Categories: Gaming

The latest generation of consoles have gone head to head with each other for control of your living room and ultimately your life. This round of the console war has ended, and it was an interesting one indeed. These consoles offered more than the usual increase in processing power and release of games that pack more polygons. Whether it be an improved online experience, more intuitive controls, or more power than even the most hardcore gamer could use up, these consoles have truly revolutionized gaming, and were the object of many a fanboy’s wet dream.

Like the one in Iraq, the console war will probably never end. We all know of the fiasco surrounding the PS3. Now that was truly a battlefield, and not in the metaphorical sense, as there were real casualties. The others were tame in comparison. All were long, grueling tests of both endurance and patience. Christmas was a less savage battle, as the spoils were plentiful and the warriors consisted of less fanboys and more parents hoping to get that present that would make their children return their love. Yet it was the most crucial of all the battles. And we now have the bodycount. The Xbox 360 seems to be the victor, selling 2 million units. The Wii came in second, with 1.8 million units, impressive given the late release. The PS3 came dead last, with only 750,000 units sold.

Serves Sony right for the artificial scarcity I’m pretty sure they created. I mean 400,000 systems for 30 million fans? This either proves that Sony was involved in a corporate conspiracy to validate their price point and create some “bad” publicity, or they need to fire whoever’s in charge of market research. The Wii’s sales were probably boosted by the fact that it was targeted towards more casual and non-gamers. This was a clever marketing strategy, but I believe I speak for most gamers when I say I don’t want Mom and Dad interrupting my Twilight Princess to play Wii Sports. We get enough competition from our younger siblings, thank you very much.

Microsoft is touting the success of the 360. Understandable, as Microsoft hasn’t had much to brag about. The Zune is a flop, no one cares about Soapbox, Firefox is eating away at IE’s dominance, despite the release of its latest version, and Vista will probably receive a lukewarm reception at best. Given the fact that January to March is a sluggish period, console sales now will be negligible. So for now, the battle is over, but not the war.