Nintendo Wii Versus Sony Playstation 3

The Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation 3 were the last two systems to enter the console war. The Playstation 3 was anticipated to have superior graphical power while the Wii was focused on fun. So which console is worth your money and will leave you with a lot of good memories?

So what comes in the box of each of these consoles? In the Playstation 3 box you get one six-axis controller, an ac cord (there is no power brick), a USB mini cable to charge the six-axis controller an Ethernet cable and multi- AV composite cables. In the Wii box you get one Wii remote, one nunchuck, and two AA batteries for the Wii remote, a Wii stand to support the console in its vertical position, an ac adaptor, a sensor bar and a game Wii Sports.

So that's a lot of things right there in each box but what does that all mean? Well when you open the Playstation 3 box and finally setup the system you need to go out and buy a game so on top of the six hundred dollars you just spent on the console you need to go spend another sixty. The Wii on the other hand comes with a game packaged so once you set up the system which takes about twenty minutes maximum you have something to play.

So what are some key differences that will make one console a winner? Well the Playstation 3 is built around the next generation of movies it has a built in Blue-Ray player. So this means games will be much longer on the Playstation 3 since Blue-Ray discs can hold up to eighty gigabytes. On the other hand the Wii can not even play DVD formats so games will be shorter on the Wii and you can not play any movies or audio CDs on the Wii. Another major difference is in the graphics department. The Playstation 3 has a HDMI 1.3 output and can broadcast games and movies in 1080p (the highest HD format) with crystal clear Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. The Wii falls short of this only being able to broadcast in 480p this is not even high definition this is only enhanced definition.

There is a lot of hype about the Wii due to its controller scheme. The games on Wii use motion and gestures that you make using the Wii remote and nunchuck and turn them into on screen in game actions. The Playstation 3 tried to put some motion sensing into there traditional style controller by adding six-axis. Six-axis can sense tilt, push, and pull, left and right motions. This makes some games more fun but the motion sensing on the Playstation 3 felt very gimmicky. The Playstation 3 also cut the vibration function from there controller so there is no forced feedback.

Both consoles have built in WiFi but the Playstation 3 can play games online right now while the Wii is waiting still for the first big online game. Both systems offer a store were you can purchase classic games and demos for new games. The Playstation 3 though has a sixty gigabyte hard drive so saving games is a lot easier. The Wii only has five hundred and twelve megabytes of built in flash memory. That's weak for a next generation console especially when people are going to want to download classic games.

Basically you get what you pay for. The Wii only costs two hundred and fifty dollars and you get weak graphics and barley any memory but you get some amazing first party games like Zelda and Super Mario Galaxy. The Playstation 3 costs six hundred dollars but you get one of the cheapest Blue-Ray players on the market. The Playstation 3 also has the most potential to win this generation of the console war. If you have a high definition television and love graphics that look very real I recommend a Playstation 3 but if you like to have a lot of fun when playing and do not mind some poor graphics I would get the Nintendo Wii.