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The problem is, it's no longer launch day. People expect to be able to walk into a shop and buy what they want. The PS3 is available. So our options are currently paying ~£450 ($924 at today's rate) for a PS3 or trying to pay £180 for a console we can't have.
Yes, their marketing is clearly superior.
It's a simple concept called supply and demand. You learn about it in any economics class, but since you obviously haven't taken one, here is a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_and_demand
They are using this to their advantage...keeping the demand high.
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PS3 and 360 is a traditional console with focus on graphics and sound quality, and versatility, like being able to play HD-DVD and synching with your PC and stuff, while the Wii, is all about Gameplay, and new ways to freshen up old concepts.
Has this become our definition of a traditional came console?! I object! That is not my definition at all! Did the Nintendo, SuperNes, N64, Sega Genesis, or Atari (all noted as traditional game consoles) focus on graphics and sound quality, and the ability to play HD-DVDs? I don't think so!
A traditional game console is a game console that focuses on gameplay! That is why everyone loves to go back to their 8-bit Nintendo games! The gameplay is amazing!
I don't consider the PS3 a traditional game console. I don't want all that extra crap to play HD-DVDs and such. I could care less. Personally, if I want to play a movie, I will buy a regular DVD (or rent one from RedBox). I will then go home and play that movie on my $30 DVD player which I bought from WalMart. I could care less about paying Sony an extra butt-load of cash for their Blu-Ray technology. I don't want to pay out of my pocket for what they claim to be better graphics. If I want good graphics, I will play Doom 3 on my PC. PC is far better graphics then any game console anyways.
Nintendo got it right. By my definition of a "traditional game console", I choose to call it the Nintendo Wii, because the Nintendo Wii focuses on gameplay! That's what makes a game console good!
Now...when it comes to innovation, the Nintendo Wii is also the most innovative! Traditional and innovative? Indeed...it is the best. PS3 is a bunch of crap.
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The wii costs like ½ of aPS3, but has very poor performance. The people that would by a Wii, is essentially the same kind of people that would buy a Mac (Yay, sweeping generalizations!).
What do you consider poor performance? Are you one of those guys that has to have blazingly amazing graphics or else you can't live? I'm sorry.
Oh...and by the way...Macs are good computers (that's just a side note).
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I don't buy the "our graphics are better" line of defense any more. Graphics are nothing more than pictures to look at. Graphics are boring. Give me an actual game to play, with challenges a bit more than "hit the buttons in this order", "shoot them in the head", or "talk to everyone in the game". (Which is why Nethack continues to be awesome, while Madden '05 is in the bargain bin.)
I echo that.
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I guarantee the Hyundai Accent sells better than the BMW M6, but does that make it a better car?
It's a different concept here, however. Even though sales are a big factor, we are also taking innovation. If you want to talk about sheer processing power, then of course, PS3 is the more powerful console. Nobody can deny that....but does that make it better? Not necessarily.
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I think the Wii is just a system everybody will buy, but nobody will play. Something that you only use when a lot of people are over.
I think that's a good thing, personally. It's unhealthy to sit at home all day by yourself and play Halo. I have a good friend who got a 0.0 GPA one semester in college because it's literally all he did. We can draw a few conclusions from that. #1: my friend probably needs to learn self control, and so do all other Halo/Counter-Strike/World-of-Warcraft addicts. #2: an addicting video game isn't necessarily a good thing.
Nintendo wants people to have fun, and be active while playing. This encourages groups of people to play, and thus have social interaction. That is good. I am not saying that the Nintendo Wii cannot be played by oneself, because it surely can...but Nintendo wants people to have a social life...which I think is a good thing. I, for one, don't want to waste my life.
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I do have a problem with Microsoft and Sony. Reach
into your bag of tired ol' internet cliches and call it fanboyism
or whatever the hell you want. But both companies lack even
the slightest amount of creativity, originality or even insight.
I echo that.
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If you're a developer and you want to release a game using the best technology, to test your skills, to release a game with an ambitious story, you won't go to wii.
Excuse me?! So if I want my game to have a good story, according to you, I can't use a game console that has a little less processing power? Darn...I guess I will just have to throw in the towel and admit that all those amazingly cool NES games just had crappy gameplay and story lines....because no game that runs on a console with less power than the PS3 can have an ambitious story.
If I want to "test my skills", as you say, then I will program to the best of my ability, and write algorithms and code that is efficient and innovative. I can do this whether I write games for the Wii or the PS3. I think I will go for the Wii.
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Do you think you can play, say Quake 4 (since you mentioned it), taking full advantage of this type of controller?
Actually I think that would be loads of fun.
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So maybe you don't want to get off your butt and move around, that's your prerogative. But I think introducing more physical activity into video game playing IS innovative.
I agree 100%.
All right, now lets look at some hard facts:
According to Wikipedia the Wii has sold 8.6 million units, while the PS3 is trailing at 3.9. The Xbox360, with its 1 year head start, is at 11 million.
The Nintendo DS has sold over 40 million units, while the PSP trails at about 25 million units.
Also from Wikipedia:
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On June 4, 2007, it was announced that the Wii was outselling the PlayStation 3 by a five-to-one margin in Japan.[51]. As of July 3 2007, this has increased to a margin of six to one.
Also from Wikipedia:
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Conversely, the PS3 was given the number-eight spot on PC World magazine’s list of “The Top 21 Tech Screwups of 2006,” where it was criticized for being “Late, Expensive, and Incompatible.”[147] GamesRadar ranked the PS3 as the top item in a feature about game-related PR disasters, asking how Sony managed to "take one of the most anticipated game consoles of all time and — within the space of a year — turn it into a hate object reviled by the entire internet," but added that despite its problems the console had "untapped potential."
Now, from the Washington Post:
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Ken Kutaragi, the man who led Sony Corp. into the game console business, will step down as chairman and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI), the company said late Thursday...That move was viewed by some analysts as a response to several missteps in the launch of the PlayStation 3. The launch date was delayed and the console was widely criticized as being too expensive...
Now, from MSNBC:
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Kutaragi's most recent brainchild, the PlayStation 3 console, came out in November but was marred by embarrassing production shortages and a $600 price tag that some Sony fans said was too steep. For the past several months, Sony has resorted to giving away free game titles and other marketing gimmicks to spur sales.
Sony has also struggled to expand beyond the young, male demographic of so-called "hardcore" gamers. Investors have been grumbling for several quarters that Sony has failed to attract women, young children and older gamers to its products, and its market share has shrunk as a result.
According to NexGenWars:
51% of consumers pick the Wii.
19.8% pick the PS3
29.1% pick the Xbox 360
NexGenWars also reports the following sales:
Xbox360: 11.59 million
Wii: 9.05 million
PS3: 3.85 million
