The Playstation 3 from Sony Computer Entertainment and the Wii (pronounced “we”) from Nintendo are competing, “7th generation”, video game consoles that were released, in close proximity to one another, in late 2006 and early 2007. The Playstation 3, unsurprisingly, succeeded the Playstation 2, but was the first Blu-ray 2.0 compliant player on the market and introduced the so-called “Playstation Network”, which allows system software, games and media to be downloaded from the Internet.
The Nintendo Wii, on the other hand, succeeded the Nintendo GameCube and focused on unique, innovative game play rather than graphic capability – although it, too, featured the “WiiConnect24″ Internet service – and was aimed at casual, rather than hardcore, games enthusiasts.
Playstation 3 & Nintendo Wii Features
The most innovative feature of either console is the wireless “Wii Remote” control system. This essentially involves two separate devices, a traditional NES (”Nintendo Entertainment System”) gamepad, and a new, “Nunchuck” controller, which provides additional functionality. The remote control unit can detect motion in three dimensions, and be swung as a bat, racquet or golf club, for example, to add a dimension of movement to games such as the “Wii Sports” compilation, which is included with the console itself. This level of freedom of movement is likely to be appealing to children and adults alike, although perhaps less so to video gamers of a more conventional nature.
Critics of the Nintendo Wii suggest that the remote control is just a gimmick, the novelty of which may soon wear off in the face of high performance consoles such as the Playstation 3. The controller also presents problems for 3rd party software vendors, because of its unique design, and Nintendo has tended to highlight its own games and been weak in its support of 3rd party titles.
The Playstation 3, on the other hand, relies on superior technology – a powerful, multicore, Cell processor, an RSX (”Reality Synthesiser”) graphics chip from NVIDIA, and a maximum resolution of 1080p (in the 60GB version) – as its unique selling point. Initially, the availability of Blu-ray games for the Playstation 3 was a problem – indeed, full compatibility with Playstation and Playstation 2 games is still lacking in the European version of the Playstation 3 – but the advent of games such as “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots” means that the console is catching up, in terms of popularity. The Playstation 3 also features a wireless, motion-sensitive, controller – known as the “SixAxis” – but this lacks the force feedback, or “rumble”, feature available on the Nintendo Wii.
If you are considering buying wireless speakers for a Playstation 3, or Nintendo Wii, console, some manufacturers are now producing models that mimic the colour, and finish, or either console, so that they look good as well as providing an immersive gaming experience.
In summary, your choice of Playstation 3 or Nintendo Wii essentially boils down to your gaming habits and, of course, your budget. For casual, family oriented gaming the Nintendo Wii is likely to prove a cost-effective solution, whereas for high performance, graphically rich gaming the Playstation 3 is an altogether better solution, albeit it at a fairly hefty premium in terms of price.
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8 responses so far ↓
1 Cruiz Dwyer // Jul 5, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I personally find the ps3 a more viable option.
It might be expensive, but with its free online service, and firmware updates, the number of things the ps3 can do has been ever so increased.
Its price tag might have seemed hefty at launch, but now, that such items as avi and wmv playback, surround sound 7.1 support, the PS3 is more worth its price.
As for the wii, its a nice system but it bores me whenever i play a game.
2 Hiltz // Jul 5, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Seriously, this article is pointless.
What does it have to do with answering which console is more popular ? All it does is give a run down of the basic features of both consoles.
In terms of success and popularity, it is clear that the Wii is the winner.
I feel that Nintendo has been successful because while they focused on making a less powerful system than the PS3 and Xbox 360, it’s main feature became its unique and innovative controllers that were designed to help attract new gamers to the industry and provide a refreshing new way to play games via motion control and IR pointing that was not possible before. In addition, Nintendo managed to hit the nail right on the head by making the Wii the least expensive console and forming a proper marketing strategy to get the Wii to become a mainstream product, releasing several highly anticipated first-party titles early on during the Wii’s life cycle and including Wii Sports with the Wii console itself which perfectly demonstrated the intuitive capabilities of the Wii controls and also help to promote the popularity of the Mii channel which kind of became a cultural phenomenon.
In all honesty, even if the Wii is gimmicky and seen as a novelty, for all we know, it may have a longer life span than the GameCube. Besides, it doesn’t really matter as far as Nintendo is concerned because they’ve already broken so many records with the Wii and its already outsold both the 360 and PS3 and even managed to surpass both the GameCube and the original Xbox’s lifetime sales in less than two year period. In addition, the Wii controls have proven themselves to be worthwhile since they are capable of enhancing and immersiving the gameplay experience for parts of the gameplay experience in some games. Of course, the Wii controls are not ideal for certain genres such as fighting games where motion control ruins things by replacing skill with luck and resorting to mindless waggle controls has been a very poor design decision on part of lazy developers and cheap publishers who wish to flood the market with a ton of shovelware.On the bright side, I still feel that the Wii controls have untapped potential just waiting to be implemented in future games and we are seeing that more developers have expressed their interest in wanting to make Wii titles and take advantage of both the Wii’s graphical and controller capabilities.
3 diaz // Jul 5, 2008 at 8:47 pm
The problem with the wii is that most, if not all, of its most popular titles are all first party. There isn’t must third-party support for the wii. I see the wii as a party console or casual console. If you’re the only person around playing a wii, it can get boring fairly quick. The online also has a lot of issues with lag where games like brawl or mario kart are unplayable. The PS3 has a stable network and strong third party support. It just seems that in the long run the wii won’t be able to keep the momentum that it has going. Yes, it may still be selling out everywhere, but I just don’t see it being able to last another 3-4 years in its present states. The PS3 is set for the long run and if the sales remain constant as they are, it may eventually pass up the wii.
Also, there’s no point in responding to this and pointing out stuff that may be wrong because i won’t care and i know anyone else won’t care what i have written because it’s just a persons opinion on the internet.
4 muffman // Jul 5, 2008 at 10:53 pm
this is stupid
the best way to know the popularity of a product is through sales and we all know who is winning the popularity “contest”
5 Hiltz // Jul 6, 2008 at 1:34 am
Actually, third-party support on the Wii is quite strong. The problem is the quality of the games and I’m not just referring to the graphics. Fortunatly, it seems that we can look forward to a handful of more quality third-party titles coming out later this year.
For the record, Brawl’s online has lag issues but Mario Kart’s is just fine.
The interesting thing about the Wii’s success is that it appears that it has continued to outsell the competition (except on a few ocassions) without the need of any major new titles and can still do so when it has to go up against rival platform game releases such as 360’s Halo 3 inwhich the Wii managed to hold its own with impressive sales . Other examples include Wii going up against other major rival titles such as GTA IV (which didn’t do much to boost 360 and PS3 hardware sales) and MGS4 which already seems to have lost its moment in the spotlight. Even when it does have big game releases, the Wii can still sell like hot cakes and that hasn’t changed since the day of the home console’s launch. With third-party quality games slowly improving and Nintendo ready to announce more games at E3, we’ll just have to wait and see what the future has in store for the Wii.
I’m not sure what to think of the PS3. Right now, it’s still kind of lacking killer-app titles beyond MGS4 and it’s lost exclusive rights to former franchsies such as Devil May Cry and GTA leaving only a couple of other major franchises left like Gran Turismo, God of War and Final Fantasy. It’s going to be interesting to see how well Final Fantasy software sales will impact the PS3 because if GTA and MGS4 couldn’t do it, then I don’t know what else can.
6 Bob Loblaw // Jul 6, 2008 at 4:30 am
Maximum resolution is 1080p in all SKUs, not just the 60 gb version, how does the author not know that?
7 COPYRIGHT // Jul 21, 2008 at 10:58 am
Something simply being labelled as, “more popular” does not necessarily mean that its a superior product, to one that is not as popular.
However we all know that the PS3 is a far superior product to the Wii in technical terms, regardless of its popularity.
8 Ih8dopes // Jul 21, 2008 at 4:33 pm
you ps3 idiots are f*cking ridiculous, Wii is outselling it about 3 to 1, just like Sony morons to look at something clear as crystal and say the exact opposite expecting your drones to believe it.
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