Many have looked at the impending console war for the next-gen machines and concluded that it would be a battle between Sony and Microsoft. So many people have discounted Nintendo’s contribution as irrelevant that I think they all need to take a look at this.
The wait in line to play a PS3 at E3 is thirty minutes. The wait to play Nintendo’s new console (ridiculously named, the “Wii”) is three hours. According to the above article, people are walking away from the Wii impressed.
So here’s my take. Nintendo’s name for the console is stupid, I can’t argue that and I won’t even try. I liked “Revolution” much better. However, their main goal with this console was to get it into the hands of everyone, both gamers and non-gamers and give everyone a fun gaming experience. They’ve hit their target dead-center.
I will probably buy a PS3, mostly because I want to get my hands on Lair and it’s a cheap entrance into the world of Hi-Def DVD compared to how much the initial stand-alone blu-ray players are going to cost. The Wii will not have the power of a PS3 in terms of its components, but I might just buy one because it’s going to be incredibly cheap (200$ is the number the geek-pundits are kicking around) and because the games look like they are going to be tons of fun to play.
Anyone who has ever watched the console wars knows that it’s the games that make or break a system. If the title power is not there to back up a console, the console will not sell.
Looks to me like Sony and Microsoft both are going to be spending a lot of time watching Nintendo’s dust.
