Jason Hasselkus

It’s the holiday season and the video game industry is in full swing with their latest offerings for the video gamer in your life. The question now becomes what should you buy. Where I can’t tell you what you should buy, I can layout the strengths and weaknesses of each of the consoles. So here it goes, hang on tight.

Playstation 3
Sony’s next generation PlayStation is everything that the PlayStation 2 was and a little bit more. It’s not the evolutionary gaming console that some might expect. With that said, it’s still the console to beat in my opinion. The PlayStation 3 comes with a new Cell processor that can do 1.8 trillion calculations a second; fast right. I can also play HD Blueray discs, motion sensor controllers, free access to online content (like everything I’m sure this will come to an end at some point), and a 60 GB hard drive in the larger model. It’s backwards compatible with the older PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games, which is plus (especially for those who bought every Tony Hawk version), and you can import music and browse the internet. Sony has also figured out how to create rechargeable Bluetooth wireless controllers as well.
So for the real game enthusiast this is going to be a must have; however it’s probably not for everyone. With a price tag of $499 - $599 it’s a bit steep, at least for a person that’s got a life outside of computer games. The point however is that Sony has once again stepped up to the plate and delivered a very good entertainment system that can sit in your front room. It’s nice to look at and loads of fun to play. So if you get one this Friday (you did reserve yours right? because nobody is going to have them in stock), you won’t be disappointed with your purchase.

Wii
Ah Nintendo. Who can ever forget that funny little Italian plummer that ran around avoiding mushrooms and breaking bricks with his head all to rescue the girl. If you’re a child of the 80’s you’re going to feel a bit of nostalgia when looking at this system. No it doesn’t look like the original Nintendo system, however it does have some really cool features that make it a fun little machine. First lets say that it’s suppose to cost around $250 bucks, so that’s a heck of a lot cheaper than the PlayStation and the Xbox, and the unit itself is rather small. The Wii is also backwards compatible with the GameCube games, but that really shouldn’t matter because I don’t think a lot of people bought the GameCube anyway. The Virtual Console allows one to get online and download 20 years’ worth of games for Nintendo systems, plus titles from Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx-16.
The best part of all on this system is the motion sensitive controller. However, I have to ask myself how comfortable I would be using this system in front of my HD TV with a bunch of buddies playing baseball. Yeah it’s cool that one person can be pitching and another batting, but what happens when one of these controllers slips out of your hand? Or worse yet, what happens when someone takes you deep and you’ve had a few too many? That’s right, that object your holding is going right through the screen. What Nintendo did is invent a whole new reason to buy the warranty that comes with that TV and a whole new set of excuses as to why there is a hole in the middle of it. This unit also doesn’t come with a hard drive and isn’t HD capable, which kinda tells you how good the games will be.
In all, this is a good system with loads of fun with the new controller. The games are always going to be fun, because their from Nintendo, but it’s not going to match the gaming intensity of the PlayStation or the Xbox. So if your looking to have some fun, and don’t want to part with all the cash, I would get this system.

Xbox 360
Microsoft wants to rule the planet, and with this system they are doing a pretty good job. The Xbox attracted the really hard core gamers that aren’t using the latest and greatest computer equipment. The price is still between $299 and $399 depending on what you want on it, and it has the ability to browse the internet and of course wireless controllers. The high definition graphics are awesome and now that they announced an external HD-DVD drive, this system is still a real winner for gamers and home entertainment junkies alike. Microsoft also announced that more than 1000 hours of TV shows will be available by the end of the year, so this box can do more than just play games and DVD’s.
Not much has changed for the Xbox 360, except that everything isn’t built in like the PlayStation, but one thing Xbox has going for it, is that it’s from Microsoft and they will stop at nothing to keep bringing the consumer the best. Also the games that Microsoft has put out are great, one can’t really go wrong with this system.

So now that your choice is as clear as mud, go out and replace the DreamCast that doesn’t have the game play like these other systems.