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Nintendo Wii
Price:
Specs
729 MHz IBM PowerPC "Broadway" CPU243 MHz ATI "Hollywood" GPU24MBs "main" 1T-SRAM64MBs other 1T-SRAM512MBs internal flash memory3MBs texture memory on GPUBuilt-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi capabilityOne SD memory card bayAV multi-port: S-video, composite, componentAnalog (left/right) audio / DPLIIFour GameCube controller portsTwo GameCube Memory Pak slotsTwo USB 2.0 portsCompatible with up to four wireless Wii-motesSelf-loading media driveAccepts 12cm Wii and 8cm GCN discs; no DVD movies
Features
Peripherals and Price
Playstation 3
Price:
Both PS3 models
Once again, Nintendo delivers a product that sounds cheap, but has hidden fees. The classic controller is not included in the box, and they cost $19.99. While most titles will use the Wii-mote, certain games will not. Super Smash Bros. will only be playable with the classic controller. The Virtual Console is a great feature, but you'll need the classic controller for most of those two. You can turn the Wii side ways to play NES titles though. You also have to pay for online service. So not only do you have to pay for virtual console downloads, you also have to pay just to connect to the internet to do so.
You also need to buy SD cards to store those downloads. The Wii has no hard drive so unless you have one, you won't be able to save your downloads. You have up to 512mb of internal memory to store game saves, but that's really not that much space.
The Wii is also incapable of displaying images at even the lowest HD output. What this means is that if you're playing a game on an HDTV, you'll get a really bad case of the jaggies. The jaggies are what you see when you have a diagonal line on your TV, and the line is broken up as a result of less pixel usage.
Wii-motes use 2 AA batteries. Either you'll be buying new batteries all the time (which will definitely add up over time), or you can buy an charger for $29.99.
So let's look at the rundown for things you WILL need to get the most of your Nintendo Wii...
Nintendo Wii System: 249.99
Classic Controller: $19.99
1GB SD card: $49.99
4 Pack of AA Batteries: $5-10
Wii-mote Charging Station: $29.99
Total: $349.96
The Wii is going to be a great console, but it's false to think that you'll be getting the full experience right out of the box on launch day. That having been said, I don't think we should let price affect us too much. If you're hurting that bad for money, you probably shouldn't be involved with such an expensive hobby anyway!
Personal Opinions on the PS3:
Wow. What a price! $600 immediately sends a shock wave down the spine of everyone who hears it. The PS3 is a powerhouse system that has a seemingly infinite amount of options for everyone from Audio/Video-philes, to your average gamer. The price may really hurt sales initially however. With two cheaper competitors, consumers may be enticed to look at price over value. And with each game/peripheral costing an average of $10 than a Wii, Nintendo may have the keys to an early lead.
The loss of the rumble feature in the new controller is a bit of a disappointment. Force feedback has been expected in controllers since the Rumble Pak came out on the N64. The SixAxis sounds like a good middle ground between the extremes of the 360 controller and the Wii controller. Triggers replace a few of the buttons and the 6 points of movement allow a transition in gameplay without adjusting a feel that gamers have had since the 80's. It would have been nice if the SixAxis could turn off and allow force feedback. If developers don't take advantage of the SixAxis features, it's going to be a complete waste.
It also sucks that the PS3 doesn't have ports for PS2 controllers. I realize that they deleted the ports to keep costs down, but it's still a bit of a disadvantage. Especially when the Wii has ports of the GC controller.
The Online store is a bit of concern for me. I know that they've been studying Xbox Live, but they really need to surpass it in order to win fans. Xbox Live is simply unmatched with the level of integration. It's convient, aesthetically pleasing, and effective. The original PS2 online interface was cumbersome at best. The fact that some companies can charge what they want seems odd to me. I'm not sure if Sony plans on carrying information from one game to another in order to keep stats, but it sounds risky.
I think Sony has the most potential, but they really have to be on the ball. They need to use all of the features that the PS3 has built in, as well as really taking advantage of the SixAxis features. There should be a lot of games with PS3 connectivity as well as a streamlined Online interface.
It's so much of a gamble, and given their track record of seemingly letting the console do it's thing is not going to work this time. Advertising has to be spot on, no more cryptic commercials!
Price:
- $249.99
- 1 Wii-mote
- 1 Nunchuk attachment
- 1 Wii stand
- 1 AC adapter
- 1 Composite audio/video cable
- 1 sensor bar
- 1 sensor bar stand
- 2 AA batteries
- 1 copy of Wii Sports
Specs
729 MHz IBM PowerPC "Broadway" CPU243 MHz ATI "Hollywood" GPU24MBs "main" 1T-SRAM64MBs other 1T-SRAM512MBs internal flash memory3MBs texture memory on GPUBuilt-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi capabilityOne SD memory card bayAV multi-port: S-video, composite, componentAnalog (left/right) audio / DPLIIFour GameCube controller portsTwo GameCube Memory Pak slotsTwo USB 2.0 portsCompatible with up to four wireless Wii-motesSelf-loading media driveAccepts 12cm Wii and 8cm GCN discs; no DVD movies
Features
- Fully backward compatible with the Gamecube, including controllers
- Wii Channels and interface (online shops, communication, community)
- Virtual Console allows you to download NES, SNES, and N64 games. Third party games will be available too (TurboGrafx16, Sega Genesis, etc.)
- Wifi communication with the Nintendo DS
Peripherals and Price
- Wii-mote: $39.99
- Nunchuck Attachment: $19.99
- Classic Controller: $19.99 (needed for classic games and select Wii titles. Super Smash Bros. for example)
- Wii HD Premium Component Cable: $59.99
- Wii Charge Station: $29.99
- Wii S-video Component Cable: $39.99
- Wii USB 2.0 LAN adapter: Price to be Announced
- Unique controller allows for new ideas and gameplay modes
- Price
- Backward Compatibility
- Wii Channels
- Small (same height as 3 stacked DVD cases
- Possible downloading of Sega Genesis/TurboGrafx games
- Wireless DS connectivity
- Incapable of HD output (Internal RAM cannot support resolutions higher than 480p, some Xbox titles support 780p resolutions)
- Hidden costs (Virtual Console titles cost $5-10, Some games cannot use the Wii-mote, Wii-motes need batteries)
- No Hard drive (only 512mb of built in memory. Online downloads and Virtual Console games must be saved on an SD card. SD cards sold separately)
- No Ethernet port (Gamers with no router have to buy a LAN adapter)
- No Dolby Digital Support
Playstation 3
Price:
- 20GB System: $499
- 60GB System: $599
Both PS3 models
- PlayStation 3 console
- SIXAXIS wireless controller
- AC cord
- USB mini-cable (for charging the SIXAXIS controller)
- Ethernet cable
- Multi-AV cable with composite connectors
- First 500,000 PlayStation 3s will ship with a copy of Taladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby on Blu-ray
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- Memory Stick, SD and Compact Flash card slots
- 60GB Hard Drive
- HDMI Output
- 802.11b/g wireless
- Carrying Handle
- CPU:
- GPU:
- RSX "Reality Synthesizer"
- Memory:
- 256MB XDR Main RAM 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
- HDD:
- 20GB 2.5" Serial ATA (60GB)
- I/O:
- USB 2.0 x 4
- MemoryStick/SD/CompactFlash Slots
- Communication:
- Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)
- IEEE 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)
- Wireless Controller Bluetooth (up to 7)
- A/V Output:
- Screen Size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
- HDMI: HDMI out - (x1 / HDMI)
- Analog: AV MULTI OUT x 1
- Digital audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x 1
- Blu-ray/DVD/CD DRIVE "read only"
- Dimensions:
- Approximately 325mm (W) x 98mm (H) x 274mm (D)
- Weight:
- Approximately 5 kg
- Capable of supporting a variety of storage media (memory sticks, SD, etc.)
- PSP/PS3 wireless connectivity (use the PSP to control PS3 games in real time, or view PS3 content on the PSP)
- PS1 emulator (download PS1 games and play them, or put them on your PSP)
- Backward Compatible
- SixAxis controller allows 6 points of movement
- SixAxis controllers connect wireless through Bluetooth
- Up to 7 controllers can be wirelessly connected simultaneously
- Plays Blu-Ray movies
- Region Free games
- Supports 1080p,1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i. 1920x1080 progressive, not interlaced (progressive is much better)
- PS3/PS2 controller adapter: $4.99
- PS3 HD Component Cable: $59.99
- PS3 S-Video Premium Cable: $39.99
- PS3/PS2 Memory Card Adapter: $14.99
- Blu-Ray Player Remote: $24.99
- SixAxis Controller: $39.99
- Price (while justified, may be too much of a shocker)
- Publishers can charge for their own content (monthly fees for MMO's)
- No port for PS2/PS1 memory cards, adapter must be bought
- No port for Dual Shock controllers, adapter must be bought
- No rumble feature in SixAxis controllers
- No upscaling of DVD's and possibly PS2 games (making them look sharper)
Once again, Nintendo delivers a product that sounds cheap, but has hidden fees. The classic controller is not included in the box, and they cost $19.99. While most titles will use the Wii-mote, certain games will not. Super Smash Bros. will only be playable with the classic controller. The Virtual Console is a great feature, but you'll need the classic controller for most of those two. You can turn the Wii side ways to play NES titles though. You also have to pay for online service. So not only do you have to pay for virtual console downloads, you also have to pay just to connect to the internet to do so.
You also need to buy SD cards to store those downloads. The Wii has no hard drive so unless you have one, you won't be able to save your downloads. You have up to 512mb of internal memory to store game saves, but that's really not that much space.
The Wii is also incapable of displaying images at even the lowest HD output. What this means is that if you're playing a game on an HDTV, you'll get a really bad case of the jaggies. The jaggies are what you see when you have a diagonal line on your TV, and the line is broken up as a result of less pixel usage.
Wii-motes use 2 AA batteries. Either you'll be buying new batteries all the time (which will definitely add up over time), or you can buy an charger for $29.99.
So let's look at the rundown for things you WILL need to get the most of your Nintendo Wii...
Nintendo Wii System: 249.99
Classic Controller: $19.99
1GB SD card: $49.99
4 Pack of AA Batteries: $5-10
Wii-mote Charging Station: $29.99
Total: $349.96
The Wii is going to be a great console, but it's false to think that you'll be getting the full experience right out of the box on launch day. That having been said, I don't think we should let price affect us too much. If you're hurting that bad for money, you probably shouldn't be involved with such an expensive hobby anyway!
Personal Opinions on the PS3:
Wow. What a price! $600 immediately sends a shock wave down the spine of everyone who hears it. The PS3 is a powerhouse system that has a seemingly infinite amount of options for everyone from Audio/Video-philes, to your average gamer. The price may really hurt sales initially however. With two cheaper competitors, consumers may be enticed to look at price over value. And with each game/peripheral costing an average of $10 than a Wii, Nintendo may have the keys to an early lead.
The loss of the rumble feature in the new controller is a bit of a disappointment. Force feedback has been expected in controllers since the Rumble Pak came out on the N64. The SixAxis sounds like a good middle ground between the extremes of the 360 controller and the Wii controller. Triggers replace a few of the buttons and the 6 points of movement allow a transition in gameplay without adjusting a feel that gamers have had since the 80's. It would have been nice if the SixAxis could turn off and allow force feedback. If developers don't take advantage of the SixAxis features, it's going to be a complete waste.
It also sucks that the PS3 doesn't have ports for PS2 controllers. I realize that they deleted the ports to keep costs down, but it's still a bit of a disadvantage. Especially when the Wii has ports of the GC controller.
The Online store is a bit of concern for me. I know that they've been studying Xbox Live, but they really need to surpass it in order to win fans. Xbox Live is simply unmatched with the level of integration. It's convient, aesthetically pleasing, and effective. The original PS2 online interface was cumbersome at best. The fact that some companies can charge what they want seems odd to me. I'm not sure if Sony plans on carrying information from one game to another in order to keep stats, but it sounds risky.
I think Sony has the most potential, but they really have to be on the ball. They need to use all of the features that the PS3 has built in, as well as really taking advantage of the SixAxis features. There should be a lot of games with PS3 connectivity as well as a streamlined Online interface.
It's so much of a gamble, and given their track record of seemingly letting the console do it's thing is not going to work this time. Advertising has to be spot on, no more cryptic commercials!
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