# Wii vs PS3 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882 "2006-09-23T20:57:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/41 "2006-09-25T00:50:10Z")
[QUOTE=asterion] But I’d still like a Gamecube and I’m interested in the Wii. [/QUOTE] If you can afford the Wii, I wouldn’t bother getting a Gamecube now, as the Wii also accepts & plays GC discs. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/42 "2006-09-25T00:59:58Z")
A note: Turn the remote sideways and it _is_ an old school NES controller, essentially. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/43 "2006-09-25T13:28:46Z")
[QUOTE=Aesiron] That is quite possibly the dumbest thing I have ever seen. [/QUOTE] You and me both buddy, you and me both. ---
**Author:** ![Heckxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@Heckxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heckxx)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/44 "2006-09-25T17:15:09Z")
[QUOTE=E-Sabbath] A note: Turn the remote sideways and it _is_ an old school NES controller, essentially. [/QUOTE] yeah, i thought that was pretty cool.. ..although they are also making a standard “classic” controller that you can use, presumably for alot of the Virtual Console stuff ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/45 "2006-09-25T17:46:10Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Nevertheless…if a new StarFox game comes out, then **Argent Towers** is going to be the proud owner of a wii. [/QUOTE] [http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/rumors/miyamoto-confirms-starfox-wii-sorta-176772.php](http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/rumors/miyamoto-confirms-starfox-wii-sorta-176772.php) Provides; Spacefurries rejoice! Our favorite venturesome vulpid may very well be back in the cockpit. Nintendo rumormonger NintendoGossip posts that German gaming site GameFront has an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto in which no promises are made, but strong hints are dropped: First he told GameFront something about the opportunities that the Wii controller offers Nintendo for a new StarFox game for Wii. He explained how the Wii remote could be used in a game like StarFox. When they asked him if Nintendo is developing a StarFox game for Wii or if they have plans to make a StarFox game for Wii in the future he doesn’t deny but he doesn’t confirm anything. Admittedly, we’re running one of those bloggy she-said, he-said gauntlets with this story. But it’s Starfox we’re talking about here. We’ll take what we can get, yanno? Eliza Gauger ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/46 "2006-09-25T18:31:13Z")
I hate hate hate hate these threads…and yet I’m compelled to post. Of the next Gen consoles, the only one at this moment I’ll even consider is the Wii. I bought the Xbox just after launch and felt a little betrayed at the experience. I bought the $35 controller (and the $50 controller when the first one broke)…and Dropped $300 or so on the first games. Easily $900 in the first 6 months…only to have the console price drop…and drop…and drop. And for all the technical capabilities, all the games were the _SAME_. Yet another fighter, yet another FPS, yet another racing sim. there are a few standouts (I’m currently playing Half Life 2), but they’re few and far between. I bought a year of Xbox Live as that was ‘the next big thing’ only to find a bunch of cussing 14 year old boys that spend more time online than I do at work. Getting schooled and cursed at is _not_ my idea of improving gameplay. Sony and Microsoft are pushing boundaries that really don’t need pushing. Uber high res and 12.1 surround don’t help if it’s just the same game with more gloss. A Wii seems like it’d involve the other family members and in one fell swoop grants access to the cream of the old scool games. Nintendo seems to be swerving and trying something _new_, not just more of the same. By scaling back on the hardware, they’re also going to be easier to manufacture. I won’t feel as bad when a $250 console goes for $150…compared to a $400 console going for $150. The $60 controller is _10_ more than I spent on a wired Xbox controller. For that $10, I get wireless, a speaker, and a second input device. I don’t get the controller cost argument. I’ve got a Satellite Dish with PVR, I’ve got an Xbox hacked to play video and I’ll expect to have an HDTV. Apple’s announced an HDTV endpoint box for media display. I don’t see the need for my game system to do double duty anymore. I doubt I’ll buy HD-DVD OR Blue-ray as I suspect the time for physical media for movies is reaching an end. And perhaps I’ll get a 360 when it drops below $200…but I’m not in any hurry. I can wait. I will never ever ever buy another Sony product based on the way they’ve treated their customers (and myself) in the past. Custom storage lock-in, ATRAC, Root kits, crummy laptops. Sony’s gone from being a premier technology company to one that just flat can’t stop shooting itself in the foot and the feet of its customers. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/47 "2006-09-26T15:18:50Z")
F33r my L337 Threadkillin’ Skillz, yo! ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/48 "2006-09-26T15:52:43Z")
[QUOTE=Kiros] Well, it’s just like real fishing - it’s ridiculously boring and it takes forever to catch what you want to catch. (I mean that completely in jest. Well, mostly. Seriously, who are these people who have been cheering on the fishing minigame in Ocarina of Time? That was the only part of that game that WASN’T fun.) [/QUOTE] 😃_Ocarina of Time_ is the only videogame my wife has played all the way through, and that was largely because of the fishing minigame. She played it for hours and still talks about the time she caught an eel. I’ll be buying the GameCube version of _Twilight Princess_. I still play with my GCN and Dreamcast a lot; the console generations are moving too fast for me these days. Actually I think I could be happy for the rest of my days with a PSX and SNES. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/49 "2006-09-27T23:53:18Z")
[QUOTE=cckerberos] The wii certainly has a lot of promise. But if there’s anything Nintendo does well, that’s squandering promise. [/QUOTE] Under the previous management, sure. Today’s Nintendo, under the helm of Satoru Iwata, seems to be firing on nearly all cylinders IMO. There’s no more snubbing of third-party developers, a recognition that appealing only to younger gamers is insufficient, and a renewed emphasis on games that are actually fun to play. About the only thing about the Wii launch that’s got me upset is the $250 price tag, but that was only because I was hoping for $200 instead. (Did you see Iwata’s speech at E3 last May? He hit so many nails on the hed, he made Bob the Builder jealous. 😉 “If I, a devoted gamer, don’t have the patience to wait 40, 50 seconds for a game to load, how can I expect casual gamers to do the same?”) And as others have said, the Wii is the only console I’d even consider buying this holiday season – it’s the only machine that’s actually (a) affordable by mere mortals and (b) can be played by _everyone_ in my home. Even my 70-year-old mother-in-law can learn Wii Tennis inside of 30 seconds… And for all you _StarFox_ junkies out there, rumors are that Q-Games is already planning a sequel to _StarFox Command_ for the Nintendo DS – and it’ll be an old-school on-rails shooter. Booyeah! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/50 "2006-09-28T04:26:51Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] Apparently Gran Turismo 5, one of the PS3’s flagship titles, will have a pay-for-content model. It might cost over $400 to DL all cars and tracks: [http://www.digitaldisplacement.com/?p=1384](http://www.digitaldisplacement.com/?p=1384) [/QUOTE] Well, then, that settles that. GT was the only attraction PlayStation had for me, but there’s no way I’m paying that much for it. I’ll just stick with my PC. Maybe when my son gets older I’ll think about a console. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/51 "2006-09-28T16:43:10Z")
I’m getting a Wii. My PC does everything a PS3 or Xbox 360 can do, and does it all faster. My PC cannot do everything the Wii can do (I’m almost wetting myself thinking about playing the original F-Zero and Goldeneye again), and hey, it’s HALF THE FREAKING PRICE. I don’t understand what would possibly motivate someone to buy a PS3 when a low end PC will play all the same games (okay, they’ll be released three months later) at the same price. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/52 "2006-09-28T17:06:26Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] I’m getting a Wii. My PC does everything a PS3 or Xbox 360 can do, and does it all faster. My PC cannot do everything the Wii can do (I’m almost wetting myself thinking about playing the original F-Zero and Goldeneye again), and hey, it’s HALF THE FREAKING PRICE. I don’t understand what would possibly motivate someone to buy a PS3 when a low end PC will play all the same games (okay, they’ll be released three months later) at the same price. [/QUOTE] To my knowledge, none of the Metal Gear franchise of games (and they are a solid moneymaker) has been released for the PC. Granted, I think it started out on Nintendo, went to PlayStation, and made a brief port to Nintendo again, but it’s solidly a PS franchise game. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/53 "2006-09-28T17:14:06Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] I don’t understand what would possibly motivate someone to buy a PS3 when a low end PC will play all the same games (okay, they’ll be released three months later) at the same price. [/QUOTE] This is sort of silly. Several reasons, just off the top of my head and in no particular order. 1. RPGs: if you’re seriously interested in new console RPGs, the PS2 was your only real choice last generation and the PS3 is likely to be your only real choice in this one. PCs aren’t a choice at all. 2. Most (if not all) of the games that you could “play on a low end PC” will run a lot better on the dedicated gaming machine that is the PS3; additionally, three years from now, games released on both PC and PS3 may not play at all on that old/cheap PC, but will be playing even better on the PS3 as developers are using the power of the system better. 3. Another big part of the PS3’s market will be sports games, which generally work better with controllers, and for which the ability to plug multiple controllers into the system, sit on the couch in front of your TV, and playing it with friends is a major point of importance. 4. Many long-time console gamers have no interest in PC gaming whatsoever. There are large market segments where playing Madden in franchise mode on your PS2 is awesome, but playing an online computer game makes you a social outcast. There are more that just find playing games in their nice comfortable recliner a much more relaxing experience than playing them in the desk chair they’re already working in 8+ hours a day. 5. The Japanese market, which is huge for Sony, tends to be much higher on console gaming and lower on PC gaming than the US market. 6. A lot of the games really ARE console-exclusive. 7. The ability to play Blu-Ray DVDs. Alright, I’m kidding here, this whole Blu-Ray thing is insane 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/54 "2006-09-28T17:52:12Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. RPGs: if you’re seriously interested in new console RPGs, the PS2 was your only real choice last generation and the PS3 is likely to be your only real choice in this one. PCs aren’t a choice at all. That’s not true at all. There’s a very broad dichotemy between what Japanese developers considder “an RPG” and what American developers considdered “an RPG”. If you like the American flavor then your only choice is the PC. And there’s piles of games that are PC exclusive as well, so exclusivity isn’t really something to push a person one way or the other. If someone would rather stick to their PC (or build a fairly decent gaming system for their $600) then there’s plenty of games out there for them. PC’s are the only platform that anyone with one can make games for them so there will always be games for the PC. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/55 "2006-09-28T21:09:13Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] I predict the Xbox & PS3 will eventually out-sell the Wii. It’s not a big surprise to me. We live in a culture dominated by the hard-core gamers and they have no use for the rest of us casual gamers. Go to one of the video game message boards and complain about how you’re a casual gamer and [whatever] game was a little too hard. You’ll get flamed right off the board. [/QUOTE] Actually, the vast, and I mean _vast_, majority of video game sales are family/children’s titles. The “hard-core” gamer is a minority in the marketplace. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/56 "2006-09-28T21:45:21Z")
[QUOTE=Just Some Guy] That’s not true at all. There’s a very broad dichotemy between what Japanese developers considder “an RPG” and what American developers considdered “an RPG”. If you like the American flavor then your only choice is the PC. And there’s piles of games that are PC exclusive as well, so exclusivity isn’t really something to push a person one way or the other. If someone would rather stick to their PC (or build a fairly decent gaming system for their $600) then there’s plenty of games out there for them. PC’s are the only platform that anyone with one can make games for them so there will always be games for the PC. [/QUOTE] Part one: Note that I said “console RPGs”. I’m fully aware of the difference between the two types (as well as the fact that there has been approximately one worthwhile PC RPG release - true RPG, not action-RPG or RPG-RTS or etc etc - that wasn’t MMO in the past few years, and you ain’t playin’ Oblivion at decent settings on no $600 system - thank god NWN2 is coming out soon).\* Part two: By reason of disclosure, I’m primarily a PC gamer, and my non-PC gaming is dominated by handhelds (GBA and DS) with a small little section of time set aside for PS1-and-earlier consoles. Mostly, the point of that post was to point out a number of reasons why “Buy a PS3” and “Buy a PC” aren’t particularly comparable, more than to espouse one or the other. Particularly, to note that a statement such as “There’s no reason to buy a PS3 instead of buying a cheap PC!” is patently silly, because there are worlds of difference between the two, and the reasonings involved. \*that was a super-awesome run-on parenthetical sentence! ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/57 "2006-09-28T22:57:30Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Actually, the vast, and I mean _vast_, majority of video game sales are family/children’s titles. The “hard-core” gamer is a minority in the marketplace. [/QUOTE] Tangentally related, sales of Nintendo DS titles and consoles have been consistently stomping over Sony PSP titles and consoles for months now in Japan. All the hardcore gaming and multimedia powers of the PSP can’t compare to a legion of tykes and moms playing _Nintendogs, Big Brain Academy,_ and – the latest sensation – a voice-commanded digital cookbook. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/58 "2006-09-29T00:28:37Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Actually, the vast, and I mean _vast_, majority of video game sales are family/children’s titles. The “hard-core” gamer is a minority in the marketplace. [/QUOTE] As can be seen by the popularity of Star Wars Legos in another thread on this forum! ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/59 "2006-09-29T01:31:57Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Actually, the vast, and I mean _vast_, majority of video game sales are family/children’s titles. The “hard-core” gamer is a minority in the marketplace. [/QUOTE] In terms of sales, I’m sure you’re right. There really aren’t that many franchises like Mario or Zelda, though. Why does Nintendo always come in no. 3 among the consoles? ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882/60 "2006-09-29T02:31:56Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] In terms of sales, I’m sure you’re right. There really aren’t that many franchises like Mario or Zelda, though. Why does Nintendo always come in no. 3 among the consoles? [/QUOTE] I’m not sure what you mean. This past generation was the first time there even were three. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wii-vs-ps3/373882.md?page=4)