360 vs. PS3 vs. Wii - The Designer's Perspective

Gamasutra is running a piece today written by Ernest Adams, a frequent contributor to the site and an amusingly opinionated game designer. He writes to weigh in on the console war debate from the perspective of a game designer. He runs down the usual list of pros and cons for each machine, and then digs into the most creative aspects of each machine. Finally, lays out what he sees as the end result of this hardware generation: "So who, at the end of the day, will be the also-ran in this generation of consoles? On the global scale, I'd say it could well be neither the PS3 or the Wii, but the Xbox 360. The PS3 will win over the hardcore gamers who have to have the fastest, most amazing machine available. The Wii will skim off the younger players and those who don't have as much money to spend. Both have the advantage of being made in Japan, so they'll crowd the Xbox right out of that market. In the US and Europe, it's harder to say, but I see the Xbox's early start as more of a liability than a benefit."

Comments

Nintendo's Not Even In The Next-Gen Wars

[Bones3D_mac]

It's ridiculous to think Nintendo is even trying to overtake a position on the Next-Gen console front. The Wii maybe the "next biggest thing" from them, but it's not designed to be the end-all product the PS3 or Xbox 360 are... at least no more than the DS is intended to be the true successor to the Gameboy line. Like the DS, the Wii is simply an experimental product intended to prevent the game industry from stagnating itself into oblivion, while also not costing an arm and a leg in the process.

Let's face it, consumers do want a Nintendo handheld that can compete with the PSP in terms of raw power. Obviously, the technology is already available for Nintendo to develop such a device, but it can't yet be produced inexpensively or meet the the guidelines of portability Nintendo demands in its products, to be viable. This doesn't mean Nintendo won't develop such a product eventually, but they're going to demand it to be at least as portable and rugged as the GBA SP, with enough battery life to last around 20hrs between charges... none of which the PSP lives up to. Once these demands can be met for a low enough price, Nintendo will probably release a new version of the gameboy, probably matching the PSPs current graphical and storage capabilities closely, while at the same time avoiding the awkward nature of the DS's stylus based interface. The same will be true of the Wii a few years from now, when a true gamecube follow-up is produced to compete on equal footing with the 360 and the PS3.

Until then, both the DS and the Wii are decent enough placeholders to give Nintendo the time they need for the technology costs and advancements needed reach the levels they want.