15 replies to this topic

[Atomic0]

I would recommend that your choose an Xbox 260, especially if your are into the mainstream shooting and action video games and don't require a Blu-Ray player for a home theater setup. I suppose it also depends on whether you will be playing platform-exclusive games like Halo or MAG, which are not available on other platforms. Personally, I would not recommend the Nintendo Wii even thought it possesses a new motion controller concept because it is more targeted towards family games like sports or family-friendly adventure type games, and does not have a High Definition graphics output.

[evilsmiley25]

I would personally pick the xbox360 (if I did not already have one) or the Playstation 3. The Wii is a really bad machine, and it is very boring to play. I also heard about the wii remotes breaking when they first were released, which caused people to *throw* the remote at their new flat screen televisions, sending cracks all around the screen.

Quote

It’s Christmas morning in the Mann household in Wisconsin, USA. Santa has brought the best present of all - a rare-as-hen’s-teeth Nintendo Wii - for the children to share and enjoy. In preparation, the family has bought a whopping 70-inch rear projection TV for their front room. As we predicted, this family didn’t wait for their replacement straps to arrive…
Perfect Wii-shaped hole in 70-inch TV

Wanna see that again… in close up? I thought so.
70-inch TV hole - close up 70-inch TV hole - even closer

Karlee Mann (14) sat by while her cousin Bryce (also 14) dominated the initial few games of Wii Sports Tennis. When Bryce finally gave in to her protests, the heady mix of frustration, adrenalin, anticipation and family rivalry proved too much. In an instant the remote slipped from her hands, the weak Gen 1 strap failed to catch the escaping projectile, and the Mann’s $4500 TV took a clean bullet to the head. Oops.

If I could have bottled the atmosphere in the front room at that moment and shared it with you, no doubt there would be a sick feeling at the bottom of every readers stomach. You can laugh about a broken bulb, a few grazes, even a dent in the wall, but $1150 damage (as mother Dona has been quoted) is not an easy one to swallow. Credit to the family, who collectively shrugged at their misfortune, got out their old 17″ CRT and got straight back to the tennis!

There is also another story about the remote hitting and putting a nice size hole in the door.

Quote

Closet door gets the Wii badge of honor*
December 23, 2006 on 1:37 am | In Broken Straps, Furniture Damage | 85 Comments

Patrick is fortunate enough to have a dedicated games/movie room in his house. No ceiling fans and overhead lights, none of the usual living room clutter, perhaps not even a window, so you might think he was set up with the perfect, Wii-friendly pad. If this story tells us anything, it’s “Where there’s a Wii, there’s a way”. (sorry)

This is what happens when Patrick invites his 4 friends round to try his new Wii.
Hole in door #1

The game is Wii Sports Tennis and Greg has the racket. As a newbie, he is getting totally absorbed in the game. With one huge cross court smash the Wiimote leaves Greg’s hand, caught only momentarily by the wrist strap (which does the inevitable) and flies full pelt into the closet door.

You’ll find a close-up of the damage after the break.

Continue reading Closet door gets the Wii badge of honor*…

Here is another story about a woman's ring getting crushed from the wii remote.

Quote

Engagement ring gets crushed
December 18, 2006 on 6:03 pm | In Glass Damage | 104 Comments
Ring

This small, blurry cameraphone photo shows Emily’s engagement ring, after it got caught between the Wiimote and the kitchen table. Erik, her husband was there to witness another enthusiastic bowler lose themselves in the game and forget they were in the kitchen. (Wii in the kitchen? Why not!)

Erik reports: “While playing the Wii Sports bowling game, my wife swung her arm back. Hard. Unfortunately, behind her was our kitchen table. Fortunately, she didn’t break anything (bruised and pained, yes, but not broken)…but her engagement ring has seen better days. It’s being Wiipaired now.”

So, what damage to the ring?
“The sapphire in the middle chipped and the ring totally bent into an oval”
Wow, that must have made it difficult to take off…
“It was VERY difficult”
That sounds like a costly clash - what is your ‘Wiipair’ bill looking like?
“It’s estimated to be only 21 dollars. We’ll see when we get it back”

Phew! What could have ranked up there with the TV repair bills of the rich and sweaty turns out to be fairly modest this time round. You got away lightly there Emily. (But these puns are getting Wiily Wiily bad!).

So, for many reasons, I will be steering clear from this one.

[Zagubadu·]

This is where the argument comes in. "WELL PS3 HASH DAH BLOO RAAAY!" Lots of my friends have a Ps3 and when I ask them how often the use the BluRay player they say they don't even own any BluRay discs. So seriously consider are you going to pay extra money for movies that look better? I mean seriously how much butter could it possibly look. My parents recently got a HDTV along with HD service and its very hard to see a difference. It looks a bit crisper and the colors are a bit more vibrant. I'm assuming this is the same for BluRay. I know I started out neutral with this. But I'm pretty sure you know what everyones edging at. *Cough Xbox 360.

[mahesh2k]

well here we have lot of blue ray discs but not burner for the blue ray disc so the decission is very important here. i'll see what 360 users in my area think about it about the support and all. I have now serious choice between PS and 360.

About the stories of wii, lol that hole on tv is one good reason to skip it. lol.

[rayzoredge]

First off, if you get so into a game that you throw your controllers around (because you forgot or it slipped), you might find some comfort in the fact that Nintendo reminds you to put the damn wrist strap on and to make sure that there's plenty of room around you. I don't know about you, but my kitchen, although it's a decent size, isn't a good playing place with the island in the way. Also, you're still going to swing that bat or bowl that ball the same way when comparing a fast motion to a whipping motion. I'm surprised there aren't more stories of kids beating each other up with the Wiimotes... but wait, Nintendo did warn us about ample playing area, right? The technology is Bluetooth... advertised ranges are probably 30 feet, but the real range is probably 6 feet. I know I had some input issues playing at the 6-foot line sitting on the couch, but the Wii isn't exactly always the gaming console that you play traditionally with little more than thumb and finger movement. You'd be making a rather dumb decision in omitting the Wii because you couldn't do something as simple as having playing room and wearing the wrist strap that prevents the "issues" that Wii owners have.

Secondly, I got sucked into high definition because it IS better. I don't care whether it's Blu-Ray or it's the dead HD-DVD... high definition is high definition. Is it worth upgrading to? In my opinion, watching movies at home should incorporate a surround sound system and a high definition television because it actually makes watching movies even more fun. I like hearing bullets whiz "past" my head. I like explosions that I can feel (coming from the sub). I like being able to see texture on Optimus Prime's face when he falls in the forest scene (all shot with IMAX cameras). Even watching something like Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure was gratifying, being able to feel like you can touch the animation. It's a crazy upgrade from watching DVDs, depending on what you watch. Is it worth spending money on? If you can appreciate all of what I just described, it's probably worth getting a PS3 to get the gaming console and the Blu-Ray... but I wouldn't make that decision if you can't appreciate the PS3 as a gaming console, since Blu-Ray players are getting less expensive.

The 360 might seem like the winner here, then, if you don't go for HD, but you also have to look at what it has to offer and what YOU'RE going to use it for. As we've all pointed out, the 360 and the PS3 have their faults and their strengths. Decide what you're going to use a gaming console/entertainment center medium for and go from there.

[Spudd]

I was a huge advocate for the Nintendo Wii when it first came out. I had been a big fan of Nintendo for a long time, and I still am, albeit to a lesser extent. The Wii was innovative, it looked like it had some great games headed its way, including Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is still my favorite game on the console today. The creators of the Wii made promises, lots of promises. The questing is, did they deliver on those promises? The answer is of course, no. The remote's capabilities were exaggerated. The in-controller speaker, for instance, makes the sound quality from the GBA look like HD surround sound. Then there was the whole concept of sword fighting with the Wiimote, that got me and so many others excited about it, and only now do they release an add on that gives the Wiimote the power to do something like that. The Wii had potential, but it hasn't lived up to it. Instead of the innovative, cool concepts that were mentioned around the Wii's conception, we have a slew of low quality casual games, like the "Imagine" series, or the dozen Wii Fit clones on the market. Wii may be the best selling console, but I don't think it's the best of the trio anymore. I've become a 360 fan now. It has more of the sort of games I will play for more than an hour a day for a week. The online play is also actually good. You may have to pay for it, but it beats the heck out of Nintendo's "Friend Code" system, where playing with random opponents is so paranoid most games don't even let you see other player's usernames. Anyway, that's just my 2 cents.