Thursday, September 27, 2007

Console Fanboyism



First off, I'm a Wii fan, but the PC is still the ultimate game platform. Now with that out of the way, a lot of people have been getting ridiculous with their support of their favorite console.

Sony has been having a lot of problems, but their fans have been pumping their graphic/processor power everyday. It IS very powerful and will produce very impressive looking games, but will they be fun to play after the wow factor wears off? Sony fans are grasping at straws now that Wii has dominated. I understand their concern, because so many publishers have scraped PS3 projects to focus on the Wii. Great hardware is no better than a paper weight, without great software/games.

Xbox has further proved what a powerhouse Microsoft is. I love Microsoft, because of the great PC game experiences past and present (Direct X has come a long way), but man did I hate how they scooped Halo away. For those that don't know, Halo was set to come out for the PC, until Microsoft bought the exclusive rights for their X box. It was a great business move for them, but it still pains me to this day. Xbox fanatics are shocked that Wii has outsold them in such a short time (Japan sales are the biggest factor).

Halo 3's launch has released a lot of "well now we will show the Wii who's boss," discussions. Some guy from Cnet even went on some anti-Wii rant in his Halo post (Halo should be able to stand alone in the article without any mention of Wii). Any of my fellow Metroid players will know that Halo would play so much better with the Wii's control system, anyways. Xbox has done great things with Coop (I LOVE COOP ... Contra and Double Dragons nostalgia), but FPS with dual analog cannot compare with a Wiimote and definitely not compare with a mouse.

Now the Wii is the only console that could pull me away from being a strict PC fanboy. I've been spoiled with great graphics, but I need more control diversity. I love BattleField 2, but it's hard to switch from mouse/keyboard to joystick/rudders. The switch IS necessary, because flying a chopper doesn't work well with a mouse. The Wiimote makes me dream of an easy switch between fighting on foot, in a tank, in a jet, and in a helicopter. You could use the Wiimote/nunchuck to easily switch into the best control positions.

The Wii has expanded the game market to far reaches. There is gonna be a lot more money out their for game companies to compete for. Yes there is an overabundance of casual games, but think of them as training wheels for non gamers. When they are ready for the training wheels to come off, then they won't be so intimidated to play "hardcore" games. Just don't complain if someone's grandma pwns you online, one day. No way is the Wii, or it's controls, perfect, but I will continue to show support for positive innovations like the Wii. Motion controls are here to stay.

Don't take any console too seriously and remember that it's all about the games.

P.S. How great it would be to have Sony's horsepower, Microsoft's online infrastructure and Nintendo's controls, all in one super system.