Hugh Gallagher asked:


I’ve noticed a lot of people asking the question “Should I buy a Nintendo Wii game console?”. Since its release in November 2006, the wii has dominated the current generation console battle, with its combination of a cheap price point, unique control system, and family values. This isn’t to say that the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 haven’t seen their own successes, but Nintendo seem to have hit a slightly different demographic of consumer, which has lead to an amazing uptake of their console. To determine which console is best for you, requires you to weigh up the current pros and cons of each platform, which hopefully this article will help you out with.

It’s easy to forget that the current generation of consoles has been around a few years now, and the original appeal of each platform has change over the years. Prices have changed, game catalogs have matured, and event he platforms themselves have seen further developments.

Price

Initially the Wii was the cheapest console of the current generation, but this has swapped around a bit recently. The chart below is ordered by UK recommended retail price price ascending, and includes all current versions of each console.

£129.99/$199.99 Xbox 360 Arcade (256MB)

£169.99/$299.99 Xbox 360 Premium (60GB)

£179.99/£249.99 Wii (512MB)

£229.99/$399.99 Xbox 360 Elite (120GB)

£299.99/$399.99 Playstation 3 (80GB)

£339.99/$499.99 Playstation 3 (160GB)

As you can see, the Xbox 360 Arcade is the cheapest game console available, and it undercuts the Wii by and an impressive £50/$50. The biggest downside of the Arcade model is the lack of substantial storage space, so for UK consumers the premium version is slightly more appealing with its 60GB hard drive, and price point which is £10 less than the Wii. You should note that these are only recommended retail prices, so you can most likely get them slightly cheaper if you hunt around various retailers.

The Wii has been in constant short supply since its release, so appears to hold its value significantly better that the other consoles, and is less susceptible to discounted prices. Also unlike the other consoles, the Wii has not seen a single official price reduction since its release, and is expected not to change until the supply finally exceeds demand.

Graphics

The Wii is often described as being based on the last generations hardware, with it having very similar performance to the Nintendo GameCube. Despite this, it’s proved a very easy platform to develop games for, and Nintendo themselves have shown that they can squeeze every last drop of graphics performance out of it, with titles such as Mario Galaxy, and Metroid Prime.

It’s very obvious that both the Xbox 360 and PS3 have graphics potential way beyond the Wii, and they have already produced some stunning looking games. There isn’t a lot between the two consoles themselves, with cross platform titles looking pretty similar on both bits of hardware. It will still be another year or so before we see the true potential of these consoles, but that’s something to look forward to.

It’s important to note that both the Xbox 360 and PS3 do 1080p hi-def output, which looks great on your massive TV. The wii unfortunately will only do a maximum of 480p, which can’t start looking pretty rubbish on bigger screens. There are many rumours that Nintendo will offer an upgraded version of the Wii at some point, which will correct this limitation.

Controls

As you may know, the Wii has got funky motion controls, which allow the console to detect how you are swinging the controller around, or if you are pointing it a specific direction. It’s certainly not just a gimmick, and can be very effective, although sometimes games do get it wrong. Luckily, the Wii controls are very good and standard style game play, so games designers are not being restricted by it. The controller consists of a remote (WiiMote) and an optional separate analogue stick (Nunchuck), which are connected together by a short cable. The controls themselves are wireless, and include a built in speaker and rumble effects.

The PS3 also boasts motion controls, but they’ve not been implemented as widely or successfully as the Wii Controllers. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 have quite standard style controllers, and come in both wired and wireless form. All versions of the 360 controller have a rumble feature, and so does the latest version of the PS3 controller.

Games

Each console has it’s own set of exclusive titles which are only available on that specific system. Nintendo have been around a while now, and have some long running franchises such as Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. Sony and Microsoft also have some great exclusives, including Grand Turismo and Killzone for the PS3, and Halo and Gears of War for the 360. It’s important for you to identify any specific titles that you wish to play, and checkout which consoles they are available for.

Online Features

Each console supports a variety of online features, including online play, web browsing, and media downloads. Both the Wii and PS3 are free to play games online, while the 360 requires you pay for their subscription service. Many people consider the online features of the Xbox 360 superior to the PS3 and Wii, although all are quite adequate for online play.

Both the Wii and PS3 have web browsers so that you can access the internet, while the 360 lacks this feature for now.

Download-able content varies between consoles. The Wii allows you to download system updates, applications, retro and indie games. The 360 supports everything that the Wii does, but also includes game demos, and TV/Movie Downloads. Currently the PS3s features are very similar to 360, although movie downloads are only currently available in the US.

Hardware Features

Each console has additional hardware features that may influence your decision when purchasing. The Wii and PS3 come with wireless networking as standard, while the xBox 360 comes with an wired ethernet port, and the option to purchase a separate wireless adapter.

The Wii does not support any formats for playing movies. The PS3 supports Blu-ray and DVD playback, the xBox 360 supports DVD playback, and also the now fairly redundant HD-DVD format via an optional external drive.

The Wii is backwards compatible with most GameCube titles, and even supports GameCube control pads via four ports on the top of the console. Current UK versions of the PS3 only support original Playstation titles, and no longer support PS2 games. The xBox 360 will play a wide selection of original xBox games, but you will require a hard drive to play them.

I’m no audiophile, but it’s useful to note how the 3 consoles support surround sound. The Wii simulates it using Dolby Pro-Logic II through an analogue connection, while the 360 and PS3 both support 5.1 surround sound via digital optical connections. It’s important to note that it really comes down to the games, and how well they are designed to support multiple sounds channels.

Conclusion

There are obviously many factors to consider when buying any console, so it’s not always a straight forward decision. So should you buy a Nintendo Wii? Comparing price and features, you may find that the other consoles are more appealing, but if your interested in the motion control, or Nintendo’s exclusive titles, then the Wii may be for you.



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charles robertson asked:


Xbox 360 Elite, which is the flagship of the 360 console. Not only will I tell you why I think it is the best, but I’ll tell you the cheapest place you can get it.

Video gaming was revolutionized with the creation of the Xbox 360 thanks to a team of developers working hard to combine the right technology at the right price. Who would have ever thought we could live without HD video gaming and 5.1 Surround Sound with which you can hear every single little nuance of a game’s audio environment.

The Xbox 360 looks so good on an HD TV that I’ve often had friends ask me what game was on when I was playing Madden. They literally thought that I was watching a real sporting event when I was actually playing the Xbox. This system is so smooth that there are never any glitches or freezing unlike other gaming systems.

The Xbox 360 Elite boasts a huge hard drive of 120GB, which is capable of storing an endless amount of game demos, videos, skins, and music all without you needing to save space for your saved games. It also comes with a black matte finish wireless controller, which means no more of the dog tripping on the controller and yanking it out of your hand during a boss battle.

You can also use it to your advantage to play from anywhere the wireless connection will reach. As if you needed any more reason to buy the Xbox 360 Elite, it also comes with a black matte finish headset so you can talk to your friends online via Xbox Live as you dominate them in a first person shooter like Call of Duty 4 or in a FIFA 2009 match. The system also comes with an HDMI port and cable so you can take full advantage of the HD resolution that the Xbox 360 offers.

The games for the 360 are the best on the market and you can find the most variety of any game system thanks to the fact that this was the first modern gaming console released on the market. Game developers have been spending years perfecting the design and implementation of their games on the Xbox 360. As a result, you ‘ve got the best graphics, sounds, and game play on the market. When I say that the Xbox 360 is a cutting edge console gaming system, I am not joking!

The Xbox 360 Elite also features a Windows Live software setup that allows you to stream audio and video from your home PC or laptop meaning that the Xbox 360 functions as a home entertainment system as well. You don’t need a DVD player anymore either, since this bad boy can do it all on its own. The prices of Xbox 360 are as cheap as they’ve ever been and now is the perfect time to get one so that you can start enjoying high definition, crisp gaming that is the best on the planet.

The 360 Elite is the best of the best and there is no way you could get bored with this system.



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Joaquin Reveron asked:


This Christmas, you can expect great prices on wholesale Xbox 360 and wholesale PlayStation 3. Microsoft, the creator of Xbox and Sony, maker of PlayStation 3 will surely make some great announcement for the coming Holiday Season. This is sure in coming as what they usually do when Holiday season approaches.

This actually, can be assumed as one of their own ways of thanking the gaming public for patronizing their product every year.It is expected that with the ever increasing sale of their products, Microsoft and Sony will go a long way in handing out to the gaming public very affordable prices for Christmas gaming equipments. This will indeed be a big help to many parents who are intending to give either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 as their Christmas present to their children.

We do hope that a surprise announcement will be made anytime by these two companies in relation to the much anticipated Christmas discounts on prices of wholesale Xbox 360 and wholesale PlayStation 3. For wholesalers, just keep your fingers crossed and hope the big price discounts will come true.

To be truthful about it, this has been the much talked about situation between rivals of when will announcements will be made and if there is indeed a big time discount that will happen considering the economic turbulence that has been sweeping the nation for the past months. Recent news about the Xbox 360 and why it will be a hot sell this 2008 Holiday Season and how to take advantage of it. Many people had been eagerly waiting for any news about Holiday Season wholesale discounts coming from Microsoft and Sony, makers of Xbox360 and PlayStation 3.

Their expectations were granted when barely three weeks ago, Microsoft reduced the price of the Arcade Xbox 360 to GBP 129.99, the premium unit to GBP 169.99 and the Xbox 360 Elite GBP 229.99. Although these announcements were quoted in pounds, you can just imagine the wholesale discount that you, as a wholesaler of Xbox 360 can take advantage of.

In terms of other currencies, this price cuts offered by Microsoft for their Xbox 360 gaming consoles can translate anywhere from 10 to 15 per cent in discounts from their regular quoted price. You can surely take advantage of this wholesale Xbox 360 price cuts. For wholesale PlayStation 3, I think price cuts will also be forthcoming.

With this move coming from Microsoft, it is expected that the overall sale of Xbox 360 will jump this gift giving season. Many wholesalers have already readjusted their sales target in anticipation for a mad rush by online buyers to take advantage of this holiday price cuts from Microsoft. It was fully noted that just two weeks after the announcement, many wholesalers have already increased their orders and are now readjusting their sales target for the season on their Xbox 360 gaming equipment.

Even buyers of gaming equipments are now beginning to reassess their priority from PlayStation 3 towards the more cheaply priced Xbox 360 because of the new price cuts of Microsoft. This development should undercut the marketing effort of Sony and would surely bear on them to make their own price cuts to counter the effects of a much cheaper Xbox 360. This surely will be to the advantage of wholesalers if the wholesale Xbox 360 and the wholesale PlayStation 3 will have price cuts that you will not want to miss!



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