ON THE FLAWS OF NINTENDO Wii AND SONY PS3

...TO THOSE WHO WAIT

Two unrelated reviews of the Nintendo's new Wii game system (Slate), and Sony's new Playstation 3 (PS3) system (New York Times), make me feel less bad about missing out on the latest bit of gadget-driven fun. 

The media in recent days has been rife with reports of eager fans waiting for days in line to get their hands on either system.

After all, to miss out on the Wii was to miss out on trying out the novel, motion-sensing wireless controllers that gave users a whole new way to interact with a game.

And to miss out on the PS3, was to miss out on the most powerful gaming computer ever designed...why it almost has super-computer powers if adapted in certain ways.

As the New York Times article by Seth Schiesel puts it:

"Measured in megaflops, gigabytes and other technical benchmarks, the PlayStation 3 is certainly the world’s most powerful game console. It falls far short, however, of providing the world’s most engaging overall entertainment experience. There is a big difference, and Sony seems to have confused one for the other."

Indeed, Seth goes on to praise Microsoft's XBox 360 vs. the PS3 in ways reminiscent of reviews of an Apple computer vs. a Windows one:

Microsoft, the prototypical PC company, has made the Xbox 360 into a powerful but intuitive, welcoming, people-friendly system. Sony’s PlayStation 3, on the other hand, often feels like a brawny but somewhat recalcitrant specialized computer. (Sony is even telling users to wait for future software patches to fix some of the PS3’s deficiencies.)

Nintendo's Wii system also gets poor marks by it's reviewer Erik Sofge of Slate:

"The ugly truth is that the Wii's already-legendary motion-detection system doesn't work very well...

The Wii Remote is the most advanced motion-sensing device in the history of gaming, but in the interests of accommodating almost unlimited variables, from the size of the TV to the player's physical proportions, the Wii tosses out much of the data that are collected. Depending on what's going on in the game, only a narrow range of your physical input is converted to on-screen action. Which is why I could hit one-handed home runs without winding up or following through."

Both articles suggest that given time, each system will likely better address it's flaws through game system software updates, and better games designed by third parties.  If you're chomping at the bit for either of the systems, the respective review is recommended.

In the meantime, the reviews give those of us without these machines, a reason to feel better about waiting.  Not to mention cranking up the tried and true XBox 360.

Comments

[Yaser Anwar]

As someone who's an avid gamer I think I can provide a good review of them.

The cons with Sony's PS3 vs the others are:

1) To play with existing data from PS2 titles you have to purchase an additional memory card adapter as the PS3 does not feature original PlayStation memory card slots. Likewise, not all PS2 games will play properly on the PS3, only adding to the frustration of the gaming experience.

2) Logistics and distribution- What pisses me off the most is I've to wait till the end of Feb 07 to get my PS3, which is totally ridiculous. I just can't believe that Sony's mgmt would have missed the massive demand of this product. PS2 has been the best selling console, so Sony just releasing 400,000 units is hubris! You'd think after delaying it twice they would have gotten their act together.

3) The price- having talked to friends who recieved their PS3s, some even paying hefty prices on eBay, this was not an issue. why? the Ps3 is not just a gaming console its an entertainment system which brings me to its pros.

the pros of PS3 vs others:

1) As some one who has an Xbox 360, I've played plenty of PS3 on their launch parties down here in Canada and even in Dubai. The revolutionary Cell Broadband Engine in the PS3 can deliver smooth performance as it is able to handle a higher workload much more easily. So what does this mean? It means much smoother transitions and virtually no slow down in frame rate. With that in mind, PS3 games are far superior graphically than its PS2 predecessor, and are faster than most PC games on the market today, and in my view better than xbox 360.

2) Blue-ray: Blu-ray discs are the next leap forward in disc technology. It provides for more storage, up to 50GB, which allows it to meet the requirements of high-def games and movies. The best part about Blue-ray is that Blu-ray drive featured in the PS3 will also support many of the older disc formats, including CD-ROM, CDR+W, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, and DVD+R.

At the end of the day its "you get what you pay for". When you buy a PS3 you get the amazing new technologies, not to mention the wicked good line of upcoming games & IMO graphics that are better than the xbox 360.

That being said this xmas will be a Xbox 360 Xmas in terms of sales. Unfortunately all the pros don't matter if you can't have one.....or have to wait ages for one. Hence MSFT will be the sales and volume beneficiary.

With regards to Wii's problems- Whether its Xbox 360, PS3 or the Wii I can promise you they all have their flaws. Good thing is they are working to make them go away. I remember having lots of probs when PS2 came out such as; not being able to play PS1 games and hard drive reading problems, but all those eventually went away.

So when consumers will complain, the 3 console makers will listen.