Comparing The Playstation 3, Xbox 360, And
Nintendo WII
Author: Gary Ruplinger

Finally, they're all here. The Xbox 360 has had the next
generation gaming market to itself for a year. Now its two
competitors, the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii, are here. No
more speculating about speed. No more guessing about memory.
Now we can take a look and see exactly how they stack up
compared to each other.

Let the console wars begin again.

Price
The PS3 has two configurations much like the Xbox 360. The PS3
comes in a $499 version that comes with a 20 GB hard drive and
a $599 version that comes with a 60 GB hard drive; Wi-Fi; and
memory stick, SD, and Compact Flash slots.

The Xbox 360 has two configurations.  It comes in a $299 core
version and a $399 version that comes with a 20GB hard drive.

The Nintendo Wii is the cheapest of the bunch with just one
configuration that costs $250.

Processing Power
The Playstation 3 comes with its Cell processor. It's a PowerPC
based core that runs at 3.2 GHz that also have seven DSPs that
run at 3.2 GHz. This configuration can do about 2 Teraflops.

The Xbox 360 has a Custom IBM PowerPC processor. This processor
also runs at 3.2 GHz. However, Xbox went with a true 3 core
processor compared to the one general processor of the Cell and
seven additional DSPs. This configuration can do about 1
Teraflop.

The Nintendo Wii includes its Broadway processor, a PowerPC
based processor running at 729 MHz.

Disc Media
Part of the reason the PS3 is so much more expensive than the
Xbox 360 is because the Sony decided to include a Blu-ray drive
on the system. The drive can play both Blu-ray movies and
regular DVDs. The Xbox 360 comes with a DVD player and an
HD-DVD add-on is planned. The Nintendo Wii uses a DVD drive;
however, the system will not work for playback of movies, just
Nintendo games.

Backwards Compatibility
The Playstation 3 is just like the PS2 was. You'll be able to
play both PS2 and PSone games on the PS3.  Nintendo is taking
things a bit further. Their system will be compatible with the
Gamecube games and also the Gamecube controllers since the two
systems use very different controllers. Not only that, but the
Wii will also have the ability to download games from the
original Nintendo (NES), Super Nintendo (SNES), and the
Nintendo 64.

Sweet Features
If you want high definition gaming, then the PS3 is the way to
go. It comes with a Blu-ray drive built in and can output in
1080p. Although the PS3 controller may look familiar, it's had
some updates. The controller is now motion sensing so in some
games you'll be able to move your character or fly a plane just
by moving the controller.

The Xbox 360 was built to work with Windows XP media center. If
you have a computer that already has media center on it, you'll
be able to view pictures, videos, and even recorded TV by using
your Xbox. You won't need to put your PC in your living room to
take advantage of having a Media Center PC.

The Nintendo Wii decided to completely change the way gaming
controllers are built. In the past, one controller was always
held with both hands. The Wii's controller looks more like a TV
remote control than a game controller. It has a built in motion
sensor so, for example, to swing a sword, you simply move you
hand just like you were really swinging a sword.

Hopefully this review has helped you compare the three next
generation gaming systems. Each has its pluses and minuses, and
feature that are unique to it. Ultimately, your decision will
likely come down to which system has the games that most appeal
to you. And that is a decision that only you can make when
deciding on a system to buy.


About The Author: Gary Ruplinger is the editor of
http://www.ps3asap.com, a resource for getting the in demand
PS3 system. He also is a writer for
http://www.gamesystemreviews.com where you can learn about all
of the next generation systems.