Thinking of getting a console for Christmas? Good idea! Maybe. Are you happy with your PC hardware? If not, The money you spend towards a console ($250-$700 including controllers and software) would be better spent towards upgraded computer hardware if your system needs it. If so, a console is an excellent idea for expanding your gaming horizons. So which do you choose?
I'm a big fan of Nintendo. I have been since I was about two and got my first (of four) NES. I also consider myself a "hardcore" gamer. However, it surprises me how many people still think of Nintendo as the "baby brother" console company. I assume the Mario games have something to do with it. Or maybe it's Pokemon? I wish someone would explain it to me. The fact that Nintendo and third-party developers are working on games with a WIDE array of genres doesn't seem to matter to those people.
Maybe it's the fact that the Wii doesn't have the graphics capabilities of say...the PS3 or 360. Yeah, that could have something to do with it. My problem with that is this...Why do you want those systems anyway? What game would you play on the PS3 or 360 that isn't better on the PC? And by better I mean that the games are easier to control, faster, patch-able, and provide better multi-player support. Hmm? (If anyone would like further explanation on why PC games are better than console games, I will be happy to explain in detail in a future post.)
According to Gamespot, six of the top ten PS3 games are also available for PC. Of the four that aren't (Rock Band, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, and NBA 2k8, and Resistance: Fall of Man) only Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Resistance are PS3 exclusives. The Blu-ray player is nice I guess. And I can certainly understand buying a PS3 instead of a blu-ray player if you are in the market for one. Hell, I might do that myself some day. If that's the reason you want a PS3 and you buy the PS3 exclusives to justify your investment, then I can totally understand that. Anything you buy for the PS3 that is also available on PC, however, is just a dumb idea imo.
The story is the same for the Xbox 360. Seven of the top ten games are also available for PC according to Gamespot. Forza Motorsport 2, Halo 3, and Rock Band are the three that are not on PC. The 360 also has the unfortunate quality of being made by Microsoft who is also pushing their "Games for Windows" campaign; in short, this means that a lot of games made for the Xbox will also be made for windows. Further working against the 360 is the fact that unlike the PS3, the HD-DVD player is not included. (I will say one thing in support of the Xbox. The 360 is the only console with an extremely active online community. It offers nothing that a PC cannot do, but as far as multiplayer communities go on consoles Microsoft made Live exactly what the console market needed.)
So what about the Wii? How many top-ten Wii games are also available on the PC? Any guesses? I was thinking zero; if the answer had been zero I would not have been surprised. However, there is one game in the Wii top ten that is available for PC and that is the Madden series. The surprising part is that the other nine are ALL Wii exclusives. Some of the highest rated video games of all time are also available on the Wii via Virtual Console download. (And yes I'm aware that you can download these games on PC and use an emulator) What's nice about the virtual console is that it isn't an emulation, it's the actual updated software running on the Wii.
The recent success of Nintendo assures that the Wii will be around for a LONG time.
"Nintendo of America said on Tuesday that it sold more Nintendo products during the week of Thanksgiving than at any other time in the company's history."
"We are doing all we can to ensure that the unprecedented demand for Wii can be met as far as possible in the run up to Christmas."
Nintendo says it is working at maximum capacity in producing 1.8 million Wii units per month.
This popularity will FORCE developers to make their games for the Wii. Which will, in turn, bring more "adult" games to the console if that is your biggest concern about getting one. Furthermore, if you find the Motion Sensor technology to be a little "gimmicky" you'll be happy to know that some of the best games on the Wii use it more of an extra dimension of control rather than primary controls. For example, in Zelda the Wii-mote is used for aiming the bow and arrow and that's about it as far as motion goes. (Sword swings are made with minor wii-mote movement. Not arm flailing.)
I could talk about price, but I won't. I could talk about innovation, but I won't. I will however say this, the Wii is still a console. It is not perfect, and I don't want to come across as being what I like to call a "gaming" snob (PS2 owners had a big problem with this a few years ago). Your PC is still the best video game purveyor you own and buying a Wii isn't going to keep you from fragging nubs in COD4; It is however a decent distraction from waiting for a new Half-Life episode to come out or WoW expansion to be released. It's the best disctraction. Go get one...if you can find one on the shelves that is.
