How Impressed Are You with the "Next-Gen"?

[sikkinixx]

For me, not very.

I was thinking about this today (Poli Sci class is dreadfully boring...) and aside from brief moments of this --> :D for the most part, the 'next-gen' (the current gen now I suppose) has been a whole lot of this --> :o .

I got my 360 on launch in 05 and nearly crapped myself when I went to pick it up. I nearly crapped myself when I set it up. I nearly crapped myself thrice when I fired up CoD2 on my 44" DLP. A week later, CoD2 beaten, PD0 beaten and 6 games into a Madden 06 season...it was over. A brief, 60 hours of joy when Obilvion came out then....it was over again. Dead Rising was a hint of what Next-Gen might mean. All those zombies, all those things to use, no frame rate drops, it was great! But.....64,000 zombies dead later....*sigh* Gears was supposed to respark my interest in the 360 and it did that....for about 2 weeks. Sure it looked nice, but it was very cramped, with predictable battles, repetitive gameplay, sloppy controls and a lackluster multiplayer (basically a chainsaw-fest).

Wii was marketed as the system that would change gaming. Thats why it's big name title was a ported Gamecube game :confused: The Wiimote is totally cool and it has a lot of potential but so far nothing on Wii (or that I see coming out in thenear future) NEEDS the wiimote, it won't replace a controller, its just a new option. And what happens when 360/PS3 games are pumping the polygons out? Will a control scheme keep me playing with near previous gen graphics? The VC is neat as well but XBL has been there and done that. Weather Channel? News Channel? Or I could just put it on channel 17 or channel 32 on my tv and get the stuff live with no syncing time.

Before about September I would have sold my kidney for a PS3...then they started to pull a Sony and screw things up. But hey, I still wanted one and I got one just before Christmas. While it is really cool, I'm not blown away yet... Sure it does all sort of fancy stuff, the PSP-link is cool (albeit slow) and having a cheap Blu-Ray player is badass. But nothing new with the games. In fact I have played the Motorstorm demo more than i have the retail games. Resistance is a lot of fun, but pretty vanilla. It shows hints of what 'next-gen' is with its 40 person multiplayer, zero frame rate drops with lots of action and being an overall quality game...but still nothing to rock my socks. Not to mention the PS3 has a a few little issues (not being able to use my iPod with it :mad: for example) and overall I have yet to go :eek: while playing.




I guess I am just too picky, but I much prefer playing my SNES and my Genesis and my PS2 than playing my shiny new (and expensive) systems. The gaming industry seems stuck in sequel mode, just rehashing the same crap over and over and over again. I hope that 2007 makes me feel different.



*takes a deep breath and starts playing Link to the Past for the 10000th time*

[dllavaneras]

Not enough to consider upgrading my PS2. Besides, The ONLY game I desperately want right now is going to be released for the PS2 in a month's time, so Next-Gen is not for me right now

[2nyRiggz]

Don't worry it will get better. I don't think any game of any generation made me go.....:eek:

maybe if you try new genre it will lighten it up for you...thats what I did...I only played 3rd person action/adventure and horror games now I play FPS and its gotten a little better.



Bless

[sikkinixx]

I do play pretty much everything, from Action to FPS to RPGs to Fighters to whatever.

Sadly, nothing has really made me :eek: :eek: :eek:

[pcypert]

Sorry you feel that way. I get nostalgic and play all my old games (I like to stay up sometimes and beat Super Mario World with all the levels on all three players to get the bonus screen :) ). But still enjoy the new games. I'm impressed with where things are heading honestly. There's nothing new under the sun though and games are going to be slight tweaks of things that have worked before for the most part because you don't sink millions into developing something untested these days. The world isn't very forgiving. You just make better versions of things that have come before.

Paul

[Dagless]

I was already used to the graphics the 360 was pushing out so there was no :eek: I think GoW is the only game out which my PC couldn't do. But I've never been one to be impressed by pure graphics alone.

Wii? I did smile like crazy when I played my first game on it. And as ****ing fantastic as Zelda is - I can't wait to see how the AAA Wii developed games turn out.

PS3? Well that's simply not out yet.

I'm impressed with the DS Lite too. FF3 really brought the tired and ancient gameplay to life again. Really nice game, along with MP:Hunters and Mario I've been thoroughly impressed.

[michaelltd]

For one thing, I'm very impressed with Xbox Live. It has plenty of nice features and the addition of the Gamerscore provides a friendly competition among my friends (Heh, I'm winning in my circle AND only from playing far less games than my friends).

Also, after playing Call of Duty 3 on the Wii and aiming with the Wii Remote, I really don't want to go back to a mouse or a dual analog controller. The aiming control clicked perfectly with me and really got me more involved into the game.

So I'm pretty darn happy with the "Next-Gen" when it comes to an excellent on-line service and a more intuitive way to control a game.


PS3? I'm sure it'll impress me.. eventually.

[dllavaneras]

I don't think any game of any generation made me go.....:eek:Bless

God of War made me go :eek: a couple times. I'm hoping I can get GoW II soon!

What "current-gen" games do you recommend?

[2nyRiggz]

^ SoTC, ICO, POP3, Silent Hill 2-4, Primal, The Mark Of Kri, Otogi, Okami,



Bless

[zap2]

DS lite....Tons of fun, really a top notch handheld


Wii- Holy Crap, I love this system. It just makes gaming more fun. I'm picking up game I never though I would buy because of it. Madden 07...I hated Madden on NGC/PS2/xBox.

xBox 360- Graphics are nice, but I still feel like the system lack game I'd play. I've planned on buying one for a while, and most of the game I wanted were xBox (Halo 2, Star Wars Battlefront 2) GoW is nice, but thats really the only must buy for me. And for 500 with Wi-Fi I'll need more to push me over(Halo 3 please!!) But I have to say xBox live is a very good online service, worth the price no doubt.

PS3- R:FoM is tons of fun, a great shooter but nothing not worth buying a PS3, And aside of Fall of Man, I think the PS3 has a huge lack of games. Graphics are good, but I though it was going to be a lot better then xBox 360, over all its pretty much the same, but for more money.

PSP- Very cool hardware....I mean its great, but then I look at controls...Shooters suck on it, I always though of a PSP as a PS2 to go, but the cut down controls on it make it terrible. Not to mention it lacks enough games(if the controls were better I think some PS2 port would have been better) Sony hasn't made the PSP as a stand out system IMO.


Over all I'd have to say I like "Next Gen"....Wii changed things up for me, and Nintendo still doesn't have the games I'm really ready for. xBox 360 and PS3 seem like something that could have been done with PS2/xBox just not looking as nice. NGC could have had an add on for the Wii remote, but since the Wii remote is standard more Devs are using it in better ways.

Not to mention I love VC...catching up on old school games!

[sikkinixx]

I'm not saying I have had no fun. I have had a blast playing Resistance online, and Dead Rising made for a very entertaining time but overall I just can't help but feel that so far nothing I have played for the new systems will be in my library twill be around then the next-next gen comes arond. It's not making me go "thats why I love playing games" like the older systems used to. I play a game like OoT or SoTC or FFT or Mario 64 or Fallout 2 (not for a console I know) and it holds my attention for a few play throughs. They were fresh and fun and worth my $70, but now most games are basically renters as they are usually a) quick to beat b) the same old same old with a new coat of paint and c) will be easily forgotten a few years from now.

[dllavaneras]

SoTC

That freakin' rocks! I've yet to play it like I should (without "educational stress", as in "I've got a mid term tomorrow") but the first three colossi are awesome.

[2nyRiggz]

I'm not saying I have had no fun. I have had a blast playing Resistance online, and Dead Rising made for a very entertaining time but overall I just can't help but feel that so far nothing I have played for the new systems will be in my library twill be around then the next-next gen comes arond. It's not making me go "thats why I love playing games" like the older systems used to. I play a game like OoT or SoTC or FFT or Mario 64 or Fallout 2 (not for a console I know) and it holds my attention for a few play throughs. They were fresh and fun and worth my $70, but now most games are basically renters as they are usually a) quick to beat b) the same old same old with a new coat of paint and c) will be easily forgotten a few years from now.

This is why mutiplayer/online is fun and i'm glad all of the consoles have it standard now.....SoTC is a great game and sometimes I play it just to horseback ride around the beautiful world.


Bless

[JackAxe]

:rolleyes: to this thread...

[sikkinixx]

:rolleyes: to this thread...

:rolleyes: to you as well.

[rockthecasbah]

Regardless of the Wii lacking sufficient launch titles to truly optimize usage of the Wiimote, with Zelda and other games it has proven to be a solid foundation for good games to come. The lack of truly interesting games that are specific to the wii would be a flaw, but what's out there gives a great demonstration of what the system is capable of.

Sure the titles have been "meh" and the graphics a bit underwhelming in some cases, but i have found myself picking up the wiimote truly in the action. I was lost in the last gen of systems mid cycle, i just wasn't interested by the titles that came out. It was all the same gameplay, so little variation. The Wii gives me that fresh appeal of a new style to game, breathing new life into me as a gamer.

I won't comment on actually PLAYING the PS3 and XBox 360 because i haven't played either myself, but with all the hype about the machines (particularly the PS3) and seeing what they've delivered, i've yet to really be impressed. The 360 graphically has impressed me the most from pictures and video i've seen, making some truly gorgeous games, but the genre hasn't really been redefined by many titles. As for the PS3, after the veil was dropped, the mystery revealed seems to be an overpriced piece of plastic :p

[LethalWolfe]

Using a control pad to play Trauma Center would be utterly sucktastic. W/o the DS or Wii a game like Trauma Center doesn't get made.

Not that this is directly involved w/gaming, but Microsoft's handling of Xbox Live is very impressive. The game related content (demo's, additional content, etc.,) are obvious uses, but the HD movie downloads and IPTV capabilities are pretty interesting and the long talked about "computer as the center of your living room" concept is finally becoming a reality in the main stream.

I guess I'm not too disappointed by the current state of things because I didn't have unrealistically high hopes to begin with, and the fact that the Wii and PS3 are just out and pretty much every console is weakest at it's launch.


Lethal

[ricgnzlzcr]

I think these next gen systems aren't living up to some people because of the lack of games. Really what happened is that they're comparing the library of a 6 year old console to one that is 3 months old which is really unfair. My roommate bought a 360 this month and I haven't touched it. The graphics look nice but nothing spectacular for me yet (I hate shooters. Come on Winning Eleven). PS3 has absolutely nothing that I'd want and doesn't have anything on its release list that peaks my interest. I did buy a wii in November and it has been amazing. I think the reason is that I live in a 4 person townhouse in college and we're all competitive for our scores in wii bowling and our fitness age. We all get together to compete and it's just tons of fun. I bought WarioWare today and we all were laughing at how ridiculous it is. Overall it's been the best bang for our buck in terms of next-gen systems. Obviously nothing is going to beat our ps2 right now, but maybe in 3-4 years there will be a wealth of titles.

Also, I have a DS lite and it is the most amazing system in the world to me. If I had to pick one gaming system ever it would be this little sucker. Then again I prefer to play wherever I want and the DS has definitely got deeper games then the 8-bit gameboys did (apart from the Zelda's. God I love those).

[bmb012]

Well, I thought Elebits (or at least, what I've played of it already) was really fun, even where you can't break things or make noise, and certainly couldn't be done on many other systems (well maybe computer, but then it just wouldn't be any fun...)

I'm waiting for a first person shooter with a physics and puzzle system like Elebits, that would be insane.

[blaster_boy]

I'm jealous of all of you - all that free time to play games. I had to cut down on spending so much time with games when the wife and then the kids arrived. But that was good too, they showed me there's other stuff than just gaming.

@sikkinixx : maybe you just have too much free time on your hands and need to do something else while the new games arrive? No insult or sarcasm intended/meant.

I've got a Wii though, and I play Zelda:TP sometimes at night when it's quiet in the house. But I always start with a spot of Wii:Sports, especially the boxing is nice. Crap graphics, but fun to play with the family.

Really, for an semi-old geezer (almost 39!) like me the graphics are 'more than good enough'. And most of the good graphical stuff in new games (for now) you can still buy the pc version for.

[blad3z]

Well..guess if you own a 360...you can wait for halo 3 to go :eek: all u like :p then again...you may not be so easily pleased...i think its really based upon the person themselves and what they define what a 'next gen' console shuld be,look like and produce. For some and well i guess for me...my 360 shows some beautiful graphics compared to the old one..and well since i dont get so much game play time..when i do play i enjoy...playing a game straight out will make it boring no doubt. so.. i dunno. just my 2cents to this. :)

[Piarco]

I love my 360. I never though that a console would completely replace my PC gaming, but it pretty much has. The XBL experience is so much better than any multiplayer experience I ever had on a PC. I will play some games through Boot Camp in the future (the next Half Life for example) but my 360 will see me through for everything else.

Not strickly next gen, more new model, my Wii is great in the lounge as a social console. Had 8 people around last night, and all loved the Wii. Brilliant for what its targetted to do, but can't see me putting in the hours on single players on the Wii. For me, its a fantastic second console...

[islandman]

I have a 360 and it blows me away every time I play it. I can sit there for hours playing it. I play GRAW, CoD, and NCAA Football 2007 mostly, and I just can't get enough.

[MacRumorUser]

I love my 360. I never though that a console would completely replace my PC gaming, but it pretty much has. The XBL experience is so much better than any multiplayer experience I ever had on a PC. I will play some games through Boot Camp in the future (the next Half Life for example) but my 360 will see me through for everything else.

Not strickly next gen, more new model, my Wii is great in the lounge as a social console. Had 8 people around last night, and all loved the Wii. Brilliant for what its targetted to do, but can't see me putting in the hours on single players on the Wii. For me, its a fantastic second console...

Concur. I've practically stopped gming on my pc altogether. Only now and again do I boot up bootcamp to play my Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 (love it), but yeah I'm 100% happy with my 360.

360 Live is great, love the dash and menus. Love marketplace. Love my HD-DVD player.

I like my wii too (more so than I thought). Yes so far I've been dissapointed with some of the single player games on it, but Wi Sports, Monkeyball, Wario have kept me happy etc.

I will be getting a PS3, and I'm sure I'll be happy too.

As long as I can play the games I want to play I'll remain happy. :D

[savar]

I think you should try Gears multiplayer again. I've had a blast playing it, and I certainly don't think its too simple or one-dimensional. The chainsaw turns out to be pretty ineffective since everybody starts with a shotgun, and on the bigger maps taking cover and using long range weapons effectively while flanking and maintaining proper spacing become key.

The gameplay mechanics are different from most other games (my other favorite is Halo/Halo 2), and that's been hard to get used to. But I think the game is a blast, and I love playing with friends and coworkers because its so unpredictable, and wonderfully gory.

[aj98]

(I hate shooters. Come on Winning Eleven).


In general, I agree, *but* it may be case of finding the 'right' shooter. That is, most of the shooter type games don't interest me, but b/c I like WWII history (and own several of the weapons used), thus can vouch for the 'realism,' as far as look and sound goes, I found Brothers in Arms and Call to Duty both to be rather enjoyable.

PS3 has absolutely nothing that I'd want and doesn't have anything on its release list that peaks my interest.

I thought that too, but ended up with a 60 gb none the less. Games aside (I did get Call To Duty 3), I didn't care about some of the other 'features' of the system...like memory card slots.

Then I did an extended photo session with my digital camera. The ease of simply inserting the memory card and pressing a button to get an automated slide show is much more convenient than finding the cable for my camera, attaching to the TV, and manually running the show through the camera.

or the wireless connection. But it's a lot more convenient than disconnecting and carrying the box upstairs to update.

And of course, the low priced BD player didn't hurt :)

[Haoshiro]

I think I've been pretty realistic about his "Next-Gen" from the start.

I mean let's be honest, the systems are just hardware, hardware that is more powerful then the last generation.

So to that end, the systems have impressed me, moreso then upgrading my PC used to, even though that's pretty much the same thing.

As for the games, Oblivion is impressive on many levels. GoW is also impressive, partially because we hadn't seen the 360 hardware pushed like that yet. Mass Effect looks impressive, such a huge scale.

Next-Gen (ie: more powerful hardware) has proven to be, well, more powerful. That doesn't really mean the games have changed that much, but they are gradually evolving and there has been plenty for me to enjoy.

[gkarris]

What is "Next-Gen?"

goes back to playing Atari 2600 "Asteroids"...

[Dagless]

What is "Next-Gen?"

goes back to playing Atari 2600 "Asteroids"...

Hear hear!

Goes back to playing R-Type on Virtual Console... :D

[wwooden]

I think we all expect to be "Wow"d everytime. Games are built up with so much hype now that once we get them, we expect them to be the game of all games and that is just not realistic.

I have really enjoyed my 360. So many things about the now current generation we take for granted such as having wireless controllers or Wi-fi built in. I know that when I first got my 360, the dashboard really blew me away. I thought it was really well organized and there was a ton of stuff you could do such as downloading arcade games or demos or connecting it to your computer. My 360 really has become my media hub in my living room, I watch all my movies on it, including HD movies, it's my only DVD player there. And with Connect360, I can have most of my music and photos on my tv whenever I want. We use the music feature a lot when people come over.

I have a harder time getting wow'd with games now though. The few I can think of with the 360 are Fight Night 3, Gears of War, Dead Rising, Oblivion. Some I get wow'd by the visuals, some by the depth of the game. I will admit that I build up games and get excited to play them and they usually don't live up to the excitement I gave them. I think it's the games that I wasn't too sure about that I have really had a great time playing. Dead Rising and Viva Pinata are two I can think of that I was a little iffy about but have become 2 of my favorite games that I still continue to play because there is so muc to them.

I haven't found an online shooter that consumed me as much as Halo 2. I love the party setup and the matchmaking in it. I was really hoping Gears would bring be back to online playing, but it didn't deliver the depth I was hoping for.

[zero2dash]

I think "next gen" is an often tossed around word that needs to...well, get tossed in the trash. :)

I don't really think anything can go as "next gen" anymore, at least in one area or another. I think "next gen" is the whole experience and integration into one complete system. Games, online features, marketplace, graphics, sound, fun. I'm not saying this to shill my love for my 360, but it's true. I think the 360 offers everything (at least everything I could want), so, for me - the 360 is the total package and I'm thrilled with the system.

I didn't buy a 360 with the intent purpose of getting a graphically superior system; I'm more of a "dig below the surface to find the substance" type of gamer. Maybe that's why I'm not sold whatsoever on the Ps3. (But that's another discussion that's already been beaten to death ten times over.)

[jdechko]

I'm fairly impressed. I love Zelda and there are several games I can't wait to try out on the Wii. My wife: she's definitely impressed. She constantly plays Tennis. Also, she couldn't care less about the graphics of the Wii, as she's still pure in the ways of video games (in her mind, graphics simply don't even enter the equation).

Like you said, though, sikkinixx, a lot of it seems like rehashes of old games with updated graphics (360 and PS3) and other than the controls, the Wii feels last-gen. I'm not a game designer, though (probably a good thing), but I really can't tell you where the game industry is going as far as IP. The Wii (a la the DS) has come up with a ton of new ways of play, but most of it feels gimmicky. But then, we're so used to the old style of play that the controls can't help it.

[Dagless]

Just got 2 more :eek: 's from Zelda. In white *spoilers*

The cutscene after the 3rd dungeon, when Zant's mouth mask pops down. And the bit where you get the Master Sword. Had a semi :eek: when sailing down the rapids for the first time.

[risc]

My 360 amazes me everytime I play a great game on it. Unfortunately other than Wii Sports I'm completely underwhelmed by the Wii. For me the Wii is the console with the most promise but the games really are letting the system down.

[2nyRiggz]

The 360 got some real good games...when I first played R6: vegas I was like "damn" GOW...."mehh" R:FoM..."ok cool" Zelda "booring" "excite truck "umm ok"

I'm wainting on Silent Hill 5..then its :eek:



Bless

[displaced]

I got a Wii back on the UK launch in November, and just got myself a 360 this week.

I absolutely love the Wii. I find myself grabbing quick games of Wii Tennis between TV shows, or a sneaky few goes in Training mode while dinner cooks. I'm really enjoying Red Steel, and I think Need For Speed: Carbon is absolutely phenomenal using the Wiimote as a steering wheel.

The Wii's really surprised me - even the 'mature' games for which Ninty aren't known for - have turned out great (IMHO).

The 360's taking a little longer for me to get into. The graphics and production-quality of the games are absolutely astounding. I'm loving Xbox Live, although I'm repeatedly getting my ass handed to me in GoW. But I'm having fewer 'break-into-a-silly-grin, zomg-this-is-fun' moments than I've been enjoying with the Wii.

I really don't think the Wiimote is a gimmick. I played the demo of PGR that shipped with my 360 and was rather disappointed. Playing NFS:Carbon on the Wii is simply the most engrossing arcade-style racing game I've played.

Also, I'm not sure what the raving about the 360's dashboard is about. It's very slick, but it's clunky. I've got two Macs running Connect360 to share my iPhoto and iTunes libraries to the 360. Compared to Front Row, the 360's a pain in the neck. It seems to only be able to connect to one machine at a time. Instead of showing me a list of available machines and letting me browse each, it lets me choose one. If I want to connect to the other, I've got to go into the System tab, disconnect, and reconnect to the other. Annoying :)

Blimey - reading back this post to myself looks like I'm really hating the 360. I promise I'm not! I need to get a wider range of games for it certainly, and it's a phenomenal machine. However, I find I've got to be in the right mood to go for a bit of 360 goodness, whereas I'll pick up the Wiimote at least once a day.

The 'next-gen' tag is 70% hype. The 360 is pretty much 'all the games you've already played, but shinier'... which, depending on the game, is still certainly reason enough to own one - added realism can be truly engrossing sometimes. The Wii is something a bit special - so much fun!

(off to get killed some more in GoW :))

[pgc6000]

I agree with the 360 posts...system is great, really sets console gaming to a whole new level. Haven't played a game on PC in awhile now.

I agree with the Wii posts to. System is great for gatherings and fun party stuff, but not really the system you sit down and do some quality gaming with, which is what I'm after for the most part (I dont do that much hardcore gaming in general, so I like the gaming I actually do to be worth it :p )

[Dagless]

I agree with the Wii posts to. System is great for gatherings and fun party stuff, but not really the system you sit down and do some quality gaming with, which is what I'm after for the most part (I dont do that much hardcore gaming in general, so I like the gaming I actually do to be worth it :p )

I genuinely thought that at first. But then the hours started clocking up in Zelda. I'm 22 hours in now and cannot find enough hours in the day for this and life.
Then I got hooked on raising my score in Wii Sports :D solo like. Did take it's sweet time getting there though.

[ddrueckhammer]

I genuinely thought that at first. But then the hours started clocking up in Zelda. I'm 22 hours in now and cannot find enough hours in the day for this and life.
Then I got hooked on raising my score in Wii Sports :D solo like. Did take it's sweet time getting there though.

I totally agree...games like Wii Sports, Wario Ware, Rayman, Excite Truck, and Madden may be great for multiplayer fun but Zelda is an immersive 1 player experience. The Wii shouldn't be categorized as a "Party Machine" only. Games like Metroid, Disaster Day of Crisis, Sadness, Resident Evil, Mario Galaxy, and Fire Emblem all look like they could have great 1 player immersive experieces...they just aren't out yet...

[nickster9224]

Im really impresed with my 360 and i havent even found a component tv to hook it up to yet.

[JackAxe]

That whole point that the Wii isn't a single player console is nothing more than fud. Certailnly people aren't this stupid to believe something so ludicrous... That's like saying the DS isn't good for single play.

My Wii is single player 90% of the time and is being customized for things I like. My experience is similar to raggedjimmi's experience with the Wii. I've been gaming longer than some of you have been alive and Nintendo is one of the few publisher/developers that has consistently produces quality games.

And the Wii definately gets the most kudos' points for party games, it's second to none in this category. So excuse Nintendo for making a successful cosole that fills the needs of the many, instead of the few.

<]=)

[pcypert]

I have good party game times with my 360...just depends on what your party game needs are :) . Nothing like a big multi player FPS in HD on my friend's HD Projector at 100 inches.

[Spartacus]

I just wrote a post about Call of Duty 3's great ability to immerse me in a game, and I got to thinking about the importance of graphics. I only own a 360, and find myself not really being able to tolerate the lower quality of last generation graphics because I think we are finally getting to the level of graphical quality where our minds start to forgive the ever-lessoning differences between actual reality and the virtual reality emulated in games. Once I experienced that immersion, I realized how important graphics are to the gaming experience when the gamer is looking to lose themselves in their experience.

Yes, the Wii is great and super fun, but so is playing cards or chess - I don't intend to make great graphics a prerequisite for fun, but rather, the graphical power in the 360 and (eventually) the PS3 is very valuable to achieving one of the fundamental goals of gaming: a full, enjoyable, immersive expereince. In that sense, the 'next/current gen' platforms have made a grand leap forward.

[michaelltd]

Immersion can be given to the Wii as well, but in a different sense.

I shall also use Call of Duty 3 as my example. The Wii version's aiming control really brought me into the game. I felt much better control over my weapon than I've ever had in an FPS game. The ability to quickly and easily target an enemy anywhere on the screen in an instant without even having to center him on the screen feels excellent and thus really immerses me into the action.

[Dagless]

Immersion can be given to the Wii as well, but in a different sense.

I shall also use Call of Duty 3 as my example. The Wii version's aiming control really brought me into the game. I felt much better control over my weapon than I've ever had in an FPS game. The ability to quickly and easily target an enemy anywhere on the screen in an instant without even having to center him on the screen feels excellent and thus really immerses me into the action.

The Wii uses augmented reality to immerse the player. Whilst playing Wii Sports tennis last night I completely zoned out like I do when playing real tennis, merely seeing the ball and characters in some kind of abstract block form. sorta like Pong really!
The only time I feel graphics immerse me is during cutscenes.
I compare the 2 to watching a horror film at different ages. When I was a kid I'd be petrified and have to force my eyes off the screen to remind myself it isn't real. Nowadays I just rolleyes at bad effects and cliched story lines. Still watch them, but not nearly as engrossed.

I have good party game times with my 360...just depends on what your party game needs are :) . Nothing like a big multi player FPS in HD on my friend's HD Projector at 100 inches.

Oh absolutely! We've only had 1 so far, but all my mates from college came round and we played a massive 15 player Halo match on our Xboxs. Was magical. Then when certain people got bored one TV got a Cube plugged into it for Smash Bros Melee tournaments. But Halo was brilliant. I don't know how we'd fair now since all becoming PC FPS players. Sidewinder. if only there was a game clock on Halo :o

[jdechko]

I'd just like to comment on this end of things. Yeah, the Wii doesn't have the pretty graphics that the other 2 consoles have, but here's how I see it.

Changing control schemes dramatically (such as what Nintendo has done) requires a huge leap of faith not only from the company's visionaries (Iwata & Miyamoto) but also the employees, the shareholders and the fanbase. Many could have (and some probably did) jump ship after the radical redesign of the controls were revealed. Some also jumped ship after seeing that the Wii would not be HD and/or wouldn't have DVD playback capabilities or freakin' lasers attached to it.

The point is, MS and Sony had a lot to lose: Sony with it's runaway market share off of the PS2 and MS after getting into the market and posting a $4bn loss over the life of the XBox 1. They'd already set their course to have the fastest, most powerful machine they could build. Nintendo, though, had little to lose and a lot to gain. After dominating the console market for years, they were in last place, not by much, but still enough that they couldn't afford to "directly" compete in the market. If Nintendo had produced the Wiimote/HD/DVD machine that we all wanted and it had failed (due to the control scheme or something else) then Nintendo possibly would have had to (a) focus completely on the handhelds, (b) sell itself off to one of the two competitors or (c) continue on as solely a software company (ala Sega).

Now I said all of that to say this. From the way things are looking, Nintendo's come up with a wonderful control scheme and they're gonna print money with the Wii the same way they're printing money with the DS. So my prediction is that the Wii 2 will almost assuredly be an HD console as a few things will have changed. 1) The HD market will have enlarged in 5 years to the point where adoption is much higher than it is today. 2) The HD technology will have increased to the point where a) the components have come down in cost and b) the components have come down in size.

Adding more horsepower to a machine seems like the easy part to me. Something MS, Sony and Nintendo can easily do if/when they want to. Changing a control scheme is a much higher risk and as the revenue of the market grows the companies will be less likely to take those risks for fear of losing ground and losing revenue. But by changing the controls at this point, Nintendo has taken a smaller risk and can easily catch up power-wise in 5 years, whereas MS and/or Sony will have to take a bigger risk if they decide to go that route.

[displaced]

I agree with the 360 posts...system is great, really sets console gaming to a whole new level. Haven't played a game on PC in awhile now.

I agree with the Wii posts to. System is great for gatherings and fun party stuff, but not really the system you sit down and do some quality gaming with, which is what I'm after for the most part (I dont do that much hardcore gaming in general, so I like the gaming I actually do to be worth it :p )

I've got to friendlily disagree :D

I think that Nintendo have exposed something rather important in the gaming demographic. Gamers aren't a homogenous group where 'hardcore' gaming means the same thing for everyone. Neither is it a bipartisan group of hardcore versus casual (which is a trap I think many people fall into during these discussions). Would someone who's turned Pro in all the Wii Sports games be classed as casual? Not really - that's a heck of a lot of gaming! Is 'quality' gaming limited to the Gears Of War-type experience, or is the quality of the experience defined by how much each gamer enjoys each game?

How about when I sat at an IBM 286 PC for hours on end back in the 80's playing Adventure (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_Cave_Adventure)? That felt pretty hardcore at the time!

The Wii is certainly not just a party gaming system. The single-player challenges games such as Wii Sports present can be just as obsessing as any slick experience on the 360.

Lastly, on the subject of first-person shooters (usually the very definition of hard-core). Perhaps the reason that they're heading towards more and more realism to differentiate themselves from each other is basically because they're really all basically the same game. (ooo, the controversy!) The actual gameplay is essentially the same, just with a different setting, storyline and a bit of 'control-candy' (GoW's 'roadie run', GRAW's squad movements, etc.) Now, that's merely an observation, not a criticism. I love playing FPS's, and it's always great to have as realistic an experience as possible in these games. But they really are variations on a theme.

Hardcore gaming means different things to different people, and what qualifies as 'worth it' crosses boundaries of what seem to be lumped together as 'hardcore' and 'casual' -- indeed, there's plenty of people who get pretty hardcore about many different kinds of games :)