4 months into the new generation, what is your opinion of the new consoles?

No mention on the interlacing though, which I'm much more interested in knowing about. AFAIK, the system can't handle 240p, so interlacing is the only way.

 

i dont think its such a bad price concidering its the launchprice AND the amount of hardware youre getting? its definetly the cheapest blue-ray player out there..

anyways, $600 is less than the PS2 and x360 cost a launch here in europe :crying: when the ps3 launches here (can you BELIEVE it still hasent!!h: ) its gonna be around $1000.
most expensive pre-order ive seen is 7195SEK for one which i believe is just above $1100... almost 3 times the price of a japanese one...

 

The 360 is still it for me.

* Played some good games
* Downloded TV Shows
* Downloaded Movies (in 720p)
* Played/Bought Live Arcade games
* Streamed my 5,000 or so songs
* Streamed video from my PC

It's cool to me that I can download movies in 720p, even titles that haven't been released here on Japan on DVD yet or were never released at all. I have a few South Park and Dave Chappelle Show episodes. Live Arcade is decent (not enough choices) but the HD game Heavy Armor is really, really fun to play, especially since it's also 720p. I've downloaded a few classics like Galaga as well.

I've probably downloaded a dozen or so demo games like Madden 2007, Splinter Cell, Lost Planet, FEAR, Sonic, Rainbow 6 Vegas. The demos let you play for long enough that I know which games I wouldn't want to own.

It's hooked up to my surround sound so all of my music can be played from the main menu. It's streamed from my PC. The interface is nice and isn't confusing to use. I have the XBOX sound running through an optical cable to my Denon system.

So overall the XBOX seems to be a place to go for games, movies, & music. You don't really think about the time you spend on your console NOT playing games. I think before I just played and turned it off.

Really bad side.....only a 20 gig hard drive. I've already had to delete some demos to be able to download Saw III (720p, 5 gigs). If they're planning on releasing more 5 gig movies in the future then don't plan on keeping much on your hard drive. It seems like a silly limitation now with all of the technology that you can use.

The Wii was nice, but not really my thing. I thought it was cool when I first played it but after that I haven't really thought about it. I remember playing Bleach and just moving the controller back and forth to swing. I don't think I wanted to learn a new way to move the controller, I just wanted to fight.

My nieces are 5 and 7 and will be getting one when I go to the US in July. I can see how a family could use that to do something together as a group, and that's a pretty cool thing for Nintendo to pull off. I'll probably watch the system from the sidelines but my respect level for Nintendo is pretty high at this point from a creation standpoint....nice to see them back in the ring again and holding their own against the money giants.

PS3....I just haven't thought about this system at all for about 2 months. I haven't seen any commericals, haven't really been to many video game shops. I kind of forgot about it. Hmmm...that's strange...heh.

 

My Personal Rank (details to follow)
1) Xbox 360
2) Wii
3) Ps3

Why

- Xbox 360 -
Hands down, Microsoft's risk of releasing a year early paid off in a big way. Great overall system, Tons of great titles avalible, XBLA kicks serious ass right now (it's finaly hitting its stride), HD movie downloads, PC streaming, and serious support on cables (rather anoyed I cant find a ps3 equivilent to the 360 vga cables).

A

- Wii -
Not a bad small system with a uniqe setup. Yet sadly I think nintendo is starting to fall into flaws it's had in the past. Most titles released are gimmicky or puzzle collections. Other then zelda there are very few games that hold up well. Second Zelda was far from steller imo (TWW I still find to be better in so many ways minus difficulty). VC is a nice thing but the prices are way too high. Software support is seriously in the gutter atm with nothing steller comming out till the latter half of this year. No serious support for online gamming and they keep releasing half ass software (Weather chan, everybody votes, web browser).

I fear that if 3rd party software does not drasticaly improve and nintendo them self do not do something to improve it. The Wii will ultimately become 3rd place yet again this console cycle. Soon as MS drops the price of the 360 to equal or less then the Wii, nintendo is in deap ***t.

B+

- PS3 -
Over all not a bad system but just too freaking expensive. Shave some of the price and bring it down to 360 price and we would have a winner off the bat. The launch software was horrific but here we are in march and it's starting to pick up steam (Motorstorm, VF5, Tekken DR, flOw, F1). I think once sony expands and fixes the Sony Store things could get more impressive. I notice sony is being agressive with it's DL store and looks to offer serious content for reasonable prices (Tekken was a little high but the rest of the stuff is nicely prices, as well calling all cars will be $10). Blu-Ray playback is great but atm there is few if nothing worth watching on BR. Probably first pick up for me will be 007: Casino Royal.

So over all if they can improve the sony store, add ps1 emulation to the ps3 (so you can play the dl ps1 games on your ps3), keep up the recent software flow and maybe drop the price atleast by $100. I think things will ultimately improve and make the ps3 the 2nd better console this gen.

B-

 

PS3= a good linux server too. I d love to see professionals take advantage of it in that way. I know I would If I could afford the box.

 

But you could do far more w/ much less on some x86 box made from parts.

 

yes, unfortunately price is the main issue. I thought of getting a Ps3 instead of a cheap PC but a cheap PC is so much cheaper. But when it comes to high-powered server-side apps, PS3 should be better off than a single processor setup. right?

 

Only if said applications were programmed for the CELL specifically. Otherwise, nope.

 

I m sure that there are COMPETENT compilers for the machine, and standard multi-processor applications shoudln't be too hard to optimize.

 

I am not fully sure but I believe on PS3 Linux you can write software for the SPU. The power in the PS3 lies in the SPU.

I've seen benchmarks that make the ps3 do decomp almost twice as fast as the 360 when running across all SPU (with out the PPC vs 360 with all cpus).

Sucks Linux PS3 does not allow access to the GPU for 3d acelleration.

 

There is talk of limited access to the GPU for home users, which might be announced this week at GDC. Total rumour at the moment though, but I would be surprised if Sony didn't have something to go against XNA considering their past support of homebrew.

 

Well, I can see that everyone sure has quite a few opinions.

On the emulation issue: I could never really get into emulators. To me, it just doesn't feel right (Sort of like how some music fans will buy CD's instead of downloading because of the way they feel). I've tried emulation in the past: Flash cards, widescreen TV as my monitor running emulators, PSP emulators, and so on. It just doesn't do it for me. On Xbox Live, I like to play multiplayer games online and earn achievements, and the Virtual Console allows me to buy games that I can play with a controler (You could do the same with a emulator, but I just like the feel better on the Virtual Console).

I will admit that I do favor the 360 more then the PS3 or Wii right now. It is getting next gen games faster then the PS3 is getting them, and usually runs a bit better on it. Wii games are currently too far in between, so I mostly use it for the Virtual Console.

I will say that PC gaming has been dissapointing lately. I understand many are working on top PC games, but there has been nothing these last few months. I may pick up S.T.A.L.K.E.R, but that is about it for PC gaming right now.

I don't know, i've always been a bit of a console fan, although I do tend to play my handhelds more.

 

You must ask yourself the question though... who on Earth is going to risk their job by suggesting they get a PS3 rather than a nice Linux server?

 

Well currently I see Xbox 360 as doing the best and is my favorite most definitely. The hardware seems pretty powerful and offers some very sharp looking games that are quite fun. Crackdown was a recent game I played and I was very pleased. Sadly there is a limit to what all you can do, but it was a great play. Anyway, the system I think will take a good chunk of the market share from Sony.

Wii and PS3... I'm not really sure which I'd rank next. The PS3 certainly seems moderately capable. Though all the times I've seen the games they look "edgey" or jagged. Also the Blu-ray thing while nice and I'd love to have HD movies over DVDs, I'm not looking to pay for it... Blu-ray and HDDVD movies cost so much more than DVDs. And I rarely even buy DVDs cause they are usually too expensive for something you watch only so many times. The PS3's game library seems lacking. Motorstorm seemed fun. Resistance I couldn't care less about. The Gundam game getting high praises in Japan I am curious about. I really like Gundam. The PS3 seems to be lacking a great online experience though.

Which brings me to Wii which obviously is lacking entirely any online gaming. But first off, the hardware. The hardware is horribly dated. Until a real developer (Capcom, Ex: RE4) shows us what the Wii can do, I'm not convinced it's sufficant. The software library isn't quite there like PS3. I enjoy Wii sports (mainly bowling). I really like Excite Truck. I really HATE Red Steel. Which brings me to the control. The motion sensing is cool. The pointing aspect is... tedious. Since I really like firearms and Lightgun games, the whole aiming in a FPS has alot to live up to with that remote. Next, the Nunchuck... it sucks. Sorry, but the analog stick in my opinion is annoying and I find it hard to use. I just think it's a real pain to use.

Oh yes and Virtual Console, great for the uninformed masses. But for a real gamer, who gives a fuck. Subpar emulation of games I already have. Sure I love the games and like to play them, but that's the problem. I like these games too much to pay money for a file to use on a subpar emulator on a console with no traditional control pad (Classic Controller is flawwed).

I'd rather play these games on the real console, my Xbox, or my PC which can output to my TV, has controller adapters, even my own home built arcade stick. If I'm going to emulate, I do it right. VC is for the sheep of the market.

Anyway, I have 2 of the 3 systems (360, Wii) and I'll get the PS3 eventually. But right now my system of choice is the 360 and that won't likely change to PS3 or Wii. Wii has me waiting for more cool games only it can offer. PS3 has me waiting for a price drop and again, cool exclusive games.

 

In a parenthesis, it is amusing how the 360 was the bad step-child for most (Even for myself) until about a year ago, without many games to truly make it next-gen.

Launching early, and an amazing effort from Microsoft through their Live and XBLA service, as well as numerous innovations in the console world , brought over from their PC/OS-past make the 360 unique and something new for all of us old-timer console fans.

In the same fashion, the PS3 needs time on the market to mature, even if the 360 has gotten there first thus taking some freshness away. I m curious to see how it will be doing in a year from now.

 

Xbox 360 -
Good points - Has a lot of software
Bad Points - Despite some Japanese software, the machine is not doing very well in Japan and that will hurt the machine long term. Too many american games, some of which are fairly dull. Backward compatability is pretty poor. Flakier then a certain chocolate bar, too many machines faulty...

Wii
Good Points - Interesting control method, GC Compatability, fun party games
Bad Points - GC Compatability, too many kludged games, single player games a bit thin on the ground, Nintendo managing to make you pay for your software all over again.

PS3
Good Points - Nice all in one unit, will have good software support.
Bad Points - Lack of games, nothing must have so far.

As for the people whinging it's too expensive, in real terms it's cheaper then every other PS that has come out (hell I remember people spending £1000 on the PS when it came out...) and for what it offers it's not too bad.

 

I haven't played my psp in months i played my wii only a few times. And the ps3 is a boat that isn't worth it. Now my xbox 360 is played all the freaking time plus i am playing on bring in a 57 lcd tv that does 1080p so that still is for the xbox360. so Xbox is better.

 

Lol, so what, Nintendo's supposed to give them away for free? I think it's a fabulous service for those who've never seen/played these games before. "BUT THEY CAN JUST DO IT ON A PC EMULATOR.!" All right, fine, but how many of them would have tried or will try anyhow?

 

maybe someone should educate them, put CNN on ;p

 

lulz, that'll do. But it would need SENSATIONALIZATION! Child predators, etc.