is the xbox 360 a good system?

Well you shouldn't listen to other people and get it based on your own thoughts. I think you should get it then if you don't like it return it. Don't waste your time thinking if you should get it or not, Just get it and find out if you like it.

all my local stores are STILL sold out of Wii

I'm not sure that really means anything these days. Supply and demand can easily be fixed; the manufacturer just releases enough to cause this demand and ta-da! It looks like they're selling like hotcakes! This in itself generates a buzz and more interest... which creates more of a demand.

But getting back to the topic of whether the xbox is worth a purchase... I think the only thing this thread proves is that it's all an individual matter. It depends on what you're looking for and what you want out of a game system. What someone likes about the product might turn out to be something that you hate about it and vice versa.

I just find it incredibly hard to believe that over a year and a half after it has been released, they've still had trouble increasing production (since they did apparently increase their workforce to meet the demands.) It just smells entirely too fishy as very few other products ever have this problem.

At any rate... off topic.

The Wii is called a fad console because it cannot compete with the Xbox or PS3 in terms of raw computing power. Without the wiimote, it wouldn't have sold nearly as many units. Also take into account the fact that it is much cheaper and aimed at the less serious gamer and you can imagine that it becomes quite an appealing impulse buy that then has to rely on making the most out of the interactive controller element - or else!

We had a Wii in our university house and it was great for ritualistic humiliation of our friends and each other in regards to unhealthy we were, but we were soon reaching for the Halo multiplayer option once the novelty had worn thin. I have nothing against the Wii, but sales don't refute the claims that it is a gimmicky console. It has the back catalogue of previous generation gaming consoles - emulator style - for example. Neat feature, but one that probably enhances the sales figures even more, as well as its drastically cheaper price. In fact, I think that now that Xbox has slashed prices, it is catching up in terms of sales figures.

I was talking about global sales figures, which should encompass your side of the pond too!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Console_war#Worldwide_sales_figures_6

(hey Thillian)

Hey. Any chance Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft'll sign a treaty, you think?

I'm confident that the wii will not sell as many units over the next few years as the other two consoles. The fact that it is so cheap, selling so well because of the wiimote and marketed as just a bit of fun kind of actually does make it a fad.

Well it is pretty cheap. I paid more for my Mp3 player, which I think says volumes about the 7th Gen console wars.

Sorry, I didn't read your last post.

My point about the processing power of each machine is that the Wii is starting from a position where it already offers inferior graphics compared to its main competitors. As a casual gamer I think that this is going to mean that it has a shorter shelf-life than the other two consoles. I've played all three and when playing the Xbox and PS3 I was left impressed, but after playing Wii sports and Zelda I was just thinking 'is this it'? It was hilariously entertaining in a group, but on my own I wouldn't be all that interested. I'm going to assume that programmers are going to be able to do more with the respective processing power of the PS3 and Xbox in the future, whereas the Wii will find the chopping air formula wears a little thin.

Just because you're a hardcore gamer, doesn't mean the wii isn't aimed at the casual gamers as a priority. Look at the family orientated adverts, I don't even know if there has been a Wii advert aired in the UK without a father and son bonding over the console or a family coming together over their shiny new gadget. The marketing in shopping centres was almost exclusively aimed at the very young also. You could accusing them, therefore, or offering a console to people who don't know any better?

The argument about prices is irrelevant. The Wii on launch was much cheaper than the Xbox360 and the PS3. Which makes it an appealing impulse buy. I am not even against the wii as a console, I think it's great fun, but there's no reason to take it more seriously than what it is.

I just remember a time when a computer console was the most expensive piece of electronics I would ever own. I'm pretty frugal with my spending, but I wouldn't ever have anticipated paying more for a generic music-playing implement than a games console.

On the one hand, I'm thinking of reasons why the Wii has shipped so many units off of the shelves, which was a prior POINT (Not argument) that I was making with Prelude. The reasons would be it's marketing strategy, cheap cost and gimmicky control pad. He's clearly big on the Wii and thinks it's great because it has shipped so many units SO TAKE THAT HATERZZZ

Marketing and popularity have nothing to do with longevity surely? At the moment it's cool to hate on Sony, but the PS3 is going to be around for a long time. Yeah, the Wii has sold the most units, but will the people who picked up the wii still be interested in a year or two when it comes to buying games that are probably sequels of a tried and tested formula? I DON'T believe the wii is futile, I said I enjoyed playing it, I just think it's a console to have a bit of fun with now and again - but please continue to condescend me, prelude.

I'm sorry if you hate 'hardcore gamers' which I apparently am. I can tell you it took me a lot longer to try and play FIFA 08 on the Wii than it did on the PS3. My ASSUMPTION is that the shelf life of the console will not be as long as the PS3 and Xbox360 because game developers will not push any boundaries with their new releases. Look at the Playstation 2, even after the launch of the PS3, it came out with games such as Shadow of the Colossus and Okami - both brilliant games that were released six or seven years after the console was, I don't think Wii is going to be able to do the same.

Why did you want it though?

The PSP is still kicking around despite abysmal sales figures against its competitors. The advertising campaigns for the PSP were pretty controversial as well if I recall. A product will last as long as the company wishes to push it. Nobody takes it seriously as a handheld though, I think that the Wii will move in a similar direction in the next few years.

I think the Wii sells so much at christmas because it's the cheapest console, it's marketed at a younger generation and it is actually available on the shelves! (And round and round and round...) I also think there is a difference between a series that has been developed over a number of console generations compared to a sequel that is just a few more sports games thrown into a game that is shipped with a new console.

No, I don't think so. If there are inherent restrictions on how you can make a game, you're always going to finish off with a product that didn't quite reach its potential. It's more a case of moulding the game around the interactive element than the wiimote around the game.

Okami will do well on the Wii, when I first played it that is exactly what I thought, but it isn't innovative if it has already been released on a console 2 years ago!

In relation to Okami, how many people are likely to buy it AGAIN for a new console just because you can the same things a different way? Sounds a bit odd to me.