Console Wars frustrate me. I myself am partial to the Wii, because
Nintendo, maybe with the exception of the Gamecube, has always granted
me with hours of enjoyable moments that I never forget. To this day I
still decide every once in a while to pick up Legend of Zelda: Ocarina
of Time and kill a few Stalfos or something. Nintendo has always tried
their best to appease the gamers who are looking for pure gameplay, for
something they can pick up and not want to put down. And for the most
part, they've succeeded in doing so. They also know how to be artistic.
The Wii is an incredible example of that, and they have created an
environment that can be enjoyed be an incredible multitude of people. I
have friends whose parents enjoy playing a game of bowling with them
every once in a while, what other system can provide you with that?

In
the area of graphics however, there is an entirely seperate war taking
place. The war of power. Xbox360 and PS3 are two incredible powerful
consoles. They both produce graphics that are unsurpassed, except only
by one another. It's an extremely interesting thing to watch take
place.  To see the amount of craftmanship and money that is put into
these games, so that they can look silky smooth, and realistic. My
brother put it this way once, "I want to play games where I can feel
like I'm part of it." I've spent hours playing Gears of War and enjoyed
it thoroughly, and I've played a PS3 before. I must admit, both systems
are extremely impressive. They take the same formula they had before,
essentially the same consoles and controllers, and add to it. They
bring an element to the table that it may be hard for the Wii to do
with it's controller. There will always be room for the "sit-down
gamer." The Wii is just ushering in a new era of gamers, who I suppose
could be referred to as the "stand-up gamer." And thus far, the Wii has
done well. Its sales are strong, and they're hard to find.

In Order of Release:

Xbox360:
When Xbox was revealed and distributed, I was a little tentaive about it. I had always thought of Microsoft as a computer and software company, not video game developers. And I must admit, when their system first came out, I wasn't very impressed. Eventually Halo, Fable, and some other very successful games were released, and the console finished the last gen war very strong. This just past year, they entered the console war earliest of the three, and made an impressive show at that. The graphics amazed millions, and had easily the best method of online gaming save maybe the PC. They had a monopoly in that market anyways, so it's not like that really matters. The controller was also much easier to handle than that of the Xbox. Now, many months after the release of the console, it is still going strong, with games like Halo 3 on the horizon, it doesn't seem to be stopping. Its sales are nearing 10 million, which is quite an impressive number.

Playstation 3:
In the last gen, Playstation was essentially dominant. This might have been due to it's astounding large library, one large enough that even the brightest of video games scholars may curl up and cry for their virtual mother. Or maybe a couple strong series' like Final Fantasy or Tekken. Either way, they excelled in the video game market then. On November 17th, 2006, the PS3 was released to the public. There was a shortage of PS3's that was both intentional and unintentional. However, they now are more widely available. The PS3 too has graphics that are undescribably amazing. However, it's $500 or $600 price tags are daunting, even for the added Blu-Ray that comes with the system. Resistance: Fall of Man was released for the PS3 as a launch game, and it proved to be quite a strong one. It is a first person shooter, that even makes use of PS3's sometimes stressed "SIXAXIS" control feature. The only thing, in my opinion that's distressing about the PS3, is that it seems as if nothing on the system was significantly changed. Is it really worth it to spend $600 on a system that only upgrades the graphics and gives you a DVD player with a better picture? 'Tis up to individual, I suppose.

Wii:
The Nintendo Gamecube disappointed me. It had several very good games, like Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Eternal Darkness, and Super Smash Brothers: Melee, but its third-party developers rarely succeeded in making a solid game. There was just not enough support or innovation. This changed, fortunately enough on November 19, 2006. The Wii was released. Its main feature is its motion-sensing controller that can sense a player's movements and/or where they are pointing at in relation to the television screen. A second device called the "nunchuck" is attatched to the "remote," changing the usual gaming position of your hands close together, gripping a controller. The system features several "channels," where you can create your own individual character, known as a "Mii," a weather channel, a news channel, a photo editing channel, and others. Most notibly of all, there is a channel where you can buy games from any system that Nintendo created, even some that are not. It creates an atmoshpere that is totally unique for Nintendo, and thus far, its sales show a general concensus from the population. "It's good."

In conclusion, there are two things I must say.
    One.
All three sytems are impressive. To say one system is terrible and fails to succeed in some area is to be ignorant and not observant to the world around you.
    Two, and very importantly.
This
years "Console War" is unnecessary. It's between two Scientists and an
Inventor. Two whom search to be the best, to be the most advanced and
one who simply wants to make something new and to have fun. Video games
have changed. The reason for that particular issue manages to escape me.