The Next Generation of Gaming Consoles

The Next Generation of
Gaming Consoles
History of the Last Gen
 Sony had the #1 Console (PS2), was

also the oldest and weakest, but had
strong developer support
 Newcomer, Microsoft X-Box, attracted
more mature gamers with its power and
adult oriented games
 Nintendo lost a lot of its fan base due to
its lack of support for its middle powered,
kid-friendly console, the GameCube
Market Strategies
• Everyone knew that this next

generation was going to be
difficult to win with such steep
competition…
Microsoft’s Look-around
 They wanted a console which….
 HD graphics
 Robust online play
 Unified community
 Backwards compatible
 Familiar to old players
 Customizable
 Integrated media player
Xbox 360
Xbox 360 Dashboard
360 Stats
Triple core PowerPC at 3.2GHz
ATI GPU 512MB at 700MHz
3 USB slots, two up front, one in the back
HDMI (elite), Component, VGA or composite cables for connection
to TV
20 GB removable Hard Drive or 120GB (elite)
Tray loading drive uses DVDs and can read cds and dvds, plus an
additional drive add-on can read HD-DVDs
Up to 4 wireless controllers similar in design to first xbox
Port in controllers to plug in Headset
Ethernet port and can use wireless with adaptor
2 versions with a 3rd coming out end of april
$299 for core, $399 for premium, $479 for elite
What this means….
 HD graphics capable of 480i-1080p (although
only HDMI and VGA connection can be used for
1080p)
 Can only play HD-DVD movies with additional
drive
 Robust Xbox Live community with most every
game online
 Ipod and other mp3 players can plug into it
 Can connect with windows based PCs
 Downloadable TV episodes, movies, HD movies,
music, games, demos, additional content
Sony’s Dominance or Demise
Having the most developers and

having the highest selling console and
fan base, Sony decides to take
advantage of it
Possibly too much advantage…
Wanting to push blu-ray, a technology it
owns, sony decides to make this the format
of the PS3
Developers find blu-ray much to expensive
of a format
Sony’s console will use state-of-the-art cell
processors to power it, again expensive
Sony had an original controller design but
got rid of it in favor of the almost exact
same controller design they have had since
PS1
They want it to push HD graphics to the
max and be wi-fi with free online gameplay
• PlayStation 3
PS3 Interface
Sony Home
PS3 Stats
 3.2 GHz cell processor
 Nvidia GPU of 256MBs at 650MHz
 20gb ($499) or 60gb ($599) hard drives
 Plays blu-ray discs, dvds, cds through slot loading drive
 Memory card slots for SD, memory stick, xd,
Compactflash on $599 version
 Backwards compatible
 USB slots
 HDMI, component, composite cables for video
 Wireless controllers (with some motion sensing) using
bluetooth up to 4, possibly 7
 $499 or $599
What this means…
 HD graphics form 480i-1080p (no HD cables
come with the console unlike 360)
 Online play is free
 Media player abilities
 Can watch blu-ray movies cheaper than current
blu-ray players
 Lots of computing power for advanced AI
Nintendo’s new style
 The company realized that they could
not compete monetarily with the
machines of Microsoft and Sony, who
could afford any and everything
 So they tried a new, radical approach

by making these necessary
requirements for their new console…
 Cheap manufacturing costs
 Easy to develop for
 Small and efficient
 Innovative
 Allows for new people to join the
gaming industry (grandparents,
parents, women)
 What did they come up with…

The Nintendo Wii
Wii Classic controller to allow for
Nunchuck add-on to the
classic style gameplay of
wii remote to allow for
downloaded games from
more involved gameplay
Nintendo and Sega past
The Console Interface
The Wii Stats
 PowerPC Processor clocked at 729MHz
 ATI GPU Processor clocked at 243MHz
 Over 100MB of ram memory
 512 MB of built in flash memory for storing games and data
 SD card slot
 Slot driven disc drive capable of playing both Wii DVDs and GameCube mini-DVDs
 2 USB slots
 4 GameCube controller ports and 2 memory card ports
 Up to 4 wireless Wii controllers using bluetooth technology
 The ability to use GameCube contollers along with Wii controllers for possibility of 8
player games
 Wi-Fi out of the box
 Wii controllers have an accessory port to allow controller add-ons to plug in
 Sensor bar for mouse-like pointer ability
 Can use Component cables for up to 480p resolution
 $250 for console
What this all means…
 The Nintendo Wii is the weakest of the new
systems only 2.5 times as powerful as its
predecessor and 1.5 times as powerful as the
first Xbox
 The Wii’s controllers are all motion sensing and
can point in precision like a mouse.
 The Wii is not in HD, but is much cheaper to
produce for
 Wii channels offer new ideas
Advantages/disadvantages
 Xbox 360 pro…
 Cheaper than PS3 with minimal to no loss on graphic

quality
 Comes with all the cables necessary for HD and online
play
 Xbox live has largest user base for any online community
and the xbox live arcade downloadable games
 Downloadable TV and movies are taking off fast
 Has largest library of games due to its release a year
before competitors
 PS3 Pro…
 Most powerful console

 “Home” Sony’s new 3d Avatar based
virtual world (like the sims) is used for
online community and gaming
 Blu-ray player
 Downloadable games
 SIXAXIS motion sensing (although not
near as advanced as the Wii’s)
 Linux support
 Wii pro…
 Cheapest choice
 New style of gameplay using motion
sensing and pointing
 New types of games
 New types of players
 Virtual console downloadable classics
 Opera Browser support
 Largest base of exlusive franchises
 Miis
 Xbox 360 cons…
 It is the “middle” console

 No motion sensing at all
 Does not use bluetooth
 Not as broad of a genre and age base as
Nintendo and Sony
 Too many versions
 PS3 cons…
 Too expensive, puts it way out of reach of

many customers
 Least exclusives thanks to lost support
 No rumble feature in the controller
 Poor marketing
 Too much reliance of fan base
 If blu-ray fails….
 Wii cons…
 Expensive controllers
 Not many deep games as of now
 Not capable of HD graphics
 Little memory for downloaded games
 Poor online support
 Too much reliance on franchises
 Not as much multi-media features
What this means….
 The final choice is yours…

 There is no “better console” they all have their own
strengths and weaknesses
 PS3 and Xbox 360 are very similar in both games
and power
 PS3 is selling very poorly due to its high price
 Wii is selling the best in time but over Xbox 360 has
sold more due to its longer length of availability
The general rules…
 Non-gamers should get the wii

 RPG lovers and HD movie fanatics should get a PS3
 First-person shooter fans should get an xbox 360
 Two huge advantages the wii has is that it is cheap enough to

have it and one of the other consoles and its appeal to new
gamers and non-gamers which could swing the war in its
favor…..
 But keep in mind that it is the quality of games which will sell
the system more than anything
Sources
• www.ign.com
• www.wikipedia.com

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The Next Generation of

 Sony had the #1 Console (PS2), was

• Everyone knew that this next

Having the most developers and

 So they tried a new, radical approach

 What did they come up with…

 Cheaper than PS3 with minimal to no loss on graphic

 Most powerful console

 It is the “middle” console

 Too expensive, puts it way out of reach of

 The final choice is yours…

 Non-gamers should get the wii

 Two huge advantages the wii has is that it is cheap enough to

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