Sir Godfrey
Pelegrin Crucis
After having a full year head start, Microsoft's Xbox 360 has taken the lead in the next gen war. But with the release of Sony's Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii, will Microsoft's Xbox 360 be able to keep the lead or will it fall behind?
Sony PlayStation 3:
Sony's PS3 is the most expensive at $500-600, because it includes a standard hard drive, a high definition Blu-ray optical drive, HD video output, Bluetooth wireless controllers, and--in the premium version--WiFi wireless networking.
Sony is setting up the PS3 as a PC alternative. The premium model has a memory card reader for not only Sony’s own Memory Stick but also--in what must be an incredible first for the company--Compact Flash and SD memory cards, making the PS3 a digital hub for photos; with a USB keyboard and mouse and the included web browser, it can serve as a basic PC.
Sony originally announced plans to ship the PS3 with Linux pre-installed, but currently user installation of "another operating system" is only a boot option. Use of another OS isn’t currently supported by Sony, and would of course need to be specially designed to work on the PS3’s specialized Cell processor architecture.
The PS3 is also the new HD core of Sony’s modern take on the stereo system, offering 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround and true 1080p high definition video playback from prerecorded Blu-ray movies.
Microsoft Xbox 360:
Introduced last winter, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is $300-400, uses a standard DVD optical drive, and only includes a hard drive and wireless game controller in its premium version. Microsoft recently updated the 360 to provide support for full HD, 1080p video output to match the PS3.
Rather than positioning the Xbox 360 as a standalone PC alternative, Microsoft pairs it with its plans for Windows Media Center, allowing the 360 to be used as a media extender to stream music and movies from a central Media Center PC.
Microsoft has plans to offer HD movie playback both with an optional HD-DVD player in an external box, and over the web through its online Xbox Live video store.
However, the Xbox 360's optional, external HD-DVD player is $200, pushing the 360 up to the same price as the PS3. Further, the $300 core Xbox 360 systems can’t use Microsoft's online video store because they don't have the required hard drive to save downloaded movies.
Nintendo Wii:
The Wii is the least expensive of the three at $250, and includes both Bluetooth for wireless controllers and a DVD drive, but will not be able to play DVD movies. It also lacks a hard drive. Instead, the Wii focuses on physically involving games using the wireless Wii Remote paired with the accessory Nunchuk controller.
The Wii Remote uses accelerometers to sense how players swing, point, and tilt the controller, encouraging game titles to incorporate activity.
The Wii will also wirelessly connect to Nintendo's DS portable game system, using its microphone and touchscreen as inputs for Wii games.
While the Wii has no movie store, Nintendo has an online store that sells classic games from the Nintendo 64 and other previous game consoles.
Sony PlayStation 3:
Sony's PS3 is the most expensive at $500-600, because it includes a standard hard drive, a high definition Blu-ray optical drive, HD video output, Bluetooth wireless controllers, and--in the premium version--WiFi wireless networking.
Sony is setting up the PS3 as a PC alternative. The premium model has a memory card reader for not only Sony’s own Memory Stick but also--in what must be an incredible first for the company--Compact Flash and SD memory cards, making the PS3 a digital hub for photos; with a USB keyboard and mouse and the included web browser, it can serve as a basic PC.
Sony originally announced plans to ship the PS3 with Linux pre-installed, but currently user installation of "another operating system" is only a boot option. Use of another OS isn’t currently supported by Sony, and would of course need to be specially designed to work on the PS3’s specialized Cell processor architecture.
The PS3 is also the new HD core of Sony’s modern take on the stereo system, offering 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround and true 1080p high definition video playback from prerecorded Blu-ray movies.
Microsoft Xbox 360:
Introduced last winter, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is $300-400, uses a standard DVD optical drive, and only includes a hard drive and wireless game controller in its premium version. Microsoft recently updated the 360 to provide support for full HD, 1080p video output to match the PS3.
Rather than positioning the Xbox 360 as a standalone PC alternative, Microsoft pairs it with its plans for Windows Media Center, allowing the 360 to be used as a media extender to stream music and movies from a central Media Center PC.
Microsoft has plans to offer HD movie playback both with an optional HD-DVD player in an external box, and over the web through its online Xbox Live video store.
However, the Xbox 360's optional, external HD-DVD player is $200, pushing the 360 up to the same price as the PS3. Further, the $300 core Xbox 360 systems can’t use Microsoft's online video store because they don't have the required hard drive to save downloaded movies.
Nintendo Wii:
The Wii is the least expensive of the three at $250, and includes both Bluetooth for wireless controllers and a DVD drive, but will not be able to play DVD movies. It also lacks a hard drive. Instead, the Wii focuses on physically involving games using the wireless Wii Remote paired with the accessory Nunchuk controller.
The Wii Remote uses accelerometers to sense how players swing, point, and tilt the controller, encouraging game titles to incorporate activity.
The Wii will also wirelessly connect to Nintendo's DS portable game system, using its microphone and touchscreen as inputs for Wii games.
While the Wii has no movie store, Nintendo has an online store that sells classic games from the Nintendo 64 and other previous game consoles.
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