The End Of An Era: Who Won?

[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 ).

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.