War of the Consoles

The war is about to begin. The immense rivalry between the Gaming Powerhouses of the world is nearing to a climax with the upcoming releases of the PS3 and Wii. Some say that Microsoft made a devastating move by pushing the realease of the Xbox 360. Although it was realeased to the public much earlier, critics are starting to say that because it was rushed, it will pale in comparison to the graphics and gameplay of the PS3 and Wii. The release dates for the PS3 and Wii are yet to be announced, but we can look forward to taking them home during the Christmas season of 2006.

According to a poll done by next-gen.biz, the Wii is the most looked forward to next generation console, with the PS3 coming in second. Some feel that the PS3's price tag is too large for the normal consumer. With a price tag of 500-600 US dollars depending on the accessories, purchasing the PS3 can be compared to buying an economically priced personal computer from Dell. But purchasing the PS3 does not come without it's advantages. Sony is developing the PS3 with their minds set on the future. The PS3 will be initializing the Bluray disc format which are High Definition DVD's. The PS3 is the only console that will be able to play HD DVD's, but Microsoft has been planning to release an addon for the 360 to allow for HD DVD playback.

The world then turned it's eyes to Nintendo, wondering why it hadn't taken advantage of the HD DVD format. There wasn't a definite response but I believe it's because Nintendo clearly loves to focus their consoles on gaming, instead of using them for other types of multimedia. The Wii has high expectiations due to it's revolutionizing new control system. The Wii takes the typical Controller with d-pads, analogs, and various buttons, but separates them into two major controllers that include a speaker and bluetooth transmitter that sends all the actions of the controller to the TV. It is a collaboration of physical motion sensing and button mashing that is expected to take the gaming world by storm.

Whatever the outcome of this Console War, one thing is assured in our minds: God Bless the video game.