Next Gen Wars Questions

Post by **Abras** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 11:24 am

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but I'd like to know where the "retro crowd" stands on this. Which is your favorite of the 3 so far? Which one do you think is going to "win"? Why? I know money might be a constraint, so which would you choose if money wasn't an issue? What games are you looking forward to?

Post by **racketboy** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 1:14 pm

I was asked this question a while back. Here's what I thought...

I think Sony was getting overly arrogant after the PS2's success and now they are going to have a big stumble. Nintendo realized they needed to shake things up after the mediocre success of the N64 and Gamecube and it is definitely working. Microsoft learned from most of their mistakes with the original XBox and is still plugging away and is looking to be a major player despite some people writing them off right away.

The XBox 360 seems to be doing much better than the original XBox in many ways, but I still think the price point is keeping it from getting bigger (I can't afford one right now). The hardware seems to be very solid (but I'm holding for a more silent version) and the software support is getting better all the time (stealing PS3 exclusives left and right). XBox Live Arcade is also getting a lot of excellent games that I think are more attractive than nearly all the Wii Virtual Console games so far.

The Wii is off to an excellent start due to its attractiveness to non-gamers. I work in an office with lots of 40-50-year olds -- many of which are women. I'm blown away by how many of them talk about how great the Wii is and how much fun they have playing it with their families. And like Nintendo's DS, it just has a great gimmick that gives developers the ability to make innovative games that they would not have otherwise been able to do. As I touched on before, I'm a bit disappointed so far with the Virtual Console after all its initial hype.

Because it is so different, I don't see the Wii taking over the "Console War", but I am a firm believer in the whole "Wii 360" thing. The Wii is perfect for casual gamers and will sell a lot that way. In fact, in the long term, it will probably end up being the biggest seller of the bunch. The 360 will be the most popular with the hardcore gamers and will have a respectable library of its own. Most dedicated gamers will probably own both a 360 and a Wii.

As for the Playstation 3, it's not looking good. The Playstation 2 got off to a slow start as well, but I don't see the PS3 recovering quite as well. The price point is just too high, and developers are getting discouraged by the slow sales and are lured in by the established 360 audience and the hot demand for the Wii. It really all comes down to developer support and Sony is losing it fast.

Post by **Mozgus** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 2:25 pm

Racket nailed it. Nothing I can really add to that. Though I personally still don't plan on buying any of them. I just stay retro, and use my PC to occasionally play modern games or games with online functionality.

Post by **racketboy** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 3:07 pm

Mozgus wrote:Racket nailed it. Nothing I can really add to that. Though I personally still don't plan on buying any of them. I just stay retro, and use my PC to occasionally play modern games or games with online functionality.

Yeah, I probably won't buy any of them until they go below $200.
Besides, I rarely pay more than $20 for a game, so that also defeats the purpose of owning a new console.

Post by **Espio 1919** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 5:45 pm

PS3 is starting to remind more and more of the Saturn each day; too high a price, losing 3rd party support, and its first party games aren't that great right now. I'm not sure how easy or difficult it is to program on the cell processor though, Sony's geared this thing too much towards being a multimedia powerhouse than a gaming machine. The real answer of what'll happen to PS3 will likely begin to surface this fall, and if their last big exclusives jump ship or bomb (I'm talking about MGS4 and FFXIII); then I don't expect to see much of PS3 after 2008.

Post by **marurun** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 6:07 pm

Wow, Racketboy, your philosophy about when to buy and how much to pay is frighteningly similar to my own.

Post by **Mozgus** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 6:23 pm

Espio 1919 wrote:PS3 is starting to remind more and more of the Saturn each day; too high a price, losing 3rd party support, and its first party games aren't that great right now. I'm not sure how easy or difficult it is to program on the cell processor though, Sony's geared this thing too much towards being a multimedia powerhouse than a gaming machine. The real answer of what'll happen to PS3 will likely begin to surface this fall, and if their last big exclusives jump ship or bomb (I'm talking about MGS4 and FFXIII); then I don't expect to see much of PS3 after 2008.

FFXIII isn't exclusive anymore. It's been confirmed this week.

Post by **manasol** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 6:55 pm

The worse and worse the PS3 does the more I want one!!

(It would be great if there was a cunning smiley like Mozgus' avatar. So that's what I am expressing. LOL)

Anyway a cell processor and all that other technical advancenessliness, lol, I can't wait to see what type of media pc it will be. I want to hack it and eat it up with Linux and emulators. Ahem* wireless dreamcast solution PS3 in a few years.

Post by **racketboy** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 7:06 pm

Espio 1919 wrote:PS3 is starting to remind more and more of the Saturn each day; too high a price, losing 3rd party support, and its first party games aren't that great right now. I'm not sure how easy or difficult it is to program on the cell processor though, Sony's geared this thing too much towards being a multimedia powerhouse than a gaming machine. The real answer of what'll happen to PS3 will likely begin to surface this fall, and if their last big exclusives jump ship or bomb (I'm talking about MGS4 and FFXIII); then I don't expect to see much of PS3 after 2008.

But at least Sega's first party stuff was Sega's. I can't stand it when people go on about how they love their PS3. It's like what exactly are you playing on it????

Post by **manasol** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 7:11 pm

Like the PSP when I preordered it. I bought Lumines, Ridge Racer, and rented ape Escape. Oh, I got over them quickly and then I had nothing else to play. Just waiting on hacks and I eventually sold it to a bro and got it back with a broken screen since he didn't play it much at all.

LOL! I like what racket posted above!