Staying on the fence of the console war...who's doing it?

[Invisible Crane]

I am for one thing, I find it better seeing who has the best chances of succeeding

[Greywing]

Me, pretty much. I've already decided I want a Wii at some point but I very rarely buy a console in the first wave, or even the first year.

After a few price drops and updated hardware models come out, along with a better idea of which machine<s> will have the best support and, most importantly, which have the games I want to play I may commit to one or more.

I must confess, the X360 is impressing me - I loathed the XBox and it's dearth of creativity, relying on FPS after sport after racing title ad infinitum. While 360 still has far more of those than are necessary, games like Dead Rising, Blue Dragon, Viva Pináta and other more innovative ones are actually capturing my attention.

[Kinomoto_Shinji]

I'm waiting for the Wii's price to drop down to $200 and Super Smash Bros to come out. PS3/XBox360, I'm waiting for at least five EXCLUSIVE titles to be released for the respective system, and the systems costing >$300 (the *premium* versions). Till then, there is plenty of life in my PS2, GCN, and DS. :D

[Lovely]

I always just wait at LEAST a year and go wherever the rpg's go (or series exclusives that i'm specifically interested in.)
For one thing, the price tends to go down after that point, the systems have improved models that are less bulky and the bulk of rpg's ussually go towards one system anyways sooo.....

[Suwako Moriya]

To be totally honest, I'd much rather get all three systems just to cover my bases. However the sad truth is that's not realistic so chances I may only end up with one or two of them. However right now while the temptation to get a new system comes up on occasion, I'm not ready to commit myself to any of them. The main reasons has always been the following.

First like others I want the new systems to get a chance to flesh themselves out. Work out the bugs on the console itself. Since the first-gen consoles tend to be buggy in some form or another. Plus it allows the library of games to actually develop. Sometimes the games I want are not the ones designed to sell the system, but rather the ones that rely on the systems fanbase to sell.

Second let's just look at the PS3 alone for example. I'm still working on my PS1 and PS2 backlog right now. There are PS2 games coming out that I'm interested in playing and some that I may get despite the current backlog. Thus getting a PS3 will be pointless right now. As one of two things will happen. Either the PS1/PS2 games will fall further into backlog heaven or I'll end up delaying playing the PS3 games for so long that I would have been better off just getting them later.

[WRX]

I really doubt there will be a "winner". It'll probably be just like the previous generation. Each platform will have a it's share of games that make it worthwhile and each plaform will have it's share of fanboiz who prattle on endlessly about how "their" console is "best". History loves to repeat itself after all.

[indigo0086]

I'm all xbox now, and still playing ps2. I'm waiting for Wii to get games I actually like aside from Zelda to buy, and I'll wait until 2011 for a ps3.

[SpaceButler]

I went out and bought all three of the damn things, but I only did that cause: (A) I luckly had the money to do it, and (B) I have problems with waiting to play new games I think are cool.

I just think a good game is a good game is a good game. I don't care what platform it's on, if it's good, I want it, or would at least like to own the platform it's on so I could rent/borrow it.

Right now though the only system that I'm really getting my moneys worth out of in my house is my 360. What with Gears of War and Viva Pinata to be played I don't really see any other choice atm, and it's prolly gonna stay 360 heavy round here for a little while with Rainbow Six Vegas and Lost Planet coming tomorrow.

But I'm still glad I have all three. They will all have been played to shit by the time the next-gen comes around, and belive me I'm looking forward to playing the shit out of all three them.

[jecca-neko]

I'm waiting for the Wii's price to drop down to $200 and Super Smash Bros to come out.

Smash Bros will be out before it drops to $200. Do you need both to happen before you buy a Wii? Just curious how much you're looking forward to Smash Bros. :)

I'm kinda on the fence. I mean, I have a Wii and it's inevitable I'll buy a PS3 at some point. However, I doubt I'll buy a 360 for the same reason I never bought the original Xbox. My console/handheld purchases comes down to games. If the 360 had more games I wanted (which, right now, there's a total of one) I'd definitely own all 3 consoles.

Ever since I was a kid I've owned all of the major consoles for the most part. It feels weird that there's one I don't want.

[Mateo_home]

I'm only on the fence for PS3. There's no games I'm interested in. Though I heard Resistance is great, and I can care less for Riiiiiiidge Racer. Don't know what else is out but...I think it's just easier to say I'll wait for a massive price drop. Pretty much the same for Xbox 360.

I got the Wii because I wanted to play Twilight Princess and I couldn't wait for the GCN version. Also becuase the Nintendo fanboy inside of me was telling me to get it. Only downside is that there aren't many games out for it and the available VC selection is mostly crap. Well, WarioWare: Smooth Moves comes out this week. I think Nintendo should have released this one before the holidays. It would have made a great game for parties. Okay, Wii Sports was a decent substitute. :P

[Chacranajxy]

Unfortunately, staying on the fence gets you nowhere. All 3 systems are guaranteed to get a lot of good exclusives and it's not like one system is just going to die out of nowhere this gen (no, not even Sony, you dumbasses.) By this point, you probably know what kinds of games all three systems are going to have so you could make an informed decision now if you really only want to buy one.

[Lovely]

So.... saving money and waiting until a system actually has games I want to play gets me nowhere?

Uh, I do believe we have different definitions of "somewhere." I don't need an expensive paperweight at the moment, thanks.

[FigNewton]

I am. Though I'm getting closer and closer to buying a 360, much to my chagrin. I have way too many games to play right now as it is though, with more on the way for existing consoles, so I really don't feel in any hurry. Though I do hate not having an HD game system for my HDTV.:(

[joelgundam01]

I'm am to a certain extent. I usually give the systems a year, before I purchase them. I want to be sure that any issues are resolved and I also like have a nice selection of games to choose from.

At the current moment, the 360 only focuses on a few genres (that I don't care for) in my eyes and the PS3 and Wii just don't have enough games that grab my interest at the moment. This will change by the Fall though.

[Johnny]

Yes, I'm staying on the fence...by owning all 3 (or 5 if you're including portables).
People can bitch and moan and whine all they want. At the end of the day, none of the three are going anywhere and blind allegiances is fine if you want to miss out on amazing games.
So yeah, I own and love all 5. The 360 deserves a special mention as I put off buying it for around a year, not because of price but because I wanted to see how well it would shape up. A few of the launch games tempted me, but considering the original Xbox offered me very little, I was cautious. But since the summer it's been more or less hit after hit with the 360 and I'd like it to stay that way.
I know I'm guaranteed dozens and dozens of great games on the PS3 and that I will find as many great Wii exclusives too so I couldn't be happier.

[Suwako Moriya]

So.... saving money and waiting until a system actually has games I want to play gets me nowhere?

In reality the main thing not owning a system does is limit your options in terms of what you can play. It's a price one pays either temporarily or permanently. The very fact I'm waiting off on the new systems for reasons mentioned earlier means I am paying that price. Still it's something I've come to accept because it's ultimately a judgment call. There are advantages to buying as soon as possible just as there advantages to waiting off. It's just that for me, I've ultimately decided the wait strategy is better.

[FigNewton]

. At the end of the day, none of the three are going anywhere and blind allegiances is fine if you want to miss out on amazing games.


I have owned all major systems in the past.

That is no longer economicly feasible for me, when the prices are $400 and $600. Financially, I HAVE to choose.

Therefore, I sit on the fence, and I wait. And will eventually buy 1.

[Kellory]

What console wars?

All 3 systems have their niche and their pluses and minuses. Each will have their own exclusive games. There will be no "winner" anymore than there was a winner between the Xbox, PS2, and GC. Sure, some consoles sold more than the others, but that doesnt mean one of them "won" or one "lost".

The only benefit to holding off is price drops and that eventually more games will come out for each of the systems. But if you are holding out for a "winner" you'll be in for a long wait. Because each console will be a winner to it's fanbase.

[FigNewton]

What console wars?

All 3 systems have their niche and their pluses and minuses. Each will have their own exclusive games. There will be no "winner" anymore than there was a winner between the Xbox, PS2, and GC. Sure, some consoles sold more than the others, but that doesnt mean one of them "won" or one "lost".

The only benefit to holding off is price drops and that eventually more games will come out for each of the systems. But if you are holding out for a "winner" you'll be in for a long wait. Because each console will be a winner to it's fanbase.

I don't think anyone is holding out for a "winner" in terms of "the other one loses and is forgotten and goes off the market."

Some like me are holding off to see which games stay exclusive to which systems. That's pretty much what it comes down to for me. If the two FFXIII games stay exclusive to PS3 then that's the one I'm buying.

If they don't, then I'm getting a 360, and the extra scratch is going to different games.

[Suwako Moriya]

At the end of the day, none of the three are going anywhere and blind allegiances is fine if you want to miss out on amazing games.

Actually it's precisely because none of the three are going anywhere that the wait strategy is appealing to several including myself. Granted maybe I missed some agreement between Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft where all unsold systems will explode in the year 2008. :D 2008 only being an example since I have no real idea if/when I'll go for any of the new systems.

As for missing out on amazing games, I do agree with the basic idea of what you're saying. However it's ultimately a subjective issue. Simply because while I'm sure I could find amazing games for any system, I can't tell which ones I'll actually find amazing until I try the system.

Sure I can try to make predictions and some predictions are easier to make than others. However while some predictions will turn out to be true, there will be others I'll find I was mistaken about. Games I thought I'd enjoy may turn out to be bleh and games I was intent on skipping originally may turn out to be enjoyable.

Seriously it's a leap of faith. Also remember this. As long as one does not own a system there is always the extra barrier. The need to buy a system before being able to play the game. Thus it becomes easier to write off games. However once you own the system that extra barrier is gone. It becomes easier to give the games a chance. However at the same time one needs enough motivation actually remove the extra barrier in the first place.

For example take Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Tales of Symphonia for the Gamecube. One time someone recommended I should try a Fire Emblem game. The fact I already had a Gamecube made it easier to consider giving FE: PoR a chance. The extra barrier did not exist. However the desire for Tales of Symphonia was a major reason the Gamecube was gotten and part of the reason the extra barrier was lowered.

Like wise this also plays into the prediction angle. My prediction that Tales of Symphonia would be enjoyable panned out. Super Smash Brothers Melee turned out to be a decent time killer at least for awhile anyway. However I still have trouble getting into Super Mario Sunshine. While Metroid Prime felt bleh to me. Hence why I'm glad that was a rental.

[ADC]

I don't think it's an issue of 'which one has the best chance of succeeding' that makes me stay on the fence so much as 'which one has the games I want.' Just looking at the current lineup:

Wii: It has all of Nintendo's big franchises coming out, so it's for me (even though I prefer the GCN Zelda: Twilight Princess.). Virtual Console isn't awesome just yet, but it will be. $250? Sold!

PS3: Well, gee, isn't this where the Biggest Oddly-Named Series Ever is going? FFs 13 and vs13 will sell this one for me, but I don't know what else I'll buy yet. I've basically looked at the PS2 as the RPG console, and I bet the PS3 fills that niche pretty well.

Xbox 360: I don't know. Right now there's nothing drawing me to it, and one nine-letter word pushing me away. But I won't rule it out one of these days.

DS: Let's see here. Picked up 20 games for it last year. I've never bought 20 games in a year for any system before that. I think it's a keeper. (I still don't have 20 GCN games, and barely 20 PS2 games.)

PSP: Yes, I'll buy one for the Biggest Oddly-Named Series Ever's Offshoot. And then I'll pick up a bunch of remastered games from Capcom, who appear to be as good at remastering as Square Enix.

So there it is. Sure, it's best to sit on the fence. There's definitely value in having more than one console because each gets exclusives which could be compelling. I think the real question is, which console do you prefer for multi-platform games? And that's not so easy this time around. I think what I'll do is alternate: Wii Madden this year, PS3 Madden the next. And then I'll feel like a total jackass when I try to throw my sixaxis and get sacked.

[Kinomoto_Shinji]

I'm waiting for the Wii's price to drop down to $200 and Super Smash Bros to come out.

Smash Bros will be out before it drops to $200. Do you need both to happen before you buy a Wii? Just curious how much you're looking forward to Smash Bros. :)



Both. But I have a good feeling that there'll be a price drop to $200 by Summer if it keeps selling like this. If not, I'll wait a little bit. Since I only work once a week, I need to conserve my money. :P

[Soulblazer]

I see no reason to buy any of the systems until they have some games that I actually want to get. At the moment I see games in the future that looks interesting on the XBOX 360 and PS3, but I do not need a paperweight taking up space in the meantime. Who knows, by then there could always be a price decrease from competition or a new version of a certain system released with new additions such as HDMI...

[Leon_Belmont]

I'm waiting for the Wii's price to drop down to $200 and Super Smash Bros to come out.

Smash Bros will be out before it drops to $200. Do you need both to happen before you buy a Wii? Just curious how much you're looking forward to Smash Bros. :)



Both. But I have a good feeling that there'll be a price drop to $200 by Summer if it keeps selling like this. If not, I'll wait a little bit. Since I only work once a week, I need to conserve my money. :P

I don't disagree with the sentiment. I owned a Wii before just selling it to a friend who was having trouble finding one. It really just didn't feel like a $250 piece of equipment. It truly felt like a last gen console with a new controller, and I wasn't too amicable paying 2.5 times the Gamecube price. Either way, you sure don't hear a lot of "Xbox 1.5" comments from Nintendo fans anymore.

Wait it out. The Wii may be worth the current retail price should they get better third party support this gen, which is likely. But, though a lot of companies are "on board" so to speak, they aren't yet announcing their flagship series exclusively for the console. Probably just a case of watching the market, but similar support WITH flagship series announcements were annoucned for the GCN, and we all know how far that got it. The companies actually released the games, and then whored them out to Sony months afterwards because they wanted the sales. So even announcem-....hell, actual releases, have to happen and settle awhile before your potential reason to buy a console is in the clear. I really didn't like the Gamecube. At all.

Besides, accessories still cost an arm and a leg at this point anyway. While 360 accessories are occasionally on deals. Since you'll probably want multiplayer, you might actually want to wait and hop on deal accessories before you even bother with the system. It's still gonna be $500 or more current prices to load up on a lot of the stuff you need.

[Zorak]

I've always been console agnostic. In the last generation, I owned a PS2, Xbox and Gamecube. I got an Xbox 360 for Christmas. I intend to get a PS3 and Wii and the only reason I already haven't is beacuse I can't afford them right now.

[Sugei]

Although I would like to pick up a new videogame console I am also still on the fence for each system and here's why...

Nintendo Wii: Although I don't own a HDTV as of yet I just can't get over the graphical limitations for this console. And even though the system is affordable the accessories/controllers do increase the overall price quite a bit. This really does feel like GameCube part II to me. A handful of excellent games and not much else.

Sony PS3: As I mentioned above I don't own a HDTV so I can't really utilize those next generation graphics anyways. I dislike FPS, racing games, and sport games so as of right now there are zero games that interest me for this system. To me it's expensive. I get a bad feeling about these next generation video formats.

MS XBOX360: Zero interest in this system from day one.

I'll just stick with my DS Lite for now. It has great games and there is not much need for accessories except for the case I bought for it. Th graphics are weak but that's acceptable to me in a handheld game system.

I would have gotten a PSP but there are not any games that interest me for the handheld system.

[jecca-neko]

Both. But I have a good feeling that there'll be a price drop to $200 by Summer if it keeps selling like this. If not, I'll wait a little bit. Since I only work once a week, I need to conserve my money. :P

I doubt it. That's not how business works. When something is selling like hotcakes you don't lower the price. Nintendo's not going to lower the price until sales slow down. I don't see a price drop until the Wii has been out for at least a year or so. I don't think the Gamecube's price dropped that quick and there wasn't the same kind of hype/sales for the Gamecube either.

[ADC]

Both. But I have a good feeling that there'll be a price drop to $200 by Summer if it keeps selling like this. If not, I'll wait a little bit. Since I only work once a week, I need to conserve my money. :P
I doubt it. That's not how business works. When something is selling like hotcakes you don't lower the price. Nintendo's not going to lower the price until sales slow down. I don't see a price drop until the Wii has been out for at least a year or so. I don't think the Gamecube's price dropped that quick and there wasn't the same kind of hype/sales for the Gamecube either.
I concur and would add that Nintendo is under no pressure from Microsoft or Sony to lower the price of the Wii. Considering that the Xbox 360 probably won't drop to $199 anytime soon and that the PS3 might never reach such a price point, I think the Mother Brain have plenty of time to swim through their vaults like Scrooge McDuck.

[Kurou]

I can't really say I am.

I liked the Xbox the best out of the last generation consoles, so naturally I got a 360 as soon as I could. I didn't want to chance a launch console, so I waited until April 2006 to grab it, and have been busy with it ever since.

I suppose this is where I differ from a lot of people on this board, that I don't care that the original had a lack of "innovative" games. May be strange, but I'd rather play a Halo or Call of Duty type game than say, Katamari Damacy, or a rhythm game.

When it comes to the other two, I've never been terribly impressed by Nintendo franchises. Yeah, I loved them as a kid, but there's nothing terribly interesting about them now that I'd go for Wii. Plus, I'm not keen on the Wiimote bit - I like my typical controller, thanks. The lack of HDTV support is disappointing, too.

I will get a PS3, eventually. The cost makes me wince, but that's where the Super Robot Wars games are going to wind up. The only reason I haven't already is because I've had terrible experiences with Sony consoles..I'm on my third PS2 right now. Where my launch Xbox (and Dreamcast, for that matter) are still working perfectly.

[ADC]

When it comes to the other two, I've never been terribly impressed by Nintendo franchises. Yeah, I loved them as a kid, but there's nothing terribly interesting about them now that I'd go for Wii. Plus, I'm not keen on the Wiimote bit - I like my typical controller, thanks. The lack of HDTV support is disappointing, too.
I want to mention, on this point, that the Wii graphics look great on my 720p HDTV, even though it only puts out 480p. Adding to it that most first-generation games have GCN-level graphics, I think that this concern is a bit overblown.

I can understand the reluctance to switch from a traditional controller, though. I do think that Zelda: Twilight Princess plays better with the Wavebird. But! That game was designed for the Wavebird and has Wii Remote actions grafted on. When more games are out that are built specifically for the Wii Remote, this concern will probably disappear, too.

[lostnomad84]

I'm sitting on the PS3. I've had good deals lately to acquire one for a great price, but I decided to pass on it since I rather have an American PS3 over a Japanese one. However, what truely makes me sit on the fence on the console is not only the price, but the fact the game library just does not justify to me $500-$600. A year from now most likely that will be different, but I want exclusives over the 360 and Sony is losing them.

If, if, I am to buy a PS3 in the near future, it will be for a Blu-Ray player, since that price seems to put the price at a bargin.

[Mark]

I'm getting a Wii, but I think Nintendo might upgrade it like it did the DS to DS Lite.
That puny memory 512k of memory for saving VC games is a joke. I'm also waiting for a couple more color options in Wiimotes and system itself.

[Legion]

I'd like to get a Wii in the near future, actually. The X Box 360, like its predecessor, doesn't interest me enough to buy it (at least Microsoft fixed the controller). I'd like to get a PS3 eventually, but that sucker is gonna have to go through at least one price drop and I don't see that happening anytime soon.

[ADC]

I'm getting a Wii, but I think Nintendo might upgrade it like it did the DS to DS Lite.
That puny memory 512k of memory for saving VC games is a joke. I'm also waiting for a couple more color options in Wiimotes and system itself.
It's actually 512 MB, large enough to store a couple hundred VC games along with your Wii saves. I wouldn't worry about it too much, especially since you can cold-store games and saves you're not using on an SD card. If it were 512 K, well … that's enough to hold a NES game, but not much more than that.

[GyBaNO]

I am for one thing, I find it better seeing who has the best chances of succeeding

I'm not, but I don't discuss such matters with fellow users on this particular forum.

[EmperorBrandon]

There aren't any games out right now that interest me to the point of buying a new console system. I just got a new set of AV cables for my SNES and am busy playing some of my old games for it right now, actually. :sd:

The tough choice for me is on portable systems. DS has FFIII, but PSP is getting a Final Fantasy Tactics remake. I may wait a bit longer to gauge which one I want more as I definitely can't get both of them at the moment. Maybe I'm just biding my time in the hope of seeing one of the portable systems get a Seiken Densetsu 3 release. Hehehe...

My brother is dead set on getting a Wii right now, so I'll probably have a chance to play his if the need arises.

[Mark]

I'm getting a Wii, but I think Nintendo might upgrade it like it did the DS to DS Lite.
That puny memory 512k of memory for saving VC games is a joke. I'm also waiting for a couple more color options in Wiimotes and system itself.
It's actually 512 MB, large enough to store a couple hundred VC games along with your Wii saves. I wouldn't worry about it too much, especially since you can cold-store games and saves you're not using on an SD card. If it were 512 K, well … that's enough to hold a NES game, but not much more than that.

I'm planning to get a lot of N64 games. That's why I'm a little worried about the 512MB.
I still have my N64 and even using S-Video, the games look pretty bad on the 36-inch tv, letalone whenever I finally upgrade to a bigger tv.