• 15May 08

  Next-Gen War

  
  

  IMPORTANT NOTICE: The following article contains content that may make fanboys uncomfortable. Much of the content is that of my own opinion. Don't like it? Feel free to form your own opinion. I will be looking at the three next-gen video game consoles, on a variety of different categories, and determining a winner.

  Exclusive Games -Present

  Games are the most important part of any console. A console is only as good as the games it has available, and more specifically, the exclusive games, or games that only appear on a particular console.

  Xbox 360: With games like Halo, Bioshock, and Mass Effect, the 360 is a First-Person Shooter fan's heaven. Throw in Gears of War and Fable and you've got a solid lineup.

  PlayStation 3: A bit of a rough first year still turned out great games such as Resistance: Fall

  of Man, Uncharted: Drakes Fortune,

  Heavenly Sword, and Warhawk.

  Nintendo Wii: Amongst the crappy shovelware that comes when you're the most popular system on the planet are amazing games such as Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Metroid Prime 3, and The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

  Winner: PlayStation3

  Exclusive Games - Future

  This generation is only a couple of years old, and there will be many more games coming down the pipe. Now that we've seen which console has had the best games already released, lets take a look at which system will keep players coming back for more.

  Xbox 360: Sequels will reign supreme on the 360 in 2008, highlighted by Ninja Gaiden 2, Gears Of War 2, and Fable 2.

  PlayStation 3: Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet, and Eight Days, among others, make 2008 the PS3's to lose. And lose it they can, if Sony fails to keep the release dates for these much anticipated games.

  Nintendo Wii: Wii Fit may sell systems, but is it a worthwhile purchase? Disaster: Day Of Crisis looks interesting, but will it live up to hype? Unless Nintendo shows something promising at E3, 2008 may be a down year for the Wii.

  Winner: PlayStation 3

  Internet Gaming

  The internet generation has been demanding more and more online features for their games. Online play can greatly enhance the replayablity of a game Many of today's games are maligned if they don't have some sort of online play available.

  Xbox 360: The Godfather so to speak of internet gaming, Microsoft launched Xbox Live way back with the first Xbox, and

  it has only continued to grow and get better.

  PlayStation3: Sony does do some things right when it comes to online, the main one of them being the offering of a free service. The much publicized "Home" service may get the PS3 on the same level as the 360...if it ever gets released.

  Nintendo Wii: Nintendo does a lot of things right with the Wii, but online is definitely not one of them. Friend codes are unnecessarily frustrating, and having different codes for every game is just painfully moronic. Throw in a system where you connect and pray you find someone else who is connected, and you find Nintendo way behind the standard that was set last generation.

  Winner: Xbox 360

  Future Proof

  With HDTV's becoming more and more the norm, high-resolution games with jaw dropping graphics are expected now more than ever. There have already been some amazing looking games on the systems, but which will be able to continue to raise the bar?

  Xbox 360: Games coming out on the 360 currently look amazing, so the question is how much better can they begin to look? Will the DVD storage media begin to hold this system back 3 or 4 years down the road?

  PlayStation 3: Sony made the PS3 a difficult system to design for, and as a result early games were not looking as good as their 360 counterparts. Developers have since begun to figure out the hardware, and games are now at least on par with the 360. The Blu-Ray disc may give the PS3 the edge down the road.

  Nintendo Wii: Nintendo is obviously not relying on high-definition graphics to sell the system. They will have to continue to push out fun and accessible games if they want to continue to compete with the other two more powerful systems.

  Winner: PlayStation3

  Extra Features

  Game consoles are much more than just game consoles these days. They can double as movie players, music players...really whole media centers. Which system really gives you the most bang for your buck?

  Xbox 360: The 360 can easily stream music, video, and pictures from your PC so you can view them on your TV. You can also have wireless gaming, and an HD-DVD player, if your willing to shell out some extra money to get them.

  PlayStation3: Built in Blu Ray player? Check. Built in wireless? Check. Shared media server? Check. Bluetooth connectivity? Check. Internet browser? Check. Connectivity with Sony's PSP handheld? Check. Sony gives a lot of very useful features with the PS3.

  Nintendo Wii: The Wii's Virtual Console feature allows fans of retro games to relive many ****c gaming moments with games dating back to the first Nintendo System. There is also a useful internet browser, as well as a couple not as useful but still entertaining channels; one where you can answer poll questions, and one to show off different Mii avatars you've created.

  Winner: PlayStation3

  Design

  This category has nothing to do with how well a certain system performs, or the games that are available for it. It is by far the least important category. And still, the same way a house must have a certain "curb appeal", a console must have a certain, uh, "shelf appeal."

  Xbox 360: More or less just a plain white box. The concave curves give it some appeal, as does the green light when it's on. It's just not much appeal.

  PlayStation3: A sleek black gloss finish with chrome trim, plus touch sensitive buttons, make this one hell of a sexy machine.

  Nintendo Wii: Another relatively plain white box...that is, until that sexy blue light comes on. It's too bad Nintendo didn't allow that light to be on at all times.

  Winner: PlayStation 3

  Overall Winner

  PlayStation 3

  • Posted May 15, 2008 11:18 pm PT
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