Mike Bantick
Friday, 13 April 2007 19:25
Opinion and Analysis
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The next generation of gaming consoles are now settled in for the fight all over the world, there have been some recent announcements, shifts in the power play with all camps making progression and mistakes along the way. Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, where do they stand at the moment in this multi-billion dollar play for the hearts and wallets of gamers over the globe?
First off let me almost begin with the conclusion. The following article is my own opinion, based on my own life situation, much of what I may see as a negative might well be a positive in your own situation. I believe that, by in large, the gaming products on offer today provide an exceptional gaming experience for the demographics they aim at, this may not include you.
I just thought it was a good time to take stock of the gaming landscape, break down the situation with all players, quantify my opinion and see what comes out the other side. For purposes of the exercise I have ignored hand held gaming gadgets, clearly there is a market there, and I may well approach that in a future article soon.
So home gaming it is, I have had a long hard think about the categories to cover, broadly they are; Power, Features, Price, Support, Usability, Aesthetics, Fun and Future. With those in mind, let’s crunch some numbers.
Power: The favourite subject of PR companies around the world, throwing technical specifications at a sometimes bewildered public. With its Cell processors running
Mayo Clinic labs and
Folding@home calculations, Sony has the right to claim the Power prize with the PS3.
But only just, the Microsoft Xbox 360 can pump out some beautiful 1080p High Definition visuals at a flicker free frame rate as well. Rockin’ Surround sound is also pretty much standard on these power houses. Meanwhile the Nintendo Wii is happy with a small step up in power from the GameCube predecessor. As it stands at the moment, given some developers are grappling with how to employ the PS3 power, lets score them as Xbox 360: 8, PS3: 9, Wii: 4
Next "Features, Price & Support"
