Can this console war be the best yet

[goldenaxeboy]

I think the PS3 vs 360 vs wii can be the best console war yet what do some of you think.:fist:

[Richter Belmount]

Uhh no

[Damaramu]

I'm afraid it won't get any better than the early 90's war between Sega and Nintendo. Man, those were the days. Genesis does, indeed.

[Nebagram]

Gotta agree, it'd take a lot to beat the MD/Gen vs SNES war. Those days were something truly special.

[Push Upstairs]

Early 90's was the peak of console wars.

I doubt it will ever be on that level ever again.

[starfox316]

It all just seems the same now. Everyone is just trying to make every last fucking buck off of GTA rip-offs. New consoles are lame, especially the wii with it's novelty controls and the ps3 who looks like it's just waiting to be put out of its misery.

By the way... GENESIS RULEZ!!!!!!

[DigitalSpace]

As most of the responses have stated, nothing beats the early 90's.

[playgeneration]

Early nineties was indeed the best era, and it wasnt just between megadrive and snes. Nes, Master System, Amiga, CDI, Jaguar, Gameboy, Gamegear, Lynx, there was far more competition in the market. And competition means they all had to try harder, which mean't better games.
These days multiplatform games are more in vogue, without exclusive games the difference between consoles is far less interesting - hence why ps3 is suffering so badly. It's the Wii that is making this generation interesting, would be pretty boring without it.

[veronica_marsfan]

Jaguar wasn't part of the 16-bit generation since it arrived late to the game. People were already talking about the new PS1/N64 consoles.

And I don't think the CDTV, CDI had any impact since they basically were stillborn (dead from the start). Like the Philips Video 2000 vcr... it was there, but had no effect on the Betamax vs. VHS battle.
As most of the responses have stated, nothing beats the early 90's.

I think people have rose-colored glasses.

Have ye forgotten all the LOUSY games that came-out in the 1990s? And you talk about GTA clones; well there were a lot of clones back then too; how many versions of Megaman were released 1989-to-1995? And Mortal Kombat/Shooter clones out the wazoo.



The one feature that made the early 90s unique was the Super Nintendo vs. Sega Genesis battle. Both were neck-and-neck.

If Xbox360 and PS3 and Wii repeat that "virtual tie" the next few years could be interesting.

[playgeneration]

Jaguar wasn't part of the 16-bit generation since it arrived late to the game. People were already talking about the new PS1/N64 consoles.

And I don't think the CDTV, CDI had any impact since they basically were stillborn (dead from the start).

Well Jaguar, CDI etc were out at the same time megadrive and snes were still going strong. Sure you might not think of them as the same generation if you didnt have one, but they were in direct competition. Systems like CDI had plenty of impact, pushing CD technology forwards. There was plenty of cool stuff happening on consoles other than megadrive/snes, even if you didn't notice yourself.

[Hep038]

I guess for me the "war to end all wars" SNES/GEN/TG16 was the console war that was the best for me. I never owned all 3 at one time (until now). I started with the TG16 played it loved it traded it in for a Genesis. Played it loved it, then traded almost all of my games to get a SNES with street fighter. Each time I traded my old console for the new one I would be a fanboy of the new console. Looking back all had great games and were worth owning. But anytime a magazine would do a comparison between the three or a game would come out for 2 of the three systems and they would do a side by side I would HAVE to buy the Mag. These days I could buy all three if I wanted, but I really do not have the free time to own (play) 3 brand new systems. So the system wars kind of loses it shine with me.

[RadiantSvgun]

I'd have to say that Sega vs Nintendo was the only real console war. These days, most people will get all the systems, so there is no war. I've got my grips about the ps3 and x360 and why I think the wii is the best, but I'll be getting a ps3 and a x360 before the end of the year.

[RugalSizzler]

I'm afraid it won't get any better than the early 90's war between Sega and Nintendo. Man, those were the days. Genesis does, indeed.

Pretty much with SEGA the "Future is now attitude" pouring money into development and advertisment and Nintendo being the super cheapo, devious, sly, runaround two faced dealers they are it was spectacular all those years and what a waste of money it was.

[PentiumMMX]

Gotta agree, it'd take a lot to beat the MD/Gen vs SNES war. Those days were something truly special.

Yeah. It was the most evenly matched console war.

However, I was never part of that one. I was part of the PSX\Saturn\N64 console war, though. I was the N64 supporter, though I almost converted to PlayStation mutiple times (First time after being made fun of for not owning a PlayStation like everyone else and the 2nd time because there was a Rugrats game on PlayStation (I liked that show back then)).

I now have all 3 consoles from that war (Got my Nintendo 64 back in November 1997, my PlayStation in April 2004 (After discovering FF7), and my Saturn this month)

[mailman187666]

I bet the SNES would have been the clear winner of the 16 bit wars if they hadn't started with the whole no blood in MK1 for our system (although MK2 was different.) That probably could have pushed more systems and possibily surpassed genesis. As far as todays consoles, there aren't enough exclusives or originality to make it as interesting. I think the handheld console war is a bit more interesting.

[Oobgarm]

Early 90's was the peak of console wars.

I doubt it will ever be on that level ever again.

TRUTH HAS BEEN SPOKEN

:fist: :fist: :fist: :fist: :fist: :fist: :fist: :fist: :fist: :fist:

[Eteric Rice]

I'm betting the next generation will be the most interesting. That will be the generation that we see the effect of the Wii on the market.

[goldenaxeboy]

The wii in my opinoin will give out it is so overhyped at least until mario comes out than we will see what the wii is all about.

[NE146]

5200 vs. Colecovision was the big war for me :p

After getting scarred from that, it made me become a pure CONSOLE WHORE. As such,I always had all the major consoles even in the 8 & 16 bit days.

The benefit of course of being a console whore is the outcome of the sales wars pretty much has zero effect on you. The disadvantage however it the cash you gotta fork out for all those choice titles at your fingertips \\^_^/ The Genny/TG16/SNES days being of note....

[MegaDrive20XX]

The 90's Console War was the best thing since Crystal Pepsi back then..

[Cantaloup]

If you're talking about the kind of head-on marketing and partisan user bases we saw in the early 90's, then probably not.

However, I expect that later this year (from August on) we should see some very interesting things happen with all 3 platforms, including price drops, revised hardware, and new exclusive software titles. There should be some fierce competition coming up.

[Jorpho]

I really don't see why people insist on referring to ordinary market competition as "wars" in the first place.

Well, maybe I do (http://www.partiallyclips.com/pclipslite.php?id=1487).

[Flack]

I actually think the current console wars are pretty lame compared to the ones we had in the past.

Being a few years older than quite a few of you, the one that comes to mind for me is the 2600/Intellivision battles. Who can forget George Plimpton, showing the legions of Atari 2600 owners how much their sports game sucked as compared to Mattel's?

I don't remember a big NES/SMS battle, at least not around these parts, but the Super Nintendo/Genesis battle seemed to rage everywhere, from print to television to school hallways. While not ever gamer agreed, every gamer had an opinion.

The "war" these days, especially between the 360 and the PS3 which seem to share tons of titles, seems pretty lame to me in comparison.

[Push Upstairs]

It all just seems the same now. Everyone is just trying to make every last fucking buck off of GTA rip-offs.

Me thinks you forget the past and the endless "mascot games", shooters, platformers, & tetris wannabes of the 16-bit era.

[Damaramu]

Don't forget the Street Fighter clones!

[udisi]

SNES VS Genesis was the best war ever.

that being said...what we have today is not even a war.

Xbox360 is dominating
PS3 is near none exisitant
Wii is a distant 2nd behind microsoft

another big difference between the market today and the 90's is that the consoles are all trying to do different things. The xbox is built around online play and downloadable content, the PS3 is trying to be cutting edge technically and graphically, and the Wii is trying to reinvent the video game and try something new at a cheaper cost. It's hard to call it a war when they're doing different things.

[skaar]

I'd argue that there's more money on the line than ever before... that makes quite the battle.

[Anthony1]

Xbox360 is dominating
PS3 is near none exisitant
Wii is a distant 2nd behind microsoft




I guess you don't look at the NPD numbers too much do you? Xbox 360 is hardly dominating. First off, the Xbox 360 is a total dissaster in Japan. It's doing ok in Europe, and it's doing well in the US, but if you look at the NPD numbers in the US, it actually points to the Wii catching up to the 360 in installed base later this year. Assuming the current trends continue, the Wii could actually surpass the 360's installed base, even though it's been avaiable for only one year, while the 360 has been available for two years. If anybody is dominating anybody, then the Wii is the one doing the dominating.

[diskoboy]

I guess you don't look at the NPD numbers too much do you? Xbox 360 is hardly dominating. First off, the Xbox 360 is a total dissaster in Japan. It's doing ok in Europe, and it's doing well in the US, but if you look at the NPD numbers in the US, it actually points to the Wii catching up to the 360 in installed base later this year. Assuming the current trends continue, the Wii could actually surpass the 360's installed base, even though it's been avaiable for only one year, while the 360 has been available for two years. If anybody is dominating anybody, then the Wii is the one doing the dominating.

If they don't get some games out soon, sales will begin to fall again.

Remember, the Gamecube started out well, too. But then fell off the map, after a short period of time.

My Wii is going on 2 months now without being powered up. The yellow light turned back to red a few days ago.

And 360's will pick up again. Just wait until September...

[Sneekpeaks]

yeah i think its an amazing war, first of all ps3's are the highest PRICED selling console in the market. But there are a bunch of them still on shelves with crappy games.

Xbox 360- They got a head start in the whole thing so they have great games and the price is inbetween both the wii and the ps3.

Wii- This console is out of control you can barely find these on the shelves of stores. Why? Because they are the cheapest consoles on the market and the newest type of technology.

[udisi]

I guess you don't look at the NPD numbers too much do you? Xbox 360 is hardly dominating. First off, the Xbox 360 is a total dissaster in Japan. It's doing ok in Europe, and it's doing well in the US, but if you look at the NPD numbers in the US, it actually points to the Wii catching up to the 360 in installed base later this year. Assuming the current trends continue, the Wii could actually surpass the 360's installed base, even though it's been avaiable for only one year, while the 360 has been available for two years. If anybody is dominating anybody, then the Wii is the one doing the dominating.

No, anthony I do look at the numbers, and in the US the Xbox has sold twice as much as the wii(granted the wii hasn't been around as long), and the PS3 is a distant 3rd. I say xbox is dominating because well...at the moment it is. It has twice as many units sold as it's closest competitor...The wii could catch up, but at this moment it hasn't. Hell, the PS3 could catch up, but it hasn't.

2nd-I don't think the 360 is dominanting like the PS2 did, hell they way it looks, it may end up with the 360 and wii spliting 1st place to 2 very different groups of gamers. Eitherway, the 360 IS dominating atm, just like the PS2 dominated the last console generation. PS3 is losing exclusives to 360.

3rd-I could care less about Japan...Yup you heard me right...The hell with Japan. Japan has little to do with what system will be good in the US. The megadrive was a hugh flop in japan, but the Genesis was very successful in the US. American's still have more disposable income than anyone and will drive the market. The 360 doesn't have to do good in Japan to be successful. Most of the games like GoW, and Halo are home grown, not JP imports. The JP developers will want to develop for what system is popular in Japan true, but as of late the big money making games, in the US, have been US born games(see GTA, Halo, and Sports titles). We as gamers may like the JP translated stuff, but the average gamer outnumbers us and fuels the gaming industry, and if the market here says you make it on 360, even JP developers will make it on 360 because it's good buisness.

[veronica_marsfan]

Well Jaguar, CDI etc were out at the same time megadrive and snes were still going strong. Sure you might not think of them as the same generation if you didnt have one, but they were in direct competition. Systems like CDI had plenty of impact... Well, I still think the Jaguar/cdi/et cetera had about as much impact on the market as the Video 2000 vcr. That is, virtually none.

You might as well talk about the impact of the Phantom console had for online gaming. (Again, virtually none.)

[Push Upstairs]

Don't forget the Street Fighter clones!

I don't know how I forgot those.

[PDorr3]

IMO I am looking forward to a year or two from now when PS3 is able to compete with 360, I am sure it will be an all out war between the two. I am also interested to see if the Wii still holds up say 5 years from now and if they can keep on making inventive ways to use the control before it just gets old and rehashed (if it isnt arleady?).

[NE146]

and if they can keep on making inventive ways to use the control before it just gets old and rehashed (if it isnt arleady?).

Although of course I don't really think that's necessary. I mean, not all DS games use the touchpad.. I think what's more accurate is "How long can they continue releasing good games for the Wii" and just leave it at that :p

[veronica_marsfan]

APRIL NPD SALES NUMBERS:

Nintendo Wii (2.5 million total)
Microsoft Xbox 360 (5.4 million total)
Sony PlayStation 3 (1.3 million total)

- The Wii is currently outselling the Xbox 2-to-1, so next month the figures will be 3.0 million Wiis vs. 5.6 million 360s. The Wii is slowly but surely catching-up.

- PS3 is only selling 1 console for every 2 Xboxes and 4 Wii consoles. PS3 is in bad shape, and will only have 1.4 mil next month. (If trends continue.)




LINK - http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/17/april-npd-nintendo-dominates-industry-sales-up-20/

[RadiantSvgun]

I still need to see some kind of smear commercials for me to believe that another console war at hand. "Genesis does what Nintendon't"

When Sega and Nintendo were butting heads, Sega owners refused to get anything Nintendo and Vice Versa. At my school, it might as well have been a gang turf war back in elementary school. All the guys that had a NES/SNES were on one side and all the Genesis kids on the other and no one spoke to each other. (None of us knew anything about a Master system at that time) Most of my friends now have only played one or the other. I was one of the few that had both systems at the time, and I remember one of my friends finding out that I had gotten a Genesis for Christmas, and I got my ass beat. And it wasn't uncommon for fights to break out over consoles. Until things get like that, and some kid gets his ass handed to him, I don't think it's a real console war.

Oh, and for the record, I was attending a Christian private school when I got my ass handed to me.

[Anthony1]

I do think this console war will be very interesteing actually, but not for the usual reasons. Nothing will ever be as interesting as it was during the early 90's. Just grab an issue of EGM from 1994. Look at the top of the mag. See how many consoles are listed at the top: Genesis - Super Nintendo - CDi - Jaguar - 3DO - 32X - Sega CD - Neo-Geo - TurboDuo - etc, etc. Of course the truth of the matter is that the war was really all about Super Nintendo vs. Genesis, and none of the other competitors really entered the equation. Still, it was so fun to watch all those various companies compete against each other. It was like the Wild, Wild, West. Nothing will ever be like that again. 1993, 1994 and 1995 was such a magical time in gaming, in terms of all the various platforms that had a hope and a prayer of No.1 marketshare.

Anywho, getting back on topic, I actually do think this war will be very interesting, but I think most of that is going to be because of the Wii. Somebody from Nintendo called Wii, "THE GREAT DISRUPTOR". I forget who actually said that, but it's definitely a good name for the Wii. It is the great disruptor. Just ask Sony and Microsoft. Everything was working out just fine for a nice epic battle between Sony and Microsoft, but then the Wii had to come out of nowhere and fuck everything up. The Wii is the great disruptor in many ways. That's what's going to be most interesting about this console war. Just how long, and how much will the Wii disrupt things?


Right now, it's disrupting the fuck out of everything. The games are ass, the graphics are ass, and the controls are a total gimmick Yet, people are absolutely clamoring to get their hands on one. Just imagine when they finally get some decent games out, that have relatively decent graphics, and use the control scheme well. Just how much will the Wii sell then? Just as sales of the Wii finally start to catch their breath, Metroid 3 will come out. Then Mario Galaxy, then Smash Brothers. Fear of a Wii Planet is a very real fear buddy!


the GREAT DISRUPTOR is going to make this console war very interesting, but I still think nothing will ever touch 93, 94 and 95.

[theoakwoody]

Right now, it's disrupting the fuck out of everything. The games are ass, the graphics are ass, and the controls are a total gimmick Yet, people are absolutely clamoring to get their hands on one. Just imagine when they finally get some decent games out, that have relatively decent graphics, and use the control scheme well. Just how much will the Wii sell then? Just as sales of the Wii finally start to catch their breath, Metroid 3 will come out. Then Mario Galaxy, then Smash Brothers. Fear of a Wii Planet is a very real fear buddy!


the GREAT DISRUPTOR is going to make this console war very interesting, but I still think nothing will ever touch 93, 94 and 95.

Agreed, the Wii is basically riding the trendy wave right now and when good games come out it will be obscene.

The PS3 on the other hand is screwed no matter what. It seems that they are content to let inflation set their pricing for this generation. Yeah, maybe $ 600 won't seem as much to gamers in 5 years but if they seriously have to drop the price if they want to move systems regardless of how much they are losing per system. Even if they make games that look 10x as good as 360 games it won't matter. Only the most hardcore videophiles will buy the system until they drop their price into a price range where the mainstream gamer feels comfortable.

[NE146]

the graphics are ass

I may be the minority but I think a game like Wario Ware has "good" graphics. I don't know what could make them better for example. :)

[YoshiM]

"Console" war wise I also think the early 90's have everything else beat. Sure the 80's had their INTV vs Atari vs Coleco (and that other system...Oddity II? :P ) but nothing, I mean NOTHING beats the shear "in your face" marketing barrage of the early 90's.

[MarioMania]

I was a Nintendo Guy back then, I got the NES in 91...then a SNES for Xmas, I didn't even know about the Master System til I got one in 94

[Push Upstairs]

When Sega and Nintendo were butting heads, Sega owners refused to get anything Nintendo and Vice Versa. At my school, it might as well have been a gang turf war back in elementary school. All the guys that had a NES/SNES were on one side and all the Genesis kids on the other and no one spoke to each other. (None of us knew anything about a Master system at that time) Most of my friends now have only played one or the other. I was one of the few that had both systems at the time, and I remember one of my friends finding out that I had gotten a Genesis for Christmas, and I got my ass beat. And it wasn't uncommon for fights to break out over consoles. Until things get like that, and some kid gets his ass handed to him, I don't think it's a real console war.

I can't help but picture some fights like those in "West Side Story"...snapping fingers and all that.

Things never got to that level the places I lived in back then.


Oh, and for the record, I was attending a Christian private school when I got my ass handed to me.

LOL That pretty bad.

[j_factor]

Remember, the Gamecube started out well, too.

Not really. It sold respectably, but it never outsold PS2 and was never outselling Xbox until way later. Gamecube started out squarely in third place. Wii, on the other hand, is sitting at #1 right now, which Gamecube never did.

[bangtango]

The current landscape which has companies ignoring the competition in most of their advertising makes things a lot less interesting. So the answer to this topic is no, not a chance.

I think of this console war (or competition) as what pro wrestling used to be like. During the 1980's to the early 1990's, the old WWF used to act as if other wrestling organizations never existed. They wouldn't acknowledge what employees had done in other organizations. Even when they brought in guys who wrestled for the NWA/WCW for years, the company would act as if nobody had ever heard of them. Likewise, NWA/WCW used to do the same thing when they brought in WWF guys. For the longest time, when those two companies were still competing, they totally ignored one another. That never changed until the mid to late 1990's.

Back on topic:

Aside from interviews with various CEO's or company heads, you don't see too much public mudslinging between the big three (Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft). Certainly not on tv commercials or in print ads.

[tom]

i liked the Pong wars (middle 70s)

[sabre2922]

The "war" these days, especially between the 360 and the PS3 which seem to share tons of titles, seems pretty lame to me in comparison.

AGREED




Don't forget the Street Fighter clones!

I must admit I was a GLUTTON for all those Streetfighter clones back in the 16-bit days.

Must add that I remember the 32/64-bit "wars" pretty well also. Any gamer in the U.S. that read GAMEFAN magazine back then can relate to that, hell GAMEFAN was the ONLY MAGAZINE that actually pushed the Dreamcast more than the PS2 it was faaaaar from being "mainstream" even being hardcore to a fault wich was most likely the cause of their downfall.

yep I have to put in a reference to GAMEFAN whenever possible.

[swlovinist]

I feel the console wars of the early 90s was the best in not terms of quality of games, but the changing technology and sheer number of players trying to get into the market. You not only had Sega, Nintendo, NEC...but you also had Atari, Phillips, SNK, 3DO. It seemed that every system at the time was trying to be unique in its own way. Yes there were alot of stinkers that came out, but it was much more interesting time of growth to see SEVERAL companies duke it out. Not only that, but you had several systems come out from each company, unlike the one system that comes out every four or five years from one company.

[Eteric Rice]

I think the people suggesting that the Wii will die off are in some kind of denial. There's no doubt that it will slow down, but all systems slow down.

That's one thing about the game industry. Once one gets the momentum, it starts a snowball effect. Really, it just becomes a vicious cycle.

I do think the Wii will surpass the 360 in the USA, but it won't be for a year or so. Though, I have no doubt that the Wii will become the world wide market leader. The hardcore gamers may not like it, and they may not like the graphics and the controller. But if it continues selling... How does the phrase go?

"Money talks, bullshit walks."

Fact of life, I'm afraid.

[slip81]

Sega's new console will dominate everything when it launches in '08

[Gentlegamer]

Sega's new console will dominate everything when it launches in '08The InYourDreamsCast?

[j_factor]

The InYourDreamsCast will not be launching until 2011.

[hbkprm]

duhhhh

[ubersaurus]

Well, it remains to be seen how competitive all three machines are, and they're certainly not in the open slander that previous console eras have experienced, but hell, the good games will roll along, and I have every expectation there will be fantastic exclusives for whichever machine.