Can we (please) just declare Nintendo the winner of this generation's console war?

[Myk JL 1,731]

http://blog.mlive.com/manzero/2008/12/can_we_please_just_declare_nin.html

Some people seem too impatient for this console war to end. But I have to admit every time I look at VG Chartz, Nintendo gets closer to 50% Console Sales while also at the same time looking to surpass the amount of PSPs already sold.

[Saiel 2,306]

If the console wars are based purely on sales, sure. Of course, the Wii's sales can be attributed to its much lower cost and ferocious stalking of non-gamers to buy their gaming system. In terms of a gaming machine and being the victorious console when it comes to gamers, no way.

Also, the note about the Wii selling 60% first-party titles is null. Of course they do--their third-party offerings are possibly the worst in the history of gaming. They could have offered no third-party titles (probably a more respectable move) and then claimed 100% of their sales are first-party. Oooh! So impressive.

I feel like the Wii officially winning the console wars is like saying Flash games have won the gaming wars--sure, a hell of a shit-ton of people play them, but do we really care? They barely even fit into the gaming world. It's like someone throwing on a bunch of clothes from Goodwill and sneaking into a fashion show. They might get away with it and walk down the runway, but they aren't worth any more after it, and they still smell like mothballs and leftover cigarettes.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Its really become a moot point. While Big N has sold more consoles than anyone, their attachment rate is atrocious. Nintendo was pretty serious when it said it wasn't competing with the blockbuster gaming market. The Dead Rising attempt was just silly. You can pretty much toss the Wii in with the hand held category. I haven't played mine since SSBB came out.

I consider the 360 the winner of the gamer's market. More gamers regularly use XBL than play Wii. In fact since Wii launched, Xbox 360 has sold double the amount of third party titles than Wii. Nintendo will never get the "glory" its fanboys wish it would get. Its just the way it is. Its a so called "casual gamer" console, and its game sales prove it.

[Myk JL 1,731]

I think part of it is still Wii controls as Xbox 360 can now be bought for less & is getting into the casual thing too.

Their is a lot of crappy 3rd party games on the Wii & Nintendo is to blame for quality control. If it were up to me Nintendo would have turned down any 3rd party EC, E, & E10+ games. That way they could have eliminated the oceans of crap & hopefully bring some more exposure to Good 3rd party games that go unnoticed.

I think part of the point is that Nintendo is making a profit too while PS3 is losing money & Xbox 360 is breaking even.

Above all though I think Nintendo's worst decision right now has be the Miis as they badly made & come in most pointless games that would have been better off as Mario games or not made at all.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

I think part of it is still Wii controls as Xbox 360 can now be bought for less & is getting into the casual thing too.

Their is a lot of crappy 3rd party games on the Wii & Nintendo is to blame for quality control. If it were up to me Nintendo would have turned down any 3rd party EC, E, & E10+ games. That way they could have eliminated the oceans of crap & hopefully bring some more exposure to Good 3rd party games that go unnoticed.

I think part of the point is that Nintendo is making a profit too while PS3 is losing money & Xbox 360 is breaking even.

Above all though I think Nintendo's worst decision right now has be the Miis as they badly made & come in most pointless games that would have been better off as Mario games or not made at all.

exactly, Wii's problem is the exact opposite of Sony's. I don't know if you've read up on Sony's quality control, but from what I've heard, its become so strict and uptight, most developers don't even want to deal with the PS3 anymore. Sony's gotten too high and mighty off the PS2, they've pushed their developers away, a Mistake Nintendo has made in the past, which Big N is trying to correct... in the wrong way. The shovelware has to go.

The Mii's must have something going for them if XBL ripped it off and slightly improved it.

[Myk JL 1,731]

I had no idea that Sony was having Quality Control problems by being strict & uptight. I knew Nintendo had them in the past when they wanted other companies to do as they do.

I think the Miis were good in concept, but were poorly created & with their main use for minigames they are basically used for Nintendo's more generic ideas. I kind of like Xbox 360's knock offs, but Microsoft would have been better off copying 2nd Life.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Im kinda interested in how Playstation Home is going to pan out.

[gokuDX7 2,871]

I had no idea that Sony was having Quality Control problems by being strict & uptight. I knew Nintendo had them in the past when they wanted other companies to do as they do.

I think the Miis were good in concept, but were poorly created & with their main use for minigames they are basically used for Nintendo's more generic ideas. I kind of like Xbox 360's knock offs, but Microsoft would have been better off copying 2nd Life.

It's been an issue since the console came out. I'll say what I've been saying since the console came out, they screwed themselves by thinking all high and mity and also becuse they focused to much on Blu-ray and not games.

Since the term "Console Wars" had been changed and interpreted different I really cant comment on a "true" winner. I think if we're going for game play it would definitly be Xbox. If we're going for ingenuity or uniqueness, it would be Wii. If we're going for system specs and graphics, then it would be PS3. So they're all pretty much a winner this time around.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

It's not just the quality control issues that developers face either with the PS3, it's the damn coding (PS3 is all Unix based which makes it a bitch to code for if your going multi-platform as it's the only Unix based system) and the cost of the developers kit for the thing (thats whats really driving developers away from the console, the kit for the PS3 is $4000 more then the 360 one). Sony really did themselves in with the PS3.

I don't even think Microsoft knows what their doing with the damn Avatars they gave us. Really they're useless outside of like 5 arcade games and aren't even necessary for anything else ( look we can dress them up and do chat parties, whoopdie freaking do). Atleast Nintendo has a plan for their little avatars and Sony's Playstation Home going to blow the 360 Avatar system out of the water.

I don't consider this generation a console war at all and if I did it would only be between the 360 and PS3 in my book (the Wii is just a Gamecube with a new, innovative controller and it doesn't even target the majority of the market, the hardcore gamers) so I feel there is no winner. Just three consoles who's companies have made some good and bad choices over the last few years. If anything, game wise, 360 has this generation cornered as it's library is rather impressive and getting better as we continue. Graphics wise I won't even comment because to me theres no difference in graphics between the PS3 and 360 (just lighting and minor texture differences as of now, I know the true power of the system hasn't been tapped yet so don't even go there with me). Bah, I miss last generation where posts like this were more heated and there was actually a war (even if it was dominated by Sony's PS2).

[gokuDX7 2,871]

Bah, I miss last generation where posts like this were more heated and there was actually a war (even if it was dominated by Sony's PS2).

I don't know, there was a pretty big war at the beginning on here even before the Wii and PS3 came out. DX was ranting on how PS3 would win because of it's graphics and processor power . Now it looks like he's pretty much neutral .

BTW. They're using Cg (ie. a C derivative) for their graphics multi-process system on the PS3. It's more or less similar to programming on a PC in C. Programmers bitch becuse they're not used to Cg or the API Sony created for the PS3. There's also a lot of ASM coding involved when working with C and the PS3. The PS3 is just far more stickter to code for then what game system programmers are used too. The up side is it's easy for them to port their PS3 games to Xbox .

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Sony could have completely destroyed the competition, and just stomped all over everyone product if they would have kept on path. They pulled a Nintendo and look where its gotten them. If you go back and read those posts it was the best games + the best specs. Not just the graphics.

The Market has changed from exclusive to multiplatform. No one wants to commit anymore.

[gokuDX7 2,871]

The Market has changed from exclusive to multiplatform. No one wants to commit anymore.

Which is good . Having a monopoly over something only slows down progression for that market.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

I don't know, there was a pretty big war at the beginning on here even before the Wii and PS3 came out. DX was ranting on how PS3 would win because of it's graphics and processor power . Now it looks like he's pretty much neutral .

BTW. They're using Cg (ie. a C derivative) for their graphics multi-process system on the PS3. It's more or less similar to programming on a PC in C. Programmers bitch becuse they're not used to Cg or the API Sony created for the PS3. There's also a lot of ASM coding involved when working with C and the PS3. The PS3 is just far more stickter to code for then what game system programmers are used too. The up side is it's easy for them to port their PS3 games to Xbox .

C in itself is a pain in the ass, having a C derivative is just making it worse on us game programmers (I just had the pleasure of learning C++ last term in school, quite frankly I prefer Java programming. C is just an evil little mistress that hates you, even when you get the coding right). As I said the PS3 is just a bitch to code for, something my teachers have been pointing out left and right since I started my coding block of classes.

Bah, I was the same. I was preaching about the PS3 just like DX now I'm practically neutral with more of a taste for the 360 then the others (though I hate the Wii with a passion). I still miss the debates from the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox generation, they were more heated.

It is a good thing this generation is forcing more of a multiplatform attitude because look at the games coming out lately, a lot are being forced to go multiplatform but the exclusives per consoles are making people go out and buy the others (hell I want a PS3 so I can play Resistance, my freaking classmates have been flipping out about the 2nd one since it came out).

[gokuDX7 2,871]

C is a bitch, C++ is better but your more confined to pre-made functions.

I hated java in college. It made me want to rip my eyes out.

[Kuwabara 758]

(though I hate the Wii with a passion).

Why? I mean don't get me wrong I ended up selling mine and getting a 360. I just wanna know why u hate it so much?

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Because its an overhyped piece of garbage? Its a gimmick to hide the fact that Nintendo still lacks top titles.

[Kuwabara 758]

Whoa!!! Nintendo lacking top titles? Have you not seen Mario?! He went Galactic! lmao!!!

Sadly, I fell for the gimmick of Nintendo too, but I got my senses back and did away with the Wii.

[Tristan9480 198]

I don't own any current gaming systems but from what I saw of mario on the gamecube it sucked bad. I couldn't even get into Metriod >.<

I really want to play the SSBM on the WII.

Edited February 27, 2009 by Tristan9480

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Whoa!!! Nintendo lacking top titles? Have you not seen Mario?! He went Galactic! lmao!!!

Sadly, I fell for the gimmick of Nintendo too, but I got my senses back and did away with the Wii.

Indeed. Mario is 20 years old. Where is the new innovative ideas when it comes to the actual software? Nintendo took the same shit and found a new toilet to put it in. It just flushes different from a standard toilet.

[Saiel 2,306]

Indeed. Mario is 20 years old. Where is the new innovative ideas when it comes to the actual software? Nintendo took the same shit and found a new toliet to put it in. It just flushes different from a standard toilet.

You're such a poet.

Tristan, SSBB isn't that much of an improvement over Melee. I prefer it just because I main two of the new characters, but most people who played Melee heavily still seem to favor it overall. As with most Wii titles, it has its advantages, but it's not really worth the trouble.

Or wait, you said you want to play SSBM on the Wii? Do you mean Melee (Gamecube) or Brawl (Wii)?

[Kuwabara 758]

Brawl was the only reason I kept the Wii for so long. After a while though it lost its lackluster and had to go.

DX, it's the same with Zelda too. Zelda, Marip, and Metroid. For the past 20 years its been the same shit polished and re-stocked. I really had high hopes for nintendo but now sadly, they disasspointed me.

XBOX360 4 life!!! lmao

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Why? I mean don't get me wrong I ended up selling mine and getting a 360. I just wanna know why u hate it so much?

Took me awhile to see this, don't usually check the game forum anymore.

Lets see, reasons for hating the Wii. It's got an extreme lack of titles that are worth playing under it's belt, it's controller is nothing more then a safety hazard waiting to happen (even with that stupid wrist strap), the whole motion sensor on the controller just isn't that great of an idea and is a rather idiotic thing to make it it's selling point, and my biggest reason is that it's nothing more then a Gamecube that was put into a new case and sold off as a next-gen console. Seriously why didn't they just continue on with the Gamecube for another few years while trying to atleast make a console that could be considered next-gen.

Really Nintendo just isn't the same company it used to be. It's now more focused on making gaming a party sideshow by releasing all those games. True, party games can be fun (Guitar Hero and the like) but really setting up your entire business plan based off of that is basically shooting yourself in the foot but meh, I've just come to accept that gaming isn't all it used to be anymore.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

The more I look into the games available for the 3 main systems. Its honestly looking like xbox 360 is giving sony a run for its money. I think the wii is still an innovative system and it's old game download feature seem pretty solid, but what will nintendo's next system be? Will it have top notch hardware in it? Will it be upgraded to the level of the ps3 or xbox360's current hardware? Or will sony and microsoft simply take nintendo's fanbase and strategy into account for their next systems and include most of the wii's basic functionality and contoller features into a new system. What will nintendo do then? Make new feet controllers? Now mario runs only as fast as you can!

[Myk JL 1,731]

The only game I'm looking forward to for the Wii right now is MadWorld. Plenty of the other Wii M Rated Games coming out this year have either sucked or are Rail Shooters I've lost interest in.

PS3 wise I'm looking forward to LoW, UFC09, & GoW3. Still want to get Afro Samurai, KillZone 2, & SvR09 (Own it for the Wii, but you can port this roster over to LoW).

PS3 isn't doing that bad. If all consoles started selling on the same day you'd see that PS3 would be in 2nd right now.

I can only hope that the next Wii is as powerful as Xbox 360. I don't think either Microsoft or Nintendo are planning to change DVD formats so the PS4 probably has the ultimate jump start when talking about next gen consoles.

Edited February 28, 2009 by Myk JL

[Tristan9480 198]

You're such a poet.

Tristan, SSBB isn't that much of an improvement over Melee. I prefer it just because I main two of the new characters, but most people who played Melee heavily still seem to favor it overall. As with most Wii titles, it has its advantages, but it's not really worth the trouble.

Or wait, you said you want to play SSBM on the Wii? Do you mean Melee (Gamecube) or Brawl (Wii)?

I meant Brawl. It looks pretty good so I would make that one of my first purchases if I were to buy a WII