This time last year, we were all eagerly awaiting the releases of the Sony Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. It was truly a great time to be a gamer. The library for the Xbox 360 was just starting to take off with earlier releases such as "Oblivion" and "GRAW." Every 360 owner was wondering if the soon-to-be released "Gears of War" was going to be the game that would knock "Halo" from the throne (or at least tide them over until "Halo 3" hit store shelves). Who could've known that almost a year after the release of the PS3 and Wii, we would see such things as fist fights, killings, and robberies over the PS3? Who could've known that Nintendo would be primed to take back the title of "Console King" with its Wii selling like hot cakes; still almost impossible to find sitting on store shelves? Who could've known that titles, previously considered Sony exclusives, would find their way onto an Xbox 360 console? Who could've known, that at the time, when PS3s were selling on EBay for thousands of dollars (much less than a year later) can now be found in plentiful surplus on store shelves for $499? I really feel sorry for all those people who paid 3-10 times the retail cost of a PS3 just to be among the first to have one. Who could've known, at the time of its launch, Microsoft would be sent into red-alarm panic mode after thousands (possibly millions according to some reports) of its Xbox 360 systems started bricking on loyal customers? Two years, an extended warranty, and a billion dollars later, no one truly knows what's causing their beloved chainsaw simulators to die so unexpectedly. Who could've known that a simple gameplay mechanic such as flicking your wrist would send moms, dads, grandparents, nursing homes, and fanboys alike scouring the country looking for anyone selling a Nintendo Wii. Now, this will be primarily a 360 vs. PS3 post, and I intend it to be. However, the Nintendo Wii cannot be ignored. Its massive installed base, its extremely wide demographic, its simple gameplay interface, and the overall amount of fun Wii owners are having in their living rooms has to be noted for several reasons. 1.) Nintendo has almost as many Wiis sold in less than one year than Xbox 360s sold in almost two years. 2.) The Nintendo Wii is still the hottest selling piece of gaming hardware. Ask any retailer how many Wiis they sell compared to the other two systems in a given week, and chances are probably good that the Wii outsells both the 360 and PS3 combined in one week. 3.) The Nintendo Wii is the only game system in the history of the world that could make the most hardened, grizzled, and meanest old man get up off of the couch and play a couple of rounds of bowling with the kids, all with a smile on his face. I'll give you a personal example. I live 650 miles from my old man. Whenever I come home, I better have my Wii on my person, or I'm not walking through the door. This is the same man who unplugged my N64 while I was watching the ending cut scene for Star Fox 64 after I beat it for the first time; just because I wanted to wait till the credits rolled to take my clothes out of the dryer. I'm still peeved about that. That game has no save points! 4.) Let's face it; everyone loves Mario, Link, and the rest of the N crew. There is not (maybe with the exception of Master Chief) a character as beloved, known, and universally marketable as Mario found on the other two consoles. (You can market Master Chief, but probably not to six year olds). The Nintendo Wii has quickly established itself as the soon-to-be console king, all without having a killer library that goes along with such a rapidly rising console. With the exception of Link, no other starring Nintendo cast members have made their appearance on the Wii, but they will this fall. For a system with the best of last-gen graphics, a moderately exciting library, and absolutely no online game play, the Wii has taken the industry by storm. With such a large installed base (and continuing to sell very well), third-party developers have no choice but to produce great titles for the Wii, or developers will miss out on the soon-to-be biggest slice of pie. That's my four cents on the Wii. You can't talk about a 360 vs. PS3 debate without mentioning the impact of the Wii. Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 has numerous advantages over the PS3. 1.) It's cheaper. A couple of hundred dollars can be a big deciding factor for many people looking to choose one console over the other. 2.) It has a more expansive next-gen library. With the 360 being released a full year before the PS3, 360 owners have had more titles to choose from, and many of those titles were released after the "Launch window," a term the industry gives to games that are released during the first few months of a console's release. The bulk of launch window titles don't really push the hardware limitations of the console, and are usually quickly and sometimes shoddily produced to meet the launch window timeframe (looking at you Perfect Dark Zero). The titles released six months to a year after a system's launch are considered second-generation titles. These games have had more time in the cooker with the final console development kits, allowing for more quality and quantity. Perfect examples on the 360 would be Oblivion and GRAW; both released six months after the 360 launch. 3.) Best. Online. Service. Period. For free-of-charge, gamers can download demos, movies, and game enhancements such as free multiplayer maps. For a few dollars a month, gamers can compete against each other, a fee many gamers are willing to pay just to frag their friends. This combined with a simple interface to locate, chat, and add new friends, and Microsoft has given their customers an almost perfect online system. 4.) One of the best times to own an Xbox 360 console is...right now. I'll address the problems with the 360 in a second, but Microsoft is starting to make 360s with cooler running chips, which have previously plagued the console. These cooler-running consoles should be arriving on store shelves shortly if not right now. This combined with the inclusion of an HDMI port, price cuts on all three Xbox 360 SKUs, and the release of some of the most anticipated games (Mass Effect, Bioshock, and Halo 3, just to name a few) in recent memory occurring in the next few months, and this will fall will be all about the 360. 5.) Microsoft is willing to spend just about any amount of money necessary to ensure that it has exclusive titles, if not a shared release of titles with the PS3. Titles that were previously considered PS3 exclusives are now heading to the 360 as well (Assassin's Creed, Devil May Cry 4, and Ace Combat 6). Microsoft is even spending tens of millions of dollars to guarantee exclusive rights for downloadable content for the upcoming GTA 4. With all the positives about the 360, it is not without its own share of issues. Obviously the biggest thorn of thorns in Microsoft's side is the dreaded "Red Ring of Death." I feel sorry for Microsoft. Two of their biggest products come with less-than-palatable nicknames when something goes wrong. For the 360, it's the "Red Ring of Death," and for its flagship Windows OS, it's the "Blue Screen of Death." Ever since the launch of the 360, Microsoft has been flooded with calls from owners that are experiencing hardware failures. At first, Microsoft stated that hardware failures fell in line with the expected 4 to 8 percent for new hardware launches and that Microsoft was doing everything in its power to fix or replace busted 360s in a timely manner. All was quiet for a few months until the web exploded with forum posts, petitions, and generally negative comments from owners having hardware failures and getting nothing from Microsoft, because the one year warranty had expired. Very quickly, almost overnight, major media outlets and gaming publications started reporting on a massive failure rate in 360 hardware. The highest number reported (from reputable news organizations) has been 1/3 of all 360s sold have failed. This, by any stretch of the word, is "undesirable" for all parties involved. To Microsoft's credit, they have done everything they can do as a business to fix this problem. They're replacing older chips with smaller, cooler-running chips, they've extended the 360 warranty from one year to three, they pay for shipping when customers need to send away to have their 360s fixed, and they've invested over one billion dollars to get themselves out of this rut. However, despite everything they're doing to fix this problem, there are still a few dark clouds hanging over Redmond, WA. First off, Microsoft has yet to come out with a public statement identifying the problem that is causing 360s to fail. Even worse, they haven't said whether or not the systems sitting on store shelves right now are considered to be "fixed 360s." How would you feel if you ran out to buy a 360 right now because you desperately want to play Madden and Bioshock, only to have your console crash on you? Another, somewhat recent complaint has been the amount of time it takes to repair a bricked 360 and whether or not consoles fixed by Microsoft are actually "fixed." There have been several complaints from 360 owners upset with the amount of time required to fix a bricked 360. Again, how upset would you be if your preordered Bioshock just arrived in the mail, only to have to send out your 360 to get fixed? Some gamers have had to wait for weeks on end to get their systems back. Even worse, some "fixed" 360s have bricked again or even on multiple occasions. Some reports online have revealed the plight of "bad-luck gamers," 360 owners who have sent their consoles back to Microsoft for repairs only to have them brick a third, fourth, fifth, and even a tenth time, or more. So, even with this huge problem, the sales of the Xbox 360 haven't really been affected. Consoles have been selling pretty steadily since this time last year, and sales only look to get better with the recent price drops and anticipated releases this holiday season. Playstation 3 Sony is kind of in a strange place with its PS3. On one hand, it's the most powerful console available, and on the other hand, the 360 and Wii outsell it with well over a 2:1 ratio. However, owning a PS3 does come with obvious advantages. 1.) Without a doubt, the PS3 is the most powerful system on the market right now. The graphics and sound of the best Xbox 360 game pale in comparison to a mid-range PS3 title. A racing game with predictable gameplay and bare bones game mode options such as Motorstorm can give the best looking and playing 360 game (Gears of War) a run for its money in the graphics department. The power of the PS3 can keep the system afloat through the next generation Xbox console. 2.) The PS3 can play every Playstation branded title dating back to the PS1, for now. As soon as the 80 GB SKU takes over, software emulation will take effect, and PS3 owners may experience some of the same pitfalls that 360 owners have with a somewhat hit-or-miss ability to play last generation titles. 3.) Sony's online service is free and starting to look interesting. Not only do PS3 owners not have to pay a dime to Sony in order to duke it out online, gamers are slowly but surely warming up to the soon-to-be-released Playstation Home service. The new service looks promising, but many gamers are taking a wait-and-see approach before crafting their own virtual lofts. 4.) Sony's next generation Blu-Ray player is in every PS3. Not only are gamers getting the most powerful HD games available, but many of them are watching half-naked Spartans duking it out in glorious HD right now (according to recent "300" sales numbers). Blu-Ray discs give game developers three times as much space as DVD-9 (currently used on the 360), allowing for more content that can't be replicated on other consoles. There are reports that the racing title "Dirt" was stripped down for the 360 because of the disc capacity difference between Blu-Ray and DVD-9. 5.) Like Microsoft, Sony has slashed the price of its console; however, it comes with a catch. The 60 GB PS3 now costs $499 (formerly $599). However, this SKU will be phased out; soon to be replaced by a new configuration, already on store shelves. The new version comes with an 80 GB hard drive, a copy of "Motorstorm," and features the use of software emulation to play last gen Playstation titles; all for $599. So if you were sitting on the fence about purchasing a PS3, it may be wise to get the 60 GB one now before it's phased out, especially if you still plan on playing last-gen Playstation games. Like with the 360, you can't have positive without the negative, unless you have Jessica Alba, then it's all positive. 1.) Is it just me, or has Sony come off a bit.........over-the-top egotistical the last couple of years. Yes, the PS2 ruled the world, and technically with its installed base, still rules the world, but I think the massive success of the PS2 has gone to Sony's collective head. If you have access to it, check out Sony's E3 press conferences from 2005 and 2006, before the PS3 even came out. Just listen to Kaz and Phil every time they talk about the PS3. It's one thing to show pride in your product, and to set some expectations, but to me, it sounds like they feel that every PS2 owner was going to upgrade to a PS3 just because PS2 owners were loyal to the Playstation brand. Obviously, almost a year later, this isn't true. Between the cockiness exuded by Sony officials and the just flat-out idiotic slip-of-the-tongue moments, I'm personally kind of put off by the Sony heads right now. We wouldn't have even known about Sony's plan to phase out the 60 GB SKU if a couple of Sony officials hadn't opened their mouths. Talk about a way to kill off what little buzz you had going for your product. "We're slashing prices on current configurations and even adding more options for consumers to choose from...........but we're phasing out all but the most expensive model in the next few months." How ridiculous is that turn of events? 2.) Without question, the more immediate problem many consumers have with the PS3 is price. There hasn't been a home console this expensive in quite some time. The last time a home console went for at least $600 (3DO), it died off before the production plant had a chance to shut down for the weekend. Many gamers are put off by the high price, especially when most of the third-party games available on the PS3 are also available on the 360. The wide availability of third-party software coupled with the fact that Sony officials have publicly stated that they will not fork over extra cash for exclusives has caused a lot of fence-sitters to jump on the 360 and/or Wii bandwagon. With the obvious price problem weighing down Sony, there have been some bright spots. Blu-Ray movie sales are outselling competitor HD-DVD sales two to one. The price cut on the 60 GB model has increased sales numbers for Sony by almost two-fold with some retailers. Sony's outlook for 2008 and beyond does look promising. Metal Gear Solid 4, Killzone 2, and the next Gran Turismo will surely be system sellers. Those along with highly anticipated "off-beat" titles such as Little Big Planet are creating some serious buzz. That is one thing Sony has done right that Microsoft has not. Sony has laid out some of its plans for 2008 and beyond, Microsoft has not. At this year's E3, Microsoft focused all of their attention on this holiday season, which to them started with the recently released Madden '08. I don't blame Microsoft for doing this. I can't remember the last time one console had so many highly anticipated titles over a four month period. So they're spending all the marketing dollars they can to get as many 360s sold this holiday as possible. However, in doing this, no one really knows what the future holds for Microsoft. No one knows what games they'll be playing on the 360 next year. We have an idea of what'll be available on the PS3 in 2008, and right now, next year looks more promising for Sony than Microsoft. For next week: I honestly don't know. Usually I'll come across a topic to write about from my cruising of the forum posts and news items, but nothing stands out to me right now. Does anyone reading this have the peanuts to give me some inspiration? If not, then next week's post will be about my toenails. Hopefully for everyone's sake, it won't be about my toenails because I can seriously write a college thesis on my white-tipped weapons.