Nintendo Wii: $250, Nov 19

[Asher]

And it was the last exclusive Konami gave Nintendo, since sales sucked ass.

[Verto]

It's hard to say with any certainty how successful the Wii is going to be. The Xbox 360 depended solely on good graphics - that was the only expectation people had for it. The PS3...I don't know what would compel anyone to buy one. 600 dollars or whatever the price tag ends up being, to play what? Metal Gear Solid? Sony lost the big exclusives - Grand Theft Auto (POS game anyway) to name one. Blu-Ray is more likely than not going to be a disaster, and HD-DVD will become the new format. Which leaves the PS3's only selling point to be good graphics - and from what I can tell, they will be on par with the 360 at best.

Nintendo has said that High Definition is not part of their gameplan, something which I don't think will have any kind of significant impact. HDTVs may be selling more, but it will take another 2 years, at least, before they become a major factor. Microsoft and Sony have an agenda to fill by pushing BluRay/HD-DVD/HD technology (not to mention Media Center extensions), thus the campaign to convince everyone as to the necessity of owning an HDTV. Sure it'd be nice, but overall not worth spending a thousand bucks on.

The Wii will swim or sink based on how well their control scheme works out. If it's a gimmick, then the Wii becomes an overpriced GameCube. If the Wiimote/Nunchuk work amazingly, but only a handful of first-title games take advantage of the technology, it still remains a gimmick, albeit one with a couple hours' worth of entertainment. Judging by the level of enthusiasm on the part of third-party developers makes me optimistic, though.

So, come November, when people give the Wii a whirl at Wal-Mart or Best Buy, we'll see.

[Jon Miller]

I bought the PS1 to play FF VII, I bought the PS2 to play FF X.

I have mostly stopped playing those sorts of games. Mostly I play MMOs, FPSs, RTSs, and TBSs, which are all better on PC.

We will see about the PS3.

Jon Miller

[Elok]

XBox Live...isn't that the thing that lets you play against a potentially infinite number of teenage paint-sniffers you've never met in person, for a nominal fee?

[Guynemer]

I don't understand how people can get all snippy and defensive and insulting over what gaming console they prefer.

Honestly people. Go get laid.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Grand Theft Auto (POS game anyway)

BLASPHAMY!! I challenge you to a duel!

[DanS]

Now come on people how cheap are you?

You really have to ask?

[Q Classic]

I'd've been much more interested in getting it if it were cheaper and if it still had DVD playback capability. As it stands... meh. $50-100 too pricey, $60 for a second controller...

I think I'll wait for the first round of price cuts, trade my current PS2 for a slim one, and stick with the PCs.

[Snotty]

The DS touchscreen could have been a gimmick, but Nintendo seem to have made an effort to include some aspect of touch screen gaming in the games that have been released. Be it mini games like whack a mole with the stylus, or other games giving you the option of controlling the game with the touch screen in addition to control with the keypad. This way each game can include some touch screen use without having the whole game mechanic hinge around using the stylus.

If the Wii games get the same focus on including the new functionality then hopefully this means the new peripheral wont get pingeonholed into only 1 genre of game (like the lightgun, dancemat, bongos and so on)

HD tv is making its way into peoples homes, but as the Wii is being released now HD would be a wasted function for most people.

[Gibsie]

So the Wii will actually only be £180 in the UK. Not bad, though that's still $100 more than the US. Is it really worth 1% of my salary though...

[Asher]

Originally posted by Snotty
HD tv is making its way into peoples homes, but as the Wii is being released now HD would be a wasted function for most people.

That's pretty narrow thinking, considering that HDTVs have been outselling analog TVs for quite some time, and 99% of people have a monitor capable of HDTV resolutions that can be used to play consoles on (unless they were dumb and bought an iMac )

[Snotty]

I only have anecdotal evidence wrt to HD tv penetration,but it seems to me that the most likely demographic for HDtv ownership are probably simlar to the normal target demographic for games. nintendo were trying to broaden the market, or so I understood it

the fact remains that the vast majority
of tvs in consumers homes are not HD tv yet

[Gibsie]

HD TV's are too expensive over here for me to believe that they're outselling regular TV sets...

[Snotty]

including second hand tv sales? yeah

my new laptop will be hdtv. Are tft/lcd flat panel moniter type things all HD? at the end of the day 19 inch is nothing like the widescreen beasts of a tv we are used to

[DanS]

HDTV penetration outside of the US, Japan, Canada, Australia, and South Korea is still quite minimal. Snotty and Gibsie probably have a good sense of where that stands.

In the US, upwards of 20% of households have an HDTV, and the uptake continues to be strong (go to any Best Buy and you'll get a good sense of this), so a positive business can be made offering high definition game machines.