Which console do you think won this generation?
 

If console war threads aren't allowed, feel free to can this thread.

I'm going to go with the PS3 because I think it delivered the all-around package: blu-ray player, free online, strong exclusives and all of the multiplats. While it got off to a slow start, the later years made it emerge as the best console of the three. The multiplats covered a variety of genres, and many of them were very creative.

Reasons why I don't think the other two won:

Wii, pretty self explanatory. They delivered great first-party games as usual, but their technology focus alienated them from so much third-party support that if you only bought a Wii, you missed out on a ton of great multiplats.

360, pay to play online for one. It has all the multiplats, and on average the superior versions of them, but their exclusives are not up to snuff. Not unless you really love being an elite cyber marine who has to hunt down aliens... over and over and over again.

What do you guys think?

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

I own all three systems and have had a great time with all of them. The Wii got a whole lot of use playing party games and the first party games were some of the best of this gen. I had no problem having a PS3 around since it is also a bluray player, and a lot of my friends that casually play have a PS3. The 360 has also been great this generation, and I got in with a pretty hardcore group of people that meet up a few times a week. I actually own 2 copies of the same games, mainly COD, because I like playing with both friend groups. It's been a great generation for gaming, one of my favorites.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

I have all 3, the Wii loses, the 360 wins, the PS3 got middle ground.

The controller and online capabilities of the 360 won me over. The PS3 was fine as well but I still hate the controller. The exclusive titles didn't overly impress me on the PS3 outside of Uncharted 2, ie - the love spewed for Journey was borderline laughable to me.

The Wii, imo, had the best overall exclusive titles but something just never sat right with me on the system.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Ibtl

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

There's a bunch of different criteria people can use for this, but overall I'd pick the 360 although its pretty close. From a business perspective they firmly established the XBox brand (domestically anyway) to go with strong sales, and managed to maintain public and casual interest with the Kinect, and even though its paid I feel like XBox Live is what made multiplayer gaming as popular as it is now. Plus I feel like they have the best controller ever for a console, and brought in the world of achievements and led the way maturing online titles via XBox Live Arcade. PS3 has the more interesting and creative exclusives, but the 360's big titles haven't disappointed.

If I had purchased a PS3 first I might have felt differently, otherwise it felt like a lot of their features added were playing catch up to Microsoft. For the Wii, I just don't care for it at all despite having one a couple weeks after launch. I got over the gimmicky nature of the controls a few months in, and never felt the need to go back to it.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

360.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

I also have all 3 and for me the 360, then the Wii, and then the PS3.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

To be fair, it's a toss-up between the Wii and the 360 for different reasons.

There's a reason the Wii sold close to 100M units as it was the first gaming console in years that anybody could pick up and run with. The games didn't appeal to gamers, they appealed to everyone. Your grandparents could now own a gaming console and actually understand how to use it. There's reasons why Microsoft and Sony both stole the best and worst parts of the console to apply in 360 and PS3 hardware and software updates. Wii's lack of advanced hardware was made up by solid first-party titles.

In terms of moving us into the next generation? The 360. The original Xbox set the standard for multiplayer and connectivity, the 360 surpassed and raised the bar. The 360 also has, hands down, the best controller out of any console generation. We might've all had to deal with the RROD, but at least Microsoft owned up to the problem and fixed it with the second revision of the machine.

The loser? The PS3. Controller and games aside, Sony dropped the ball with the PSN debacle.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

I have all 3... I actually have 3 PS3's but I mostly play the 360 -- like 95% of the time. So the 360 is my choice.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Obligatory wii gathers dust post

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

no poll = you are a poopy head.


360 > PS3 > Wii

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Thing is, 360 may have set the standard for how video gaming is today, but imo that has only served as a negative.

Online-centric, DLC, map packs? Short campaigns justified by a multiplayer component? Oversaturation of FPS's and military shooters? Mostly Microsoft's doing.

But I understand I'm in the minority with that opinion.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

The Wii won this generation handily from just about any objective perspective. It was my least favorite of the three consoles though.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

I imagine that from a pure numbers perspective, it's: (1) Wii (2) 360 (3) PS3

My personally feeling, having all three however, is: (1) 360 (2) Wii (3) PS3

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Wii won, for me. Just a lot of fun and a good variety of titles. My 360 hasn't been hooked up for months, unfortunately. I'm not even sure why I still buy games for it. There's still a lot of things that I would like to grab from XBLA; but I'm waiting to hear if any of that will be able to transfer over to the new xbox.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

In my house, the 360 wins. I barely touched the Wii, and the PS3 ended up as a secondary Blu-ray player since I just got sick of the excessive system and game updates, not to mention the mandatory game installs. Too much BS for very little benefit.

That said, PS3 probably wins this generation for pretty much catching up to the others in sales. 360 had a year long lead, and Wii dominated for what seems like forever, but PS3 didn't do terribly, all things considered. I thought I read that world wide sales were equal to or ahead of the 360. Not sure how accurate that is...

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

The 360 is pretty much the only console I play games on while the PS3 is used 90% of the time as a Blu Ray player and the Wii is only used by my kids. Like most people I upgraded from a PS2 and since the 360 came out first I was so used to its controller and interface by the time the PS3 arrived that I never really bothered to game on the 3 except for a few exclusives. And seeing as how the next gen PS will have the a very similar controller I don't see myself switching back any time soon.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

I'd say the 360 takes the lead. Though the PS3 came on late and I thought MS's interest in the Kinect was a major mistake. Also the PS3 won the HD format war for Sony, so that's actually probably the more important win for the company.

The Wii might have sold the most units, but sale of non-Nintendo published software titles have been in the toilet for over five years now, and the Wii branding is so toxic that the Wii-U is struggling mightily despite being the newest console. No way you can really conclude they won.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

I agree completely with your Nintendo analysis. The novelty of the Wii interested some people at first but I think Nintendo learned a lesson that sure you can go for the casual market and prompt their interest for a while, but they don't live and die by the controller like a hardcore gamer does. Now the Wii U is suffering greatly because casuals either lost interest or haven't heard of it due to crappy marketing

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

1. 360
2. PS3
3. Wii

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Flawed logic. The 3DS wasn't a runaway success and it wasn't blamed on the DS brand being toxic. And in a recent survey, Nintendo came out on top for customer satisfaction, even beating out apple.

http://www.gonintendo.com/content/up.../forrester.png

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

For me, PS3 is the winner by far. Best exclusives. PS+ is actually worth $50 a year. Between Blu-ray, Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, Sunday Ticket, etc., it really is the center of my home entertainment system, and the primary reason I'm dumping cable.

360 - The only exclusives I really liked was Left4Dead and Crackdown. My console (old one with no HDMI) red ringed a while ago, and I haven't bothered (and won't) to get a new one.

Wii - Bought it, sold it. When it dropped in price, bought it again. Then sold it again.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

360 easy. I barely play my PS3. I sold my Wii.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

The only correct answer is "not the PS3"

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

I couldn't imagine choosing a system where I couldn't play exclusives like Uncharted 1, 2 & 3, Disgaea 3 & 4, Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, Tomb Raider Trilogy, God of War Saga, Heavy Rain, Jak & Daxter Collection, Demon's Souls, Little Big Planet 1 & 2, Valkyria Chronicles, Metal Gear Solid 4, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Ni No Kuni, etc. Therefore I have to go with the PS3.

It depends on what you want out of a system. To me it's all about the games and being able to watch movies. I don't care about multiplayer on a console.

I've always loved the PS3 controller too. There's a reason they haven't changed the controller much from PS1 to PS2 to PS3 (and soon PS4).

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Funny, I don't remember the Halo titles being really military shooters. :shrug:

And last time I checked, Modern Warfare 2 was the first Call of Duty title in the franchise that was embraced by the mainstream. If it wasn't for that title, Black Ops, MW3, Black Ops 2, and even other developers' titles like Battlefield 3 wouldn't have been the gigantic hits they were.

... and if you play Call of Duty and Battlefield for the single player, you're doing it wrong.

... oh, and none of those were Microsoft's doing either. Weird!

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Are the Spartans part of a military? Yes they are.

I don't play Call of Duty and Battlefield at all because they bore me. I play Bioshock, Fallout, and Borderlands for FPS.

Halo and Gears are Microsoft's doing. Microsoft's early original Xbox games like the Tom Clancy's games with all their tactical and military focus basically paved the way for this obsession with those types of games.

PS3's exclusives are much more diverse, and more artistically driven.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

I'd classify Halo as action, science-fiction, and fantasy long before I would consider it a military title. I'd argue the same thing with Gears, especially it's more steam punk and, you know, a third-person shooter.

And to really argue, the two most popular FPS games consistently played online are actually Counter-strike and Team Fortress 2 on the PC. A game that originated fifteen years ago and another that is (now) free-to-play.

If anything, third-party developers are to blame for the obsession for these types of games. Valve perfected it on the PC whereas Infinity Ward perfected it on the consoles. COD4 laid the groundwork for IW to knock it right out of the park with MW2.

I also don't see what the problem with DLC is in this case. When it comes to games like the Call of Duty franchise and Halo, it's been that of additional ways to play online. That's DLC I'm completely okay with as it extends the life and longevity of the game. Halo 4 actually took it to another level with the Spartan Ops DLC as it was free to anyone who just purchased the game.

Bioshock, Fallout, and Borderlands are fantastic FPS... to play alone. If I want to get online, Call of Duty is where it's at in the console realm... because 343 dropped the fucking ball with the multiplayer on Halo 4.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Late in the Gamecube's life, Nintendo was all but irrelevant. There was talk of them getting out of the hardware business (not for the first time) and even the most optimistic fans were resigned to hoping for a niche console that did well enough to keep them afloat and publishing AAA first-party titles. They announced the Wii at E3 and everyone thought they were insane. Stupid name. Stupid gimmicky controller. Underpowered compared to the competition. Looked like a surefire loser.

For a good chunk of this generation, the Wii's sales were nearly as high as the 360 and PS3 combined. Even as it faded due to a variety of problems that are especially annoying to 'real gamers', it maintained a 40% of a market when Nintendo had been nearly universally expected to tank prior to the console launching.

And as far as software, I just skimmed a list of the 20 best selling games of all time. Of the 12 titles on the list that were for consoles, the Wii had 7 and the 360 had 1. And yes, several of the Wii titles were pack-ins with the console, balance board or controller, but the only 360 title was the pack-in for the Kinect.

Your argument seems to be that they had some missteps that positioned them to do poorly in the Wii-U/720/PS4 generation, which I'll agree with wholeheartedly. My Wii gathers dust just like a lot of other people's and the only game I've played on it in the last year left me disappointed (Skyward Sword). That said, given where Nintendo started the generation and where it ended up, there's really no way to say they didn't win this round.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

In terms of overall sales the Wii won hands down. That one isn't up for debate.

I don't think anyone is really discussing "won" in reference to total sales.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

This is the correct answer.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

The companies who are trying to make money off of their consoles certainly do. Winning should be able to be measured objectively. If you aren’t going to talk about objective measures like sales and profitability, you should ask which console was your favorite.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

I'm going to go with 360, as people have said the controller for the ps3 just isn't comfortable for me. but, i look at the above and its right, the exclusives were far superior for ps3, but personally, that's all i use my ps3 for (aside from a blu ray player of course).

Paying for live is a moot point for me, yes, I've paid the 35 bucks a year since i got it, but i feel that the experience of live is far superior to the psn stuff (i have not used ps+, but i do see a lot of value in it). The party chat, ease of use, and easier UI all make the 360 a better experience for me. again, probably just how much i've used it, but thats my feelings.

i'd go 360, ps3, wii, but thats from more of an opinion than anything else. the fact that the 360 and ps3 were complete home entertainment packages where the wii didn't have HD really took the wii out of my entertainment system. i don't even think i've turned it on in about a year. aside from galaxys, mario kart and super paper mario, i don't think i did much with that system.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

The Wii jumped out to an early lead in console sales by capturing the casual market but sales of software and hardware have dropped off since the casual market has moved on to mobile platforms and tablets. 360 wins because they gained market share on Sony. (Remember Sony Dominated the past 2 generations) MicroSoft was smart enough to jump out a year early on PS3 and as a software company they had a better interface for the online experience. Sony learned their lesson and eventually caught up (I think worldwide console sales are even - though North American sales favor the 360 - Which I credit to RROD causing failures and making many gamers buy multiple consoles early in the console cycle)

Gamers win.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

I think my main problem with what you have listed is the fact I liked the games more on paper than in actuality. Uncharted 2 was fantastic, Heavy Rain was cool and Ni No Kuni is killer nostalgia overload. Unfortunately I had to struggle to finish Uncharted 1 or 3 (both flamed out before the endings), I had played Ico and Shadow on the previous gen, had my fill of Jax and God of War on the last gen, got too impatient for Metal Gear 4, and, well Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is multi console.

Plus I really hate that controller.

I guess it doesn't hurt that some of my favorite games this gen were some of the less obvious titles, like Castle Crashers, Splosion Man and Ms Splosion Man, Fez, Super Meat Boy, and getting to replay Ikaruga. Echochrome is the only PSN title that I really loved, though I admit I may have missed a couple (I never got into the whole "It's art!" genre of Flower and Journey). I guess I should note that my favorite PSX games were Intelligent Qube and SotN, so I guess it's no surprise that I'm still more a fan of puzzle games and side scrollers.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Personally: PS3. For the gaming community: The 360. For the general public: The Wii.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Worldwide, I'd say PS3 won by a good margin due to its staying power over the Wii. In the US only, 360 by a landslide.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Console sales numbers are important, yes. But they don't tell the whole story. Nintendo sold a lot of consoles to non-gamers (both of my kids' grandparents have one -- and a Wii Fit each). But the thing about selling consoles to non-gamers is that they don't buy games. I can't find the data, but I'm pretty sure the attachment rate of total games purchased per Wii console is lower than the other two. I'm sure the lack of game sales hurt their bottom line somewhat. And their lack of quality control for third-party Wii shovelware hurt their reputation in the eyes of gamers. Plus they were selling their consoles and games for less than their competitors. Yes, the Wii was a boon for the Nintendo software industry and the Nintendo peripheral sales market. Maybe that makes them "winners" this generation. But I don't really think there were any losers this generation either.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Attach rate is difficult to determine, but yeah the Wii's was lower than the other two, in the US the 360 was #1 by a pretty wide margin for a while -- I guess a lot of people bought PS3s when Bluray players were still expensive since it could pull double duty.

In terms of reputation built during this generation I would say Microsoft is the most improved, Xbox was the new kid, the 360 was launched and kind of laughed at (the number of Xbox 1.5 jokes was ridiculous), sabotaged itself with the RROD and still managed to come out with a better rep.

The PS2 was dominate, the PS3 always seemed to be playing catch-up. So Sony definitely moved down a little.

The Wii started this whole "casual gamer" market but at the same time became a second console for most "core" gamers since, well, a lot of us grew up with Nintendo and like seeing the progression of those properties. Mario Galaxy was fantastic, the Zelda series took a bit of a nosedive.

Re: Which console do you think won this generation?
 

Also, remember it's not just game sales where Sony and MS benefit. Think of all the DLC sales over the years that they got a piece of and Nintendo completely missed out on. As well as other digital purchases where Sony and MS led Nintendo by a really large margin. Also, I'd bet that MS makes as much money from a year of two of a Live subscription as they do from the sale of one console. Then there's the proprietary Hard drive they sell, while the Wii uses anyone's old SD card. And the Kinect sold really well for a brief period as well, at a period where nobody was really buying anything for the Will. The point is there's a lot more to a console's overall success than just the number of consoles sold.