Console Wars, Which is right for you?

So recently in my computers class, I had to make a website, and I made mine about video game consoles, and which was the best.  So I figured I'd post that here, minus all the fancy formatting. Enjoy!

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is only Microsoft’s second entry into the gaming industry, yet it is not to be taken lightly.  This console came out a year before its main rival, the PS3, in 2005, and was far ahead of its time.  Although it has about the same capabilities as the PS3, there is one major difference between the two.  While PSN (Playstation Network) allows you to play online capable games for free and has paid subscriptions that offer you many benefits such as free games (PS Plus), Xbox Live (The Xbox Network) requires that you pay for online play, but at the same time offers more stable servers than PSN, thus making disconnecting from a game far less likely.  So are the few benefits of paying a fee to pay online worth it?  In my opinion, no. But that is for the consumer to decide.

Wii U

The Wii U is Nintendo’s current home console, and was the 1^sthome console released in the 8^th generation of consoles. Nintendo captured consumer gold with the Wii, targeting the casual gamer.  With this, they were able to amass a huge amount of sales, with over 90 million units sold, and still counting. However, with the Wii U, Nintendo is not finding the same success.  While the Wii U is far ahead of the Wii (In technical capabilities), sales have not been on par.  Nintendo has been constantly lowering their expected sales for the end of March, seeing how the console is suffering.  The console’s weekly sales have dipped to as low as 57,000, and some weeks the Wii has been close to outselling the newer console!  With less and less consumer interest being shown in the console, it is unknown if Nintendo will be able to recover from the spiraling downward sales.

PS3

The PS3 is Sony’s representative for the 7^th generation of consoles.  Being released in 2006, this console was leaps and bounds ahead predecessor, the PS2.  The consumer market realized this.  Within 24 hours the console had sold 81,639 units, In Japan alone.  Even being released a whole year after its main competitor, the Xbox 360, this console has proved itself to be the best console on the market, as it has matched the 360 in sales, and is on its way to passing it.  With free online capabilities, a large amount of console exclusives, and having a sleuth of apps like Netflix, why shouldn’t this be considered the best console of this generation?

PS4

Not much is known about this extremely new console.  With the PS4 only being announced February 20^th, the console itself hasn’t even been seen.  However, we do know some info.  Info such as at least 4 new exclusive titles currently being developed, that every one of Sony’s studios is working on a PS4 title, that this is an extremely powerful system (matching the strength of a supercomputer) with 8 gigabytes of ram, and that the all new, redesigned controller (as seen above) has a new share button (allowing you to livestream your gameplay) 2 touchpads, and a PS Move sensor on its top.  From what we’ve seen so far, this is likely going to be the most powerful 8^thgeneration console.

So Which is right for you?

We know that each of these consoles are finely made, and that none of these consoles offer a bad experience.  However, each console offers a different experience, some you could say, that are better than others.  So, which is right for you?  Nintendo may not be as focused on the casual gamer as it was the last time around, but they still haven’t totally moved away from that.  Nintendo’s consoles are never going to have those 1^st and 3^rd person shooters you’re going to be looking for on their consoles, however they have a wide range of exclusive titles such as Mario & Zelda that any gamer will enjoy.  However, if you’re a hardcore gamer, you will most likely want to rule the Wii U out.  The PS3 and Xbox 360 are extremely similar, and each offers a great experience to the hardcore gamer, and to a lesser extent, the casual gamer as well.  So then, it mainly comes down to online gaming.  Would you rather join PSN, which allows you to play online for free, with the option to join their subscription service PS Plus, which offers you a large library of games for free (a subscription that costs less than Xbox Live’s required fee), or join Xbox Live, that has more stable servers, and will almost always make sure you won’t disconnect from your game.  The choice is yours.

                                                                                                                          -Colby