Console Wars V

[Asher]

Originally posted by DrSpike
I only really give the Wii a thumbs up to act as a counterweight to you.

Having said that I genuinely think it's good Nintendo tried something different and are having a great deal of success with that. Unlike you I don't feel threatened by the existence of a different set of gamers with a different set of preferences, as long as MS don't make the next Xbox a direct competitor.

You don't have my foresight. We're already seeing the influence of Wii-mania.

Look at the Xbox 360 avatars. It's starting. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Next generation all of the consoles are going to have gimicky, inprecise, frustrating motion controllers too and you'll be saying "how could I have not seen this coming!" and I'll be shouting from the rooftops "I told you so, you ****ing twit! Look what you've done with your thumbs up! This is all on you!"

[DrSpike]

Now this is actually interesting - something that hasn't happened in this thread for a while.

I think that MS and Sony have a strong incentive to continue to target the 'real' gamer with their next console. I just can't see one of them backing off and leaving the other with the entire market.

They clearly are trying to capitalise on the Wii's success (as in fact I was arguing quite a while before you finally admitted it ) and maybe we will see more casual games on the 360/PS3. But they'll still want to have the most powerful console, and a range of controllers, including current successful ones.

[Asher]

Publishing budgets are finite if not shrinking due to the crunch. Look at EA's layoffs and cancellations.

An increase in the interest of publishers to capitalize on Wii-mania means less to go around for real games.

I can lecture you on basic economics more if you'd like.

[DrSpike]

Actually that's not so much basic economics as crude economics. Since you are so smart I'll leave you to work out why by yourself.

[Asher]

KISS.

[Alinestra Covelia]

I would actually argue that the Wii's success will spur themselves and others to make more precise motion sensor controls. Asher is right about the imprecision problems with the Wiimote. But I also agree strongly with DrSpike that the Wii is taking a new path into uncharted territory, and proving that it can be economically viable to do so.

I have no problem if Sony or MS comes out with the next new Wiimote that's got perfect sensor capabilities, good enough for a sword fight or a precision shooter. Somebody will, I'm sure, and then FPS games will be like they've never been before. Same with the Lucasarts type lightsaber duel games everybody's been wanting since Wii first came out. But it took the Wii and its strong sales to make it feasible in the first place.


For what it's worth, I agree that the Wii lacks the sort of serious title lineup that the XBox360 has. I think Wii's much more of a gateway console - getting the parents into gaming, or getting young kids in. If you're a dedicated gamer, the XBox still has the title lineup you're probably looking for.

But the Wii's done a pretty good job of finding a different target demographic and surviving. I don't know how tenable this is (it strikes me that sooner or later the casual gamers may need something with more substance to it), but for now I have access to a Wii and an XBox, and I'd say that's pretty much all I need.

If you want to talk about a complete and utter outrage on the gaming scene, look no further than DRM for PCs.

[Asher]

But I also agree strongly with DrSpike that the Wii is taking a new path into uncharted territory, and proving that it can be economically viable to do so.

Pretty ballsy to agree on the obvious.

[Alinestra Covelia]

So that means... what?

You don't agree?

Or you have no balls?

[DrSpike]

I don't think that they are mutually exclusive.

[flash9286]

Originally posted by Asher
Publishing budgets are finite if not shrinking due to the crunch. Look at EA's layoffs and cancellations.

An increase in the interest of publishers to capitalize on Wii-mania means less to go around for real games.

I can lecture you on basic economics more if you'd like.

Yes, because 3rd party games sell great on the Wii.

[Asher]

Apparently they sell enough, they just all sell below the top 10.

[flash9286]

I would be more worried about the hardware companies switching to a cheap motion type console like Wii, to try to turn a quick profit on hardware sales, instead of the usual losses.

[El_Cid]

Originally posted by DrSpike
Yeah, the Wii kicking major ass.

On the PS2 issue I know that there is really no point whatsoever biting, but for the sake of argument please post your top 5 PS2 games.

ok i'll give my current top 5, that is the 5 games i play on PS2:

1.Okami - Very japanese, very interesting and just very charming, and better control wise(very important!) than the Wii version.

2. Guitar Hero 2+3. I've played GH2 on PS3 on a large 50" screen and i really don't notice much difference to playing the PS2 version on a 28" at home. Plus they sound exactly the same.

3. Odin sphere - stunning looking 2D rpg. very hack and slash for my normal rpg tastes but the beautifuly drawn art makes we want to keep exploring. A bit old school in style but pretty unique.

4. SingStar(a couple of them) - great fun with friends and the missus My hat nod to a wii-esque type 'family' game, as GH seems a bit more grown up....or something?

5. Granadia II - an old school jrpg. I picked it up because I know it's been highly rated in the past and it was cheap(£5) on sale. It reminds me of the Super Snes era to look at!

But behind the simple visuals is a very deep and complex console rpg. It's way more complex than Oblivion(non modded) in terms of items/stats and character development. The story has some pretty good twists so far also. This one has been a pleasent surprise.

Those are also pretty much all the PS2 games i own. Next up is Ico - very unique, very interesting. And I have another half-dozen titles that I know i will enjoy(Collosus,God of Wars etc) on my 'to get' list.

note i dont have or plan to get any FPS shooting type games, racing games(geof crammond's games cover that imho), american sports games( ) or games that require i need to play online death matches to get more than 10 hours of play time out of them

It's a great console, and in my experience offers the widest range of game styles - for a console, still.

But i DO still spend more time gaming on PC. Consoles are a fun distraction, but when i want a hefty game expereince the PC gives me that, often through mods but not always.

[Asher]

Some day you're going to graduate from the PS2 to the 360 then you'll be apologizing profusely.

[UnOrthOdOx]

Good list.

Buzz is also a fun party game.