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December 12, 2006

Game Consoles

What is a game console, and why should I care?

Game consoles play video games stored on optical discs using your television. You can drive monster trucks, rescue princesses, attack goblins, throw 65-yard passes, and search for buried treasure from the comfort of your sofa.

It figures to be a big December for consoles, as the Big Three game system manufacturers — Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft — will be battling for a share of the seventh-generation game console market (the seminal 1972 game Pong was considered a first-generation system). As compared to their predecessors, these state-of-the-art game systems promise improved controls, more vivid graphics, and enhanced multimedia capabilities. The PS3 and the Wii are hogging most of the headlines this holiday season, but it would be a mistake to overlook the year-old Xbox 360, which still has much to offer.

What will a new game console cost?

Game consoles have traditionally cost between $200 and $300 at the time of launch, but retail prices for seventh-generation consoles have risen. Nintendo’s Wii is a relative bargain at $249; you can buy two Wiis for the price of the cheapest Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3), which rings up at a wallet-emptying $499 (an upgraded model does even more damage at $599). The Microsoft Xbox 360 takes the middle ground, with the base model priced at $299, and an enhanced unit at $399.

Which is the best game console?

Each of the three consoles has unique attributes which could make it the best choice for a specific gamer. Read this section to decide if one is right for you:

Nintendo Wii

The Wii (pronounced “we”) follows up Nintendo’s 2001 Game Cube console. The Wii’s greatest strength is its unique control system. Using motion sensor technology, it allows games to be controlled using natural movements rather than a joystick. For example, a player might swing the remote control like a racket to return a serve in a tennis game.

What the Wii offers in innovative control, it lacks in raw processing power. While reputedly twice as powerful as its predecessor, the Wii is no match for the Xbox 360 or the PS3, both of which are both capable of sending lifelike high-definition signals to compatible TV sets. Some Wii games are widescreen, but none are truly high-definition. If you require top-notch graphics — move along, there’s nothing to see here.

But Nintendo argues that carefully crafted games with intuitive controllers are more fun than mediocre games with razor-sharp graphics. Nintendo has some reason to trust their gameplay-trumps-graphics instinct. Nintendo’s DS handheld system is innovatively controlled, but lacks the potent graphics of its rival, the Sony PlayStation Portable. Despite its obvious power deficit, the Nintendo system has reportedly outsold the PlayStation portable by 17% worldwide. Nintendo’s surefire game franchises Zelda and Mario are likely to prompt many gamers to buy the Wii system.

Microsoft Xbox 360

Unlike the Wii and the PS3, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was available for last year’s holiday season. In fact, six million Xbox 360s have been sold already, giving Microsoft a significant head start in the console race. This wouldn’t matter much if the Xbox 360’s processor had become obsolete over the past year, but this is not the case.

Many game industry pundits give the power edge to the Sony PlayStation 3 over the Xbox 360, but the disparity is nowhere near as large as the horsepower advantage the Xbox 360 enjoys compared to the Wii.

Microsoft’s subscription-based online game service called Xbox Live allows gamers to play their friends over the Internet, all the while verbally taunting them over a headset (standard equipment with the premium model). The Halo series of games convinced many gamers to buy the original Xbox, and Microsoft is hoping Halo 3 will spur sales of the 360 in 2007. But for this holiday season, Gears of War is the combat game to watch.

While game playing is the primary use for the 360, perhaps the most intriguing features are video-based. It can serve up high-definition television and movie content from a local Windows XP Media Center Edition computer, from the Xbox Live Internet storefront, or from an optional $200 HD-DVD player. This inroad to the living room could be significant, as it provides HDTV owners a multi-dimensional source of high-definition material.

Sony PlayStation 3

When Sony executives go to bed at night on Christmas Eve, instead of having visions of sugarplums, they will probably dream of the PS3 matching the success of its blockbuster predecessor, the PlayStation 2 (PS2). The PS2 was by far the best-selling console of the sixth generation, selling more than four times the number of game machines as the Microsoft Xbox. PS2 sales were propelled by game series like Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, and Guitar Hero , but Microsoft has been lobbying to get many of these titles onto the 360 too. Sony has made the PS3 system backwards-compatible with a large majority of PS2 games, so fans of the PlayStation brand will not have to leave their investment in games behind.

It’s not all about the past, though. The PS3 has power to spare in displaying high-resolution graphics. Game titles available this holiday season like Resitance: Fall of Man, are visually impressive, but show only a fraction of what the PS3 can deliver. Only time will tell if developers can fully harness the system’s potent processor.

Aside from graphics power, the main feature that distinguishes the PlayStation 3 is its built-in Blu-ray drive. Blu-ray is battling HD-DVD for supremacy in the next-generation high-definition DVD format wars. Currently, the only way to watch Blu-ray movies is to spend about $1000 on a stand alone player. In the realm of Blu-ray players, $500 is a relative bargain.

The Bottom Line

The Nintendo Wii is best for:

• Game players with a limited budget.
• Devotees of the Zelda and Mario games.
• First-time gamers who will embrace the intuitive control system.
• Jaded gamers looking for something a little different.
• Players more interested in engrossing game play than lifelike graphics.

The Microsoft Xbox 360 is best for:

• Addicts of popular Xbox games, like the Halo series.
• Owners of a Windows Media Center Edition computer who want to stream video and music to their home theater system.
• People who want to play games with high-resolution graphics but don’t want to take out a second mortgage for the privilege.
• People who enjoy games with an online emphasis.

The Sony PlayStation 3 is best for:

• Gamers seeking the ultimate graphics performance and don’t mind paying handsomely for it.
• People looking for a relatively inexpensive player for movies in the high-definition Blu-ray format.
• Owners of previous PlayStation or PS2 consoles.

Posted by moetting at 9:39 AM