The New Console War

Not so long ago, two companies were fighting over something called the "video game market". On one hand was Nintendo. The other was Sega. Since then, Sega has dropped from becoming a harware provider and instead became a software developer. (I still love my Dreamcast tho). I don't think I should be labelled as the voice of reason, and these are my opinions. But I do have some sort of credentials. Systems I own/played are:
Amiga (I think or was it a Commodore 64. Hahaha can't remember.)
Nintendo: NES (owned), Gameboy(owned) SNES (owned and loved it), N64(owned),GBA (owned),
Sega: Megadrive (played often enough-Neighbor's), Gamegear (owned), Dreamcast (owned and loved it.)
Sony: PS1 (owned, second batch I think), PS2 (owned, first batch buggy as hell.)
Microsft: Xbox (Haven't played it in a while...)

Recently, with E3 2006 over along with the ridge racing, giant enemy crab which you atteack its weak point for MASSIVE damage (Sorry Sony, it's just too damn funny. Your presentation sucked.), there are 3 consoles (and 1 OS but that's a different matter) to worry about...

1. Sony's Playstation 3. A high end gaming console that will cost a gamer USD599 for its premium hardware, and USD499 for its core console.

Pros: Best graphics (supposedly, but however showings at E3 displayed that Microsoft's Windows Vista with DirectX 10 proved much better with Crysis), Blu Ray Technology, Wi-Fi (premium), HDMI (premium),20GB Harddrive(core), 60GB harddrive (premium), Flash card reader (premium). I won't add more, you can check out the link for details on the hardware. Good thing as well is that it runs on Linux with homebrew capabilities. Lots of 3rd party developers as well, a nice mix of Japanese and American. Also, it's online capable and can communicate with the PSP.

Cons: Expensive. USD599 for premium? That's RM2300+-. That's without adding the shipping, middleman profit, and the rest. I can a good computer with that. Blu Ray technology might end up being like the old Betamax tapes or LD. Why did people stick with VHS, VCD and DVD? because it's cheaper. I think with DVD being accepted as the mainstream optical data storage technology, I doubt Blu Ray will get a good foothold anytime soon. I would say about 2-3 years before Blu Ray gets anywhere. The SDK (Software Development Kit) costs USD10000. Yeap, 10 grand. Which means Games are more expensive. It's approximated that the games for PS3 will cost anywhere between USD60 and USD80. Even if you do work in the US, it's still helluvalot expensive. Also, the best thing that they showed in the communication with the PSP was that it was a rearview mirror for Ridge Racer. I mean... come on, show something better! I won't doubt that it can be better, but the demo lacked strength. The console is the largest by far. You can probably kill someone with it. I am also assuming it is quite heavy too.

2. XBox 360. It's already out. It's online. It has great graphics. Already has a foothold in the market. It also has 2 sets (core and premium)

Pros: It's Microsoft. Live Anywhere where you get to use the same ID when on Xbox, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Vista. Upgradable to HD-DVD, Wireless gamepad (premium). Huge library of games. Halo 3. Wi-Fi (USD100 dongle). HDMI. VoIP. The price is reasonable (USD299 core and USD399 premium) and the extras for the premium, are really extras unlike the PS3.

Cons: It's Microsoft. Black screen of Death (TM). Overheating. VERY loud optical drives, American/European developers mostly. Limited to Action, Sports adventure games, and not enough RPGS (same problem faced by the original Xbox). It's Microsoft. The console is also quite large.

3. Nintendo Wii. Well... I was a Nintendo Fanboy once (during the SNES-Mega Drive/Genesis days), I'll try not to be biased :)

Pros: Great 1st party support. And from the looks of it, they're beginning to attract 3-rd party devs too (Square-Enix are back!). The Wii-mote! The Wii-mote! Go catch the trailer! It's thin (3 DvD boxes stacked next to each other). Virtual Console (which not only allows you to download and play NES, SNES and N64 games, but also Megadrive and TurboGraFx 16 games. Not only that that, with the VC, you can download homebrew games.) Gamecube games compatable. Much much cheaper SDKs (USD2000) which allows for much much cheaper games. Can you imagine that? CHEAP games! WiiConnect24, Wifi, Bluetooth, DS connectability. All this at less than USD250 (final pricing is unconfirmed as of writing.)

Cons: The name. Wii. Lower GPU compared to Xbox360 and PS3 (tho it's been quoted that the final product will be a bit more better looking than the original Xbox). The Wii-mote could put off some players and devs. I mean, what can you do with it? Lack of a harddisk. The brand name (Nintendo=games for kids). No HDMI. No Dolby 5.1

Overall, I think 2006 will be a good year for the gaming industry. Sony has opted for the better hardware and technology = better gaming. Microsoft has opted more towards Online (with Live Anywhere). Nintendo... well, Ninty's trying to get the common people, the average joes to join in and have some fun. Yeap.... it's going to be a good year indeed.

Cheers.