Entertainment Weekly console Thunderdome
Four Entertainment Weekly writers pitted the three consoles against each other Thunderdome style: Three consoles enter, one console leaves. Yeah, we wish it were that cool, but they pretty much did a standard in-depth breakdown of the consoles and what it means to the average Entertainment Weekly reader. Here are the highlights:
PS3 -- Other than saying that the machine is gorgeous like Darth Vader, they pretty much go the softer route of the New York Times bashing. If you don't have a HDTV, which is still a majority of people, than you "can't fully appreciate" what the $600 system has to offer. They also say you get what you pay for with the online service which is a "work in progress." They say to resist temptation and wait until there is a "practical" reason to purchase. After all they say about the system it still got a grade of B.
Wii -- The B+ rated system gets the grade for every tired reason mentioned in the past. The graphics aren't pretty, "clueless companies trying to shoehorn existing franchises onto a radically different control scheme aren't doing anyone any favors," the wii-mote might get old fast and playing games actually requires you to move. The almost identical ratings for the Wii and PS3 are quite telling. It shows that gamers must truly be divided on what is more important: Tech specs or gameplay?
Xbox 360 -- EW likes the 360. "Hands-down your best game console option at the moment." They say it already has some must-buy titles like Gears of War, Ghost Recon, Dead Rising and Viva Piñata for the "family-friendly" set. The gushing over the system continues until it culminates in an A-. They also make sure to say it's in "bountiful supply" now.
It'll be nice to revisit this in a year when we can watch some blood be spilled. Giving such close grades to systems seems more like a cop-out. Hopefully by this time next year we'll get a real verdict from EW.
