Something wicked this way comes. Something big is going to happen in the videogame industry in the coming months and few years. Something big involving the 3 major players in the industry: Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. We’re at a cliffhanger that J. J. Abrams would be proud of.
NOTE: For the abridged version of this entry, please scroll down.
But first, a brief history:
I am sure that many of you out there have heard the terms “next-gen” or “next generation” when referring to videogame consoles. A generation for videogames usually lasts about three to four years or so. History has shown that every generation improves on the previous one, and every other generation brings along with it a huge innovation. Allow me to illustrate further. Let’s look back to the late 80s. Nintendo had the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Sega had the Master System, both of which were 8-bit systems. Their big thing was 2D games that were quite advanced for the time.
The next generation of consoles brought Nintendo’s Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and Sega’s Genesis (Mega Drive in Europe and South America). Both of these systems were 16-bit and basically improved on the graphics and technology of 2D games.
Remember how we said huge innovations come along? The next era was the 32-bit era where the people were introduced to real 3D gaming. Sega came out with a very poorly marketed yet amazing system called the Sega Saturn while Sony released its now infamous PlayStation. The games were also played on CDs. The Sega Saturn was quickly forgotten by the masses while the PlayStation continued to grow in popularity with an older crowd as its target audience.
Since we are now in the 3D world, what do you suppose the following generation of consoles did? 128-bit systems were on the loose. Sega released its awesome yet once again poorly marketed and ill-fated Dreamcast, Sony had PlayStation 2, and Microsoft joined in a bit late in the game with its Xbox. The three systems simply made 3D graphics smoother and more realistic while also introducing the world to online console gaming; an innovation that few remember was originated by the Dreamcast.
Which brings us to the generation we find ourselves in at this very moment. However, unlike the past, this generation seems to bring no innovation by its apparent major players. The Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 will only make games look more realistic than before. Unfortunately, not every company has the available budget to make games that take full advantage of the power of these systems. And seeing how many delays the PS3 has gone through, as well as its seemingly wasteful use of the Blu-Ray technology, I believe it will be out of the console wars by the end of this generation. The Xbox 360 will suffer too, but might not fall off completely.
Which finally brings us to the saving grace of this generation: The Nintendo Wii. You might have noticed that Nintendo was not mentioned in some of the above paragraphs. While Sony and Microsoft, and even Sega were doing their battles trying to outdo the other, Nintendo was always off to the side doing their own thing. Their target audience was usually much younger and always appealed to the whole family. The Nintendo 64 had some amazing titles. The GameCube, as well. They have also always been the undisputed leader in handheld portable gaming. And nobody can deny that their games are just plain fun.
But I get distracted, I am here to talk about the Wii. The Wii is the way of the future. The Wii is what will save the videogame industry. The Wii will get every single person in the household playing video games. It is the only console of this generation that is actually trying something new and innovative. The controllers are…well, just see for yourselves. By making it accessible to virtually everyone, Nintendo is going to beat out its competitors who offer the same of the old for about twice the price. That’s right, the Wii will be sold for only $250, and that includes a sports games pack.
Yessir, the Wii is the only way to go. Forget the PS3 and the Xbox 360. They’re not doing anything new. Sure the games look stunning, but we’ve seen it all before. Put your money on the Wii, I know I will…or should I say, I know I Wiill.
ABRIDGED VERSION: The Nintendo Wii will kill the PS3 and the Xbox 360.
…are you watching closely?
2 comments:
the Wii will beat out the PS3 cus of their whole blue ray thing, and bad pricing, and limited availability in the US. but the 360 will still hold its own. there are some surprises that they have yet to unleash. i think its just gonna be both tied at the end.
also isnt the ps3 going to be very expensive? or one of them is, I can't remember, but something ridiculously high in my opinion
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