The Wii's Place In The Console War...

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

Do you think Nintendo is doing a good job with the console war right now? I know the Wii is still sold out all around the world but that's both a blessing and a curse because at the moment the Big N hasn't been able to meet demand...Some people might give up waiting for a Wii and they might walk into a store and buy a 360 or PS3.

[Old Manus]

In b4 huge debate feat. roto, Dreddz, vivi22, and JKTrix


imho, I don't care how the Wii is doing. I'm not planning on buying one anytime soon.

[Elite Lord Sigma]

The PlayStation3 is getting gang-raped so badly by the other two consoles that I can say with certainty that it getting out of last place is a pipe-dream.

If people give up waiting for a Wii now, that doesn't necessarily mean that they will never buy one after that point - even if the supply rises to meet demand. The hype behind the Wii is simply too strong to be stopped; people are going to keep waiting for it for as long as it takes to get their hands on one.

[Dolentrean]

What the Wii is lacking in is software. I have a Wii and a 360, I love my Wii, went through bitter weather to get it to. I really enjoy the games I have for it, the problom is that the list is somewhat lacking in good games right now. There are way to many crappy Wii ports. That said I am still an avid supporter of the Wii.

My 360 on the other hand has many many cool games, exclusive and Multi-Platform, the 360 as of right now in my oppinion has the strongest base in the console war.

I called it way before the PS3 ever came out, it is getting owned right now, It has been picking up on sales slightly. After it loseing exclusive rights on games like Assassins Creed, and Devil May Cry four, and being forced into a price drop, it is going to need a killer amp to get itself back in the standings. I wouldnt count it out yet.

[Roto13]

Considering it's sold more in one year than the Xbox 360 did in two, I'd say it's pretty obvious that the Wii is doing incredibly well.

[Nifleheim7]

Some people might give up waiting for a Wii and they might walk into a store and buy a 360 or PS3.

LOL!Everytime i hear something like this i can't stop laughing.Seriously guys do you really think that if someone really wants to buy a console would let something like that to stop him...?If i really want to buy a console i will look to more than one shop.If i really can't find one then i'll buy it online.Simple as that.This was a marketing trick to try to sell more (mostly to unsuspecting casual gamers or to people that have never buyed a console before) and i think it really helped to boost sales for the Wii.Even Sony tried something like that at first when the PS3 was out...

[Roto13]

If it was in the beginning, it's not a marketing trick now. There's already plenty of hype surrounding the Wii. They're losing lots of potential money by not having enough supply to meet the demand.

[LunarWeaver]

THE WII WILL FAIL IN THE FACE OF THE MIGHTY DREAMCAST 2.

The 360, the Wii, and the Ps3 are fine and not going anywhere. Games will continue to be made for all of them. I think it's a safe bet to pick any choice. Of course, the 360 is the best choice, uweeweewee /kefka.

The Wii's place in the console "war" is and will be quite honkey dorey. They'll fix their whole shortage thing well enough.

[Slothy]

I wouldn't be worried about the shortages losing the Wii any sales to be honest. Fact is, it's not even targeting the same market as the 360 and PS3. Nintendo and other companies have successfully targeted casual gamers, but people looking for more hardcore games like MGS4, DMC4, God of War, and others which typically put off the casual gamer due to being too hard, or too complicated will look to the other consoles. Hardcore games don't even tend to do as well on the Wii; Miyamoto himself was disappointed with Twilight Princesses sales on the Wii, and I've heard that Mario Galaxy isn't selling as well as one would expect either, but I can't seem to find sales numbers on that right now (and since I'm visiting family and "borrowing" a neighbours crappy wireless connection, I can't bother to try very hard right now).

The Wii is selling itself successfully as the party system and the system the whole family can pick up and play for 15-30 minutes and have fun doing, without taking the time to master controls, or memorize levels; something the other two have no interest in doing. And at the end of the day, for the casual gamer that is into the stuff the Wii is selling, they're not going to find it on the other systems, so they're not likely to go with the 360 or PS3. Just like the person interested in the more hardcore style games won't find a lot on the Wii that suits them compared to the other two.

[Momiji]

I think the Wii is holding its own against the Xbox 360 very well (PS3 makes me chuckle, who the hell can even afford one?!), I love my Wii to death (given that I worked my ass off all summer to get it), and I chose it over the 360 because of game choice, basically. I don't really care for violent FPS games and such. If I want to play Halo 3 or something, I'd just go over to my cousin's house. I'd say the Wii is doing very well. <3

[XxSephirothxX]

It's kind of like a boxing match, where two guys are in the ring beating the hell out of one another and a third guy is outside the ring taking bets on who's going to win. And pocketing all the money.

[Karellen]

Consoles are for pussies. I hurl barrels at people off construction scaffolding.

[Momiji]

Consoles are for pussies. I hurl barrels at people off construction scaffolding.

!!!

*grabs hammer*

[Roto13]

I wouldn't be worried about the shortages losing the Wii any sales to be honest. Fact is, it's not even targeting the same market as the 360 and PS3. Nintendo and other companies have successfully targeted casual gamers, but people looking for more hardcore games like MGS4, DMC4, God of War, and others which typically put off the casual gamer due to being too hard, or too complicated will look to the other consoles. Hardcore games don't even tend to do as well on the Wii; Miyamoto himself was disappointed with Twilight Princesses sales on the Wii, and I've heard that Mario Galaxy isn't selling as well as one would expect either, but I can't seem to find sales numbers on that right now (and since I'm visiting family and "borrowing" a neighbours crappy wireless connection, I can't bother to try very hard right now).

The Wii is selling itself successfully as the party system and the system the whole family can pick up and play for 15-30 minutes and have fun doing, without taking the time to master controls, or memorize levels; something the other two have no interest in doing. And at the end of the day, for the casual gamer that is into the stuff the Wii is selling, they're not going to find it on the other systems, so they're not likely to go with the 360 or PS3. Just like the person interested in the more hardcore style games won't find a lot on the Wii that suits them compared to the other two.

Ever think that real hardcore gamers might actually be interested in trying the new things the Wii has to offer? Wave after wave of FPS games and a "new" Madden every year are pretty much the opposite of hardcore. I used to work for Xbox. I can tell you there's nothing hardcore about it's fanbase.

[Mr Cactuar]

I disagree with people who say that the PS3, and especially the 360 are for more 'hardcore' gamers. Seriously, if you want a funny and kinda true rundown of the console wars go to here (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/1383-Zero-Punctuation-Console-Rundown). I don't really agree with his opinion on some of his game reviews but they're funny as :)

I think that the Wii is doing quite well, and that just because there is a :skull::skull::skull::skull:load of casual games for it, there's a few the of 'hardcore' games too, and more to be released (Brawl anyone?). If you want real hardcore games, you don't look on console anyway :-| PC is the only place for it, and probably will be for a long time.


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[Dreddz]

The PlayStation3 is getting gang-raped so badly by the other two consoles that I can say with certainty that it getting out of last place is a pipe-dream.

Not really. The PS3 sold very well last month and only down a 100,000 from the 360.

As far as the Wii goes, its been very well marketed and Im not surprised its done so well but for the non-casual gamers its easy to see through Nintendo's PR talk and see that the system lacks any longevity and will always be third place in terms of software. Nintendo think they can squeeze more life into the system with peripherals but they can only last so long. 2008 is going to be the turning point with the Wii, in sales and public opinion. People can argue that it still has games on the way such as Smash Bros's but fail to realise that Nintendo's software will only attract its loyal fanbase, not the casual gamers who have never bought a console, who are the ones making Nintendo so rich. When non-gamers are bored of Wii sports Nintendo wont any anything to drive its console and thus we will see its decline. And thats just next year in my opinion, Nintendo think they can make the system last for up to 5 years but thats a complete joke. The PS3 and 360 have staying power, the Wii does not.

[Mr Cactuar]

The PlayStation3 is getting gang-raped so badly by the other two consoles that I can say with certainty that it getting out of last place is a pipe-dream.

Not really. The PS3 sold very well last month and only down a 100,000 from the 360.

As far as the Wii goes, its been very well marketed and Im not surprised its done so well but for the non-casual gamers its easy to see through Nintendo's PR talk and see that the system lacks any longevity and will always be third place in terms of software. Nintendo think they can squeeze more life into the system with peripherals but they can only last so long. 2008 is going to be the turning point with the Wii, in sales and public opinion. People can argue that it still has games on the way such as Smash Bros's but fail to realise that Nintendo's software will only attract its loyal fanbase, not the casual gamers who have never bought a console, who are the ones making Nintendo so rich. When non-gamers are bored of Wii sports Nintendo wont any anything to drive its console and thus we will see its decline. And thats just next year in my opinion, Nintendo think they can make the system last for up to 5 years but thats a complete joke. The PS3 and 360 have staying power, the Wii does not.

Yeah, the PS3 and 360 really have staying power, with their great 3rd party games, and affordable prices and great longevity before breaking.

The Wii will have the 3rd party companies flocking to them. With the amount of sales they have, they'll all want to make games for them. The PS3 costs way too much money to make games for.

And alot of people are overstating the amount of people buying the Wii that haven't bought another console before. I'm fairly sure that most of the Wii owners have played Mario and will most likely get Brawl.

[Dreddz]

Yeah, the PS3 and 360 really have staying power, with their great 3rd party games, and affordable prices and great longevity before breaking.

Your right, the 360 and PS3 do have great 3rd party support. And both consoles do have competative prices with the Wii, especially the 360. Oh, and as for breaking, that really only applys to the 360, the PS3 is a very reliable machine.


The Wii will have the 3rd party companies flocking to them. With the amount of sales they have, they'll all want to make games for them. The PS3 costs way too much money to make games for.

The Wii already has great 3rd party support but its unfortunate that no quality titles come from them. Can you name any real system sellers from 3rd parties on the Wii, no. Its Nintendo's built franchises that are important. Not Zak and Wiki unfortunately.

[Slothy]

Ever think that real hardcore gamers might actually be interested in trying the new things the Wii has to offer? Wave after wave of FPS games and a "new" Madden every year are pretty much the opposite of hardcore. I used to work for Xbox. I can tell you there's nothing hardcore about it's fanbase.

I would have liked not to argue about this, but my argumentative nature is getting the better of me so...

It's becoming obvious you don't actually understand what the typical definition of a hardcore or casual gamer even is (here you go though: Casual gamer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casual_gamer) ). More importantly, you seem to be one of the people taken in by the hype and promise of new types of gameplay for the Wii. I can't blame you; I was excited when the first news of the controller came out and was hoping for some real innovation. If we got actual innovation, I'd be all over that. Instead what have we gotten? A glorified mouse with some tilt and motion sensing. What new gameplay types have we really gotten? We've got FPS' which even at their best (Metroid Prime) pale in comparison to the control of a mouse and keyboard. We get half assed motion control shoveled into games that don't need it because developers don't know what to do with it, but feel they have to use it since it's there. I'm still not sure why I have to shake the controller to do a spin attack or throw a fireball in Mario, but I do know it's neither innovative nor necessary. And we've got games based around mini games, which offer little in the way of depth, real challenge or innovative use of the controller. And of course there are the Gamecube ports which again, make poor use of the controller for the most part, or at least don't do anything spectacular with it. And we can't forget Nintendo's first party titles, which so far have been content to do the same thing the series' have been doing for years, all while doing the least with the controller.

I'm all for trying new things, I'm just wondering when Nintendo and third parties are going to actually figure out how to do something new with the controller. I doubt it will happen though.

As for Cactuar's comment on the demographic; you may doubt it's casual gamers only buying it, and I certainly don't have a demographic breakdown for the console, but I've seen enough anecdotal evidence to support the idea. I only ever see mothers with their small children looking at them or the games in stores, and there's certainly been enough talk in media of the elderly even playing it. Toss in Twilight Princesses (the only game that could really be seen as being a hardcore game at launch) disappointing sales, and my own experience with only my sister (casual gamer) and one of my friends having, or even wanting a Wii for that matter, and I'd believe it's mainly casual gamers buying it. For the record, my friend who has one barely plays it anymore, and he a lot of people I've seen talking about their Wii online seems to be playing the waiting game when it comes to playing it. They were waiting after Zelda for Metroid, then waiting for Mario Galaxy, and now waiting for Smash Bros. and later Mario Kart. Many of the people who seem to say they're waiting for the next big Nintendo release usually accompany that statement with the fact that their Wii is going unplayed except on the rare occasion a bunch of people are over.

Finally, I just want to say that 3rd parties aren't likely to bring anything but casual games to the table anytime soon. Given how easy it is to develop a casual game for the Wii, and considering they're what the majority of users seem to be after, no company is going to go out of their way to make a game that the user base won't play. In fact, I'd say that's the biggest piece of evidence that the Wii fanbase only wants casual games; if they weren't selling well, developers wouldn't still be making them.

[Roto13]

1. I fail to see what a keyboard and mouse has anything to do with the console gaming.

2. Even if what you say is true (and it's not) and the only ones buying the Wii are casual gamers who spend a few minutes playing every now and then, it appears to be working because it's STILL in the lead in the console race, which is what this thread is about if you'll read the first post.

3. The rest of your post is feces flowing awkwardly from your fingertips, but like I said, it has nothing to do with the topic so I'm not going to bother with it. I refuse to give you any more opportunity to spout your self-righteousness about how much of a hardcore gamer you are for having an Xbox or whatever.

[Slothy]

1. I fail to see what a keyboard and mouse has anything to do with the console gaming.

When talking about the possibilities offered by the Wii, a keyboard and mouse have a great deal to do with some genres, because as much as the Wii controller may be better for some genres than others, it's not as well suited to FPS or RTS games as a keyboard and mouse. Something many thought it would be perfect for.


2. Even if what you say is true (and it's not) and the only ones buying the Wii are casual gamers who spend a few minutes playing every now and then, it appears to be working because it's STILL in the lead in the console race, which is what this thread is about if you'll read the first post.

I never said casual gamers are the only ones buying the Wii, I said they're the target customers for it by and large, which is true. Nintendo has stated it well enough on multiple occasions, and like I said, it seems to be the way things are working out. Yeah, people who spend a lot of their leisure time playing games, and who could be considered hardcore gamers are buying it too, but Nintendo, and in particular, third party companies are doing little to really cater to them. I acknowledged the fact that it's in the lead, and doing very well for Nintendo right now. But I also acknowledge the fact that it is targeting a different demographic.


3. The rest of your post is feces flowing awkwardly from your fingertips, but like I said, it has nothing to do with the topic so I'm not going to bother with it. I refuse to give you any more opportunity to spout your self-righteousness about how much of a hardcore gamer you are for having an Xbox or whatever.

I don't claim to be a hardcore gamer in any respect other than the fact that I spend a good portion of my free time playing games, and I like a gameplay experience that lasts for several hours at least, and provides a good challenge. The Wii doesn't cater to me in that regard overall, or to gamers after the same sort of gaming experience. Everything I've said pertains to this thread, as everything I've said pertains to the Wii's place in the console war. It caters to the casual market, something which is obviously quite large based on the sales Nintendo is enjoying and that's a market that no one has ever specifically targeted before. In an age where Nintendo can't really afford to spend years and millions of dollars developing powerful consoles to go toe to toe with Sony and Microsoft, they found a market that was going unserviced and took advantage of it. I commend them for that in fact, as it was rather ingenious. Whether I like what they're doing or not, I certainly respect them for it, and unlike Dreddz, I don't see it's popularity dying off in the coming year. Maybe among people who don't like casual games, but in general I don't see it's popularity dying off anytime soon.

And I don't own an Xbox.

[Madame Adequate]

Way to miss his point, roto.

I think the Wii is at risk of not lasting like the others. I see the PS3 becoming something I own one day. I'm already very, very happy with the 360's lineup. I don't see myself getting a Wii soon, or with much enthusiasm. I see only two things on the Wii worth talking about - NiGHTS, and Brawl. NiGHTS isn't as good as I was hoping, so I've no imperative to get a Wii for it. Brawl isn't out for awhile yet. Aside from those two, I don't need a bunch of minigame compilations - I have XBLA for that and Track and Field > Most of the Wii's lineup.

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

There's a Wii exclusive being released on February 10th callled "No More Heroes" but there doesn't seem to be any hype surrounding that game...I think it's because Suda 51 doesn't even know if the game is going to "WORK" on the Wii.

Suda 51 said "Developing a game for the Wii was like developing a title for the Super Nintendo you don't have a lot of buttons to work with."

[Zeldy]

Ive been like a huge Nintendo fan girl since I can remember, and I think that the Wii are over-doing all the mini-game type games, because tbh, they look absolutely appalling. I wish it would go back to the days of the N64 when every single game released for it were amazing, pretty much, and were more unique. (we need more games like 'Banjo Kazooie'!) I have a Wii and a 360 (well, my brother does ;]) and Im not sure, I play the 360 more for Guitar Hero; Guitar Hero is coming out on the Wii, but my brother already has it for the 360, so he isnt exactly going to buy it twice!

Saying that, though, the Wii seems to be thrashing both the 360 and the ps3. When I worked at HMV, there were people ringing up every half hour seeing if there was a Wii in stock. When there finally was some in stock they were gone in an hour. There was like 20 360s in stock and I didnt see any of them leave the stock room.

[JKTrix]

I like Azar's comment, as it kinda fits "The Wii's Place In The Console War".

I don't care to make a valid 'there's more on Wii than party/mini games and Nintendo games' argument, but I can understand how people see it that way. Much like how people see the 360 as a Shooter machine. Sadly, the way things appear right now seems that Nintendo doesn't need 'us'. And in response, 'we' aren't buying it. But that's not really affecting them at all.

Because of this, I feel the Wii 'bubble' will burst. It's kind of unpredictable when it will be, but without the Core audience it won't carry itself for long after its mainstream popularity peaks. I think Nintendo realized this from the start and may be waiting for those signs before they reveal the NES6 (assuming Wii=NES5, etc).

I don't think it's hard to believe that Nintendo has already been working on a true 'Next Gen' system. I mentioned before that Nintendo doesn't need 'us' right now, but for sure they aren't satisfied with that. Whether or not they can get the core gamers back will be the real challenge for them when that time comes.

[Skyblade]

I'm not sure if I'm a hardcore or a casual gamer. I spend much of my free time gaming, enjoy talking about games, and analyzing them, and I pick up new games whenever I can. Yet, I'm not a total gaming nerd who will wait outside stores for days and spend 600 bucks on a system. If that's what it takes to be hardcore, I'm not a hardcore gamer and I'm quite happy with that. I am a solid gamer who enjoys quality games at affordable prices. Nintendo and the Wii offer that, and no other system does, which is why they are winning. Say what you like, but I don't think that the differences in visual quality between the systems are nearly enough to justify picking a console based on that. The Wii is easily the most solid system out there at the moment, and will likely remain that way. The 360 has a bad case of the gremlins, and breaks fairly consistently, from what I've been told, and the PS3 costs way too much money for what you get out of it. Nintendo has chosen to sacrafice some useless features in exchange for a solid system that pretty much everyone can afford and that works consistently. I doubt that losing gamers who are willing to shell out tons of money for a system and every game that comes out for it is really going to hurt them, either in the short run or the long haul. Economics 101, it's better to sell lots of items at a smaller price than a few items at a higher price.

[Shlup]

I got my Wii in October and I still had to go to nine stores before I found a Wal Mart that had one left with a damaged box. But she's my baby.

The 360 just doesn't have the types of games I like, for the most part. I'm sure the games it has are good, and it has good software, but the Wii games are more my style. Playing Twilight Princess over the last couple of months saved my sanity.

[qwertysaur]

I got my Wii in October and I still had to go to nine stores before I found a Wal Mart that had one left with a damaged box. But she's my baby.


Thak is kinda like how I got my Wii. I found it in a Costco in Boca last December. There were about 10 on display, and all of the people who lived there didn't know what they were. It was even packaged with Twilight Princess.:p

I like the Wii because the games are more fun and different. You can't cook eggs on an 360 game, nor would anybody think of doing so. I can also play games with my 7 year old cousin, because the controls are simple enough so she can understand how to play. She loves to play Cooking Mama and Wii play.

[Markus. D]

Wii is kewl! I want an RPG for it now though :[

[Raebus]

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/9404/12499521ljm7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/9404/12499521ljm7.165d424292.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=508&i=12499521ljm7.jpg)

Probably not too relevant to this thread but it made me chuckle.

As for my serious post, the wii's place is uncertain. It's doing great right now but...who know's how well it'll be doing a few month or even a year from now.

[Mr Cactuar]

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/9404/12499521ljm7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/9404/12499521ljm7.165d424292.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=508&i=12499521ljm7.jpg)

Probably not too relevant to this thread but it made me chuckle.

As for my serious post, the wii's place is uncertain. It's doing great right now but...who know's how well it'll be doing a few month or even a year from now.

Ugh. Ctrl+Alt+Del...

Worst. Web. Comic. EVAR.

Vid game Cats > all others.

Though I see the relevance in the comic.

Edit: Wtf, changed to not funny?

[Zora]

Hardcore games don't even tend to do as well on the Wii; Miyamoto himself was disappointed with Twilight Princesses sales on the Wii, and I've heard that Mario Galaxy isn't selling as well as one would expect either, but I can't seem to find sales numbers on that right now (and since I'm visiting family and "borrowing" a neighbours crappy wireless connection, I can't bother to try very hard right now).

Miyamoto was expecting more sales from Japan. It barely broke 500,000 when he made that comment, if that. I imagine it has to do with the fact TP was overly cliche (people don't except it though), had horrid audio production values (Even for Midi standards). The gameplay was rehashed, despite what other will say, and items were not used that often out of their dungeon. Maybe one or two, but most of them no. It had nice graphics, but Japan isn't as big on graphics as we are. I am not saying that these make the game bad per se, but those are potential factors to TP not doing so well in Japan.

SMG is selling very normal for a Mario platformer. People are assuming that Japan is being lazy again with its poor sales compared to the US, but Mario platformers aren't that big over there. It already broke 1,000,000 worldwide a week after release, so it is doing fine. I lot of people can't comprehend that it isn't unusual for a Mario spin-off DS game to outsell a canon Mario Wii game in Japan. Back when Nsider was open, I was talking with a person who lived in Japan (Razzalyn for those who there before it closed), and she mentioned that spin-off games were more popular than canon games.

[Yar]

For now, Wii seems to be king, but only for now. It will be up to Nintendo to make either great chioces which can keep them there, or they can fuck it all up again. If Sony wants to be No. 1 again, they'll have to make some DRASTIC changes. If Microsoft wants to be No. 1, they aren't far off. Maybe they'll be No. 1 again next Christmas? OR maybe Sony will strip the PS3 of all the unnecessary things it hold to finally become affordable.

Personally, neither one of these three consoles have impressed me yet, and I own 0 of them. I'm fine with PS2 and GBA/DS, thankyouverymuchg'bye.

[NeoCracker]

Well, in a few Months Wii will still be King. Smash Bro's Brawl anyone?

Theres so much godly hype about the game, and so many people that play it, there is no way Nintendo is dying out withing a Year. And all the great things people say about Metroid Prime 3?

Also, they are getting plenty of third party support. I remember hearing a harvest moon was coming out on the Wii, and with No More Heroes coming out in Febuary, I'm not seeing getting good third party companies to develop for it.

And with this new way of playing Shooters, I think it's going to attract plenty FPS gamers, so I don't think Microsoft is going to be nearly as far ahead in that department as they use to be. (With Halo, they will still be the main target of Shooter Fans though, I'm just sayng the Gap will likely shrink).

Though I'm not going to count PS3 out. I mean titles like Tekken 6, (And I assume SC4), they will probably lead in the Fighting Game department. In addition with RPG's like FF XIII coming out, I think PS3 will do just fine.

As for 360, not only do they get the Ever popular Halo 3, but I've heard a lot of good things about BioShock. And with Two of the original Square employies forming Mistwalker, the RPG Fanbase is definately interested in the 360 because of Blue Dragon, and the (Hopefully) soon to come Lost Odyssy.

While I'm going go ahead and say it's likely that Wii will reign on top, the others are far from failing. (Unless Sony continues to make stupid mistakes, but I dont' think they are dumb enough to spiral downward more.)

[Zora]

For now, Wii seems to be king, but only for now. It will be up to Nintendo to make either great chioces which can keep them there, or they can smurf it all up again. If Sony wants to be No. 1 again, they'll have to make some DRASTIC changes. If Microsoft wants to be No. 1, they aren't far off. Maybe they'll be No. 1 again next Christmas? OR maybe Sony will strip the PS3 of all the unnecessary things it hold to finally become affordable.

Personally, neither one of these three consoles have impressed me yet, and I own 0 of them. I'm fine with PS2 and GBA/DS, thankyouverymuchg'bye.

I don't think that Microsoft will make it king easily. They have no support in Japan, and that continues to hurt them. More importanlty though, there is nothing coming out that will make non-360 owners buy the 360 soon. They will get a huge boost form after Christmas sales (but so will the Wii), and more importantly though, there isn't any software on the horizon that will sell more consoles. Wii has Brawl coming out soon, which will sells a lot more hardware.

Is it possible? Yes. But I doubt it. The 360 is biased towards shooters and shooter-esque games. Once all shooter fans consumers buy a 360 (assuming they want too), there probably won't have a strong enough fanbase to get enough support. Nintendo is better at this kind of stuff. They can cover nearly every genre with some sort of balance (and third-party support nearly determines that balance, which the Wii will get a lot of). The 360's marketing strategy isn't bad, but it does appeal to a more limited audience, and at least half of that audience has a 360 by now. I think that is the main reason the 360 will have a difficult time making it to first.

Put it this way: When it comes to software, Nintendo can appeal to a much broader audience, even if no audience gets a myriad of games up to par with the 360's shooter fanbase. They already got the casual gamers, which is the biggest group out there. The Wii still having stock issues, which hinders sales, but shows vast interest. More audience=more sales. One cannot deny that the Wii appeals to more people than the 360 (this includes non-gamers BTW)

@NeoCracker: Commericially, the 360 will probably struggle in the JRPG department. Blue Dragon didn't do so well. LO was dumb enough to release itself around DQIVDS. Although not direct competitors, a Dragon Quest game (regardless of consoles or system), anything has trouble when its relesed. In America, Brawl and LO are being released on the same day, so I think you get the picture. By the time Cry On and Blue Dragon 2 comes out, the Wii will have a strong lead in the RPG department. The 360 will have difficult making a solid sales of its JRPGs. Oh, and Eternal Sonata went for the most part ignored, and some are getting the PS3 version when it comes out instead. Their untitled MMORPG might make a lot of money though.

[Roogle]

Nintendo chose a different path than its competitors when they developed and release the Wii, and they will enjoy the benefits of that uniqueness for the next couple of years.

What will their next move be?

I do not consider the Wii as a console in the same sense that I think of the Playstation 3 or the Xbox 360 because it was not developed to outperform the other two. It was made to entertain with a differently-styled set of features than its competitors, and I think that the market will evolve to cater to this. I do not think that most games that used to be ported to all three consoles will still be ported to all three consoles; rather, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 will share those games with their ports and the Wii will have a more unique lineup.

[Northcrest]

I really can't say. Even though the Wii is selling almost everyone single one one by one, there isn't enough being sold. The PS3 is selling decently but no one is really buying any games cause no good ones r coming out (until the end of '08 of course). The Xbox 360 I haven't been paying attention about but with all of the Halo fans I've seen 360 should be selling alright. Here is my results

What I think the order is of selling enough
Xbox 360
Wii
PS3

How I think it should be by sometime in '08 is
Wii
PS3
Xbox 360

This isn't either going by favorites either because the Wii so far I know is coming out with a Ocean load of good games. The PS3 have some great new titles that I know of coming around. The Xbox 360 so far I don't think has anything cool happening yet but probably will soon.