There are a few console systems sitting on shelves, begging you to give them your money and attention. But which one is the right one for you? Do you like your games to be full of realistic blood and gore? How about bright and pretty? Maybe you don’t care about graphics at all and just want fun gameplay? How can you decide? What do you look for? DEAR GOD MAN TELL ME THE ANSWERS!

*ahem*

While I may not be able to give you all the answers you’re looking for, I can at least tell you how I see the current console market. So venture with me, my children, below the jump and see what perils await us as I give you my opinion on the market in general. And if you disagree? Well… that’s what the forums are for.

NINTENDO WII
(MSRP: $249.99; released 11.19.2006)

PROS
- Cheap. The Wii is the cheapest home console on the market by a hundred dollars and, as a result, has a high competitive advantage when it comes to cash-strapped gamers. Not to mention it comes with an awesome pack-in with Wii Sports.

- Reliable hardware. Nintendo is pretty well known for having extremely solid hardware that just refuses to break.

- The Virtual Console. Combine the VC with the backwards compatibility so you can still play GameCube favorites such as Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and the Wii is pretty well covered when it comes to things to do.

CONS
- Availability. Part of the problem of the Wii being so cheap is that, combined with the fact that it’s the current "in" console, the supply still doesn’t come close to meeting the demand. It’s a double-edged sword, where Nintendo is fully aware of the demand and doesn’t want to saturate the market with consoles that nobody’s buying, but they don’t want to lose the current fever that they haven’t had in over ten years.

- Reputation. Nintendo has had trouble with the mass market with their last two systems, and there are still gamers who refuse to even consider playing a game on the Wii because they don’t want to play with a "kid’s system". (Their loss.) Not only that, but the issues with the wrist straps breaking has caused some damage to televisions and Nintendo has gone through four revisions of the strap, still trying to get it right. That doesn’t send a positive message.

- Lack of releases. This hurt the Nintendo 64 and the GameCube, and it’s in danger of hurting the Wii. It’s hard to buy games when they aren’t available, and with third-party support still slow in coming, the Wii doesn’t look like there’s a lot on the horizon after Super Smash Brothers Brawl drops in December. There is no excuse as to why we only get three VC games a week, either.

OVERALL GRADE: B
Nintendo is doing it’s best to ride the wave of popularity it’s currently on, but it really needs to consider what they can do to keep current owners satisfied. A lot of gamers today want their games now, not Nintendo’s oft-delayed big guns, such as an actual Mario game or a Smash Brothers game. It needs third-party designers who want the challenge of programming for a controller as unique as the Wiimote and it needs a steady stream of games coming for the Virtual Console. I can understand not wanting to flood the market, but how many times can someone beat the same games before they want something fresh? Nintendo is satisfying people that would normally scoff at playing video games with their pick-up-and-play pack-in Wii Sports, but after that, what keeps the hooks in those customers? Nintendo has a lot of work to do to stay on top and they can’t afford a stumble. For now, though, they are doing just fine.

 

MICROSOFT XBOX 360
(MSRP: $349.99 ["pro" bundle], $449.99 ["elite" bundle]; released 11.22.2005)

PROS
- Xbox Live. For those of you who like online gaming, Microsoft has far and away the best online service in Xbox Live. Not only that, but they have many cheap, fun-to-play games on the Live Arcade, which is providing great competition for the Wii’s Virtual Console.

- Games galore. The 360, to be fair, got a one-year jump on the Wii and PS3, but the benefit is that they have games throughout the market. Granted, they run into the same problem the PS2 had, where a lot of the games are sheer crap, but there are some gems hidden for you to play. On top of that, the Xbox 360 is far and away the best sports-gaming platform on the market.

- Microsoft’s deep pockets. The Xbox 360 loses money on each console that ships out, but Microsoft isn’t just going to run out of money and blow away. Basically, Xboxes will keep going out until the consumer rejects them or Bill Gates gets bored and wants a new pet project.

CONS
- Typecasting. The Xbox 360’s best games are first-person shooters and sandbox games. However, the problem with that is that there are a ton of first-person shooters trying to piggyback off of Halo’s success (only Bioshock has come close, and it’s really unfair to compare Halo and Bioshock), as well as Grand Theft Auto clones that struggle to recreate the experience of GTA. Just as anti-Wii gamers typecast the Wii as a "kid’s system", anti-Xbox gamers don’t want to be associated with gamers who live and breathe for Halo.

- Hardware. Just google "red ring of death" and you’ll see what I mean. The failure rate of Xbox 360s is astounding (almost as high as 33% of all Xbox 360s fail, which is insane), and it definitely scares away gamers who don’t want the hassle of buying very expensive bricks and having to wait for Microsoft to fix their hardware.

- Poor Japanese support. The Xbox 360, like it’s older brother, is suffering a huge issue of moving consoles in Japan, which means that Microsoft is relying entirely on North American and European support and, as a result, is losing out on Japanese developers who don’t want to program a game that isn’t going to sell well in their home market. If one-third of the console market has rejected your system and you lose another third, you’re in deep trouble.

OVERALL GRADE: B-
Microsoft has a good chance to take over the console market; even without Japanese support, they are second to Nintendo in consoles moved by a razor-thin margin. With Sony stumbling big-time out of the gate with the PS3, the home console market is turning into a two-horse race and Microsoft has a lot to gain. Bringing the Guitar Hero franchise to their console is a huge boost for Microsoft, because Guitar Hero has snared casual gamers just as Wii Sports drew people to the Wii. The key for Microsoft is going to be keeping those casual gamers on their side while finding a way to swing things in their favor in Japan. If they can do something to get Japan (like, say, getting Square-Enix to make games for their console), they will take over the market. But maybe they should work on their hardware issues first…

 

SONY PLAYSTATION 3
(MSRP: $499.99 [60GB bundle; limited availability as bundle is no longer in production], $599.99 [80GB bundle]; released 11.17.2006)

PROS
- Availability. Do you want a PS3 and do you have the money? Well, they’re on the shelves, asking you to love them. Go get one and hope that someone hasn’t drawn anything profane in the dust that has collected on them.

- Backwards compatibility with the PS1 and PS2. Sure, it’s not 100% perfect, as some games have glitches, but with the PS2 market still alive and well, the PS3 has access to arguable the largest and highest-quality gaming library out on the market. Be warned, though: the 80GB version’s backwards compatibility is software emulation instead of actual hardware so it may not function as well.

- Cheap Blu-Ray player. Sure, it’s expensive for a game system, but if you have to watch Talladega Nights in high-definition so you can see the detail of Will Ferrell’s nosehairs, this is the cheapest Blu-Ray player on the market.

CONS
- Price. You may have to sell a kidney to buy one of these things. Or perhaps give up food for a couple of months. Did Sony not realize when they came up with the price point for this that no system released with a comparable price has ever succeeded on the market?

- Sony’s reputation. The PS2 hardware wasn’t exactly solid, and with Sony lithium batteries being recalled in the millions, so why should the PS3 hardware be expected to be any better? Not only that, but it doesn’t help that the Sixaxis, the controller that replaced the Dualshock, feels horribly flimsy and cheap.

- Mistakes. Sony is making mistakes of Sega-like proportions with this unit. Starting off by packing in a movie as opposed to, say, a game to justify the price point to emphasize that this isn’t just a video game console alienated gamers from the start. Not only that, but they apparently feel that because they had a highly successful prior console, that means that they can shovel anything onto the market and people will buy it. PS1 is to PS2 is to PS3 as the Master System is to the Genesis is to the Saturn. Sony has to stop making mistakes before they become the next Sega, something that almost happened to Nintendo.

OVERALL GRADE: D
As you can probably tell, I’m not fond of the PS3, and let’s face it, Sony really hasn’t given me many reasons to be fond of it. For example, for the price of an 80GB bundle, I can buy a Wii and an Xbox 360. For the value that I would get out of those two systems, what am I gaining with a PS3? I don’t care about high-definition movies and I already have a PS2 that actually has hardware-based backwards compatibility, plus there are no real must-have games for the PS3. I’m not seeing a reason to care. Then, you have to factor in the flimsy feel of the controller and the outright arrogance of Sony. This is the same company that released their portable system, the PSP, knowing that there were flaws with the screen positioning and the square button, but did nothing to fix it, stating that that the flaw was intentional! Don’t believe me? "There may be people that complain about its usability, but that’s something which users and game software developers will have to adapt to." Sure, they ended up offering to fix the issue, but how in the world can a company say that a design flaw is intentional and we, the consumer, should just "get used to it"? Sony has to do something to win the market back, but it may be too late.

 

As far as handhelds go, by the way, you really don’t need me to tell you to buy a DS, and the PSP, square button flaws and all, have a loyal fan following. But if you’d like to discuss it, then follow the link below to our forums!

What are people saying about "Kenzan Reviews The Video Game Market"?

Sasha Kenzan Kenzan Reviews The Video Game Market http://attackedbygorillas.com/2007/09/27/kenzan-reviews-the-video-game-market/ Also, once again, do not stray from civil discussion.

Sasha Kenzan Re: Kenzan Reviews The Video Game Market Actually, there are some good points to the Xbox 360 for a casual "pick up and play for 15 minutes" gamer.  All you really need is Dead Rising and to skip the cinemas.  I usually don't like sandbox games, but fighting a horde of zombies that have invaded a shopping mall and using whatever you can find as a weapon is amazing fun. Also, the big draw for a gamer such as yourself would be the Live Arcade.  There are a lot of really awesome classic games that the VC doesn't have that would make it worth your time and money.  There are some great games on there, too... not just classics, either, but fresh, new games with simple gameplay that remind you why you're a gamer in the first place.  Look at the list of games on there... so much fun is available.  EDIT: Also, and my words can't really stress my excitement here, but Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun, two of the best vertical scrolling shooters you'll ever play, will be available for the Live Arcade sometime in Q4 2007. I was really tempted to give the Wii a B+ based on the VC (I mean, they did put Breath of Fire 2 on there) as well, but the stream of games is just too slow for my liking.

SaikyoCrusher Re: Kenzan Reviews The Video Game Market For myself, I'm still happy with my PS1, but if it comes down to it I'll go with the Wii. Nintendo is like an old friend long missed.

Architect of Awesome Re: Kenzan Reviews The Video Game Market As Kenzan can probably tell you, I'm a huge 360 fan.  The VC is great (Ninja Turtles is still an awesome side-scroller), and the game selection is broad enough to satisfy even my rabbid ADD.  While I'm not a drooling, scream at your mom, hump your corpse Halo player, I have enjoyed the franchise quite a bit over the years (I'll talk more of that over in another thread), and Dead Rising is simple fun to the max.  I make it a point to play my 360 games at least once a day, no matter what's going on.  I love that machine, and I will keep loving it until it dies and Microsoft has to send me another one.  And that machine will be loved until IT dies, and Microsoft releases the X-Box Take Your Money, and I buy that. The Wii on the other hand, begins to annoy me.  The constant assault on my eye nerves when I walk into the store is appalling.  I'm all about innovation in conrols, and I know that graphics don't make the game, but for crying out loud, the staggering amount of crap that shows up for this sytem makes me want to vommit.  The VC on the Wii makes me yearn for the simpler days again, but it's not enough anymore.  To be honest, my Wii has gone untouched since I beat Metroid, and if Nintendo doesn't come up with something good soon, it may go untouched for quite some time.  I.  NEED.  MORE. While I can't really conteset Kenzan's ratings, I feel that the Wii (despite is revolutionary controls) is the weaker of the two consols overall.

Axel Night Re: Kenzan Reviews The Video Game Market One large complaint among developers is that the Wii has to be coerced into producing next-gen results.  One angry developer for EA put it as "two Gamecubes taped together".  This is hardly new territory in console gaming.  In fact, it has been the foundation of console development since the dawn of time.  You have a limited pool of resources, and he who puzzles them together in the prettiest and funnest way wins.  That's why NES games from the early '90s look infinitely better than they did 5 years before.  The programmers learned the tricks and tweaks to make the system work for them. So, in this, Nintendo isn't at fault so much as they just were the only ones to make a console.  Everyone else made a low-end PC (a tradition slowly initiated by, I believe, the Dreamcast, when Sega chose to use some actual PC parts to save on development costs).  Perhaps a stale move, since almost every developer out there today is a PC developer.  Nintendo isn't lacking 3rd party support because people don't want to take the risk.  They lack it because no one knows how to program a console anymore.  So in some respects, the Wii has no place being compared to the PS3 or 360.  They're almost not even the same market. I'm curious to see how the Wii's slightly tighter grip on the market takes consoles in the next generation.  While I can't say I don't like the 360 or PS3, I don't like the overall direction.  I have visions of $1000 consoles with printers and Microsoft Office.  I'm tired of PC gamers telling me their computer can do anything a console can, but with services like GameTap handing me almost 1000 games for the same as 2 NES VC titles a month, Microsoft porting their 360 games to Vista (don't get me started on that rant), and more new titles coming out every month than the PS3 has even promised us in its, thus far, lifetime, I lack sorely for counter argument.  At least with a Wii, I can look the PC gamers in the eye, prance about with my wiimote, and shout "hey, look what I can do!"  And if I look retarded whilst doing so, it matters not.

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