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 Video games are no more child’s play. They are no longer toys preserved for the kids. Now the elderly are competing with young people for space to play video games and companies are cashing in on the craze for indoor-game companions.
Billions of dollars are derived every year from the sale of video game devices around the world. Now all the biggest electronic manufacturers have pumped money into research and development to make their devices to the taste of global consumers.
Sony and Microsoft have blazed the trail for video games development, making their products the toast of all people. If you are a game enthusiast, choosing which game console to go in for is like a final undergraduate examination, as it is now hard to have a product that has clear superiority over its competitors.
All the seventh-generation consoles - Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 support full High Definition (HD) and are also good at performing specific tasks.
Nintendo Wii
For some time now Foxconn Precision Components, manufacturers of Nintendo, has moved at a fast pace to get hold on a large portion of the game console market share, with manufacturers claiming that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others. As at the end of the first quarter of this year, Nintendo had shipped about 70.9 million units of its Wii console worldwide, making it one of the best-selling seventh-generation consoles in the world.
The Wii is the successor to the Nintendo GameCube.
Nintendo announced earlier last month that all black and white consoles will come with updated Wii bundles, including the games Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort as well as the MotionPlus accessory.
But what makes Nintendo tick?
The Wii's biggest and most obvious appeal is the ability to use its motion-sensing controller to play Wii-specific games.
While the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360 both emphasize their impressive graphical capabilities, Nintendo downplays the importance of graphics on its new console.
Though the Wii lacks many of the hardware components and multimedia capabilities that its chief competitors Xbox 360 and PS3 offer, its focus on interactive game play and game title development has helped it maintain its strong popularity.
The WiiSports package helped solidify the Wii’s reputation for interactive gameplay, while proving to be its best-selling game. The Wiimote controllers enable users to move and mime the motions of different activities, making for a livelier video game experience. With expanded controller options, including nunchucks adapter, a sensor bar and a cradle to mount the console vertically as well as power gloves, the Wii has carved a niche for itself that seems well-insulated against the advances of either Microsoft or Sony.
But the controller eats batteries and offers little compatibility for most audio and video file format discs, lacks the advanced HD graphics and surround sound found on the Xbox 360 and the PS3, requires a wired receiver unit placed near the TV to interface with wireless controllers, and lacks a steady stream of compelling game releases compared to rival consoles.
Though many video gamers place a large premium on online gameplay, the interactive, movement-based nature of Wii games make a strong argument for itself, and could even prove a future yardstick for video games and video game consoles in general.
So in case anyone cares less about the lack of HD graphics, the Nintendo Wii's combination of motion-sensitive controllers, including Wii Sports titles and emphasis on fun gameplay, make the ultra-affordable console hard to resist.
PlayStation 3 (PS3)
Sony’s PlayStation console is arguably the most popular console among the gaming community of the world - and the company cemented its name in the minds of gamers with the release of the PlayStation 3, popularly called PS3.
PS3 is the successor to the PS2 and PS1 developed by Sony Computer Entertainment as a seventh-generation console to rival Microsoft Xbox 360. PS3 comes in three different forms; PS3 Slim (120GB), PS3 80GB, and PS3 160GB.
Comparing the new PS3 to the original is akin to comparing a laptop to a desktop PC. It’s a world apart. The console retains the signature curves of the original, so you still can’t put anything on its roof; but the contours have been greatly reduced.
There are a couple of USB inputs on the front, with HDMI, Ethernet, Sony's legacy multi-pin proprietary output and power on the rear.
The old chunky kettle power lead which juiced the original has been replaced with a smaller flying-eight. The power supply is still universal, though, designed to work on supplies ranging from 100V to 240V.
Like the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, the PlayStation 3 can stand vertically or lie horizontally in an AV rack, though because of its curved top it's not meant to have any other components resting on top of it.
The single controller that comes with the PS3 is very similar in appearance to the traditional PlayStation 2 Dual Shock gamepad, but there are some notable differences. For starters, it is wireless. You can connect as many as seven (!) controllers via the system's built-in Bluetooth, which Sony's claims offers a 20-metre range (about 65 feet).
Recharging the built-in battery simply requires connecting the included USB cable between the console and the controller.
The PS3 can read digital photos from a variety of USB-attached devices, including most digital cameras, the PSP, USB flash drives, and home-burned CD-Rs. As for music, the PS3 supports most of the major music-file types, including MP3, ATRAC, AAC, and WAV, and like the Xbox 360 has a built-in music visualiser.
However, some feature parity would go a long way to making the PS3 user interface more user-friendly.
The PS3 feels more like a PC than a console, from the web site-like store to installing games and demos.
Automatic title updates, which are seamless to perform on the Xbox 360, are not pretty on the PS3.
Besides a component cable not being in the box, you will not find a remote either. This means using the controller and convoluted DVD/BD menu overlay for controlling movies. Sony will sell you a BD remote, of course.
In all, PS3 is destined to re-energise Sony’s PlayStation brand. It’s priced right, looks great and performs well. In this regard, Sony has got its game groove back.
Xbox 360
The X360 is a Microsoft Corporation product and it’s by far the best seventh-generation console anyone can ever find in terms of its excellent online gaming and communications via Xbox Live, which is amazing. The graphics are practically the same as the PS3, but the Xbox has more addictive games to appreciate. It plays hundreds of (but not all) original Xbox titles, doubles as a superior digital media hub and Windows Media Centre extender; online Marketplace allows for easy purchases of downloadable full-scale games, mini-games, movies, TV shows, and easy-to-use dashboard interface.
However, the Xbox 360 console is prone to overheating a lot, causing disc reading to not work; has a history of ‘red rings of death’ Rrod (2-3 red flashing rings) which cause the xbox360 not to work; it also has noisy exhaust fan and DVD drive, gigantic oversize power supply; no built-in wireless networking or flash media reader; DVD playback has substandard video quality; support for next-gen HD DVD movies requires a bulky external accessory; 20GB hard drive fills up very quickly; and online gaming requires a paid subscription to Xbox Live.
Nonetheless, the console’s extensive digital media features a superior online service and an excellent game library. The Xbox 360 has thrilled many gamers all over the world, making it the game console to beat.
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