As much as I'd like to, I really can't bring myself to disagree with this sentiment. Last generation, we already had gems like ICO, Jet Grind Radio, Shenmue, and Rez. With the exception of maybe Portal and a few games offered via downloadable services, I can't really come up with a single console game on the same level as any of those games.

That's not to say there haven't been some solid games this generation, but I still can't shake this feeling of disappointment in the potential that the consoles have that's going to waste.

This article sounds a little fanboyish at first, but I agree with most of the things they said.

The Nintendo Wii is the system for the casual gamer. A lot of the games are multiplayer party games, and hopefully after a couple of years those casual gamers will pick up a PS3 or 360 later. As for hardcore gamers it doesn't seem as there will be any exclusive game to look for to this holiday that can compete with Resistance 2 and Gears 2. The Wii is headed the way of the gamecube software wise (you get about 3 or 4 great games a year and that's it). For hardcore gamers I think the time to buy a Wii is holiday 2010. I say this because by then Nintendo should have had plenty of time to make plenty of new games that will exactly what the Wii is capable of (gameplay and graphic wise).

Lifetime sells - 80/150 mil. It complete depends on how long families can stay interested in the system. If it maintains it may sell well past 150 mil.

Next console - 2011/2014 Yes I think Nintendo will be the first to put out a new console if the Wii sells drop off soon. I think the next Wii will again be the least powerful of the systems (about as strong as the current systems are if not slightly more or less). (360 or PS3 power wise, cost $250)

The 360. I think Microsoft has done the best they can with the 360 (excluding the mess up with the hardware and other events). I feel the 360 has done a great job at dominating the hardcore gamers for these past couple of years. As far as games go. I think Gears 2 will be the best exclusive (as an overall package gameplay, graphics, etc...), and not because the 360 can't handle games far superior, but because Microsoft doesn't have the developers to push their console to make games that rival Killzone 2 and Heavy Rain. Microsoft's first party developers are probably the weakest among the 3 consoles, and with them closing down many of them it's not getting any better. Microsoft can't afford to let Sony and Nintendo put out exclusive each year and not come out with any of their own, so they rely on their studios to put out a couple of games every year or every other year, which is why you won't see anything like Killzone 2 coming exclusively from Microsoft until they completely have the formula down for making a 360 game. This is why I believe Microsoft pays for exclusive downloadable content, to help out with their overall sales (both software and hardware), because they can't make as many games as Nintendo and Sony can on a yearly basis. And the more exclusive content you have on your system the more people will be willing to purchase your system, so they shell out some cash to make 3rd party games sell more on their system. As far as next year goes Microsoft hasn't announced much and that's how they've been doing things lately. We know of Halo 3 Recon, GTA DLC, Alan Wake, Forza 3, Ninja Blade, Fallout DLC, and that's about it. That's a pretty impressive list, but it doesn't compare to what Sony is offering, and most of it is DLC for games that we already own. I think Microsoft has put up a great fight, but ultimately the PS3 is going to surpass it in sells once the PS3's price drops, and it's major title are all out for the system. I love the 360 don't get me wrong, but this is what I think is going to happen as early as 2010.

Lifetime sells - 60 mil. If they keep it on the market after they launch their new system.

New console - 2012 I think Microsoft will milk the 360 as long as they can before shipping a new console, and I son't think the next Xbox will be this huge jump hardware-wise. I think we'll get a leap, but not as much as people will be expecting seeing how Nintendo has done so we'll with the Wii, I'm sure Microsoft will want to cash in on that making a more powerful system than the Wii 2, and a price that's slighting higher. (Current gaming laptops power wise, cost $300)

The PS3 has a very rocky start mainly due to press, misinforming gamers. And unfortunately many gamers still have those misinformed impression locked in their minds. The PS3 has nowhere to go but up. Sony has corrected many of the problems that plagued the system at launch over the years (many of them were handled before the 1st year of the PS3). The PS3 however has been plagued, by it's high price and difficulty to develop for, but all of that is staring to change drastically. The PS3 is now $400, and is rumored to drop in price to $300 starting spring of next year (I still think it's February along with Killzone 2 that would be the wisest thing Sony could do this gen), and many developers are starting development with PS3 as the lead platform which will make both versions of a multiplatform game equal and give developers a better grasp of what the PS3 has to offer. And with the inclusion of Home Sony has the best chance of capturing that large chuck of the casual Wii audience who may eventually buy another console. Sony's trophy award system if true should turn the tide in multiplatform game sells as you will be rewarded for playing games and accomplishing difficult task within games, including special items for home, exclusive betas, and more. And with their 2009 line Sony plans to show exactly what the PS3 can do with titles like Killzone 2, Heavy Rain, God of War 3, Gran Turismo 5, Infamous, MAG, Uncharted 2, Burnout Paradise DLC, Mirror's Edge DLC, White Knight Chronicles, Yakuza 3, Wardevil, The Agency, Crysis (rumor), Eye Pet, Twisted Metal (rumor), Quantum Theory (I think it looks interesting), and FF13 (I'm holding on to a sliver of hope for this one) are all coming out exclusively to the PS3 in 2009, so there will definitely be no more excuse that the PS3 doesn't have any or as many good games as the 360, because as of now almost all of these games look to be very appealing. However if the PS3 doesn't sell as I expect it to then I don't think there is much Sony can do to win the console war besides drop the price to $99 and hope for the best.

Lifetime sells - 80/120 mil. I think come time when the other systems are done and ready to move on to their next consoles the PS3 will be at 80 mil, but will continue to sell through it's 10 year life cycle reaching a total of 120 mil.

Next console - 2014 I think Sony will be last again, but this time they will wait to get eh price on their console to an affordable one form the start. I think the PS4 will again be the most powerful console, and seeing how I think Microsoft will go the Nintendo route I thonk Sony will be the console to go to for amazing graphics. Not say the 360 won't be a powerhouse on it's own, but I think the same thing will happen how Killzone 2 is currently crushing anything on consoles now. (Current Gaming rigs power wise, cost $400)

@ Paranoidmonkey: I thought Resident Evil 4 was far from a mindless shooter. In fact- and it might just be me- it took a lot of strategy for me to beat the game. From the way the game plays with your mind to the necessity to conserve ammo, I thought it was tough.

Plus, the various enemies (particularly boss fights) were varied and it took some thought to bring them down. Contrast this with the bosses of Resistance 2 and Gears 2, which require no strategy other than to pump them full of bullets. I don't know, I think there is a lot more to Resident Evil 4 (and hopefully 5) than there is to most other shooters.

Ablecain, try turning the difficulty up.

All the BIG name games, the AAA quality games. I think it was in part due to the closer/stiffer competition this time around.

While you guys keep throwing around the big name games (i.e. Halo, R2, Gears 2, KZ2, LBP) my personal favourite this gen has got to be WARHAWK!

All consoles will do well this time around , The Wii has proven to not be a fad , The 360 has survived the storm knows as the RROD , and the PS3 has improved in sales and quality of games...

So far i've really been enjoying this gen lots of greats games , more competition means better quality games and services for us gamers.

Just because you own all three consoles, doesn't mean squat. It's about time the PS3 had a little positive news because all I've been seeing are flames, flames, flames, bashing, and more flames.

?... What do you mean? There's plenty of positive ps3 news. LBP, despite it's few hurdles is one of the best games this year. Along with MGS4 and R2. Could you imagine trying to defend the Wii? Especially here on ng4? Well sometimes I try, as much as I hate what Nintendo is doing.

littletad, you know damn well what I'm talking about. Every time I come here, there's usually something negative about LBP sales or PS3 sales, as if the universe is gonna collapse if Sony doesn't outsell their competitors when it's shown a MILLION times that they're running at their own pace.

It's a PS3 based site that is promoting the PS3. That's pretty much a given. OXM promotes the Xbox. Weird.

As far as Microsoft "stealing" franchises, didn't Sony do the same thing to Nintendo when they introduced the original Playstation? Final Fantasy 1-6 were all released as console exclusive for Nintendo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... Metal Gear was a MSX2 exclusive until it released on the NES. Later it became a Sony exclusive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... That would be Sony's two hottest series. There are more if you want to look.

-Death

Your relentless on this point aren't you? The negative gaming news on LBP has been by BOTH sides. Yes the 360 fans are immature for starting a user review and vice versa with the ps3. Yes the 360 fans started it, I know. But that crap aside, LBP has been pretty positive in the media all together. The recent negative news has been by all fans. I myself am pissed about the way Sony handled the marketing and even the moderation. Some say it's not as bad as it seems, but others differ. Especially if one of your favorite levels was deleted. Here's a good example.

http://kotaku.com/5089481/l...

But let me tell you something. All this doesn't even compare to the amount of RROD articles, jokes, and bashes. So don't even say the ps3 has "little positive" news on here.

@Death

Thanks, you pretty much laid to rest the franchise "stealing" part of this article.

@below

Omg, you hit disagree just because I brought up Kotaku? Talk about nerve huh? Anyway, Kotaku aside, the reason I put that link up is cause there is a valid and legit complaint from a Sony LBP fan himself on there. Try reading it beforehand. And alright, so it's a breath of fresh air for you. Great, now let's leave it at that. As I'm tired of arguing anyways.

littletad, you have some nerve posting anything from jokaku themselves.

I'm pissed at Sony as well because they can do a lot better than this. But everyone makes it sound as if they're incapable of fixing their own mistakes or something.

This article was just a breath of fresh air imo.

This is in NO WAY a comment about Microsoft stealing or not stealing any franchises from anybody. I don't care about that and don't care to argue about it. What I'm going to do is defend Sony against all of the people who say that they stole franchises (Final Fantasy & Metal Gear).

Fact is, they didn't steal those franchises, the developers chose of their own accord to develop them on the Playstation because Nintendo decided to go with cartridges for the N64, drastically reducing the amount of space available to them. The CD-ROM format of the Playstation gave Squaresoft enough capacity on the disc (and freedom to use multiple discs) to put all the pre-rendered cutscenes they wanted in their game, and the freedom for Konami to put full hours upon hours of voice acting into Metal Gear Solid.

It was a creative decision by the producers of the games to go with the platform that allowed them all of that space.

As for games that were for the past 2 generations "Sony exclusive" going multiplatform now, well... who really knows. I'd say there's a decent chance it was all just for the sake of business, but mostly decisions being made by the developers. But then again, Microsoft has been known to open their pocket book. I don't know if it comes down to business decision, creative decision, bribery, or a little of each, and quite frankly, I don't care. It's irrelevant as long as we get to enjoy some good games.

or jukken or whatever you want to call yourself.....why dont you leave your weird love emotions at home????

I see people giving you an argument and all you are doing is taking it to heart....but yet you dont mind dealn out the same sort of bull to other people day in and day out.....

This is by no means directed at anything in the article because who really cares???? But calm down and go take a pill......

Come back when you can take your emotions out of the equation because your just getting creepy.....

If what you are saying is true, these developers would have embraced both the PS2 and Xbox last generation. You are partly correct about the additional storage that CD provided, but the bottom line was money. Sony aggressively sought third party support by helping developers with dev kits and also by having lower royalty fees. It's naive to think it was wholly creative reasons since they could have used the HDD that was standard in the Xbox to make games better. Overall the Xbox HDD got no use from third party devs since creativity always takes a backseat to profitability.

-Death

O FYI just need to clear uultimolu the fact that companies cant steal something that the other company doesnt own.....

These 3rd party developers are in it for the money....they made games on every system for one thing only....MONEY.....it is a business they go where they can make money.....cuz if they dont they wont survive and they wouldnt be able to take chances in most cases......

So people got to get off the whole they stole this game....o yeah well they stole these games nonsense.....

Christ, some of you really need to open your eyes. Sony, Microsoft AND Nintendo have all got one thing in common - they are here to make money.
They will all do whatever it takes to keep cash rolling in.

Poaching exclusives? Ha! Of course they will, why wouldn't they? All of them are guilty of it (With Nintendo to a slightly lesser extent - they don't really NEED "big" 3rd party exclusives just yet) and you know what, I'm fine with that because it creates what's known as "competition".

All the fanbots (deliberate typo - did you see what I did there?!) out there need to realise that there's no sense on one console becoming completely dominant in this market. It doesn't matter if the winner is the 360 or the PS3, the second one outrightly "wins", the quality of the system will do nothing but decline because whoever owns it will have no reason to make it better.
You know all those firmware updates that bring out new and better functionality? Do you actually think they do it because they want their customers to be satisfied, or is it likely (and this is the shocking part) that they're only doing it to try to get an edge with the competition?

2 years on and being completely honest, it's still anybody's game. Everyone gets so upset when one console outsells another by a couple of thousand units, but in the grand scheme of things both consoles are here for the long run and that's producing one of the best generations in gaming we've seen for a long, long time. So instead of bickering and arguing with each other, just be happy that no matter which side of the fence you stand on, you're a winner - and it's all thanks to the opposition.

"Sony aggressively sought third party support by helping developers with dev kits and also by having lower royalty fees"

And what's to complain about their? Making it easier for developer's to do what their creative vision is inspired to do. Make the process cheaper, less risky, easier, and give them more freedom, and you spark a revolution in gaming.

It was a good thing.