Entertainment Weekly Console Midterm Report Card
Seems pretty accurate to me.
XBOX 360 : A-
Going forward, it'll get much harder for Xbox to stay on top. Nintendo is building some serious momentum. A year from now, it's conceivable there'll be more Wii consoles in people's homes than 360s. Sooner, not later, PlayStation 3 sales will begin to heat up too. And yet, despite the doom and gloom, Microsoft's machine is still the console to beat. For the most part, they've been doing everything right. Wii and the PS3 still suffer from a drought of top-shelf games, making the 360's solid lineup look even stronger. And when the competition rolls out a hit or two, it'll still be hard to match the 360's superb online network. The next six months bring a strong string of hit games, led by a Halo 3 onslaught. Add in a potential price drop later this year and we still like the Xbox 360.
NINTENDO WII : B-
While the Wii continues to dominate the sales charts, there are signs that the system is starting to lose a bit of its luster. The reason? Compelling new games have been few and far between. It's not surprising that we find ourselves playing most multi-platform games on the PS3 and 360 instead of on the lower-resolution (and sometimes gimmicky) Wii. Also, the lack of online play or other Wii Channel updates make us wonder if Nintendo is coasting when it should be strategizing to stay on top. Of course, just one hit — be it Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros., or the new Metroid — will have us reaching for the eraser.
PLAYSTATION 3 : B-
No one can dispute that the PS3 is the most technologically impressive of the three consoles. In the scheme of things, a sluggish two or three fiscal quarters won't doom a machine. But a sluggish year or two most certainly can — that's when perceptions solidify into common wisdom. Really, there's nothing so wrong with the PS3 that a few breakout titles and some bold executive decisions can't fix. We lowered the grade — but can't help thinking that a few shiny stickers could still wind up adorning the PS3 report card this winter.
Going forward, it'll get much harder for Xbox to stay on top. Nintendo is building some serious momentum. A year from now, it's conceivable there'll be more Wii consoles in people's homes than 360s. Sooner, not later, PlayStation 3 sales will begin to heat up too. And yet, despite the doom and gloom, Microsoft's machine is still the console to beat. For the most part, they've been doing everything right. Wii and the PS3 still suffer from a drought of top-shelf games, making the 360's solid lineup look even stronger. And when the competition rolls out a hit or two, it'll still be hard to match the 360's superb online network. The next six months bring a strong string of hit games, led by a Halo 3 onslaught. Add in a potential price drop later this year and we still like the Xbox 360.
NINTENDO WII : B-
While the Wii continues to dominate the sales charts, there are signs that the system is starting to lose a bit of its luster. The reason? Compelling new games have been few and far between. It's not surprising that we find ourselves playing most multi-platform games on the PS3 and 360 instead of on the lower-resolution (and sometimes gimmicky) Wii. Also, the lack of online play or other Wii Channel updates make us wonder if Nintendo is coasting when it should be strategizing to stay on top. Of course, just one hit — be it Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros., or the new Metroid — will have us reaching for the eraser.
PLAYSTATION 3 : B-
No one can dispute that the PS3 is the most technologically impressive of the three consoles. In the scheme of things, a sluggish two or three fiscal quarters won't doom a machine. But a sluggish year or two most certainly can — that's when perceptions solidify into common wisdom. Really, there's nothing so wrong with the PS3 that a few breakout titles and some bold executive decisions can't fix. We lowered the grade — but can't help thinking that a few shiny stickers could still wind up adorning the PS3 report card this winter.
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