A slightly better indicator of Xbox Live's health would be the percentage of owners paying for Xbox Live Gold. GameDaily BIZ queried an Xbox representative on this information, but we could only get the following response: "We aren't announcing how many of the 60% are gold and silver."
I agree... doesn't *everyone* have Silver by default? This just means that 60% of 360 owners have it hooked up to the internet, right? I wouldn't mind knowing how many are putting down money for it. Either way, Gold is a good bargain if you want to play online. MS just needs more Co-op / MP games worth the $5/month.
Well, it seems the longer I wait, the better the deals get (as always). Personally, I'll wait until all three episodes are done and pick it up in the bargain bin. Definitely not on Steam though. Just since you asked:)
I think the 360 is doing poorly in Japan because of expectation. The Japanese consumers expect the 360 to have (more or less) the same content as the original Xbox. And so far, they've been right.
Sure there are some great games coming up, but MS needs to convince them that this is not a "one off" thing. Sony's chief exec said that the PS3 is about potential, and he's right. When a gamer buys a console, they look for a system that will provide the desired experience now... and years down the road.
I don't think the Japanese are anti-american on this, but it takes a long time to change perception. MS needs a string of good J-friendly releases over time to do this. Maybe the perception will change in time for the next Xbox.
I agree and disagree with you on this. If we were all interested in "Stuff that matters", we wouldn't read the "Games" section:)
Also, the mood towards Sony is everywhere on the internet. Not saying it's good or bad, just that it is. Eventually, there will be a pro-Sony "backlash". When the PS3 comes out, there will be good games, and people will say "hmmm. It's here now, and it doesn't suck! Hooray Sony!".
So Ubisoft got some extra dough from Sony to hold back release of other ports until after launch. Good for them. Glad to see someone will be making money off this crazy console war.
I bought my wife an iBook when her Windows machine died, and I was blown away by how well OSX performed. I was also blown away by how little I missed the only thing I kept a PC around for, namely games.
So I would have liked a new Power mac (or even a mini), but the well was dry. So I grabbed Debian and never looked back. The only real difference now is the Gamecube has been promoted to full-time gaming platform.
Personally, I don't think Apple has anything to worry about -- my wife could no more manage an Ubuntu installation than she could her old windows machine. Apple is very proprietary, true, but their stuff works and it looks nice. I just wish they'd get rid of the yearly OSX tax.
I didn't say it was happy, I said Sony was counting on it being happy. But Sony was right about PS2 and DVD, so they may be right about Blu-ray. When DVDs first came out, many thought they weren't going to be the success they've been.
Yeah, there's always hope. But you remember when the PS2 came out? People *wanted* a DVD player. That was my point.
Dumping is illegal. E.g. you are a huge company making insane amounts of money off some random product. You pick a smaller strategic competitor and then give away or sell at below cost a roughly equivalent product until that competitor dies. At your option you then start charging for the product or integrate it into some other product you sell. This is what Microsoft has done with Borland / Paradox, NetScape, and attempted to do to Apple / QuickTime, Sony etc. Another company well known for operating this way is deBeers (the diamond cartel).
Microsoft's use of XBox as a loss-leader wedge into the games market isn't as egregious as its behavior with, say, Borland, but if the eminently bribable Republicans hadn't won in 2000, Microsoft would be three companies by now and wouldn't be able to fund forays into the games business with Operating Systems sales.
Wow. Lots of hate in that last rant. Brought in the Republicans, too, eh? Are you sure you don't want to bring Haliburton into this somehow? BTW, Sony plans on losing at least 1 Billion USD in the first year launching the PS3... is that not dumping? It seems to meet all your criteria, except... yeah... Sony isn't Microsoft. And the DeBeers reference? Debeers doesn't "dump". They do the exact opposite. Harvest all the diamonds and then let them trickle out to the market. Are you saying MS did that with the XBox?
Well, I think we've established that MS has alot more going for it than "getting there first", but whatever.
No, you've just asserted it.
Yes, and now you're asserting that MS doesn't. Touche!
Actually, Microsoft risks being beached on 720p when 1080p becomes dominant, not supporting bluray, isn't 100% backwards compatible with XBox, and has no compelling titles exclusive except the unreleased Halo. (And Halo wouldn't be exclusive if they hadn't bought Bungie.)
So when do you suppose "1080p becomes dominant?" 3, 5, 10 years from now? Do you think Nintendo will be "beached" because they don't support 720p? As for back-compat, post me a list of all the "great" Xbox games that arent' currently backward compatible (I did that one for you... Halo... check!). Compelling 360 game: Does Bioshock ring a bell? Best game of E3? I've now just doubled your list of compelling 360 games. Sorry you're mad about MS buying Bungie. Mac owner, perhaps?
It does? Let's see -- backwards compatible? No. Lots of compelling titles? No. Plays the up-and-coming (perhaps) video format? No. (Microsoft supports HD-DVD, which is increasingly looking like the loser format, but XBox 360 doesn't have one built in as standard. Bluray may ALSO lose -- and in fact both may lose). Looks to me like all XBox 360 would need to match N64 on every count would be shipping games on cartridges.
What up and coming video format didn't the N64 support? You lost me here. Your argument had promise until you forgot the topic of said argument
It's pretty clear you're pro Microsoft. That's fine. I'm arguing against the conventional wisdom du jour that you can stick a fork in Sony's ass because XBox 360 rocks and PS3 is late when their OLD product is still outselling Microsoft's NEW one. This isn't a zero sum game; both (even all three) may succeed or fail.
It's even clearer to me your hate of Microsoft (/Republicans/loss-of-Halo-as-Mac-exclusive) is affecting your ability to reason. The funny part is that I don't think you're a Sony fanboy... I think you're so filled with hate over Microsoft that anyone who doesn't hate them as much as you do looks "pro Microsoft". You're right. This isn't a zero-sum
Microsoft is betting (but not the farm) on getting in first
... and ease-of-development, continued LIVE superiority, XBLA...
Sony is betting the farm on a happy convergence of Blu-ray, compelling PS3 titles, and HDTV critical mass.
-- Not sure what is "happy" about it. No-one (by that I mean *much* less than the 100 Million Sony is shooting for) wants Blu-ray OR HDDVD, I haven't seen more compelling PS3 Titles than exist on 360 or Wii (only 2 to 3 on each console so far). The number of HDTV owners is in the noise right now, and will be until price/content are more consumer friendly.
There's a huge market at stake, and it's worth billions to kill its current owner. The fact that this is technically illegal is a minor annoyance.
-- WTF??? Other than *being Microsoft* what crimes have they committed in the videogame arena?
So far, getting in first hasn't worked very well for Atari, Colecovision, Nintendo, and Sega
-- Well, I think we've established that MS has alot more going for it than "getting there first", but whatever. Let's go with it... When did Atari come in first... and lose? Are you talking about 5200 and Jaguar? Atari was already dead by then (see Tramiel). Colecovision? They were last after the 2600 & Intellivision. For that matter, was there a successful system launched *after* the Colecovision and *before* the videogame crash? The Nintendo N64 has a lot more in common right now with PS3 than the 360, so careful about the analogies. I'll give you Sega, though:)
Who said it was the "be-all and end-all?" It doesn't matter haow significant the games of the US games market are (or whether they're "out-of-step", whatever that means...).
The point is the US market is the single largest games market in the world. Being #1 in the US qualifies you as a contender in fiscal terms, matters of taste are irrelevant.
from a company that managed to lose marketshare even to a mediocre first-try offering from Microsoft
So your point is... what, exactly? Have you calculated how much market share was lost by Sony as well? Or are you assuming every Xbox purchase was a lost Gamecube sale? Seems to me (now as then), Sony and MS are likely competing for the same market.
I'm sure Valve's move to episodic content had more to do with squeezing money out of customers than anything else. $20 for 5-6 hours is exactly what Gabe Newell wants, with low low distribution costs courtesy of Steam. Oh, and no "used game" market to suck off future sales.
So now I look forward to 25% of a game every year? I've given up on the story... since apparently they have too. How about answering some questions about what the hell is going on? I've lost track of the dead-end plot points and supposed "mysteries" regarding half life. It's still a linear FPS with no sense of urgency other than, "GO HERE GORDON!", and "KILL THEM GORDON!".
It's a shame because the games are pretty and the mood and atmosphere is rich. But they've saddled themselves with an albatross of a story line. I think they realize that if they gave us answers to some of the questions, we'd realize it's really b-grade sci fi we're getting.
They should take a page from the LOST writers and tie up a story line every now and then...
Achievements that require an audience seem only to server the egos of those involved. In that case, I wouldn't call it much of an achievement... more like a cry for attention. It seems you hold some secular humanist ideals, which I can't quite understand.
So to the point: Are the achievements of man serving no purpose NOW? Is medicine not curing people NOW? Is technology not making this conversation happen NOW? Is art not inspiring humankind NOW?
... and if it all went up in a puff of smoke tomorrow, did it not matter at all?
Perhaps the mere *thought* of extinction scares us simply because it means we are not the gods we imagine ourselves to be.
None of Sony's failed media experiments were proprietary. As an OEM, you could always adopt it if you were willing to pay Sony a licensing fee. There is nothing wrong with this, except Sony is willing to sacrifice their console dominance on a bet that they will make more money licensing Blu-Ray. That's some high-stakes gambling. Let's see how it pays out.
I'm planning out my game purchases. I have a 360, and love it, but the price of games is at the point where I'm planning out every purchase. I think I'll only do 3 to 4 games a year at this rate.
Live Arcade is a different story, I'll probably buy a dozen of those.
By comparison, I bought around 10 to 15 Gamecube games a year over the past few years.
It's hard to imagine with cheapies like me around, how Sony and MS will make alot of money on AAA titles. I'm waiting until Oblivion goes down to 30 bucks, after shipping, new, on ebay.
Every gamer has a momemt, sort of like losing your gamer cherry. You never forget the first time a game moves you to tears, makes you laugh out loud, or scares you so much you have to turn on the lights and turn off the computer.
I didn't get FFVII, but I was 30 at the time. I had already played Ultima Underworld, Lots of Wizardry, and more traditional CRPGs. I'm sure if I was 13 and I had a Playstation, things would be very different.
I don't begrudge anyone their favorite game. I think it's great that people are passionate about it, and want to share the experience with others.
For the record, my "first game" was Ultima Underworld II. There's a portion of the game where you need to raid the tomb of a king, and his ghostly court tried very hard to stop you. When you reach the king, you realize they weren't trying to stop you from stealing his treasure, but were trying to keep you from letting him realize he was dead. At that moment, I had a feeling that I had done something very wrong... much worse than just stealing a trinket.
Actually, I hate Windows... because Windows sucks. I only used it for gaming (see where this is going?)
And I love my XBox 360, because it does the one thing I want it to do better than any other product out there (still getting a Wii, though:)
Microsoft means nothing to me. It's just a company like 1000 others, and like a 1000000 others would *like* to be. I, like most consumers, have affinity for products. I own an Apple, but don't worship that company either.
If I have to look at every hair, folical[sic] and acne scar on Jack Nicholson's face, I may have to break out my VHS player while I recover in the fetal position.
I agree with everything you say, but want to add a side note here. Yes, the PS2 dominated the console generation *in spite of* the reasons defined above. Poor dev support, complex architecture, underpowered hardware, etc. Just like Sony loves proprietary memory formats, it also loves "invented here" technology. It probably didn't even consider using off-the-shelf technology for their new wundertoy.
So my question to Sony is -- why did you not learn from past engineering mistakes? The console wars are starting anew, and your competitors have adjusted their strategies. Sony is stuck in the past, I'm afraid, and they already know they will forfeit a huge portion of marketshare because of it.
Game developers coded for Sony for the same reason people write Windows programs -- marketshare (as you stated). Sony can't really force people to code to a console that has less than 40% marketshare. In short, they will see any "exclusives" they have go to the market leader.
While the final decision is to be left to the market, the developers are already chiming in with their votes. Sony has a beast on their hands. They need to put a collar on it before it chews up their marketshare.
Well, the PS3 has a whopping 256 Megs of RAM (since they *dedicated* the other 256 Megs to Video, not to be shared). Linux will run fine under 256, but it won't replace my PC.
1. I Can't afford a PC that will play a game like Gears of War. Both the PS3 (yes, the PS3) and 360 are an incredible value from a PC/hardware point of view. Remember the 6800 Ultras when they came out? Up to 800 dollars!
2. Windows on a PC blows. I'm sick of it. That's why I have a Mac... but Windows is the only PC platform with gaming. Yeah, yeah, I know MS also makes the 360, but they've figured out what Apple has known all along -- you make an end-to-end product and you can improve the quality of the software that runs on it.
3. The future of PC gaming is headed toward the Xbox Live model anyway, why not have the best implementation of that model? Steam and other delivery systems are just catching up to what Live has already accomplished.
And yes, I can get by without a mouse and keyboard. I have been intelligently designed with hands, fingers, and opposable thumbs to accommodate all sorts of tasks. And the 360 controller is heaven.
Correction: Stop calling Sony's controller 6 degrees of freedom, that's just ignorant. Adding "just like Nintendo" is ignorance with malice.
Let's break it down:
1 axis each for yaw,pitch, and roll.
1 axis each for translation in 3 dimensions: x,y,z
AFAIK, Sony's controller doesn't detect translation, making it (at best) a 3-axis tilt-controller. If the significance of that difference hasn't hit you yet, you really need to play a Wii game or two (like I did at E3). I'd take that extra 3 degrees of freedom over Blu-Ray any day.
1. "Everyone" is made up of: Nintendo fanboys who will buy the console even if it were named "Happy Happy Fun Console", and those that think the name "Wii" is funny enough, and mock it incessantly on Slashdot.
2. Obviously, Wii is for the first set of people.
3. Nintendo is actually using the name "Wii" as a maturity test. They are using "Brain Age" technology to determine a person's maturity level by the number of penis/urine jokes made by people in the second set. Penis jokes identify a maturity level of roughly 10 years, Urine jokes - 7 years.
4. Everyone knows Nintendo consoles are for kiddies, so the Wii is suited to members of the second set as well as the first.
Slashdot Mirror
I agree... doesn't *everyone* have Silver by default? This just means that 60% of 360 owners have it hooked up to the internet, right? I wouldn't mind knowing how many are putting down money for it. Either way, Gold is a good bargain if you want to play online. MS just needs more Co-op / MP games worth the $5/month.
Well, it seems the longer I wait, the better the deals get (as always). Personally, I'll wait until all three episodes are done and pick it up in the bargain bin. Definitely not on Steam though. Just since you asked :)
Sure there are some great games coming up, but MS needs to convince them that this is not a "one off" thing. Sony's chief exec said that the PS3 is about potential, and he's right. When a gamer buys a console, they look for a system that will provide the desired experience now... and years down the road.
I don't think the Japanese are anti-american on this, but it takes a long time to change perception. MS needs a string of good J-friendly releases over time to do this. Maybe the perception will change in time for the next Xbox.
Also, the mood towards Sony is everywhere on the internet. Not saying it's good or bad, just that it is. Eventually, there will be a pro-Sony "backlash". When the PS3 comes out, there will be good games, and people will say "hmmm. It's here now, and it doesn't suck! Hooray Sony!".
Of course that's a best-case scenario...
So Ubisoft got some extra dough from Sony to hold back release of other ports until after launch. Good for them. Glad to see someone will be making money off this crazy console war.
So I would have liked a new Power mac (or even a mini), but the well was dry. So I grabbed Debian and never looked back. The only real difference now is the Gamecube has been promoted to full-time gaming platform.
Personally, I don't think Apple has anything to worry about -- my wife could no more manage an Ubuntu installation than she could her old windows machine. Apple is very proprietary, true, but their stuff works and it looks nice. I just wish they'd get rid of the yearly OSX tax.
Yeah, there's always hope. But you remember when the PS2 came out? People *wanted* a DVD player. That was my point.
Dumping is illegal. E.g. you are a huge company making insane amounts of money off some random product. You pick a smaller strategic competitor and then give away or sell at below cost a roughly equivalent product until that competitor dies. At your option you then start charging for the product or integrate it into some other product you sell. This is what Microsoft has done with Borland / Paradox, NetScape, and attempted to do to Apple / QuickTime, Sony etc. Another company well known for operating this way is deBeers (the diamond cartel).
Microsoft's use of XBox as a loss-leader wedge into the games market isn't as egregious as its behavior with, say, Borland, but if the eminently bribable Republicans hadn't won in 2000, Microsoft would be three companies by now and wouldn't be able to fund forays into the games business with Operating Systems sales.
Wow. Lots of hate in that last rant. Brought in the Republicans, too, eh? Are you sure you don't want to bring Haliburton into this somehow? BTW, Sony plans on losing at least 1 Billion USD in the first year launching the PS3... is that not dumping? It seems to meet all your criteria, except... yeah... Sony isn't Microsoft. And the DeBeers reference? Debeers doesn't "dump". They do the exact opposite. Harvest all the diamonds and then let them trickle out to the market. Are you saying MS did that with the XBox?
Well, I think we've established that MS has alot more going for it than "getting there first", but whatever.
No, you've just asserted it.
Yes, and now you're asserting that MS doesn't. Touche!
Actually, Microsoft risks being beached on 720p when 1080p becomes dominant, not supporting bluray, isn't 100% backwards compatible with XBox, and has no compelling titles exclusive except the unreleased Halo. (And Halo wouldn't be exclusive if they hadn't bought Bungie.)
So when do you suppose "1080p becomes dominant?" 3, 5, 10 years from now? Do you think Nintendo will be "beached" because they don't support 720p? As for back-compat, post me a list of all the "great" Xbox games that arent' currently backward compatible (I did that one for you... Halo... check!). Compelling 360 game: Does Bioshock ring a bell? Best game of E3? I've now just doubled your list of compelling 360 games. Sorry you're mad about MS buying Bungie. Mac owner, perhaps?
It does? Let's see -- backwards compatible? No. Lots of compelling titles? No. Plays the up-and-coming (perhaps) video format? No. (Microsoft supports HD-DVD, which is increasingly looking like the loser format, but XBox 360 doesn't have one built in as standard. Bluray may ALSO lose -- and in fact both may lose). Looks to me like all XBox 360 would need to match N64 on every count would be shipping games on cartridges.
What up and coming video format didn't the N64 support? You lost me here. Your argument had promise until you forgot the topic of said argument
It's pretty clear you're pro Microsoft. That's fine. I'm arguing against the conventional wisdom du jour that you can stick a fork in Sony's ass because XBox 360 rocks and PS3 is late when their OLD product is still outselling Microsoft's NEW one. This isn't a zero sum game; both (even all three) may succeed or fail.
It's even clearer to me your hate of Microsoft (/Republicans/loss-of-Halo-as-Mac-exclusive) is affecting your ability to reason. The funny part is that I don't think you're a Sony fanboy... I think you're so filled with hate over Microsoft that anyone who doesn't hate them as much as you do looks "pro Microsoft". You're right. This isn't a zero-sum
... and ease-of-development, continued LIVE superiority, XBLA...
Sony is betting the farm on a happy convergence of Blu-ray, compelling PS3 titles, and HDTV critical mass.
-- Not sure what is "happy" about it. No-one (by that I mean *much* less than the 100 Million Sony is shooting for) wants Blu-ray OR HDDVD, I haven't seen more compelling PS3 Titles than exist on 360 or Wii (only 2 to 3 on each console so far). The number of HDTV owners is in the noise right now, and will be until price/content are more consumer friendly.
There's a huge market at stake, and it's worth billions to kill its current owner. The fact that this is technically illegal is a minor annoyance.
-- WTF??? Other than *being Microsoft* what crimes have they committed in the videogame arena?
So far, getting in first hasn't worked very well for Atari, Colecovision, Nintendo, and Sega
-- Well, I think we've established that MS has alot more going for it than "getting there first", but whatever. Let's go with it... When did Atari come in first... and lose? Are you talking about 5200 and Jaguar? Atari was already dead by then (see Tramiel). Colecovision? They were last after the 2600 & Intellivision. For that matter, was there a successful system launched *after* the Colecovision and *before* the videogame crash? The Nintendo N64 has a lot more in common right now with PS3 than the 360, so careful about the analogies. I'll give you Sega, though :)
If you say the games will cost between 60 and 100 dollars, guess what the "take away" from that statement is.
Of course in a day or two, Sony will realize they should have said nothing, and do some damage control.
Yellow Card, Sony. PR foul.
The point is the US market is the single largest games market in the world. Being #1 in the US qualifies you as a contender in fiscal terms, matters of taste are irrelevant.
So your point is... what, exactly? Have you calculated how much market share was lost by Sony as well? Or are you assuming every Xbox purchase was a lost Gamecube sale? Seems to me (now as then), Sony and MS are likely competing for the same market.
So now I look forward to 25% of a game every year? I've given up on the story... since apparently they have too. How about answering some questions about what the hell is going on? I've lost track of the dead-end plot points and supposed "mysteries" regarding half life. It's still a linear FPS with no sense of urgency other than, "GO HERE GORDON!", and "KILL THEM GORDON!".
It's a shame because the games are pretty and the mood and atmosphere is rich. But they've saddled themselves with an albatross of a story line. I think they realize that if they gave us answers to some of the questions, we'd realize it's really b-grade sci fi we're getting.
They should take a page from the LOST writers and tie up a story line every now and then...
So to the point: Are the achievements of man serving no purpose NOW? Is medicine not curing people NOW? Is technology not making this conversation happen NOW? Is art not inspiring humankind NOW?
Perhaps the mere *thought* of extinction scares us simply because it means we are not the gods we imagine ourselves to be.
None of Sony's failed media experiments were proprietary. As an OEM, you could always adopt it if you were willing to pay Sony a licensing fee. There is nothing wrong with this, except Sony is willing to sacrifice their console dominance on a bet that they will make more money licensing Blu-Ray. That's some high-stakes gambling. Let's see how it pays out.
Live Arcade is a different story, I'll probably buy a dozen of those.
By comparison, I bought around 10 to 15 Gamecube games a year over the past few years. It's hard to imagine with cheapies like me around, how Sony and MS will make alot of money on AAA titles. I'm waiting until Oblivion goes down to 30 bucks, after shipping, new, on ebay.
Every gamer has a momemt, sort of like losing your gamer cherry. You never forget the first time a game moves you to tears, makes you laugh out loud, or scares you so much you have to turn on the lights and turn off the computer.
I didn't get FFVII, but I was 30 at the time. I had already played Ultima Underworld, Lots of Wizardry, and more traditional CRPGs. I'm sure if I was 13 and I had a Playstation, things would be very different.
I don't begrudge anyone their favorite game. I think it's great that people are passionate about it, and want to share the experience with others.
For the record, my "first game" was Ultima Underworld II. There's a portion of the game where you need to raid the tomb of a king, and his ghostly court tried very hard to stop you. When you reach the king, you realize they weren't trying to stop you from stealing his treasure, but were trying to keep you from letting him realize he was dead. At that moment, I had a feeling that I had done something very wrong... much worse than just stealing a trinket.
And I love my XBox 360, because it does the one thing I want it to do better than any other product out there (still getting a Wii, though :)
Microsoft means nothing to me. It's just a company like 1000 others, and like a 1000000 others would *like* to be. I, like most consumers, have affinity for products. I own an Apple, but don't worship that company either.
If I have to look at every hair, folical[sic] and acne scar on Jack Nicholson's face, I may have to break out my VHS player while I recover in the fetal position.
So my question to Sony is -- why did you not learn from past engineering mistakes? The console wars are starting anew, and your competitors have adjusted their strategies. Sony is stuck in the past, I'm afraid, and they already know they will forfeit a huge portion of marketshare because of it.
Game developers coded for Sony for the same reason people write Windows programs -- marketshare (as you stated). Sony can't really force people to code to a console that has less than 40% marketshare. In short, they will see any "exclusives" they have go to the market leader.
While the final decision is to be left to the market, the developers are already chiming in with their votes. Sony has a beast on their hands. They need to put a collar on it before it chews up their marketshare.
Well, the PS3 has a whopping 256 Megs of RAM (since they *dedicated* the other 256 Megs to Video, not to be shared). Linux will run fine under 256, but it won't replace my PC.
Complaining about $5 a month is a little silly though, don't you think?
1. I Can't afford a PC that will play a game like Gears of War. Both the PS3 (yes, the PS3) and 360 are an incredible value from a PC/hardware point of view. Remember the 6800 Ultras when they came out? Up to 800 dollars!
2. Windows on a PC blows. I'm sick of it. That's why I have a Mac... but Windows is the only PC platform with gaming. Yeah, yeah, I know MS also makes the 360, but they've figured out what Apple has known all along -- you make an end-to-end product and you can improve the quality of the software that runs on it.
3. The future of PC gaming is headed toward the Xbox Live model anyway, why not have the best implementation of that model? Steam and other delivery systems are just catching up to what Live has already accomplished.
And yes, I can get by without a mouse and keyboard. I have been intelligently designed with hands, fingers, and opposable thumbs to accommodate all sorts of tasks. And the 360 controller is heaven.
Let's break it down:
1 axis each for yaw,pitch, and roll.
1 axis each for translation in 3 dimensions: x,y,z
AFAIK, Sony's controller doesn't detect translation, making it (at best) a 3-axis tilt-controller. If the significance of that difference hasn't hit you yet, you really need to play a Wii game or two (like I did at E3). I'd take that extra 3 degrees of freedom over Blu-Ray any day.
1. "Everyone" is made up of: Nintendo fanboys who will buy the console even if it were named "Happy Happy Fun Console", and those that think the name "Wii" is funny enough, and mock it incessantly on Slashdot.
2. Obviously, Wii is for the first set of people.
3. Nintendo is actually using the name "Wii" as a maturity test. They are using "Brain Age" technology to determine a person's maturity level by the number of penis/urine jokes made by people in the second set. Penis jokes identify a maturity level of roughly 10 years, Urine jokes - 7 years.
4. Everyone knows Nintendo consoles are for kiddies, so the Wii is suited to members of the second set as well as the first.
The Wii is for Everyone.
Q.E.D.
Oh, and BTW, I loved the scripted events is HL1, too!