Now that the dust from E3 has settled, many gamers having seen Sony and Nintendo’s presentations, and with Microsoft’s next-gen console already available, many are deciding what console to invest in later this year. Many are waiting until the consoles are released and games reviewed before making their final decision on which to get. But with Sony’s asking price being $600 for the console alone, the decision as to get a console or not should be made soon, because to save up the money needed it cannot be done overnight.

This Year's E3

This year's E3 is probably one of the more controversial and successful E3s to date. With Nintendo renaming their console, which caused a massive sandstorm of Wii jokes and debates across the internet days before E3 even kicked off, they arguably stole some of Sony’s thunder. But what is interesting about Nintendo is instead of taking the predictable approach and going all out and gung-ho in the graphics department, they have gone for innovation and competitive pricing. With Sony taking the high end of the market and Microsoft sitting in the middle it seems obvious there is room for an entry level console at the $200 range. Many are seeing the scenario as a decision between a 360 and PS3 as a “primary” console, and getting a Wii as a “secondary” one. So there could possibly be some sort of marketing cooperation between either Sony and Nintendo or Microsoft and Nintendo down the road somewhere.

Nintendo’s Wii

This E3 has also shown perhaps a turnaround from Nintendo. Sony has previously dominated video game generations with strong third party support and a large user base, in comparison to the other two consoles. What has caused the sudden surge in popularity of Nintendo amongst the gaming community? Many were well aware of the capabilities of the Wiimote before E3, when it was undermined as nothing more than a gimmick. This is perhaps due to Nintendo’s noticeably cheesy marketing commercials of Japanese kids over-dramatizing playing air drums and swinging air rackets. But perhaps since its initial showing, Nintendo has spent time giving the Wiimote more weight and fluidity of movement giving a more balanced feel, which is undeniably important to such a controller, along with how sensitive and responsive it is to movement. Also, seeing how the games implemented the controller gave rise to many smiles. For instance, Mario Galaxy has a seemingly intuitive feel and new look. This new controller, the relatively low price, and Nintendo’s reputation of high quality first and party games makes the Wii an attractive console.

The XBOX 360 & The Next-Gen DVD Format War

This year's E3 for Microsoft was indeed overshadowed, mainly because the 360 is already available. But in a different sense, E3 was still almost just as important, because what holds many people back from buying a 360 is lack of any truly killer games, so coverage of what is in store for XBOX could certainly give Microsoft an edge over Nintendo and Sony. Many hope Halo 3 will fill this role, as people are well aware of Bungie’s capabilities, as well as the high spec hardware the 360 offers. Mass Effect and Gears of War appear to be fighting tooth and claw for the same title.

One thing is for sure: the more consoles the beast of Redmond can sell before the PS3 comes, the better. This seems an obvious comment, but one which may be important this time next year when all early adopters having taken their pick of consoles. This could be what decides whether Sony and Microsoft split the market evenly or not. Another large, almost external factor is the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray war which will certainly effect the sales of both consoles. Especially with Sony touting its Blu-Ray capabilities as one of its sales pitches, Microsoft has put its money on HD-DVD. Many see the PS3 as the “Trojan Horse” to the success of Blu-Ray as the DVD's successor. Both formats seem strong contenders, so a likely possibility is that they will live alongside each other, and combination players will become the norm. While many bought the PS2 as a cheap DVD player, this will not be the case with the PS3, as when the PS2 was released DVD was an established format, while Blu Ray is not. I am not suggesting whether Blu-Ray will fail or succeed, but I am highlighting the fact that the scenario is not the same this time around. If Blu-Ray became the successor, Microsoft could release a Blu-Ray add-on, and thus the 360 has more flexibility than the PS3 in these waters.

Sony’s Price Pessimism

Sony’s presentation disappointed many with the announcement of the price. It is out of the standard price range, particularly for the younger generation of gamers, and many parents who were planning on giving their kids such a console as a Christmas gift. Many of Nintendo’s hardcore fans were up in arms with the announcement that Sony’s controller would have motion sensitive capabilities much like Nintendo’s Wiimote. I personally doubt Sony will see the same success Nintendo could have with this new innovation. This is simply because Sony is not putting their developers under the same pressure Nintendo is, nor are they marketing it to the same extent. And to be honest, it seems as more of a last minute come-back, rather that something they had planned on integrating into their console early. Also, the button in the middle of the PS3 does seem to pay homage to Microsoft’s controller. Other than the price, the Play Station 3 looks to deliver killer graphics and games promised months ago. With new technology, new problems will always arise, and this is no different with Sony’s new cell processor. Some doubt has been cast over the difficulty of programming for this new architecture. And this doubt didn't spawn from amateur rumors, as a well known and respected game developer John Carmack (Co-founder of id Software, makers of Quake) said in a video interview on G4, that in order for developers to take full advantage of what the PS3 offered they would have to break their code into "small nuggets," obviously meaning in Carmack’s eyes, more work will have to be put into their code.

Summary

Given Sony’s current popular fan base and exciting line up of games, it will almost certainly do very well. But will it overcome its hefty price? The 360 has a year to build up its user base with an imminent Halo 3 and Microsoft’s reputation of literally rolling and smoking the competition. But can it really compete with the Play Station 3? And with Nintendo offering the innovative revolution as promised, controller-wise, and with the big boys as launch titles (Zelda and Mario), can it really open up gaming to everyone? Or is it really just a pimped-up Gamecube ? The next generation seems a lot more even and competitive than previous generations, despite each company's hurdles. Regardless, there has never before been such choice and variety between a generation of consoles. As cliché as it sounds, only time will tell, and only Peter Punter will decide.

- Will “Dev 17” Deverell