There is so much controversy about which console is better between the two and which is going to do better then the other. Both Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii have their own pros and cons, just like any other console out there. It basically comes down to who can afford what and what they are looking for in a gaming console.
One of the things I have noticed time after time is that there is a big count of people who dislike Playstation 3 and either like Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360 in most of the cases. Of course there are some cases where these people making comment/judgement are entirely basing it on what they have read on different websites or what their friends have told ’em. Honestly, I am no expert and probably am the last person who should be comparing these two considering some friends and I run a Playstation fan site (TotalPlayStation.com) which has been around for eight-nine years, but this is my blog so it is place for me to voice my opinions. So here goes…
What do we look at when we are comparing these two consoles? One thing most forget is, who is the intended audience? And are these two consoles really competing against each other? Having played both Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii, my conclusions are: No they are not intended for same audience and no they are not really competing against each other. If anything, Xbox 360 is the one competing against Playstation 3.
I do have to agree with masses that Nintendo Wii is a lot of fun to play. But for me, so is Playstation 3. I have enjoyed playing Nintendo Wii with my friends and family but I have noticed that I don’t enjoy playing it alone. It is a party console to me.
Next big thing Nintendo Wii has going for it which Playstation 3 won’t have for LONG time or maybe never, which is price. I bought the Playstation 3 60 gig version for normal price of $600.00 at US launch held at Sony Metreon, San Francisco California. Good friend of mine was nice enough to stand in line to get it for me. I know $600 is a lot of money but I have been a gamer for long time and love to have newest things to play with. And then I got another controller which costs $50 more. So overall cost, lets just say, $700. Compare that to Nintendo Wii’s price: Wii itself costs $250 + extra set of nunchuck/remote which is another 70$ so lets say $350. So Nintendo Wii is about half as much as what Sony Playstation 3 would cost you for two players. So obviously price wise Nintendo Wii is A LOT better for most people. This is where your traget audience comes in. People I know who bought Playstation 3, do not mind paying $5-700 for console. They, like myself, want a machine which can do awesome graphics and be on the cutting edge. Granted that most games at the time did not use the power of Playstation 3, but I really just need one game which happens to be Resistance: fall of man. Since then I have enjoyed many more games on my Playstation 3.
I even tried to buy Nintendo Wii but no go. I just ended up playing with my friends/family’s Wii instead. I played Wii Sports and it was lots of fun. But like I said above, that got old. I can see myself playing it when I have friends over and with my wife. I honestly haven’t tried any other major games (tried Happy Feet fun for a while too). I still think it is nice console to have since it is not that much money plus can be great party game. The games I did play on Wii, I was not impressed by graphics much. I know they are for gameplay and not looks, but I love good looking games. Maybe that the reason why I like Playstation 3 gameplay/looks more than Nintendo Wii and can actually enjoy playing more.
And then last week Sony released new firmware for Playstation 3. This update added few features/upgrades to Playstation 3. Biggest one I like is [email protected] client. Ever since they released the update, my Playstation 3 has been sitting there running [email protected] client, well when I wasn’t using it. It is nice to know atleast there is something good coming out of all that raw power Playstation 3 has to offer. Out of curiousity, I wonder how Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360 would do running similar client. If somebody knows, please do comment.
CONCLUSION:
Playstation 3:
cons: expensive, not too many games which can use the power
pros: fun, great graphics, using it to finding cure for diseases, has backward compatibility for huge selection of Playstation 2 games, upto 7 people can play locally
Nintendo Wii:
cons: some game might get boring fast, mediocre graphics, expensive nunchucks/remote,hard to find
pros: fun, cheaper than Playstation 3, up to 4 people can play locally, backward compatibility for other Nintendo games
A fair breakdown, Sunny. Too often it seems like if someone’s going to attempt and make a Wii vs. PS3 argument, it either comes off as fanboy-ism or someone’s strange determination to declare a winner when we’re hardly four months into the console race (ugh, is it really a race?)
As far as I’m concerned, there really is no verdict to be made here. Because, quite simply, the bottom line is the consumer and to each their own. Is the Wii outselling the PS3? Absolutely. Most sales charts are showing 2-to-1 ratios. And hell if it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Some people simply aren’t willing to spend an awful lot of money on a videogame console. To parents, the Wii presents itself as a kid-friendly system, is a steal at $250 and give the console’s intuitive premise, is something they can take part in with their kids. Parents, generally speaking, likely wouldn’t take the time and pick up a standard controller, figure out all of the buttons, what they do, or even manage to keep up with their kids in the game. That said, they see the Wiimote’s simple interaction of “swing it like a tennis racket” or “follow through like you would with a bowling ball” and, hey, they’ve got it down without minutes.
Of course, that’s not to restrict the Wii’s appeal to just wholesome families. Nintendo is at the top of it’s game these days, the DS is selling like hot-cakes, and gamers seem to be more than likely to stick with the successful brand that almost always seems to be ahead of the curve.
That said, Sony seems to have a pretty solid following in that 18-37 year old demographic. Quite simply, there [i]are[/i] people who would like to invest their money into a cutting-edge videogame system and bask in the unbridled pleasure of playing some of their most beloved franchises in 720p/1080p glory on an high-definition television. It’s nice to look at, it’s nice to show off, and there is a genuine interest in what Sony has up its sleeve, even in spite of the hoards of negative press that haunted them through launch. Sony is to many a very trustworthy and reliable brand, and for them it may be only natural to stick with their company and roll through the hard times.
So, that’s my 10 minute off-the-cuff synopsis on the situation. Hopefully my facts are straight and I didn’t leave out any gaping arguments, but I think in the end, there’s no legitimate reason why three major consoles can’t exist on the same market.
Agree! Both has its pros/cons and different audiences.
I like to play WII with my 6 years old nephew and it was super fun to play that with him since he did so many cute stuff with those remotes (he don’t know how to *properly* play the boxing game so he just hold those 2 remotes and jumping up/down back/forward, so much fun to watch!)
I like to play Playstation 3 with my husband and friends since the graphic is so beautiful, the control is responsive and the game play is more sophisticated and required a some thinking.
I’m an owner of the Wii and a hard core gamer. I haven’t owned a console since the Super Nintendo (I bought that used for 30 bucks). The reason I purchased the Wii was for the party games and the price tag. I agree, the user base between the Wii and PS3 are different. Wii is mostly for Party games while the PS3 is for more ‘hard core’ gamers, if you can call them that (I’m biased). My only argument with Crazytoon’s article is that Wii hasn’t released many of the longevity games. I own Zelda and constantly want to play it. Once more of those games come out perhaps our views might change. I will never own a PS3 unless the price tag drops below 100 bucks. See, when it comes to hard core games, I’m PC all the way. That’s where the true gamers reside. Give me a mouse any day over a game pad.
Hello, I agree! I have PS3, Wii and 360. I enjoy playing PS3 the most. PS3 is like 360 with motion sesnors and a lot of x-tras. Wii is a fun time thing, part. I read the 2 ii in wii tand for 2 people standing next to each other. Wii and We, so i is a sytem only made for we, more than one person. PS3 is like one hard core players, or two hardcore players. Peace Out!
I think that the wii is way bettter then playstation 3, for one thing the price range for wii is obvioulsly better then like $600, and also sony has like 4 systems and playstation 1 & 2 suck, my ps1 stopped as soon as i got it the ps2 is like the ps1 except its newer and u can play videos in it psp is just like a hand held ps3 the wii is better because its got more games i havent seen a ps3 game or system yet, this doesnt really count buteven the comercials are betterin the ps3 theres a bayby that is like staring at the ps3 going “gaah goo boo boo boo” and on the wii the people play the wii in stead of a baby staring at it and besides nintendo is better than sony
I have a PS3 and a wii I LOVE LOVE LOVE playin the PS3 i like playin the wii intill a month now its not fun anymore the wii is worth like 90bucks not even 250 because it isn’t that fun
i think ps3 is a lot better then wii