Buying a Games Console – Which Console Is Best for You?
If you’re looking to buy a new games console, then this is the article you need to read. In this article, we will take a look at the three main games consoles, and then also take a look at handhelds.
The “Big 3” of Games consoles
Anyone who is anyone will know that there are three main games consoles on the market at the moment. These are:
- Nintendo Wii
- Sony PS3
- Xbox 360
Which one you go for is entire up to you, but in this article we are going take a look at each of them in turn so that you can get a better idea of which you think it best for you.
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo’s Wii console was first released in November 2006. According to Nintendo, the Wii is intended to appeal to a wider range of people than the PS3 or the Xbox 360. At the time of the writing of this article (January 2011) the Wii is the current leader over the other two consoles.
The great thing about the Wii is the revolution in game control. With the use of the Wii Remote, users are able to interact with games in a more physical way. This takes gaming to a far more physical level than simply just sitting with a control pad in your hands.
Sony PS3
Sony’s PlayStation 3 is the successor to the PlayStation 2 and was first released in November 2006. Sony claims that the new “cell processor” in the PS3 is 35 times more powerful than the processor in the PlayStation 2.
The PS3 has impressive graphics and great online gaming capabilities. In fact, you can play the PS3 online for free, which is great when compared to the subscription costs that you will get with the Xbox 360.
With the recent release of the new PlayStation Move controller, the PS3 is definitely a top contender in the games console market.
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is Microsoft’s current games console, and was first released in May 2005, somewhat earlier than the PS3 and the Wii. One difference you will notice with the Xbox 360 is that it is able to stand vertically rather than just lie horizontally.
The 360 boasts an impressive 3.2GHz custom-built IBM PowerPC CPU and has 512MB of RAM. It also has a custom-built ATI graphics chip. With all this power, the 360 has the ability to produce true 720p and 1080p wide-screen high definition images. In this regard, it is far ahead of the Wii but just slightly behind the PS3.
Handhelds
If you enjoy gaming but you don’t want to be restricted to playing them at home, have you ever considered getting a handheld console? The main handhelds are:
- Nintendo DS: a dual-screen console, first unveiled in November 2004, although the DS Lite was released in 2006, and the Nintendo DSi was released in 2009.
- PSP (PlayStation Portable): first unveiled in May 2004, although the latest version, the PSP-3000, was released in 2008.
Other less-popular recent handheld consoles include:
- Game King
- Gizmondo
- Dingoo A320
- Pandora
- GP2X F-100