The Next Generation War

While there will be plenty of mainstream news stories on PlayStation 3 and Wii throughout Christmas, the real battle for next generation supremacy won't kick into gear until 2007 and beyond. The $500 and $600 PS3 price tags are clearly aimed at the hardcore gamers that think nothing of spending any amount of money to be the first to own a new console. Just check Ebay.com and see what people are paying for the console, or head over to CompUSA where the only way to buy a $600 PS3 is to fork over an additional $1,800 or more for a Sony HDTV, as well.

Sony will drop the price of its console next year, and will continue to do so over the coming years. That $130 PS2 you can buy today launched at $300 six years ago. Prices will come down for Microsoft's Xbox 360 as well, which currently sells for $300 and $400. This is where Nintendo will have the clear advantage in 2007, because it's starting at $250 off the bat. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, which lose money on each piece of hardware they sell; Nintendo has streamlined its box. It's not losing a boatload of money at $250 and this will allow it to reduce the price next year when the price is right. Factor in the free game that comes with Wii and you already have a bargain--as long as you can find one of these devices.

One that that was established with the current generation war is that there's room in the market for three competitors. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo aren't going anywhere. That means gamers will have three choices for next generation consoles and beyond. The hardcore gamer's going to buy all three consoles. When you factor in the price points, mainstream gamers who already have an Xbox 360 can pick up a Wii and a seven games for just the price of a PS3 system.

People are always asking me which system is better: PS3 or Xbox 360. Well, today, it's Xbox 360. Microsoft has 160 next gen games out now, including must-haves like "Gears of War" and games for the whole family like "Viva Pinata." Beginning November 22, you'll be able to buy TV shows on Xbox Live Marketplace and download HD movies for rental through your game box. And HD games, HD-DVD movies (if you pick up the $200 add-on) and HD content via Xbox Live all look awesome through Xbox 360. So this is a safe system to buy, especially considering the three new "Halo" games in development.

While "Resistance: Fall of Man" is THE game to have on PS3, the initialial line-up, while large, isn't on part with some of the second generation Xbox 360 games. But if you remember back to some of those PS2 launch games like "Fantavision," "X-Squad" and "Wild Wild Racing;" it wasn't until the following year that the system really started to take form. The same will happen with PS3, as developers get a handle on the hardware and larger games that take advantage of the Blu-ray Disc's 50 GB of storage are released. Those who wait will also save some money on the hardware. And there are plenty of people who will wait, because Sony has done a great job of building its PlayStation brand. Next year will also see the digital distribution of music, movies and TV shows via PlayStation Network.

As for Wii, that system stands in a class by itself. It's next generation in name only, when it comes to visuals. But it's revolutionary when it comes to its controls. You can't go wrong buying a Wii. The real choice for most people will be to go with Microsoft for what's best now, or wait for Sony to reduce the price and realize the power of PS3 next year.