Playstation 3 or 360

[jwill535]

rluzinski wrote:

Sony throwing in a bunch of hardware that many people don't even want does not autoamtically make it more valuable. If given the choice, I'll never game wirelessly, so having one built into my console has little value to me (although I may be in the minority).

Count me in that minority as well. I like a direct connection to the modem for online gaming. I also prefer to have the choice of adding on superflous things like HDDVD/BluRay. I have no problem getting off the couch every 15-20 hours to change discs if necessary.

 

The Wii gets it. To me at least, beyond the initial "wow", graphics and the differeence in graphics will go largley unnoticed as long as the game is good.

again this is where the Wii is going to run into trouble with 3rd party designers not making games for the Wii.

 

[logan82]

jwill535 wrote:

Again this is where the Wii is going to run into trouble with 3rd party designers not making games for the Wii.

Hasn't hurt so far. The large instal base actually makes it more attractive. Making games is about selling games/money. That is why many exclusive games are going multiplatform. The cost of making games is going up and you want as many costumers as possible. This makes the Wii very attractive.

[jwill535]

jwill535 wrote:

Again this is where the Wii is going to run into trouble with 3rd party designers not making games for the Wii.

Hasn't hurt so far. The large instal base actually makes it more attractive. Making games is about selling games/money. That is why many exclusive games are going multiplatform. The cost of making games is going up and you want as many costumers as possible. This makes the Wii very attractive.

But the problem is that the games that are made for the Next Gens are going to be inferior when ported to the Wii. I read it a couple times that the 3rd parties prefer the Next Gens because they can do more with the games then what they can do with PS2 and the Wii. Of course right now the Wii is doing well, but in a year or two the quality and amount of 3rd party games for the Wii is going to decline.

 

[Chio151]

jwill535 wrote:

Again this is where the Wii is going to run into trouble with 3rd party designers not making games for the Wii.

Hasn't hurt so far. The large instal base actually makes it more attractive. Making games is about selling games/money. That is why many exclusive games are going multiplatform. The cost of making games is going up and you want as many costumers as possible. This makes the Wii very attractive.

But the problem is that the games that are made for the Next Gens are going to be inferior when ported to the Wii. I read it a couple times that the 3rd parties prefer the Next Gens because they can do more with the games then what they can do with PS2 and the Wii. Of course right now the Wii is doing well, but in a year or two the quality and amount of 3rd party games for the Wii is going to decline.

 

The key point is that the Wii is unique enough that it can serve a slightly different market and not compete head-to-head with 360/PS3. Those two are so comparable that one could (could) simply render the other useless. If I was forced to bet, I would bet on the 360 in America. The Wii will always have its niche.

 

To suggest that the quality of games will decline for a system with a gigantic installed base is not logical. Game developers will always respond to a growing market.

[jwill535]

I am talking in terms of the epic games, Halo, MG, Grand Theft Auto etc.

[Chio151]

I am talking in terms of the epic games, Halo, MG, Grand Theft Auto etc.

So not epic like Mario or Zelda then? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[bjkrautk]

I am talking in terms of the epic games, Halo, MG, Grand Theft Auto etc.

So not epic like Mario or Zelda then? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

People who buy Nintendo Hardware will buy Nintendo Games. Jwill's point is that - over the past decade or so - games by publishers other than Nintendo haven't fared nearly as well selling on Nintendo consoles (although he blurs that point significantly by including Halo in his list....so maybe it's my point). The vast majority of 3rd party Wii games right now are what you would call 'shovelware' -- ports of PS2 games, and / or games pushed to market without ample time for development. Those games don't sell in the long-run.

 

I think that PS3 sales are picking up right now, due in part to the price cuts, and due in part to the quality of games coming out this holiday season (Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Rachet & Clank Future, Rock Band, Call of Duty 4, etc.). PS3 sales have run fairly parallel to 360 sales in its first year (IIRC), and the console's heavy hitter titles still haven't hit the market. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy 13 are two fairly major reasons to buy this console. I expect it to run about equal with 360 sales in the long run (higher if Blu-Ray becomes the industrywide standard).

 

The Wii will always have its niche - Nintendo games - but the test for Wii is whether gamers (particularly the 'non-traditional' gamers who wouldn't otherwise have purchased a gaming console) will flock to 3rd party titles in sufficient number to make development profitable.

[rluzinski]

The Wii will always have its niche - Nintendo games - but the test for Wii is whether gamers (particularly the 'non-traditional' gamers who wouldn't otherwise have purchased a gaming console) will flock to 3rd party titles in sufficient number to make development profitable.

 

I just wonder how many AAA titles a casual gamer even needs for his console? And how many of the games coming from the average third party developer even appeal to casual gamers? I can't get my parents to even try Halo, Bioshock, Gears of War, etc... (all games I love) but they play wii every time they come over. I got my Mom a Gamecube and she still plays the hell out of Animal Crossing. The wii is probably over rated to some degree but it's sold a lot of consoles and it most likely will continue to.

[logan82]

I would guess that some of those games that appeal to a wider audience on Wii have much small developement costs and therfore wouldn't need to sell as many games to turn a profit. I would compare it to the Saw movies for example. They cost so little to make they are well liked by the movie industry because it is easy to turn a profit. Making games like that allows you to take chances and sink money into bigger games. The ability to make cheaper game and a profit is a good way to build a good relationship with developers.

[Katuluu]

PS3 is still running dead last in sales Ben, sales pickup or not. The Wii, 360, Nintendo DS, the PSP , and the PS2 are all outselling the PS3.

 

And what happened to games not being system sellers? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[bjkrautk]

Games fuel the decision as to which console to purchase....but I still don't believe that people eager to purchase a particular game actually wait until any one game is on sale before buying their console of choice. Using myself as an example, I bought a PS3 around July so that I could play a game I know won't come out until late 2008 (at the earliest) in FF13. By the time the games I mentioned actually come out, I think that the vast majority of the people who want to play those games will have already purchased their chosen hardware. So long as that critical mass of games are either available or in development, I think there's more elasticity based on hardware price than whether or not any one game is available in stores.

 

 

I will admit, and this is something that I started to write and decided to take out of my prior post, I think this console generation will last longer than the GC/XBox/PS2 generation....if only due to the lagging rate of HDTV adoption. (It's not like Sony's going to be terribly motivated to make a next-next gen disc format any time soon.) The continued sales of the PS2 (which still hasn't dropped below $100, IIRC) tends to support my thinking that Sony will catch up numbers-wise as the life of the PS3 plays out.

 

(Besides....the cool kids have already ditched Halo 3 for Mass Effect and the Orange Box....and I still think comparing $$ spent is a poor cross-comparison in measuring demand between games and movies. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif)

[rluzinski]

Games fuel the decision as to which console to purchase....but I still don't believe that people eager to purchase a particular game actually wait until any one game is on sale before buying their console of choice.

 

Many people said that about Halo 3 but there was an uptick in 360 sales during it's release. I think there are still plenty of next gen holdouts waiting to be swayed by a particular game. Sony will probably see the same thing when MGS4 comes out for the PS3.