PS3/XBox 360/Wii--help a newbie decide

[johnsemlak]

OK, I'm seriously considering buying my first EVER game console (I had a used first generation SEGA which I think I inherited from my brother years (decades?) ago) and want some help deciding.

What are/will be the relative plusses and minuses of the currently-popular options, particuarly for someone who will be casual console gamer at most?

Amongst the three available one's the lower-priced Wii seems the best value at first glance--does it have the same quality of game selection. The game I most want to play is Elder Scrolls Oblivian on the xbox--will there soemthign with a comparable experience for the Wii.

 

[John Crichton]

First question is: Are you looking to buy right now? If so, go with the 360. It's the most solid and easy to find console. If you want a PS3 you are going to have to wait in a line or some other kind of hassle to get one. The Wii is gonna have some cool stuff but not as much as the 360 right now.

You already mentioned a game you want to play: Oblivion. That's a good enough reason to buy a system than any. It's all about the games. Get the 360 and wait to see if there are other games you want on either the Wii or PS3. It will be out on the PS3, too but good luck finding one at launch.

If I may offer another option: the PS2. It's got a TON of games in every genre that crush every system out there now. The tech is old and the games will not look as good as the newer stuff (Oblivion is a good example) and it's affordable. You said that you will be a "casual gamer at best" and the PS2 sounds like a great fit. But since you left it out of the initial options I'll just leave it at that.

The next question: what types of games do you like to play?

 

[johnsemlak]

Which games I like to play--I generally play CRPGs (of course, this being enworld) but I've never got into MMOs so I'm not planning on that. Otherwise, I supposed I'll spend a bit of time with shooters, and some strategy games along the lines of Civilisation, the Total War line, etc.

I mentioned getting the more up-to-date consoles because while I'm pretty much a casual gamer I suppose I'm interested in getting good graphics. I've recently bought a decent HDTV, so that's part of the impetus. Still, I see your point that getting an older-gen console might be a better value.

I'm not necessarily planning on getting one right away. I'd like to get advice on whether it's worth it to wait for the newer consoles--actually I need to find out when the release dates are here-I assume they're the same as in Europe and there have been some well-publicized delays in Europe.

 

[John Crichton]

I'm not necessarily planning on getting one right away. I'd like to get advice on whether it's worth it to wait for the newer consoles--actually I need to find out when the release dates are here-I assume they're the same as in Europe and there have been some well-publicized delays in Europe.

Ah, if you are in no rush then I would simply wait to see how the 360/PS3 "war" plays out. And to see what happens with the Wii and if 3rd party devs make a good selection of games for it. For my money I would say the PS3 is a good way to go (a year from now) if you want to take advantage of the big HD screen. You'll have all the new PS3 games, a Blu-Ray player plus the entire backlog of PS1/2 games.

Myself, I need to own all three. Just to give where I'm coming from.

 

[trancejeremy]

The PS3 and 360 are pretty much comparable in terms of power. The Wii is somewhat more powerful than the original Xbox, but not even close to the class of the other two. (This is why it's so much cheaper)

The PS3's real difference is that it comes with a Blu Ray drive. Which might also be its weakness. (since it drove up the cost, and is a bit slower than the DVD drive in the 360, although you apparently install games to the hard drive, to offset this, or the most important bits anyway). I'm also not sure the PS3 is powerful enough (its GPU is about on par with a Nvidia 7800, already obsolete) or has enough memory to take advantage of the added space Blu Ray gives. Some games, like Virtua Tennis, do supposedly have more detailed textures than their 360 counterparts, but most are pretty much the same

As to games, I really think you'll see that most big name games by 3rd parties will go to both the 360 and PS3, unless funded by either Sony or MS. Because development costs are so high.

Right now, Oblivion is only on the 360, but will be on the PS3 in 1Q 2007 (supposed to be a launch title, but moved back apparently to add microtransaction support). Because it's simply not very powerful, you won't see that on the Wii, but they might do something like it if it catches on (the PSP is getting an Oblivion title, the Wii might get a port of that, or something like that). The Wii will have Zelda, though.

Anyway, if you like Western RPGs, then 360 will probably be the best bet. It will also have Mass Effect, which is a sci-fi shooter/rpg combo from Bioware. And MS has financed some fairly impressive japanese RPGs (Blue Dragon and something)

I really wouldn't expect many strategy games on either console. At least not like Total War or Civilization. The 360 will probably get some RTSs (Battle of Middle Earth sold well) and there's the upcoming Halo Wars, and the PS3 will likely get some Romance of the 3 Kingdom games.

The 360 probably wins out in the shooter department (assuming you mean FPS). Halo 3, Gears of War, The PS3 does have Resistance: Fall of Man which looks interesting, but likely not in the class of either GoW or Halo.

Since they are so expensive, I'll probably end up just getting one console (usually I would get them all when they hit $200), and I'm probably going to get the PS3, because it will likely have more Japanese RPGs (which I like).

And oh yeah, both the 360 and PS3 should be getting the supposed Oblivion killer from EA. Not much is known about it, except it's set in Middle Earth, and uses Sims 2 AI, and called "The White Council".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_White_Council

 

[Vigilance]

Despite the fact that I personally am getting a Wii, I think Id recommend either an X-360 or PS2 for you if you're looking for RPGs.

PS2 has some of the greatest RPGs of all time, including Final Fantasy X, Dragon Quest VIII and Final Fantasy XII.

The first two are currently available for 20 dollars new, so you could get a PS2 and both games, for about 200 bucks at current pricing. Since both games play at 50-100 hours (depending on how much optional stuff you do), you're looking at a couple months of gaming easily.

X-360 has Oblivion, which is similar in scope to the three PS2 RPGs that I mentioned.

Of course PS3 will definitely have Final Fantasy XIII, so that's a consideration as well, though I wouldnt even begin to think about getting a PS3 till the price comes down, not everyone is a writerlike me, some folks have money

Chuck

 

[Alzrius]

I'd recommend getting a Wii. I don't know if price is a prohibitive factor for you, but the Wii is cheaper now than even a 360 is after a year on the market. The Wii is also better (and I think more fun) for casual players, unless you want to be figuring out dozens of buttons on your controller. Note that, despite talk of "system power," the Wii has comparable graphics to the other two systems, so the hype of which system is the most powerful is largely just that: hype.

The Wii has more games than the PS3 now, though I'm not sure about the 360. It also plays in 480p (though you have to buy those cables separately at your local EB Games or GameStop). While it doesn't seem to have any true RPGs yet, those will probably be quick to come (Square Enix is already working on one, etc), and in the meantime there's games with an RPG-esque flavor such as Zelda: Twilight Princess.

 

[Aus_Snow]

PS3, for the near future. PS2, at the moment.

For gaming consoles, it will always be all about the games (something that's already been said, I believe.)

If you want CRPGs - and games in general - coming out your ears though, stick with the PC. The games tend to be cheaper, too.

 

[Rackhir]

Look there is one and only one reason to buy a console. It has the games you want to play. If you want to play Final Fantasy XIII, that isn't going to be coming out for anything other than the PS3. Similarly Halo 3 isn't going to come out for anything other than the 360 (and possibly PCs). You need to look at the exclusive games.

I like turn based strategy games involving giant robots. That means pretty much that I had to get a PS2. So far there are no TBSGIGR games listed for any of the nextgen systems so I'm not feeling any compusion to buy any.

Ultimately eye candy is just eye candy. If that's what you want, you can just show slide shows or rigged demos. It's game play that makes them worth playing.

 

[trancejeremy]

Note that, despite talk of "system power," the Wii has comparable graphics to the other two systems, so the hype of which system is the most powerful is largely just that: hype.

If by the other two systems, you mean the Gamecube and Xbox, then you'd be correct. But compared to the PS3/360, Wii games look pretty bad. Granted, in some cases, it's deliberate, like Wii sports. But it simply has neither the processing power nor the texture memory to have graphics on par with the PS3/360. Not even close.

And I would point it, the Wii runs in 480p (much like the Xbox and PS2), while the PS3/360 run in 720p or higher.