Wii the Death Knell of the Bleeding Edge Console? Options

[Chancer]

The PS3's blu-ray on my 1080p TV looks completely washed out and terrible and nobody at sony can help me with that.

Make them swap the PS3. Trust me that is not normal.

[MGSolidus2]

Reliability wise, the Wii and PS3 destroy the 360. I've never heard of a problem this bad before with a console.

And granted, Nintendo knows its fanbase so well because they've been here since the beginning (NES).

Why do you think that the Wii is STILL sold out everywhere, 2 years post release date? And no, it's not a failure to supply consoles.

[bucko]

I aint buying a Wii until the price drops to expensive for what you get, hell you don't even get a DVD player, of course DVD player aint necessary but if there making a profit should they at the expense of the customer with a poor games library? Theres nothing that really grabs my attention apart from the bowling games that come with it.

And I thought MS started making money on the 360 (around $10?) so I don't think Nintendo is the only one. And with Jasper on the way (65NM GPU) should help MS make even more money.

[HotKnife420]

The day all other console makers follow suit and release lackluster technology to house my games on, is the day I stop being a gamer.

Fortunately, I know even if MS & Sony followed suit, SOMEBODY'd would be ready to step up to the plate and deliver, so it's not much of an issue, I guess.

[juan_2006]

I hope not. The reason I bought a ps3 was because of its power, the blue ray drive, and amazing looking games.

[Ranger72]

Why does people consistently put the Wii in the same category as the 360 and PS3?

[stradric]

The Wii is not a hardcore gamer's console. It's not even a casual gamer's console. It's a party gamer's console, and it does well at that. The games are fun, but only because you're playing with other people and it has a social aspect.

Besides, this whole argument is very one-sided. Developers push the technology, and consoles exist to accomodate that. If MS or Sony do not fill that need, then someone else will. How about an Android-like open standard for game consoles? Then you would open up the market to all kinds of different hardware vendors.

Either way, there will always be bleeding edge consoles and there should be, otherwise people will just use their PCs to play games.

The real question is, should consoles try to be media centers? The 360 is clearly the better gaming console, but the PS3 is the better media center with its built-in bluray. Should console makers focus more on the gaming and less on the media center?

[sirsmacketh]

Reliability wise, the Wii and PS3 destroy the 360. I've never heard of a problem this bad before with a console.

And granted, Nintendo knows its fanbase so well because they've been here since the beginning (NES).

Why do you think that the Wii is STILL sold out everywhere, 2 years post release date? And no, it's not a failure to supply consoles.

I will have to agree with reliability.... however, just search you tube for PS3 and Wii problems and I'm sure you'll find your fair share of people with issues as well. Just not as widespread as the RROD issue - and lately, I haven't heard or seen too many posts of people with this issue now that MS has extended the warranty. They came clean, they're making hw changes... lets move on.

I owned the NES, SNES, but surprisingly enough, not the PS, PS2 or the Gamecube. Being the type of gamer I am was (hardcore PC) - I naturally gravitated to the XBOX and now the 360.

I happen to know a few people that work at ebgames and futureshop in my local city and the "wii" shortage is still an issue. While pallets full of 360s and PS3s roll in (20-30 consoles at a time), both these major retailers only get a couple Wii's every week. Now tell me if that's a supply issue or a demand issue.

As far as games go, the Wii has been releasing more garbage games compared to the 360 or PS3 - WTF... Major League Eating? COME ON. Seriously, who was the fucking publisher that thought this would make ANY money on ANY platform? The quality of games as well is evident in the low average reviewer score on the Wii. The sad thing is, the average consumer (moms and dads out there) don't bother reading reviews and are buying these games by the truckload only to realize... geez.. some of these games do suck (and this problem is found on ALL platforms when people don't bother to read reviews online before buying).

I have yet to see a game on the Wii that has made me say... you know... the graphics aren't that great, the sound isn't full 5.1 but god dammit, it's worth buying! - RENTING MAYBE.

The Wii is not a hardcore gamer's console. It's not even a casual gamer's console. It's a party gamer's console, and it does well at that. The games are fun, but only because you're playing with other people and it has a social aspect.

Besides, this whole argument is very one-sided. Developers push the technology, and consoles exist to accomodate that. If MS or Sony do not fill that need, then someone else will. How about an Android-like open standard for game consoles? Then you would open up the market to all kinds of different hardware vendors.

Either way, there will always be bleeding edge consoles and there should be, otherwise people will just use their PCs to play games.

The real question is, should consoles try to be media centers? The 360 is clearly the better gaming console, but the PS3 is the better media center with its built-in bluray. Should console makers focus more on the gaming and less on the media center?

LOL PS3 is a better media center because of Blu Ray? WOW. There's a shitty argument. Video formats aside, I can stream DIVX, XVID, AVI, MPG, HDWMV to my 360 from my PC. Hell, it ALMOST does a better job than my old XBOX running Xbox Media Center. As far as I know, the PS3 won't handle as many video formats as the 360 can over the network and requires ORB software running on your PC to work properly.

Hopefully this Netflix deal goes through and every single HD release in their library is released to XBOX Live Video Marketplace. That's over 10 million subscribers who have access to HD video as opposed to 1.6 million people with stand alone Blu Ray players - looks like Michael Bay COULD be right

This post has been edited by sirsmacketh: Mar 26 2008, 05:00 PM

[Chancer]

As far as I know, the PS3 won't handle as many video formats as the 360

It handles more.

[sirsmacketh]

It handles more.

Well damn Thanks Chancer In that case.. the PS3 is the better media center... but NOT simply because it has Blu Ray.

[kowrip]

I think this has more to do with the fact that graphics and console power mean less and less with the newer consoles. We've reached a point where most games look so good that game content is much more important. We've only gotten to this point within the past few years. Before that, each generation was such a huge leap over the previous that power and graphics made such a huge impact. So, companies had more of a reason to put as much power in the consoles, even if it made them much more expensive. Frankly, I can't see power/graphics being that much better in the next generation. I think it will come down to what extras the system offers us and how good the games are.

[spinr34]

just because the business model worked for nintendo doesn't mean that it will work for everyone else or that everyone else should use it. i don't play my Wii for a reason, the games are horrible. from the graphics, to the sound to the gameplay. the "intuitive" control is lame. sure, it's fun and perfect for some games, but i'd rather have a 360 or ps3 control in my hands for racing games, for shooters, action, etc. but if you want to play bowling, the wiimote is perfect. i don't see any reason for sony or microsoft to change how they make consoles. everyone wants to make money but at the same time, without trying to put the latest technology into consoles, could be the death of them too. no matter how much people say "oh, i care more about gameplay than graphics", the first thing people always look at are screenshots. then usually a preview, then trailer, then demo, then retail copy. people want these new features in their machines, and having a bunch of "cost effective" consoles in the next gen will result in me not buying one.

[halcyonx12]

The Wii is not a hardcore gamer's console. It's not even a casual gamer's console. It's a party gamer's console, and it does well at that. The games are fun, but only because you're playing with other people and it has a social aspect.

The reason a lot of hardcore gamers have this attitude is because they go to the store and they see a lot of games they don't want to buy, but that doesn't take away from the games that are available. Horses have blinders on so they just focus on what they're doing and don't freak out when they see something else, maybe hardcore gamers need those too

In reality, the Wii's a great system for single player games... Super Mario Galaxy, Bully (less problems with bugs too), RE4, RE:UC, No More Heroes, Twilight Princess, Call of Duty, Metroid Prime 3, Manhunt 2, Mushroom Men, NiGHTS, Soulcalibur Legends, Godfather, Scarface, Ghostbusters, Naruto, Ghost Squad, Endless Ocean, there are a lot of single player games out now and more coming out in all categories. A lot of other games that aren't just single player but non-casual as well, such as Mortal Kombat, Excite Truck, Super Smash Bros: Brawl, Dragon Ball Z, etc.

This post has been edited by halcyonx12: Mar 26 2008, 10:27 PM

[Altima NEO]

I really doubt its the end of that. With PC gaming slowly taking a backseat to console gaming, the high end games still need the beefy hardware to run on, and lets face it, eye candy sells. Wii may be selling like hotcakes, but its attach rate is ass because its loaded with shovelware. You look at 360 selling well because of high end games like Gears of War, Halo, etc. PS3 is gonna do the same once Metal Gear and FFXIII comes out, which I doubt would sell as well if it werent for the shiny graphics..

[DMAddict]

I have a Wii. It just goes by a different name, 'Zsnexbox' I just stand up while playing it and flail my arms about.