Deciding on Consoles?

[s_gibson]

Trying to decide which console to get the kids this Christmas. My daughter is 6 and my son 12. I was going to buy a Wii for them, but none of the stores have them. I'm guessing they will be harder to get than I thought so I started looking at the XBOX 360's.

My son would love the 360 and has been asking for it for a while. He love Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, Battlefield and Halo. He plays Counterstrike Source all day on my computer on a friends server. I know he would love it, but I'm concerned about him playing on XBOX live because it doesn't sound like it is moderated. He would probably be just as happy with the Wii.

They have hardly any offerings that I see for my daughter. She likes Kirby, Mario, Pokemon, and Mario Kart. She also plays Over the Hedge and Tom and Jerry on her Gamecube. On the XBOX we currently have the only thing she plays is Spongebob. Looking at the 360 I see little to nothing she would play on it. She would play Fusion Frenzy and maybe Cars.

My wife doesn't play anything but Animal Crossings. I had to buy her a DS so my son could have his back. She used to play it on the Cube all the time until they came out with it on the DS. I don't think she would have anything to do with an XBOX as the only thing she ever played on ours was Fusion Frenzy.

I wouldn't mind the 360 for racing games. I love shooters, but cannot play them without a mouse and keyboard. Trying to play Halo or Call of Duty on XBOX does nothing but piss me off because I can't aim with a thumbstick. Maybe if I had a keyboard and mouse I would care about playing on a console, but the only thing I enjoy is racing games. I think a console leaves a lot to be desired in shooters with the controllers the way they are.

I honestly don't see much of a price difference to matter between the two. With the Wii the console, component cables, extra controller, memory card would cost about $370 to $400. For the XBOX it would only cost $400 for the console which already has the HD and cable and an extra controller. I'm not letting that little bit of a price difference matter.

Think they will be making many games for my daughter on this, or will they just be concerning themselves with shooters and racing games? Many of the titles in the Live Marketplace look cool, but how much do the older titles cost? How much is Pac Man, UNO or Frogger for instance?

Is that new Pinata game like Animal Crossing? When I ask anyone what kid games they have for 360 all I here is Cars and Star Wars. Not much to offer the youngest one so far, and not much out for a system a year old.

Perhaps I've answered my own question, but I'm not sure what Microsoft has planned for the future of this console.

[XJnine]

Going over your argument and your family situation I'd go for the Wii. The compatibility aspect shouldn't be too much of a deciding factor since you own a Gamecube and an Xbox but I think the games that can be downloaded on the Wii would be what puts it over the top. I think your daughter will be able to play alot of the older NES, Super Nintendo, and N64 games. They have a bunch of old Sega games too. I'm sure your son would love the Wii also. I really think the controller is going to make it a fun console to play. I have one sitting in my closet waiting for my kids to open it for Christmas.

My vote: Wii.

[darkorb]

for you and ur fps on the 360, there is a device that just came out and its around 30 bucks, its an adapter that lets u use ur keyboard/mouse for games on the 360, ex halo2, gow. etc..

[PP Mguire]

Wii hands down man. Son and daughter will have a blast with it and im sure you will too.

[Scott]

Wii, thats the way to go for your family.

[Kougar]

After reading your post, definitely the Wii. It shouldn't be to hard to find one before Xmas, they were released in much higher numbers than the PS3, and not all places immediately sold out of them either.

[Neal_White_III]

Yeah, go for the Wii; it's a better fit. Keep looking. You should be able to find one.

I'll probably buy a Wii myself, eventually, say sometime next year. The main reason that I think my wife is much more likely to enjoy its games (than those of an XBox 360 or a PS3).

[Bio-Hazard]

My son just got a Wii today and brought it out today to mess with......;) I must say thay it's a lot of fun...:)

[werty316]

Anyone break any TVs yet? :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkdihGX7iWM&eurl=

Nintendo must be using spaghetti noodles for the wrist strap :lol:

[Bio-Hazard]

The wrist strap is pretty light weight, I can see how it would break if someone were to get carried away with the thing.........

[vfrex]

^

I was betting from the day i heard about the Wii's controller design that people would be throwing the thing through TV's and windows.

[SwedBear]

The Wii might be a good idea but to me (and I've tried it) it's more of a party console than something I would do my regular gaming on.

I will pick one up later but I'm worried it will be just as the GameCube and the DS, some great Nintendo games and then not much more. I love my DS but it's not exactly being overflooded with great new games for a while now.

I can answer a few things about the 360 though since I have it.

Xbox Live:
Yeah, in some way it is unmoderated but you can as a parent set up rules for the console how kids are allowed to use it. You can mute the mikes from other players so they don't have to risk hearing something "bad".

I love Live. and so far I've had a good experience of it. I have a lot of friends on my list but even when jumping in with other unknown people I rarely have any problems.

You do not have to have Gold though. With a free Silver ab. you still can get demos/arcade games.

Type of games:
True there are a lot of fps/third person shooters on the 360. But it looks like there are coming more diverse games. Guitar Hero is coming to the 360, We have Viva Pinjata, Fusoin Frenzy 2 which is a party game is coming. And then we got all the Live Arcade games. Lots of retro titles but also lots of nice puzzle games.

The prize of the arcade game varies (there are trials for everything). Some cost 400 points (~5$), others 800 points (~10) and a few 1200 points. I play a lot Xbox Live arcade games as I like to wind down a bit and play for a short while.

FPS on console:
I felt the same at first but now I rather play with the handcontrol than with mouse/keyboard. In my opinion it is all about getting used to something. Aiming is a bit harder but moving and looking around to me is easier. And then we have GoW :). Oh man it's a sweet game (ok, it is third-person).

Viva Pinjata
Lovely game. Yes, it is a bit like Animal Planet. You got your garden and then new Pinjata animals copme to it depending on how you build the garden and what animals you already got there. It's really a kids game but it is so fun. Right now I just need to get the Buzzlegums to start produce more honey from the honeycomb flowers. I've bought them beekeeper hats which will fix that. I also got Fudgehogs, Sparrowmints and lots of whirms in the garden. It looks liek crap so I think I'm going rebuild it.

This is a game I think the whole family loves.

If you got a HD-TV then the new TV/Movie download-service might be interesting. You get to buy TV-series episodes/rent movies in both SD and HD format. Only US for now :(.

The best bet I think is both :). The Wii60 is a nice combo that many think is better than a single PS3.

Since you got younger kids the Wii (or even a GameCube) probably is the best anyway but I don't see you being unhappy with a 360 either.

/B

[tomato]

I got myself a Wii on launch day, and YES, they are as hard if not harder to find than a PS3 (I got the last one :))

Anyway, in terms of family entertainment, the Wii is the way to go! I bought Zelda with it, and if they use the Wiimote/Nunchuck for FPS shooters on the Wii, it will rule! (I can't play FPS with a control pad either :() Nunchuk controls movement and/or left hand gun/shield while the Wiimote aims/shoots/controls right hand gun! Really fun!

And, you get at least a bit of physical activity instead of just plopping yourself on the couch :P Wii Sports (game included with system) will give you hours upon hours of fun (especially multiplayer) with Tennis, Boxing, Bowling, Golf, or Baseball :) :)

You will also have access to NES, SNES, Sega Genesis & TurboGrafx 16 games via the Virtual Console. You "pay" using points to purchase the games. Price varies according to game... but I don't think any game is over $10...

The Wii also comes with full backwards-compatibility out of the box ;) I believe you need the Gamecube controller or "classic controller" to play, but I haven't tried it yet...

Can you tell that I love my Wii? ;) :)

[Scott]

Yeah I am going to get on for Zac for his birthday. It may only be a picture of one since his birhday is this Saturday but at least he will know it is coming.

[tomato]

Good luck with that ;) The next guaranteed shipment of Wii/PS3's are due to arrive in Canada on Dec. 8th, I believe (at least to Future Shop/Best Buy)

I'm trying to find the component cables, but they are proving to be a hard find as well :(

I highly recommend getting an extra Wiimote & Nunchuk for the multiplayer games ;)

[mousiness]

ugh its so hard to choose now, i might not even buy one seeing as im losing my interest in video games, the Wii is attracting me because of the party potential in it and the "excercise" that you might as well get playing games, but i want to stick with sony because i spent 699 on my ps2, probably just will not buy one or just maybe ask for a Wii during the summertime as theyll definietly be sold out on christmas

[slugbug]

Personally I chose an Xbox 360. Well actually I won one from Pepsi/Doritos Canada :dancingparty:
I should get it in the next few weeks. I'm definitely buying Gears of War.
Here's a story about some guy who smashed his friend's 60" TV when his Wii remote strap broke: http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/20/wiimote-strap-breaks-controller-destroys-tv/

[SwedBear]

Slugbug - tell me when you got it and give me your GamerTag and we can play some Gears of War Coop.

/B

[Victor]

wow, you are super lucky man slugbug. I won't be buying any game console, play mostly computer game now (well that's when I play games).

[slugbug]

Slugbug - tell me when you got it and give me your GamerTag and we can play some Gears of War Coop.

/B

will do ;-)

[mousiness]

Slugbug - tell me when you got it and give me your GamerTag and we can play some Gears of War Coop.

/B

that game looks soooo good!!!!!! i love the commercial!!! aww your making me jealous as hell now!!!! :help:

[Tyron]

I got myself a Wii on launch day, and YES, they are as hard if not harder to find than a PS3 (I got the last one :))

Anyway, in terms of family entertainment, the Wii is the way to go! I bought Zelda with it, and if they use the Wiimote/Nunchuck for FPS shooters on the Wii, it will rule! (I can't play FPS with a control pad either :() Nunchuk controls movement and/or left hand gun/shield while the Wiimote aims/shoots/controls right hand gun! Really fun!

And, you get at least a bit of physical activity instead of just plopping yourself on the couch :P Wii Sports (game included with system) will give you hours upon hours of fun (especially multiplayer) with Tennis, Boxing, Bowling, Golf, or Baseball :) :)

You will also have access to NES, SNES, Sega Genesis & TurboGrafx 16 games via the Virtual Console. You "pay" using points to purchase the games. Price varies according to game... but I don't think any game is over $10...

The Wii also comes with full backwards-compatibility out of the box ;) I believe you need the Gamecube controller or "classic controller" to play, but I haven't tried it yet...

Can you tell that I love my Wii? ;) :)


Isn't sitting on the couch and growing fat on your belly the point of console gaming? :grin:

I would think the controller will be fun at first then the lazy tendency of gamers will kick in and they'll want to veg out with a normal controller. While those old games from consoles past is a good idea, people can always use an emulator and run them on their PC, for free.

I think I'll stick with my 360. Better graphics, some really good games out and more in the pipeline. And my belly is rumbling for more fat.:smile:

[tomato]

I'm just glad and impressed that Nintendo is at least trying to bring something new to the table, with gamers actually getting "excerise" as a bonus ;)

I'm not a fan of the 360, but DAAAAAMN if Gears of Wars looks PREEETTY :) But you can't judge the library of games of teh 360 VS Wii VS PS3, as two of the three systems just launched :P

Graphics aren't everything... good graphics can't hide crappy gameplay. Hell, I still play Galaga :)

[SwedBear]

I also play Galaga (on Xbox Live Arcade). Even Frogger, Time Pilot and a few other olides. I like them as they are perfect for just a few minutes play. Although Geometry Wars Evolved is the best game there (got it reviewed on the site).

GoW is really good. I love the fact that you can't just run and shot everything. Cover is a vital part of the game. Also like multiplayer. True, it's "just" 8 player but the maps are tight and perfect for that amount of people. And the chainsaw is the best weapon to slice up another gamer with :).

viva Pinjata has actually been spinning the most lately in my 360. Just a damn addictive fun little game.

Now I want to get hopld of the HD-DVD drive but it isn't available anywhere.

[tomato]

I saw a 360 HD-DVD drive in my Wal-Mart last weekend :? Also saw a whole end shelf of'em a couple of weekends ago during a big-city christmas shopping excursion.... I didn't think that they were in short supply?

[XJnine]

Tomato, try to remember Bjorn is in Sweden. He may not be blessed with a local Wal-Mart down the street. ;-)

[Tyron]

Tomato, try to remember Bjorn is in Sweden. He may not be blessed with a local Wal-Mart down the street. ;-)

But meatballs are available everywhere! :lol: Sorry, bad joke. I was having a Muppets flashback.

I was going to pick up a HD Drive but I really have no use for it. My TV isn't capable of HD viewing and none of the games require the drive. So I'll wait until there's a price drop or Santa brings me a LCD TV, whichever comes first.

[tomato]

Whoops! Sorry Bjorn, I totally forgot that little detail... :P

[slugbug]

I also play Galaga (on Xbox Live Arcade). Even Frogger, Time Pilot and a few other olides. I like them as they are perfect for just a few minutes play. Although Geometry Wars Evolved is the best game there (got it reviewed on the site).

GoW is really good. I love the fact that you can't just run and shot everything. Cover is a vital part of the game. Also like multiplayer. True, it's "just" 8 player but the maps are tight and perfect for that amount of people. And the chainsaw is the best weapon to slice up another gamer with :).

viva Pinjata has actually been spinning the most lately in my 360. Just a damn addictive fun little game.

Now I want to get hopld of the HD-DVD drive but it isn't available anywhere.

The hd dvd drive currently down converts DTS to AC3. MS is supposed to release an update that will fix that soon.

[Tyron]

The hd dvd drive currently down converts DTS to AC3. MS is supposed to release an update that will fix that soon.

I hadn't heard that. Another reason to wait for awhile.

Do you have link where it talks about it? I'd be interested to read that. Don't go hunting around though, I'm not that interested. :)

[DragonMaster]

I'm trying to find the component cables, but they are proving to be a hard find as well

eBay or nintendo.com store, you can get some for less than $15.

Anyone break any TVs yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkdihGX7iWM&eurl=

Nintendo must be using spaghetti noodles for the wrist strap
I better like the video response to this one.

[tomato]

The component cables are going for a mint on e-bay at the moment... The $15 ones are knockoffs that I wouldn't even give a second glance at... I'm a patient person, I can wait until I can pick up a set in-store, as I'm not into paying the potential conversion/duty/etc. fees by ordering them from the Nintendo store ;)

[DragonMaster]

The order from the Nintendo.ca store!

I don't know about the $15 Wii cables, but they claim they're genuine. No 3rd parties have been allowed to make Wii cables AFAIK.

[slugbug]

I hadn't heard that. Another reason to wait for awhile.

Do you have link where it talks about it? I'd be interested to read that. Don't go hunting around though, I'm not that interested. :)

Here you go: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=70652

[tomato]

The order from the Nintendo.ca store!

I don't know about the $15 Wii cables, but they claim they're genuine. No 3rd parties have been allowed to make Wii cables AFAIK.

Just because you're not allowed to do won't stop people from making knockoffs :P

And thanks for the hint about the Canadian part of the Nintendo store! I will see what Santa brings me though before I decide to splurge on the component cables :P

[Santa]

I just ask the youth group at the Church which system they would like, (ages 12-17) they all said the Wii. One bid for a PS3- but they knew it would be impossilbe to find one. I think the Wii the current winner. I have a side (but related) question.. The Wii's main selling point is the unique controller. Does anyone know if there is anything in the wii (hardware wise) that makes it unique.? I mean could Microsoft or Sony not develop a similar controler for their consoles? selling it as an option, like eye toy? It seems that that would steal nitendoes thunder.. and sure people would say they are copying but if you had next gen graphics with next gen controller would that not be the console everyone would want?

[XJnine]

The Wii console has the light bar thing that you put above or below your TV to track the position on the controller. I don't know if Sony or MS could emulate this and have it plug into a standard controller port. They may not have the ability to accept and process this kind of input. The Wii uses bluetooth to transmit its data to the console.

In short... Sony or MS could copy the controller but I'm not sure if their system would have the ability to track its position and get all that information back to the console. Motion sensing is one thing, position tracking is another....

[DragonMaster]

The Wii console has the light bar thing that you put above or below your TV to track the position on the controller. I don't know if Sony or MS could emulate this and have it plug into a standard controller port.

They could easily make one plugging into USB or a controller port.

[s_gibson]

Still haven't found a Wii. I think we will keep looking for one of those. I'd like a 360, but just don't know how the rest of the family would like it.

[Tyron]

They could easily make one plugging into USB or a controller port.

Sony's controller has limited motion detection already. I believe they are also working on a controller similar to Nintendo's. Would probably be a little more complex, more buttons etc., but who knows.

I haven't heard anything about MS developing one. They were working on one previously but abandoned it. I'm sure they'll go hard and fast on one now after the acceptance Nintendo's has gotten.

[SwedBear]

Well, I got a Wii now in addition to my 360. And quite frankly - I'm at a loss why people are so damn excited about it. To me it is pure Nintendo brainwashing.

I might be a cynic but while I do think the wiimote does work well (much better than I had imagined) it is just another way to controll a game. It's not the holy grail of gaming that some seem to think.

And holy crap the gfx of the Wii are bad. Much might be due to me still having to use the crappy composite cable as Nintendo in their wisdom decided not to release RGB or Component cables here yet. But still, blurry graphics, smoothed out textures, lots of texture shimmering and lots of jaggies. True, I'm using a HD LCD TV but I was expecting a lot more from the Wii.

Online it is far behind the 360. I'm not even sure you can play online yet. and instead of easy to remember gamertags you got 15 digit friend codes.

I got Wii Sports, Monkey Ball Blitz, Zelda and Rayman Rabbits.

WiiSports are fun. I like Tennis, Bowling and Boxing the most. It looks awfull but that doesn't matter so much. It's a bit unprecise sometimes but with practice you can really get better.

Monkey Ball Blitz is ok. The minigames suck IMHO. The controller doesn't work well. The SP game is ok although I think the wiimote is far to sensitive.

Zelda is Zelda. IMHO the gfx are crap with bad textures etc. but it is a Zelda game so it can overcome those problems.

Haven't had time to play Rayman Rabbits yet.

Something I think sucks is the price of the add-ons. Lets say you want to use it as the party-console it is. Add 65$ for a nunchuck/Wiimote combination. That's a lot of money if you want to have 4 of them.

I don't regret picking a Wii up but I think the hype is ridiculous right now. It's good but it's by far not a revolution in gaming. I see people claiming that they play this with "non-gamers" who love it and use that as some sort of proof. But I've played party-games on the PS2 with "non-gamers" and they've had an equall blast. The controller adds a spin but in the end it is the game underneath that is important.

But the Nintendo brainwashing really seems to work. Because now it seems you aren't enjoying games unless you do it on a Wii. I guess I must have been imagine myself when having fun playing games on the PC or on my 360. Luckily Nintendo is here to "shine the light".

/B

[tomato]

True enough about the rather weak Wii graphics... but it is the weakest of the next gen consoles and is limited to 480p resolution with component cables :( If you buy a Wii expecting it graphics to match those of the 360 or PS3, you will be dissapointed or misinformed...

BUT, good/pretty graphics don't make a good game...

I do applaud Nintendo for taking a risk and introducing a new and rather innovative way to "play" videogames though 8) It's not the be-all-end-all, but it is a very refreshing way to help immerse the player into the gaming experience.

[mousiness]

its true the graphics suck so bad and th wii uses a powrpc processor... but its mainly for the kiddies playing games while i guess theyre getting excersise? for the little pudgy one

[tomato]

Try it out before you knock it.... Wii Sports is a nice way to pass the time... but wait until you get around 1hr or so into Zelda, and the Wii control scheme shows some of its potential ;)

[DragonMaster]

its true the graphics suck so bad and th wii uses a powrpc processor... but its mainly for the kiddies playing games while i guess theyre getting excersise? for the little pudgy one

The PS3 and Xbox 360 use an IBM PowerPC as well ;-)

The controls don't give much right now, but since most games were developed for other consoles and way before the final controls were decided, there are only a few games using the controller's full potential, and Zelda isn't one of them, it's going to be released for Gamecube as well.

[mousiness]

do they? i thought they switched it up on the xbox, but i have read the wii uses a powerpc similar to the g5 correct me if im wrong

the controler to me seems not as reactive, for example if you move real quick isnt there sort of a lag of the movement on the screen?

[DragonMaster]

Yes, the pointer does lag, not the other controls hopefully.

[mousiness]

ya its unfortunate that it does, if it didnt it would be one dream of a gaming experience :jawdrop:

[tomato]

Geez, give it a chance... The Wii JUST launched last month! ...given time, they should be able to optimize the Wii control scheme and reduce/eliminate the lag... ;)

[Santa]

Well I think a lot has been said about wii and while I agree it is unique and that it will probably win this Christmas, I feel it will lose in the long run. I am sure they will develop a number of good games that max out the use of the controler, but I think by this time next year they will have peaked. They will not get much more graphics wise, and the novelty of the controller wont feel as novel. standing up weilding the controller like a sword will be replaced with sitting in a recliner button mashing. I think they have painted them selves in a corner, with little room to go anywhere.
While I think PS3 is a sleeping gaint. I think it will push gaming to a new level, once developer get a handle on the hardware. The 360 will probably be able to hang in there, specially with there jump on the market, and their availblity now. Halo 3 will do well I am sure. But if we look at the ps2, and realize the level of options and development possible for ps3. PS2 already has a number of optional controller devices, dance pads, eye toys, guitar hero I-II. I doubt they will stop there and I am sure we will see some wii like controllers being plugged into PS3. The difference will be the the system will not depend on the controller to sell the system, it will have games of all varieties.

Having only one gimick is kind of like 3-D movies. it's always neat to go see one, but usually before the movies over you wish it was just normal, and that the director would stop trying to come up with ways to point every long object in your direction for a few minutes.

But in the end I think a lot of gamers will have more then one system, many still have several genrations of systems, from nietendo 64. dreamcast, or segas. along with the more modern variety. heck the popularity of play atri games. has a varity of game packs and stand alone systems for those who want to play 4 pixil graphics. I actually hope that all 3 systems will be sucessful, because the compition drives the inovation. We are better off when Sony, Microsoft and Nietendo are battling it out to be number one.

[DragonMaster]

About the lagging and slow IR postitoning, maybe it's just easier to use this way, otherwise you would pass hours trying to point something because the cursor would be shaking too much.

[s_gibson]

Guess I'll drag up an old post. We gave up on the Wii and I bought a 360 a few weeks ago. We have seen a lot of PS3's out there to buy. I guess they haven't caught on yet?

I bought an XBOX to mod it right after it came out and was never really impressed by it. The most WOW I ever got out of a new console was when I bought my first Genesis. I liked my Atari's, Coleco's, and Nintendos, but the Genesis was the system I had the most fun with.

That being said, this 360 will easily take over the spot of most impressive system I have ever had, and I was always impressed by the Sega. The whole family has absolutely loved it. My 7 year old daughter is is constantly play Lego's and Viva, my wife found UNO and loves Viva, my son plays Call of Duty 2, Halo 2 and NFS Most wanted. I have really enjoyed PGR 3, NFS Most Wanted, and single player Call of Duty (have a lot of trouble playing with the controller, I want a mouse).

Of the regular XBOX games we have found they look much better on the 360. Halo 2 looks so much better. I think they must be antialiasing it or something.

HD gaming on a console kicks ass. We have it hooked up to a 55" Sony Vega and the graphics are jaw dropping.

XBox live is great. We have downloaded a ton of demos, and my son and I play my brother in DC in Call of Duty 2.

May pick up a Wii later, but I think this system will keep us busy for quite a while.

[slugbug]

The 360 I won from the pepsi.ca contest in December lasted all of one month before it started suffering from graphics corruption problems and freezing.
Sent it in for warranty service and I'm hoping to get back a newer one with the quiet BenQ dvd drive.

[Kougar]

The 360 I won from the pepsi.ca contest in December lasted all of one month before it started suffering from graphics corruption problems and freezing.
Sent it in for warranty service and I'm hoping to get back a newer one with the quiet BenQ dvd drive.

Good luck! Maybe if you give lady luck a kiss for Valentines day she'll even include the 65nm core revision that run cooler... ;)