The current generation of consoles may be the best that has ever come. All three systems offer a distinct experience, but remain similar enough to keep comparisons relevant. Rumors of the next generation are beginning to leak out, and with that, we enter into the last hurrah of this generation’s arms race. Who is positioned to win?
Nintendo’s Wii launched out of the gate like it had a rocket attached to its little motion sensing body. It did so well, in fact, that motion sensing controls were quickly moved out of the “gimmick” category and are being developed by Nintendo’s competitors. The Wii had two Achilles’ heels: First off, it cannot keep up in terms of presentation. The choice to not offer full HD or contemporary graphical technology has hurt the system’s appeal to the mainstream gaming audience. The other problem comes in its lack of marquee titles. Like most Nintendo consoles, the Wii has offered top notch first party options, but lacked high quality third party support. Few non-Nintendo gems hit the console, and they were drowned by the mass of mediocre titles that used the motion sensing to sell. All of that said, the Wii has dominated the casual gaming market. Is that enough to take it to victory this generation?
Sony had a head start after two clear victories with the Playstation and PS2, but that momentum died when the PS3 had a hard timing getting off of the store shelves because of its price tag. It became the console of choice for tech geeks, but average gamers didn’t buy into it. Casual audiences wouldn’t even consider the investment. The consequent lack of sales turned third party developers away. Third party support was Sony’s strength in past generations. This was another major blow. But after a few price cuts and the PS3 Slim, a comeback is on its way. A few blockbuster releases have blazed a trail to increased sales as well. That Blu-Ray drive hasn’t hurt either. All of this comes together to make the PS3 strong at this point in the race. But did it get too far behind to make a viable comeback?
Mechanical ineptness has somehow not destroyed the Xbox 360’s legacy. Microsoft’s console came strong out of the gates as a device that was technically proficient for the serious gamer, but still in the price range of casual audiences. This made it a perfect middle ground between the Wii and PS3. As such, sales went well and third party support seemed endless, creating balance between hardcore and family titles. The Xbox 360 has usurped the PS2’s role as the center of the living room.
At this point, it looks like the Wii is fading away in this arms race. Sure, many families that never played games before have invested in the system, but it hasn’t done enough to bring in the bulk of the gaming audience. The PS3, on the other hand, started like a sloth and has turned into a gazelle as it is steadily moving back into its usual place of prominence. But with all of that in mind, the Xbox 360 has to be in the lead. The PS3 could make a valiant comeback, but any gain could be too little too late. Nintendo, on the other hand, should be setting its attention on getting its technology up to date for the next generation since everyone else will have motion sensing by then.
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Shitty opinion piece. Poorly written.
Lance (December 24th, 2009 @ 1:25 am)
Worst opinion ever, 360 is going to lose, and PS3 has too little sales to catch up to Wii, but hey the PS2 still sells
Josh (December 24th, 2009 @ 4:15 am)
Lets just see what happens, you never know what might happen in the future, who knows maybe the dreamcast will win
Drake (December 24th, 2009 @ 4:17 am)
Wait, whats a PS3?
Jack (December 24th, 2009 @ 4:18 am)
OMG. this is what gaming journalism has fallen to; crap piece after crap piece. What a joke…
tassadar (December 24th, 2009 @ 4:33 am)
the 360 had the head start not the ps3. also the 360 had the weakest 1st year
wow (December 24th, 2009 @ 4:36 am)
I think this article sums up the console wars nicely. For those of you who don’t understand – anyone can still win, but the ultimate winner is the consumer because the innovation necessary to 1 up a competitor means better and more innovative games for all.
Dirk (December 24th, 2009 @ 4:41 am)
lmao this article just show 360 fanboys r getting hella desperate they need to write an article to make themselves feel better rofl!!!
yall 360 fanboys better use maxi pads ur sensitive vagina r bleeding lmao!!!
haha (December 24th, 2009 @ 5:32 am)
the thing u retards always forget is that the 360 came out a year earlier, thus giving it more time for sales and a bigger library, if they all would have come out at the same time the ps3 would be, in fact, ahead of the 360. but, that year actually helped the ps3 and wii, it gave them time to scope out the 360s flaws, like no browser, of built in wifi, now the ps3 and wii have both of those, and the 360 sadly does not. which will eventually come back to bite microsoft and put the xbox in last place, like its predecessor.
iuhgih (December 24th, 2009 @ 6:07 am)
The times are changing. And I’m not talking about the “console wars”. Bad references, bad articles, shitty opinions no gamers care about. These articles feel one sided and more like a quick cash in. Gaming Journalism is creating it’s own Hollywood. I feel like you all are trying to sell me something on TV
swice (December 24th, 2009 @ 6:20 am)
Stupid pshitt3 fans are so stupid. They always bring out the 1 year headstart that the 360 had. Brag all u want but the fact is that the 360 is ahead of pshitt3 for about 8 million consoles. You stupid pshitt3 fans can say anything about the 360 but truth is that the 360 sells more games than your shitty3 and a way better online service than your home crap, lol. Sony is crap just like the overpriced underperforming electronics they make. Why do you think Panasonic, LG, Sharp and Toshiba sell more consumer electronics than Sony. Let’s not forget the King of electronics, SAMSUNG!! The same with video game systems, Microsoft is and will be ahead of Sony this generation and the next. Let’s not forget Microsoft is way more powerful than Sony in power and money wise. Don’t beleave me all you stupid Sony fantwats, then do your researche before you fucks look stupid posting crap you know nothing about. P.S., even with all the rrods the 360 has, people still buy the system because it’s awsome and you can bitch all you want cause no one cares about your shitt3 when we are playing XBOX Live.
Edgar (December 24th, 2009 @ 7:27 am)
“people still buy the system because it’s awsome and you can bitch all you want cause no one cares about your shitt3 when we are playing XBOX Live”
i spot an xbot.
Doug (December 24th, 2009 @ 8:11 am)
WTF. There would be a “huge” difference between Xbox360 released in 07 than in 06. Technology shifted hard in those years. MS secured the strongest Graphics card for that year, so in 07 it would be even better. Also, it could of made HD-DVD it’s main platform and still survive today. In fact, it could do more testing and destroy the RROD.
And ultimately PS3 would lose if they did release together because of it’s insane as hell price vs value.
Think again PS3 fanboys. You need to see from both POVs before you talk smack.
Dubya (December 24th, 2009 @ 8:45 am)
Why do readers assume these observation articles are biased? They simply state the current gaming situation. 360 – sub par construction with great software released early, good on them for shooting for #1. PS3 – quality unit bottlenecked by it’s own GPU – thanks fir moving tech forward Sony, your customers will come. Wii – thanks for changing the game and putting Nintendo back in the spotlight after all the years! Great year!
BrianTampa (December 24th, 2009 @ 2:43 pm)
LOL UR NAMES EDGAR
iuhgih (December 24th, 2009 @ 3:13 pm)
Edgar’s parents obviously beat him as a child…..how sad. Xbox 360 has a 6 million lead worldwide over PS3 after a 1 year head start, that’s pathetic. Also, the 6 million lead is rapidly dissapearing because the shitbox 3shitty is dead in Japan. Not surprising seeing as how it has no exclusive games and last – gen graphics. You 360 retards really are pathetic, trying to defend a console with no exclusives, faulty hardware and an outdated online service most of you are actually dumb enough to PAY for…….LOL, how stupid can you morons be?
David Macphail (December 24th, 2009 @ 3:20 pm)
The Ps3 to Xbox 360 gap is now 5.7 million the ps3 is outselling the xbox by about 150 000 a week world wide
The Ps3 outsells the xbox 360 in europe by 150 000 or so
The ps3 outsells the xbox every week by 20-50 000
The Xbox outsells the ps3 by 10 000 to 50 000 units in america every week.
Xbox 360 is less than half the price of a ps3 in europe america, and especially uk, i can’t understand MS business strategy, they not running their business in a sustainable way, all they doing is throwing money around. As soon as they stop people will stop helping, them Microsoft paid for exclusives in japan, the developers did do their best on the xbox 360, and actually used the ps3 to fund their ps3 development wtf!
i like microsoft they still way in the lead, but i wish they could act like a practical company.
Look what happened to HD DVD, it was much cheaper than blue ray but it still lost!
MS better hope Natal is much better than the ps3 eye toy!
lans@tuks.co.za (December 24th, 2009 @ 4:28 pm)
The Dreamcast will win.
Benjamin Blank (December 24th, 2009 @ 4:40 pm)
Artful Dodger (January 5th, 2010 @ 9:00 pm)
Dreamcast = worst console ever. ;p
JGifford (January 7th, 2010 @ 9:53 pm)
Sega Genesis = Surprise hit of the generation.
Tim New (December 24th, 2009 @ 6:53 pm)
both microsoft & nintendo had opportunity after opportunity but still up their own opportunities to capitalize on their own sucess but sony is not wasting time capitalizing on their own sucess & making the most out of it.you people wonder why sony has been such a force to reckon with in the gaming industry since the original playstation it’s because they don’t rest on sucess they push it forward.
solid snake (December 24th, 2009 @ 9:42 pm)
u all suck!!
u are all dik heads (December 28th, 2009 @ 6:51 pm)
1.its free to use the online 2. people who don’t buy ps3 nd go 2 that crap box it just means they cant aford it( Losers ).3. its better 4.IT LOOKS better 5. x-box well allround the fucking SUCK DICK CHEASE!!!
u people don't know why the ps3 is so good (December 28th, 2009 @ 6:54 pm)
I find myself quite disturbed at the ‘Shit Review’ comments. If you want to add something constructive, feel free to. But purely posting 2 or 3 words ripping apart the author is unfair. If you wish to try and write a better piece, do so.
@Nick Kakolowski – Although I may not agree entirely with what you have expressed, it was an interesting read.
Kris Bennett (January 11th, 2010 @ 8:45 am)