My Wii-Play-Box!

No, hell didn’t just freeze over, and neither did the Big 3 decide to give up on their plans for world domination and come together for a new console. It’s just me imagining things, and wondering what it would be like if Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft decided to make a console together. Now obviously, I won’t go imagining about things which they would do. Rather, it’s a list of good things which can be borrowed from each of the three next-gen consoles to make a “super-uber-kickass next-gen console.”

Firstly, let’s talk about the Xbox 360, since it’s the only one out yet. Created by Microsoft to be a worthy successor to it’s moderately-successful Xbox, the Xbox 360 does hold its own against the offerings from Nintendo and Sony. Perhaps, it’s the cool “outspoken” looks, which tend to grow on you, or maybe, it’s the “be-good” attitude from Microsoft this generation. Whatever it is, the Xbox 360 does have a few things which can be a worthy addition to any console in the market.

The Wii-Play-Box awaits after the jump!

Digg This? Click Here!

No, hell didn’t just freeze over, and neither did the Big 3 decide to give up on their plans for world domination and come together for a new console. It’s just me imagining things, and wondering what it would be like if Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft decided to make a console together. Now obviously, I won’t go imagining about things which they would do. Rather, it’s a list of good things which can be borrowed from each of the three next-gen consoles to make a “super-uber-kickass next-gen console.”

Firstly, let’s talk about the Xbox 360, since it’s the only one out yet. Created by Microsoft to be a worthy successor to it’s moderately-successful Xbox, the Xbox 360 does hold its own against the offerings from Nintendo and Sony. Perhaps, it’s the cool “outspoken” looks, which tend to grow on you, or maybe, it’s the “be-good” attitude from Microsoft this generation. Whatever it is, the Xbox 360 does have a few things which can be a worthy addition to any console in the market.

The controller – Surprisingly, not much has been said about the controller. But one look at the controller is enough to tell you that it’s one of the best around. This generation, we’re lucky enough to have some really wacky controller features from Nintendo and Sony (more on that later), but as a gamepad, Microsoft probably rules the roost with its very comfortable and ergonomical Xbox 360 controller.

The shape of the controller itself is so good that it fits well into moderately – large-sized hands. Then there’s the triggers which are a blessing for FPS and racing games. Nothing beats analog acceleration and breaks in a racing game, and the ability to shoot bullets with them in a racing game. The SIXAXIS for the PLAYSTATION is a refined version of the old but so popular DualShock controller.

This generation, Sony decided to go with the motion-sensitive feature, cutting out the rumble feature. While it was definitely a bold move, it reeked of arrogance. Personally, I’ve always preferred the Xbox 360 controller over the DualShock design. One side advantage of the Xbox 360 controller is that you can just plug it into your computer running on Windows XP or Vista, and expect the same level of fun.

The Dashboard – Another one of those masterstrokes by the guys at Microsoft. Now, however much people might complain about Windows, or Microsoft in general, you have to acknowledge the fact that they’ve been ruling the desktop computing scene for about a decade now. While I can accept the fact that Apple probably has a better “feel” for design than Microsoft, they don’t look to be invading the console scene anytime soon, which leaves Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

Nintendo have always tried to have the “cool” factor in whatever they did. Sony, primarily a hardware manufacturer, has always stuck to a “minimal” approach. Now while that might not be a bad thing in general (The PSP’s XMB is a homerun), when I’m playing on my 600 odd dollar console, I expect a lot better usability than what I’m getting with the XMB. Here, the dashboard is one of the best interfaces which can be had for a gaming console. It does its job very well, without being too over-crowded or loud. The themes feature is another great addon.

Xbox Live – Now it would be foolish to forget this. And I purposely left the biggest feature for last. When Microsoft debuted the Live feature on their console, they were by no means the first. The Dreamcast introduced online play as a built-in feature, and while the console was great, it never quite took off the way Sony’s consoles did, leaving it as a half-baked idea.

When Live was introduced for the Xbox, it was a big gamble. Sony, then king of the console market, had proclaimed that console gaming was still good when it was single-player. The success of Xbox Live suggested otherwise. With its second coming on the Xbox 360, it practically blew the roof off. Many awards and accolades later, it’s still the best online setup for any console to date.

And while Nintendo and Sony might promise free online play, it’s still untested and will be prone to bugs. And knowing Sony and having experienced the helplessness with the PSP, I wouldn’t expect a lot at launch date. With Nintendo, the online strategy still isn’t very clear. Sure, it’s free and all, but again, going against Microsoft in the usability department is no joke.

While I was tempted to include in Halo as another point for the 360, there’s no point in talking about platform-exclusives. You have them for every console, and since it would be one big console, we would automatically get all the awesome games! Onto Nintendo then!

When Nintendo announced then-codenamed Revolution, it looked just like one. Nintendo had always tried to appeal to the casual gamer with their playful titles. Hundreds of news-bits later, it still holds the position as the most-loved next-gen console. While not every feature might appeal to everyone of us, it still has something for everyone.

The Wii-mote – Surely, after having been through the current, or should I say, past generation of consoles, it looked like you’d need 20 fingers to press all the buttons on your controller. While it was needed for some games, it did make gameplay overly complex, one of the main reasons why non-gamers were too overwhelmed by these machines.

When Nintendo showed off the new controller, it was something of a pleasant surprise for most casual gamers, and a big shock to everyone else. Had Nintendo gone nuts? We probably wouldn’t know until a few months after the console was released. But there was one simple fact – Everyone was talking about it.

It felt like fun even when just imagining what you could do with it. The motion-sensing feature, while having been tried before, was something of a novelty for most. And yes, this was the only controller which would be comfortable and easy enough even for the non-gamers. Has Nintendo pulled off one of the biggest shock-victories of the next generation? We don’t know. But for my Wii-Play-Box, I’d sure love to include that awesome Wiimote.

The easy-going factor – With the Xbox 360 or the PLAYSTATION 3, you’re still looking at an out-and-out die-hard gaming system. Nintendo, on the other hand, coming after the great success of the DS platform, are looking to replicate the same success on their latest offering. When you look at the PS3 or the Xbox 360, you can easily notice that they’re almost trying too hard to beat everyone else on their path to global domination. On the other hand, Nintendo are just glad to do their own thing, not worrying about their competition. The move to not include Hi-Def capability or next-gen storage shows just that.

But talking of game consoles, and being the badass gamers that we are, we’d never give up on our hardcore experience either. And sharing that out-and-out hardcore game console space with the Xbox 360 is Sony’s PS3. Now at this point, nobody would blame me for saying “SONY SUXX! DIE SONY!” “Sony Fails” and finishing off the article. But going a bit deeper, I can definitely find good things which can be a part of my Wii-Play-Box.

The raw power – Surely, in the Wii-Play-Box, I would want nothing but the baddest sounding and the most powerful processor on the planet. While the argument that it’s the most powerful processor might not hold much water until it’s actually out, but on paper, the technology sounds pretty awesome. And then, there’s not just one of them, there’s actually 7 of them!

Considering brute force, the Cell does beat the PowerPC core of the Xbox 360 on paper. Just how it will do in reality is another thing altogether. But if it becomes easier to program for the PS3 with better developer tools, then you could be looking at a very powerful system. Despite all the bad rap it’s getting, there’s no denying that PS3 is still the most promising console, hardware-wise.

The brand – Forget about the Xbox, and forget about the Wii. When it comes to pure brand awareness, nothing comes close to the PlayStation brand. If there’s any reason for Sony’s confidence this generation, this is it. While this might not amount to much if the rest of the stuff isn’t good enough, it’s enough to make sure that the first batch of your console will be sold out within minutes. And don’t forget the big bucks for selling it on Ebay, in case you’re one of them scum who buy it just to sell it on Ebay.

Sony’s success in the gaming industry is very much felt by the two other companies. It toppled Nintendo as the King of the market, and Microsoft still considers them the Giant in their field. When it comes to virtual entertainment, throw all of the bad press out of the window, if it’s from Sony, it must be good.

I haven’t talked about Blu-ray or HD-DVD or Hi-Def in general simply because of the fact that I myself don’t see the need for another storage medium. And thinking of Blu-ray and Sony’s past record with their other storage media (most recently, the UMD), I wouldn’t want to bet a penny on it. Same goes for the HD-DVD.

So, there it is. The final result would be a momma of a console with the power of the PS3, the “coolness” of Nintendo, and the great usability and community-features of the Xbox 360. Would I want one? HELL YEA! What are your feelings? Did we miss out on anything? Let us know through your comments below!

Digg This? Click Here!