xbox 360 or wii?

Ah, the experts... "Graphics suffer because programmers spend too much time with the motion sensors". Yeah, right.

Wii is fun, easy and it's very easy to create games for it, which is why there will be a lot of stuff coming for it. Most of the games for Wii will, however, be different from the games on X360 or PS3, because Wii has much less processing power and different control method.

Wii has one clear advantage over it's competitors, and that is the Virtual Console. But that only applies if you like retro-gaming. But if you do, you can buy and download a big bunch of old Nintendo games for you Wii, legally. There are real gems in there like N64's Zeldas, Paper Mario etc. and of course all the NES, SuperNintendo and PCEngine hits. And the collection grows monthly.

X360 has loads of power, but it's big, bulky and the games cost a fortune. The games are usually the same games as for PC and PS3 and they require you to spend some time with them whereas Wii games you can pick up and play right away. If you only play ice hocky and football games, you could buy either one.

If you're getting one for free, get the X360 as it is more expensive. The Wii is around 270€ and the X360 with any decent game + necessary peripherals is around 400€. You can always buy the Wii later.

Ice

I have a 360 and to be honest, rarely play it. I still prefer my PS2, original XBOX, and even use my Gamecube more. The main problem is the games - there are very few on 360 that interest me. In fact, Command & Conquer is the only one I've rushed out to buy at any point, and the rest just don't excite me. That will hopefully be remedied with a KOTOR3 announcement...

The Wii is fun if you have a group of friends around, but can get boring pretty quickly. The control system may be innovative, but it is a novelty that wears thin. It's already began sliding into the rut that the Gamecube did, where most games released on the console are aimed at children and are too easy for grown-ups who want a bit of substance to their gaming.

The only reason demand is still so high for the Wii is largely down to the fact that Nintendo are not shipping the consoles out in any great numbers. It's a dangerous game that may now begin to backfire - my work, as with most retailers now have plenty 360's in stock at the same price as a Wii, and coming into the Xmas season, people won't wait for one too long and will buy a 360 so that they have a console to give on Dec 25. Believe me, thats how it works - when the 360 was first released it too was limited numbers, and by late November people started panicking that they wouldn't get one, so ended up buying PS2's instead. At £100 with a hugely diverse back-catalogue of games, the PS2 was still a suitable alternative for many people, even up against a next-gen console.

So, I'd pick a 360 over Wii if I didn't already have one, because I don't believe the Wii has as much future in it. I reckon the console will suffer this Xmas, and by this time next year will have easily slid into third-place slot just like the GC, leaving Microsoft and Sony to battle it out. Although my advice to anyone else pondering over the three consoles, go for a PS3. It's pricey but the games scheduled for next year will be worth the investment!

I know Sony were planning the same kind of thing, does anyone know if it is in place yet?

I like the idea of buying retro games but often find that nostalgia tints my memories of them, and they are very rarely as much fun as I remember. That said, I still pull out my SNES occasionally to play the Super Star Wars series, which I'd recommend to any Wii owners if it is, or becomes, available!

I don't think Sony's version is available yet, no.
While I'm on about Sony's versions of Nitendo ideas:

The D-Pad & "diamond" layout of 4 buttons on right side of pad- Used first of a Nintendo pad

"Shoulder" buttons EG: R1 etc - Used first on a Nintendo pad

Force FeedBack aka Rumble - First on the N64 - sony eventually copied with dualshock

Analog Sticks - N64 pad again - Sony later added them to the PS1 pad, dualshock

Motion Sensing - fully 3D, speed sensite, pitch, yaw, distance etc, revealed by Nintendo while Sony had a non-motion sensing controller. Then Sony reveals......Motion Sensing in it's controller! They say it's been in development for a long time, but curiously only has 1 half finished game to show it off.

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Nintendo has driven the industry for 20+ years. Sony has tucked in behind, using superior marketing to stay ahead of Nintendo. Microsoft dropped themselves into the industry and gathered audiences with console power.

Thats my bottom line really.

Have you tried Resident Evil? And no, I don't agree with that. I have Wii and I play mostly alone. And it hasn't got boring yet, especially the retro games rock like hell. Paper Mario is awesome and Zelda is not far behind. Also the good old shoot'em ups are great.

That's not the problem anymore. It was, in the beginning of this year, but now Nintendo has provided store with a lot of devices. They just sell well. Wii has outsold PS3 many times over.


PS3 is a flop, no one should buy it until the prices come down a lot. There are no really good games for it, the web service is nowhere near as good as live, it's really expensive and many game studios have said that it is really hard to develope games for, which is why it will suffer. Power alone isn't enough if you have nothing to use it for.

Ice

It's only just a rumour at this point.

Ice

Unless you work for Nintendo, your speculation over such matters has as much credibility as anyones'. If a trend appears over a selection of titles that have been released, I think that a logical train of thought can be applied. In the case of the Wii, it's innovative control features will obviously require more thought as to how they will operate within the dynamics of any said game. Whether you believe it or not, it is very easy to get over-excited and carried away with a new product that you think the public will buy into heavily and release titles too early. You only need look as far as the XBox 360 for a perfect example. The original consoles were released as early as they could get them out in order to beat Sony to the shops and yet how many flawed consoles were returned? All to make a quick buck.

Manufacturers do it all the time so it is a perfectly reasonable argument that Nintendo wanted to cash in early on the Wii releasing as many games as possible without applying as much thought and effort to their appearance as, let's face it, the main selling point is the control system.

I've worked as a producer for a video game -related TV show for 1,5 years, and have been working with the biggest game manufacturer in the world for the last 1,5 years and I keep up with everything that goes on in the gaming world because of what I do. What have you done in the video game business?

That's not true. There is nothing truly innovative with Wii's controls, it's the way they've combined them. Nintendo offers programmers a very easy-to-use tools for programming that make it easy for the programmers to focus on the gameplay rather than the technology.

Which is why Nintendo has the best quality control in the gaming world. Nothing for any Nintendo console gets released without their approval. Nintendo's track record is most consistent, compared to any other console manufacturer.

Consoles and games do not equal in that equation. Hardware is not software. Microsoft ****ed up, Nintendo didn't. They made sure everything worked.


Their main selling point is that they've made gaming easy and fun. A 2-year-old can do it and you don't need to learn any controls.

Nintendo didn't cash in, they were actually in trouble because they couldn't manufacture the Wii's fast enough for the market. And the first problem the Wii had was that it didn't have that many games, because Nintendo wanted to make sure the games were of good quality. Plus, the Wii firmware has been updated by Nintendo more times than any other console to fix bugs and add new features.

Next time do some research before you try to act like you know something.

Ice

It depends what sort of gaming experience you are looking for. 360 is more for the hardcore games. If it's fun, multi-player and party games the Wii is a great choice. But the Nintendo are offering many more third party games (Resident Evil, the new Pro Evo next year) now that developers have seen it's popularity and the fact that they can do things with the innovative control system. For me ,fun and innovation is it's main appeal and I don't think that can be beaten.

So you've got more general experience in the field. Have you worked within the walls of the Nintendo offices?

Now there's a contradiction and a half. So the Wii control isn't innovative but the way that they've combined them is. Are you clutching at straws to try and make some sort of point here?

The premise of releasing something before you've done the best job of it you can applies to all products be it hardware, software - everything you buy. Yes what they released worked perfectly but I sincerely doubt that the graphics on the majority of the games fully test the systems capabilities. No game for any console does.

I think you need to reassess how you present your arguments though. Being a condescending and rude individual isn't a very appealing trait and seeking to undermine other people's opinions in the way you do simply because you have more experience in a particular field is hardly an attractive attribute. I posted a loose opinion for Jim's benefit as to which console I would select out of the two on offer, simple as that - much in-keeping with everybody elses' opinions. If you want to get all tech-geeky to make some sort of point because 'you know best' that's fine but there's no need to use unprovoked insults on people just because you have a personality deficiency.