Console Wars Episode VII

By Daniel Moir

First a message to fan boys. Nothing sickens me more than seeing lame comments like "everybody knows Sony will come out on top eventually" followed by no sources, no data, nothing more than a biased hope that their console of choice comes out on top presented as fact. We saw this with Xbox supposedly outselling the PS2, and let's not get started on the brokenhearted and desperate GameCube fans. "Resident Evil will save us!" Uh... yeah if the game had remained exclusive a few more systems might have been sold but realistically without heavy hitters like Halo, or GTA GCN was simply dead before its time.

Now for the first time in over a decade Nintendo fans DO have something to rejoice in. For the last year Wii has been outselling their competitors to the point that no one can ever find them. Market data is not showing a slow down in demand, so where do market analysts and PS3 gamers get off making absurd proclamations like "PS3 will eventually take the lead?" What evidence do you have that confirms this? That the PS1 & 2 were the market leaders of their generation? Well by that logic then Nintendo 64 won its console war which means GameCube won it's meaning you now have a nullified argument because now the Wii winning is the next logical step in this once concord always dominated market.

The success of a game system can help establish a recognizable brand name, but that's as far as it can go. A name alone does not guarantee success of a system. Look at the N64. I will repeat this argument. We all loved the NES, and SNES, but PS1 shifted out affections its way much to the surprise of an increasingly turbulent market.

Why? People go where the games are that they want to play. For me the turning point was Resident Evil followed by FFVII. Those games (plus the cheaper cost of PS1 games $50 compared to N64's $60... sound familiar anyone?) made me set aside my 64 despite the fact that aside from FMV sequences the 64 had dramatically better in-game visuals. Graphics didn't save the day then, it won't now.

The market trend is as follows people. # 1 System with biggest demand Wii, 2nd place is 360 with the PS3 in 3rd. And I will now do what NONE of you do and cite a source to back up my argument since this is how intelligent people argue.

"" The latest dispatch from the console-war front leaves no doubt as to the victor. More than 981,000 Wiis were sold during NPD's November reporting period, besting the Xbox 360's 770,000-unit total and more than doubling the PlayStation 3's 466,000-unit tally. Sony's most venerable platform, the PlayStation 2, continued to outpace its younger brother with 496,000 units in sales. (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6184008.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;7)

According to the same article the Wii has sold more than double what the PS3 in November. How does this tell us that the PS3 is going to eventually over-take Wii when current market data tells us that the Wii is selling twice what the PS3 is? According to this same article the PS2 is outselling the PS3 with 496,000 units sold opposed to PS3's 466,000 units sold. If the current Gen system is being beaten by its predicessr that is a pretty sad state. So please do tell me where you are getting the idea that the PS3 will somehow overcome insurmountable odds and become market leader again when there is simply no empirical evidence to support such an absurd thesis. It has to beat its own predicessor before it can even take on the 360, let alone the Wii, and if you can take my challenge to prove to me that the PS3 will not remain in 3rd (or 4th if you factor in the PS2)place please do so with just actual facts and data not biased speculation.