Now that I own all three current gen gaming systems I’ve been trying to decide which one is the best. I’ve decided to break it down in to categories.
Games: Wii
Really the most important category and also the easiest one to debate. I have two dozen Wii games now and one and a half dozen Xbox360 games. The Wii has far delivered by far the most on it’s franchise. There’s a mario game, a metroid game, a smash bro’s, a mario party, a zelda, several RPGs, a paper mario, a sonic and a wario game. And all of these are quite good. Wii games also cost significantly less than most games around. However, they also look significantly worse.
Backports: Wii
I would have given this to the PS3 except that the PS3 has pulled all PS2 support out of it’s newest models. The Wii has a significant Gamecube library. It’s not huge but it’s got some gems. The Xbox360 has poor backwards compatibility. Too bad PS3, the PS1 and PS2 libraries are not only huge, they’re also the best games.
Price: Wii
You really can’t beat the price of this thing. The games are cheaper too. I just wish the wii controllers were rechargeable. The PS3 price problems were always over hyped and ultimately mine was a lot cheaper than the Xbox360. Mine doesn’t have HD, HDMI, wireless, or a large HD like the PS3 has. And I had to spend $100 on a wireless adapter. I’d like to see the Xbox360 and PS3 in the $300 range but you do get a lot for your money here.
Availability: Xbox360
Your mileage may vary but there seems to always be plenty of these around in whatever flavor you’d like. The Wii is still a little hard to find and with PS3 models changing all the time it can be very tough to find the one you want.
Graphics: Xbox360
The PS3 should be more powerful but games really seem to look better on the Xbox360. It’s hard to say for exclusive titles though. And this might come down to personal preference. The games on either system are gorgeous. The Wii on the other hand will be forced to LOOSE points for having such crappy graphics. I know, I know, it’s supposed to be about the game play. But all the games look the same, and look like they did on the Gamecube 5 years ago. I think it will hurt the Wii longevity and the novelty of the wii controller may certainly wear off.
Network Play: PS3
The Wii looses points here for really, really bad user experience. MarioKart and SmashBros had great internet play potential and both fail miserably in practice. Live has been the long touted champion of online gaming. And I like it, maybe even better than PC network play sometimes. But having to pay for that? Instant turn off. Especially for MMORPGs where you need to pay for Live *and* the MMO service. PS3 is free, it works seemlessly, it wins.
Multitasking: PS3
The Xbox360 can do streaming media but it excels on the PS3. The interface is much easier to navigate. Having the large storage available and full USB device support is also perfect. My version has many different media slots and then there’s Blu-Ray. If I haven’t been playing Soul Calibur I’ve been watching movies on this thing. I’m really getting my moneys worth out of it. For icing on the cake, using Remote Play on my PSP allows me to have most of this functionality while laying in bed or sitting at Starbucks.
Controllers: All
Everyone is paying attention. I can’t pick a winner because each controller is quite good. The Wiimote lacks a rechargable system which really hurts it but the novely makes up for it. The system also takes Gamecube controllers still. The Xbox360 controller fits my hands well, the triggers are excellent and it just feels great. The PS3 controller keeps its classic design which is great. The rumble is back. The best thing though is that every controller is wireless and every controller can turn on and off the system. This makes life so much better for me.
Games a la carte: N/A
This isn’t a feature I care about. I don’t want to spend $10 to buy an old game for a new system. Especially since I probably already have it. You can get cute little third party games though but these can be very hit or miss. Being able to demo these before buying would make a lot more sense.
Overall Winner: Meh
If you want a gaming machine, get a PC. The Wii, the current market leader, has some nice games but mine has been off for a while now. The library is still a little small and many of the games are starting to feel, or at least look, pretty similar. Why isn’t there a good bowling game or sword fighting game for it? The Xbox360 has a disgustingly small library even though it stole some 3rd party love from Sony. GTA4 might be the killer app for either big system. Next gen titles seem to be very short or very unfun. But they look great! There are some good ones here or there but nothing worth the hefty pricetag.
After being on the market this long I’d expect a much better fleshed out library and a lot more exclusive or original titles for all of the systems. They all seem to be doing the same thing the Gamecube library did. An okay game once in a while isn’t really okay.
If you’re going to buy a system though it should be the Wii. It’s the only system without inflated prices.