The Next Generation of Gaming Consoles
History of the Last Gen Sony had the #1 Console (PS2), was also the oldest and weakest, but had strong developer support Newcomer, Microsoft X-Box, attracted more mature gamers with its power and adult oriented games Nintendo lost a lot of its fan base due to its lack of support for its middle powered, kid-friendly console, the GameCube
Market Strategies Everyone knew that this next generation was going to be difficult to win with such steep competition
Microsoft s Look-around They wanted a console which. HD graphics Robust online play Unified community Backwards compatible Familiar to old players Customizable Integrated media player
Xbox 360
Xbox 360 Dashboard
360 Stats Triple core PowerPC at 3.2GHz ATI GPU 512MB at 700MHz 3 USB slots, two up front, one in the back HDMI (elite), Component, VGA or composite cables for connection to TV 20 GB removable Hard Drive or 120GB (elite) Tray loading drive uses DVDs and can read cds and dvds, plus an additional drive add-on can read HD-DVDs Up to 4 wireless controllers similar in design to first xbox Port in controllers to plug in Headset Ethernet port and can use wireless with adaptor 2 versions with a 3 rd coming out end of april $299 for core, $399 for premium, $479 for elite
What this means. HD graphics capable of 480i-1080p (although only HDMI and VGA connection can be used for 1080p) Can only play HD-DVD movies with additional drive Robust Xbox Live community with most every game online Ipod and other mp3 players can plug into it Can connect with windows based PCs Downloadable TV episodes, movies, HD movies, music, games, demos, additional content
Sony s Dominance or Demise Having the most developers and having the highest selling console and fan base, Sony decides to take advantage of it Possibly too much advantage
Wanting to push blu-ray, a technology it owns, sony decides to make this the format of the PS3 Developers find blu-ray much to expensive of a format Sony s console will use state-of-the-art cell processors to power it, again expensive Sony had an original controller design but got rid of it in favor of the almost exact same controller design they have had since PS1 They want it to push HD graphics to the max and be wi-fi with free online gameplay
PlayStation 3
PS3 Interface
Sony Home
PS3 Stats 3.2 GHz cell processor Nvidia GPU of 256MBs at 650MHz 20gb ($499) or 60gb ($599) hard drives Plays blu-ray discs, dvds, cds through slot loading drive Memory card slots for SD, memory stick, xd, Compactflash on $599 version Backwards compatible USB slots HDMI, component, composite cables for video Wireless controllers (with some motion sensing) using bluetooth up to 4, possibly 7 $499 or $599
What this means HD graphics form 480i-1080p (no HD cables come with the console unlike 360) Online play is free Media player abilities Can watch blu-ray movies cheaper than current blu-ray players Lots of computing power for advanced AI
Nintendo s new style The company realized that they could not compete monetarily with the machines of Microsoft and Sony, who could afford any and everything So they tried a new, radical approach by making these necessary requirements for their new console
Cheap manufacturing costs Easy to develop for Small and efficient Innovative Allows for new people to join the gaming industry (grandparents, parents, women) What did they come up with
The Nintendo Wii
Nunchuck add-on to the wii remote to allow for more involved gameplay Wii Classic controller to allow for classic style gameplay of downloaded games from Nintendo and Sega past
The Console Interface
The Wii Stats PowerPC Processor clocked at 729MHz ATI GPU Processor clocked at 243MHz Over 100MB of ram memory 512 MB of built in flash memory for storing games and data SD card slot Slot driven disc drive capable of playing both Wii DVDs and GameCube mini-dvds 2 USB slots 4 GameCube controller ports and 2 memory card ports Up to 4 wireless Wii controllers using bluetooth technology The ability to use GameCube contollers along with Wii controllers for possibility of 8 player games Wi-Fi out of the box Wii controllers have an accessory port to allow controller add-ons to plug in Sensor bar for mouse-like pointer ability Can use Component cables for up to 480p resolution $250 for console
What this all means The Nintendo Wii is the weakest of the new systems only 2.5 times as powerful as its predecessor and 1.5 times as powerful as the first Xbox The Wii s controllers are all motion sensing and can point in precision like a mouse. The Wii is not in HD, but is much cheaper to produce for Wii channels offer new ideas
Advantages/disadvantages Xbox 360 pro Cheaper than PS3 with minimal to no loss on graphic quality Comes with all the cables necessary for HD and online play Xbox live has largest user base for any online community and the xbox live arcade downloadable games Downloadable TV and movies are taking off fast Has largest library of games due to its release a year before competitors
PS3 Pro Most powerful console Home Sony s new 3d Avatar based virtual world (like the sims) is used for online community and gaming Blu-ray player Downloadable games SIXAXIS motion sensing (although not near as advanced as the Wii s) Linux support
Wii pro Cheapest choice New style of gameplay using motion sensing and pointing New types of games New types of players Virtual console downloadable classics Opera Browser support Largest base of exlusive franchises Miis
Xbox 360 cons It is the middle console No motion sensing at all Does not use bluetooth Not as broad of a genre and age base as Nintendo and Sony Too many versions
PS3 cons Too expensive, puts it way out of reach of many customers Least exclusives thanks to lost support No rumble feature in the controller Poor marketing Too much reliance of fan base If blu-ray fails.
Wii cons Expensive controllers Not many deep games as of now Not capable of HD graphics Little memory for downloaded games Poor online support Too much reliance on franchises Not as much multi-media features
What this means. The final choice is yours There is no better console they all have their own strengths and weaknesses PS3 and Xbox 360 are very similar in both games and power PS3 is selling very poorly due to its high price Wii is selling the best in time but over Xbox 360 has sold more due to its longer length of availability
The general rules Non-gamers should get the wii RPG lovers and HD movie fanatics should get a PS3 First-person shooter fans should get an xbox 360 Two huge advantages the wii has is that it is cheap enough to have it and one of the other consoles and its appeal to new gamers and non-gamers which could swing the war in its favor.. But keep in mind that it is the quality of games which will sell the system more than anything
Sources www.ign.com www.wikipedia.com