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The Console War Thus Far: 2008 vs. Past years

I would like to start off by saying that this current "console war," seems to be the most fiecely competitive console generation I've ever seen. "The Big Three" have all chosen very different styles of approaching this generation of gaming.

1) The Nintendo Wii:

When Nintendo first released their console, many were confused to how the public would react to this almost completey new direction towards gaming. Their controller is a remote and their console doesn't have the power the other two have. So I, like many other gamers wondered what Nintendo was thinking, when they first developed and launched the Wii. With such a new direction in gaming, a lot of people became skeptical and some people, ("fanboys") even laughed at Nintendo's Idea, saying that Nintendo's idea would not grant them the success that they so greatly needed, especially after Nintendo lost the past two console wars to Sony's Playstation brand. However, when Nintendo released their new system, and long after that, the Wii surprisingly sold faster than any other console that was currently out on the market. It sells so much that it has become hard to actually find one, and it's been out for almost two years.

Nintendo took a huge risk that paid off. Nintendo's main target audience weren't the "hardcore gamers," like in the past, but rather people that usually don't play video games that often such as: the elderly, soccer moms, kids under the age of 13 and even the handicapped. And what made the Wii even more appealing was it's price ($250 in US). It was much cheaper than the Xbox360 and a lot cheaper than the Playstation 3 when it launched. Some people, such as the hardcore gamers are afraid that the sudden explosion of "casual gamers" will turn the gaming industry into one that will focus more and more on the new casual market and eventually forget the hardcore market all together. Others praise Nintendo for introducing a "new breed of gamers" to gaming and think that this can be nothing but good for the entire industry. Nintendo knew what they were doing, and in this industry a company has to take chances and be innovative or else they won't get anywhere, and because of that they are now in "first place" in this console war.

2) The Xbox360:

Unlike Nintendo, Microsoft's approach to this generation of consoles and main audience is very similar to their last approach with the Xbox. Except this time Microsoft decided to get a headstart and launch their console about a year ahead of the competition, to boost sales. The Xbox360 did sell well, despite an average software line-up for its release. Microsoft also reminded gamers that even though consumers would have to pay for their online service (Live), they still had the most superior online service than any other current and next gen. console offered. Later Microsoft and Epic released the hit title Gears of War exclusively on the Xbox360 and they (Microsoft) enjoyed a much needed rise in harware sales for their console and in software as well.

Awhile after the Wii and Playstation 3 launched, the Wii took first place in sale, the Xbox360 took 2nd, while the Playstation 3 was in 3rd. In Christmas of 2007 things really heated up when Microsoft claimed that they had "the best holiday line-up in history." Fans of the Xbox360 stated that The Playstation 3's and Wii's games were a joke and that the Xbox360 was soon going to reclaim 1st place in the console war, once the extremely hyped Halo 3 released in September. But fans of the Playstation 3 were saying, that if they had such great games, then why were Xbox360 fans even taking the time to post comments on gaming sites, when they could be playing their "much better" games. Now in 2008, the Xbox360 fans are saying the same thing that the Playstation 3 fans were saying in 2007 and vice versa. Currently the Xbox360 still sells more software than any other console and Live is still superior to PSN or Wii's online service. And this year the 360 is in 3rd place, in terms of current worldwide sales charts. Which means the PS3 is catching up fast and widening the gap. This E3 and holiday season will be very interesting for everyone. Perhaps Microsoft has some big secrets that they have yet to announce....many hope so.

3) The Playstation 3:

Finally we've reached the Playstation 3. Sony's approach to this console war could not be more different than Nintendo's and yet the same. They planned to make the Playstation 3 appeal to everyone, (including casual and non-gamers). In order to do this they Including everthing and the kitchen sink (no, not literally). They gave it built in wi-fi, free online, bluetooth technology, HDMI, a DVD and CD player, a next generation Blu-ray player, and much more, which really drove up the price tag. When the Playstation 3 launched it sold remarkably well, considering it's steep price. It went through quick cycles, where one week it would sell like there was no tomorrow, and then another week it would sell a lot lower than it's competition. It's launch line-up didn't help a whole lot either, it's only "AAA" title at the time seemed to be Resistance: Fall of Man, which went on to sell millions of copies. In 2007 Sony's Playstation 3 endured a lot of ridicule. The holiday season for Sony was crucial and it became a make-it or break-it deal for them. Fortunately for Sony, they came out alive and pumped for 2008. They even sold more units than Xbox360 according to worldwide sales charts for the entire year.

In early 2008, Sony won the "format war" between rival Toshiba, and Blu-ray became the next official standard for watching movies, which will eventually replace DVDs. After the dissapointing Haze was released, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots released worldwide on June 12, and it gave the Playstation 3 a Giant boost in sales. it even outsold the Nintendo Wii in Japan and MGS4 soon became the 2nd highest rated exclusive game of this current generation. The extremely hyped MGS4 was the game that the Playstation 3 needed, and it soon became known as the game that defines the Playstation 3. Now the Playstation 3 is widening the gap between it's competition like never before. Now that the Playstation 3 has great games, Sony must now focus on PSN. When Home releases, Sony and many others claim that it will be even better than what XboxLive or the Wii's online has to offer. Many people are anxiously waiting to see what the Playstation 3 has to give them this holiday season.

Even though the Nintendo Wii is technically winning the console war, in this industry anything could happen to change that. And usually, "anything" does happen.

Phew! that was long!