is as hard to find at $249.95 as a silicone enhanced 25 year old virgin at a porn star awards ceremony.....
i see no reason to spend $500.00 on a game/excersize gizmo........