Buying a Video Games Console - Which System is Best for You?

Feb 8

08:30

2011

Marcus Lewison

For anyone looking to buy a new games console, this is the article they really need to read. This article will start by taking a look at each of the three main games consoles, and then finish by looking at handheld consoles.

The “Big 3” of Games Consoles

Everyone knows that there are really three major games consoles. These are:

Wii
Sony PlayStation 3
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's Wii System

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. When this article was written (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. Using the the Wii Remote, users are able to interact with games in a more physical way. This makes gaming a much more physical activity than it was before, when you used to just sit there with a control pad in your hand.

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.

Microsoft's XBOX 360

Released in May 2005, earlier than the Wii and the PS3, the XBOX 360 is Microsoft's current games console. 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 512MB of RAM and has a powerful 3.2GHz custom-built IBM PowerPC CPU. It also has a custom-built ATI graphics chip. This power means that the XBOX 360 is able to produce images that are of true 720p and 1080p wide-screen high definition quality. In this way, the 360 is a lot better than the Wii but not quite as good as the PS3.

Handheld Consoles

If you're a fan of playing games but you don't want to be stuck playing them in your house, then what about getting a handheld? The main handheld consoles 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.

There are also some other handhelds that have been released in recent years, such as: