I’m getting old and everything is moving too fast. I remember when films came to video years after the theatrical release. I’ve been leery, almost paralysed by the thought of buying a new iPod only to have missed out on a better one released a month later. I remember when decades would be defined by a single video game console.
Technology moves quickly and we are now on the seventh generation of consoles. If you’ve been hesitant to commit to one of the big three on the market, I would say it all comes down to games.
At this level of development, the consoles offer almost equal gameplay and eye candy. It’s not as if the Xbox offers breathtaking cinematic rendering, while the Wii looks like Pong. No, IMHO these details are nitpicky at this point.
For years I played my Playstation2 contently while others frothed at the mouth over the Playstation 3′s Blu-ray or the Wii Sports; that is, until they stopped selling decent used games I didn’t own. 1000 games, 2000 games, maybe more, have been released for the Playstation 2, which was also backwards compatible with the first Playstation’s 2000 or more games.
The newer Playstation 3 consoles aren’t backwards compatible any more, and neither is the cheaper Xbox 360 Arcade; although for backwards compatibility you don’t need an Xbox 360 250 GB, just a hard drive like a 20 GB Pro.
If you’re looking for console exclusive games, Playstation 3 has the best versions of the Final Fantasy series and has the upcoming Final Fantasy Versus XIII to look forward to. Playstation also has it’s tendrils hooked into God of War 3, Gran Turismo 5 and Metal Gear Solid 4. The Xbox also has its own exclusive club, populated with titles like Gears of War and Halo.
The new consoles boast many games in their libraries as it is, and will continue to release more. The consoles are pushing towards an online content business strategy. If online gaming is big for you, then the Xbox has the liveliest gaming experience out of the three.
Whichever you choose, the console rivalry won’t end any time soon and you can look forward to many great gaming years with the console you commit to.
