Console Showdown
February 9th, 2007The seventh generation of gaming is upon us, although it is still too early to judge who would grow to become the dominating platform. The presence of expensive consoles such as Sony’s Playstation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 makes Nintendo’s Wii look like an affordable choice for gamers - especially casual gamers who would be strongly attracted to a new interaction experience through the Wii remote. The Wii, however, does not support next generation high-definition media such as HD-DVD or Blu-Ray — a feature that is pretty much being considered a standard for the other gaming consoles, which are expected to double up as media centers in peoples’ living rooms.
While the Xbox 360 has had a full year’s head start compared to the PS3, it also has a good ecosystem of games to feed the experience further. I got dangerously close to buying a PS3 myself, but backed out when I realized that it would be a good six months before any games that spark my interest, would be available for it. The PS3 is available for purchase today simply because Sony wanted consumers to have the option to purchase a Blu-Ray console (since standalone Blu-Ray players are, in fact, much more expensive than the PS3 itself). The move should ensure a good slice of the market before HD media for movies hits markets. From a gaming standpoint, the PS3 is not quite a lucrative buy yet as there are no games out that exploit the amazing hardware capabilities of the console. That will change in a few months, of course, as major game developers are actually moving schedules to be able to churn out games specifically for the PS3.
Despite this and the fact that the PS3 has not been released worldwide yet, going by sales figures alone, the PS3 seems to be holding itself well in US and Japanese markets, with 687,300+ and 552,993+ units sold respectively. It would be prudent to wait until there is a good selection of games that can help sell the PS3, to judge the grasp of its dominance in the gaming sector.
