The End Of An Era: Who Won?

[Formalhaut]

What with the multitude of announcements surrounding the PS4 and the XboxOne, there's plenty of talk surrounding this latest console war: and it's the PS4 that have drew first blood.

But I think it'd be great to see what the EoFFers feel about the outgoing console war, and debating who truly 'won', if there is such a thing.

The candidates are the PS3, Xbox 360, and the Wii. While the Wii U did jump the gun, I'd say the Wii U is part of the next console war. The Wii U sort of straddles the end of this current one and the beginnings of the next one.

Based on the indomitable Wikipedia, the PS3 has sold around 77 million, estimate of January 2013 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#Sales_and_production_costs).

Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 has sold around 77.2 million, as of March 2013 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360#Reception_and_sales).

Finally, the Wii has sold around 99.84 million consoles worldwide as of March 2013 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii#Sales).


Those are just sales however. There's more to it than just numbers. That's where you guys come in! Who do you think 'won'?

There's a poll. But of course.

[Night Fury]

I think the Xbox One well and truly won imo.

[Flying Mullet]

I think the Xbox One well and truly won imo.
Well, the XBox One.

Get it? One <=> Won? You know you're laughing, don't lie. :colbert:

[Pumpkin]

:|

[Night Fury]

I think the Xbox One well and truly won imo.
Well, the XBox One.

Get it? One <=> Won? You know you're laughing, don't lie. :colbert:

Ploppers! Why didn't I think of that one! Curse you!

[Denmark]

well, i owned none of these consoles, so I feel qualified to respond to this.

360:
pros: games? xbla. controller.
cons: M$$$$$$

PS3:
pros: controller. psn.
cons: $599, no games at start

Wii:
pros: Nintendo :jess:
cons: games? :(

NO WINNERS
NO LOSERS
ALL VIDEO GAME CONSOLES SUCK

[Vyk]

It'd honestly be pretty need to have the sales figures for each system on what was bought at retail, and what was bought on their online services. It's still just numbers on paper, but it'd create a more comprehensive picture

I was always supporting the 360, because I like it's computer-wanna-be style and I prefer it's controller. Which I use for computer gaming. But the PS3 probably wins regardless do to quality over quantity. Halo and Gears don't compare to Uncharted and whatnot

[Pete for President]

PS3 because it has had the strongest long run. It's the only console I feel like it has built a solid future for itself, whereas the Wii and X360 feel like they went downhill.

[NeoCracker]

PS3 ended up shipping more units, and even before that I recall people here posting something where publishers said most games, ouside of sports and shooters, sold a lot more on PS3, and ended up banking them more money.

That asside, in terms of sales I don't think it's arguable anyone but Wii won. In terms of what I like? PS3, no doubt.

Though really I don't know if there is a clear winner here.

[Shauna]

Though really I don't know if there is a clear winner here.

Pretty much. :p


The Wii moved so many units and is a nice little console, but it doesn't have a great library.

The PS3 had a really really bad start, but it has been a slow burner. The library and exclusives have only been getting better as its life went on. Even now it's still got some good things coming out.

The Xbox 360 has pretty much had a samey sort of life cycle - always successful enough. It had a great start, moving units before anything else. There are so few exclusives, and that number is dwindling (also they're all Kinect games x} ).

So yeah, who "won" depends on your definition. xD I don't really know what I would consider a win for this generation.

[Aulayna]

To be honest I really don't know with this generation. There were games on all platforms I really enjoyed. The previous generation PS2 had an amazing collection of exclusives which made them the winners in my eyes but in the age of multi-platform releases it's really hard to pick a winner.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first party offerings on the Wii along with The Last Story and Xenoblade but I also really enjoyed Fable II, Halo Reach and Uncharted on the other platforms.

I shifted more toward PC gaming too due to Steam and easy access co-op games and the likes of World of Warcraft too.

If I had to pick one it'd probably be the XBOX 360 as that's what I spent the most time on, but that was largely due to friends playing SSX and Soul Calibur on the XBOX which is why I spent more time on it.

So for me there really wasn't a cut and dry winner of this generation.

[Pike]

It was a solid but not particularly strong console showing this gen IMO, if that makes any sense. I gamed much more on PC this gen than I did during any previous gen.

I think I'd give the edge to 360 because PS3 really had no games until like... last year. But it was pretty close.

[NeoCracker]

It was a solid but not particularly strong console showing this gen IMO, if that makes any sense. I gamed much more on PC this gen than I did during any previous gen.

I think I'd give the edge to 360 because PS3 really had no games until like... last year. But it was pretty close.

Don't make me make a list woman. O_O

[Pike]

I'm going by what's the most fun to joke about.

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[NeoCracker]

Okay, the third and fourth are awesome. :p

[Polnareff]

Anybody that thought at any point that PS3 had "no games" is sorely mistaken. :colbert: Even now, PS3 has more exclusives than either of the other two systems.

[Flying Mullet]

Anybody that thought at any point that PS3 had "no games" is sorely mistaken.
2003 begs to differ :colbert:

[Bolivar]

If you're talking sales, I heard Forbes.com has a pretty awesome video game section :p

If you're talking games... Too many exclusives and new IPs across too many genres to really top the PS3. There's something for everyone, a lot of games no matter your taste. The Wii never built up a strong enough library, and every 360 list I've seen is filled with multiplatform games that have better versions on PC, PS3, or both.

But comparing the three home consoles is an outdated way of looking at things. When you bring the DS and PSP into the equation, the analysis changes quite a bit.

[Loony BoB]

Oh, Pike, you massive troll.

I've owned a 360 and a PS3 for quite some time and Danielle's folks own a Wii, so I've played a bit on that (not much though). I found all three to have enjoyable games and all three to be good consoles. Looking at the sales, it looks to have been a fairly even thing. Looking at game sales, I imagine that it'd remain fairly even, but I'm not really sure. For the game library, it all depends on what you're into - If you love shooters, I imagine you might be better suited to the 360. If you love anything else whatsoever, I'd suggest the PS3. Most games were released on both, though, so you know how it goes.

For me it's the PS3 quite easily in the end. The Uncharted series, the free online services, Flower & Journey... I think it would have been a trickier decision if Mass Effect was never released on the PS3, but in the end it was so there you go. I still bought all three for the 360 because of save transfers, though. Left4Dead and Halo 3 were great but for me they just don't beat Uncharted/Journey, which have become some of my favourite gaming experiences of all time.

I can't really speak much for the Wii, it just wasn't my thing, although I did enjoy the games they didn't give me a deep experience. I imagine if/when I get a Wii U I'll buy some better Wii games and probably enjoy it more, but for now I'll just have to go on my own experiences.

Globally: Tie. Maaaaaaaaaaaybe PS3 edging it on sales. Maybe. But it'd be close.
Personally: PS3, not to say the others were crap, just that I felt the PS3 was better.

[Ouch!]

I think it's hard to say. Frankly, I'd like to see the numbers on games sold per console sold before making a definitive statement. The Wii, for example, has the largest user-base, but I the numbers I've heard in the past that very few users bought more than a handful of games for it. I would be surprised if Xbox 360 had a higher games sold/console sold ratio than the PlayStation 3. That feeling is based primarily on anecdotal evidence suggesting that the average Xbox 360 user loyally bought a few games in major franchises (Halo, Call of Duty, EA Sports titles) whereas I expect the average PS3 user to have a more diversified interest in games. But maybe I'm wrong.

[Freya]

After working two years in a video game store I have to say that it's not a clear winner. It's all demographics. Xbox was popular for people who liked shooters and sports while people who liked Action games and RPGs were Sony. Both are very rivaled in activity. More people I think had a 360 because it was cheap but they only bought the main titles, the PS3 owners were the ones who came back for more games often. So while we'd sell more release day 360 games, the PS3 owners were the ones who could wait or just weren't rushing to get something cause they were... more adult :shifty:

Wii sold a lot too, our biggest section was our wii section. While there were a lot of games, it's correct that people only ever had a handful of them. I can't say who won from the ps3 or 360 but I can say that the wii was in a completely different league. They were selling to a completely different market. And it worked! I guess that could make them the winner I guess? But then it's not the same.

I'm honestly not sure.

[Jinx]

I think to some degree you'd also have to take into account which games were on both consoles and rule them out of the figures.

[Madame Adequate]

Anybody that thought at any point that PS3 had "no games" is sorely mistaken. :colbert: Even now, PS3 has more exclusives than either of the other two systems.

If PS3 has games, how me a dog learned english? :colbert:

[Psychotic]

If we're including the Wii then clearly that, although it has clearly created its own subtype of console and the huge victory of this can't be stated. I think to put it in with the 360 and PS3 is to compare apples to oranges.

This generation was a disaster for Sony given the huge lead they had over Microsoft from the PS2 days. In terms of the "serious" consoles, that was a Microsoft victory imho.

In terms of who won EoFF, on the one hand, it's filled with PS3 fans to the rafters, but, Del Murder, Levian and Rocket Edge aside, the best members all like the 360. Not even trolling. You know I'm right.

[Croyles]

Gamegear.

[Sephex]

Who won? The consumers did. A lot of great material came out of all three consoles.

If people are going to judge things based off of sales figures, well, I guess Call of Duty and Madden are the best games of all time then, huh?

[Bolivar]

^ Don't forget about Wii Sports Resort and Zumba Fitness.

[Jinx]

Wii Sports Resort is hella fun guys.

[Agent Proto]

I stopped paying attention to consoles, since I've been playing my handheld more often. But if I were to say who won, I'll have to say no one did. The true winners were the consumers, as Sephex pointed out. Oh and Nintendo, for having the most sales.

[Loony BoB]

Who won? The consumers did. A lot of great material came out of all three consoles.
I dunno, I found that gaming was a little more expensive because of it. People who say that one manufacturer having clear lead is a bad thing baffle me. So long as there is competition, that's all that is needed. I'd still prefer a situation akin to PS2 vs. N64/Xbox, where there was competition to ensure that the manufacturer released a quality console but still a massive majority play on the one console (PS2) so that you don't have to worry about being forced to buy 2-3 consoles just to play even half of the good games that come out. I'll always prefer having all my games on one highly priced system to having to pay for two highly priced systems (while still trying to keep my PC up to scratch while I'm at it).

Consumers won with the PS1 & PS2. Consumers didn't really win this round. We got DLC, we got Xbox Live subscriptions, we got to pay for 2-3 consoles if we want to play a lot of games with our various friends, some of which have one console and some of which have another. I'm tight with my money, I don't want to pay this much. It's why I don't play as many new games as some people around here - I simply can't afford to buy them all. The last thing I want is to have to pay for more than one console for the next generation (although knowing me, I'll probably cave in and buy a second one eventually :p).

[Quindiana Jones]

Gaming's not a competition, but I'm winning.

[Jinx]

Who won? The consumers did. A lot of great material came out of all three consoles.
I dunno, I found that gaming was a little more expensive because of it. People who say that one manufacturer having clear lead is a bad thing baffle me. So long as there is competition, that's all that is needed. I'd still prefer a situation akin to PS2 vs. N64/Xbox, where there was competition to ensure that the manufacturer released a quality console but still a massive majority play on the one console (PS2) so that you don't have to worry about being forced to buy 2-3 consoles just to play even half of the good games that come out. I'll always prefer having all my games on one highly priced system to having to pay for two highly priced systems (while still trying to keep my PC up to scratch while I'm at it).

Consumers won with the PS1 & PS2. Consumers didn't really win this round. We got DLC, we got Xbox Live subscriptions, we got to pay for 2-3 consoles if we want to play a lot of games with our various friends, some of which have one console and some of which have another. I'm tight with my money, I don't want to pay this much. It's why I don't play as many new games as some people around here - I simply can't afford to buy them all. The last thing I want is to have to pay for more than one console for the next generation (although knowing me, I'll probably cave in and buy a second one eventually :p).

Wouldn't it be PS2 vs. Gamecube and XBox?

[Loony BoB]

Oh, right. Mindfart.

[ThornQueen]

For personal preference, I love my PS3. I thought it was the better console, and had a better experience with it.

However, from a retail stand point... the Xbox360 won hands down. The vast majority of my customers were avid 360 fans, and even if they owned multiple consoles typically bought their games on the 360. Xbox360 dominated in the online multiplayer spectrum, and with games like CoD or Battlefield online play-ability is what mattered most.

That being said, I have and always will be a Sony gal. They have the exclusives I want, and I love the UI compared to Microsoft's.

[Del Murder]

I don't know who won but I do know I played some fun games. It's less clear cut in this genration since most of the games are cross-platform now.

I never owned a Gamecube so Wii was an obvious choice for me since it opened me up to two systems' of games. But when FFXIII came out I had to get one of the other systems. I went with PS3 and do not regret my choice since I've had a lot of fun with the Uncharted and God of War series.

[Ouch!]

Gaming's not a competition, but I'm winning.
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