Prices are going up, people are being shot and trampled in respectable retailing establishments, finals are in two weeks, and it’s cold outside. Is it Christmas time already?
Indeed it is. The holiday season is upon us and what better way is there to celebrate than buying things? This year’s must-have items: the PS3 and Nintendo Wii. Acquiring either can be quite an arduous, if not impossible, task. But not to worry! Helping young undergraduates beat the system while fighting the Man is why student journalism exists. To that end, we’ll prominently feature which system does what, how you can get one and the best kind of Kevlar armor to wear while doing so.
It is a very exciting time to be a gamer. The industry has just entered a phase that many are calling the ‘next generation.’ The Big Three (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo) all currently have a next-gen console available to the public at large, the Xbox 360, the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii. The latter two have just come onto the market, and are by far the most interesting, each for their own reasons.
The PS3 seeks to further the concept of gaming as we know it, while the Wii attempts to change that concept.
In one corner, we have the PS3, which has to be the most next-gen of this ‘next generation.’ When we talk about PS3, we are talking about power. This is the world’s most advanced video gaming system, due largely in part to CELL, a chip developed by Sony and composed of eight – count ’em, eight – processor cores. That’s a lot more impressive than it sounds, because it enables the PS3 to divvy up tasks which were previously unworkable. One core can work exclusively with bullets, another with bodies, blood, skull fragments, etc. Of course, this also means that PS3 games are going to be incredibly difficult to program, but they’ll look good.
In the other corner is the Nintendo Wii, which is so radically different, so unique, that most word processors refuse to acknowledge ‘Wii’ as a word. Nintendo, back at its old game of messing with the minds of every person on the planet (Remember DS?), is changing the rules of gameplay.
The Wii’s controller isn’t really a controller at all. It’s a remote… a Wii-mote. And you can’t use it without somehow using its motion sensing capabilities. This can be fun; you can stand up and swing it up and down as if you were slashing a sword, and if you don’t feel like doing that you can do the same thing sitting down on a couch while flicking your wrist.
Launch titles for both systems are good, but really aren’t as impressive as you may have hoped. A PS3 exclusive called “Resistance: Fall of Man” is about what England would have been like if aliens had blitzed London instead of the Nazis (You can’t make this up), but don’t worry it’s fun; whereas the Wii is putting forth a new Zelda game, “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” in which Link is a farmer who turns into a wolf in an alternate dimension (you really can’t make that up).
Getting one of these new next-gen consoles can be tricky. Going to the store and buying one is out. Most retailers won’t reserve them in advance, and they’re sold out anyway. Besides, it’s dangerous. A man in Putnam, Conn. was shot in the chest by some kids who really wanted to play PS3. That’s right, a man in a town in the very state that you are now residing in, was shot… over a video game.
Not to worry though, for another man over in Manchester, Conn. was only severely beaten for his PS3, so you might luck out. Actually, the best method of acquisition, aside from armed robbery, is the internet. Six out of ten people who bought their console did so with the intention of re-selling it, so there’s a market out there.
In the end, it’s important to remember that we are standing at the forefront of another technological revolution, so be not afraid of the chaos that ensues as a result of enterprising early-adapters. What starts now as a mad panic will eventually blossom into another four or five years of virtual fun for all, so relax and enjoy.
Oh, and whichever system you decide on, wear military-issue armor to the store.
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