The Next-Gen Consoles Revisited

So about a month has passed since E3, and things are looking even more interesting with these new consoles. It turns out that Nintendo isn’t completely behind in the race, as Sony is intending to release the PS3 in Spring ‘06 as well. This is a crucial chance for Nintendo to actually release a console ahead of Sony for once. The rumored specs for the Nintendo machine would put it on par with the XBOX 360; but then again it’s not as if Nintendo has ever let their machines be defined solely by their technical specifications. The N64 and Gamecube both had their deficiencies, but Nintendo was still able to perform some amazing feats with the limited hardware. As an admitted Nintendo fanboy, I hope they take this chance to reclaim some of their former glory.

Despite having a Spring release date, I think Sony is poised to be an even bigger force this time around. Even though the Playstation 2 hardware was technically inferior to the XBOX and Gamecube, they were still able to remain popular with their strong developer support and marketing. This time around their specs far surpass the competition–we can only imagine what the combination of strong hardware and developer support will do for Sony. Can they get any bigger?

Despite the overly stylized look of the device, I have alot of hope in the XBOX 360. While some old-school gamers refuse to acknowledge Microsoft as a console presence, we’ve pretty much gotten to the point where we can’t ignore the big M. The biggest thing MS has going for it this time around is the early release date. If the machine comes out around October or November, they may still be able to get a 6 month lead over Nintendo and Sony. MS surprised us with the plethora of great games available for the original XBOX, now it looks like they’re going to land even more Japanese developer support. Backwards compatibility seems to be a bit of an issue with MS, they can’t confirm if it will be technically possible yet, but I think it can only help the 360 in the end. The PS2 was the first console to be backwards-compatible with its predecessor, and was all the more successful because of it.