Comparing Playstation 3 Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii

Finally, everyone is here. The Xbox 360 has had the market for next generation gaming itself for a year. Now its two competitors, the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii, is here. No more speculation about the speed. No more guessing about memory. Now we take a look and see exactly how they stack up compared to others.
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, Compact Flash slots.

The Xbox 360 has two configurations. It comes in a version of the base $ 299 and $ 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 is a PowerPC core running at 3.2 GHz, which also have seven DSPs that run at 3.2 GHz this configuration can be done 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 a general processor of the cell and seven additional DSPs. This configuration can be done with a teraflop.

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

Disc Media
Part of the reason the PS3 is more expensive than the Xbox 360 because Sony decided to include a Blu-ray drive in the system. The unit can play Blu-ray and regular DVD. The Xbox 360 comes with a DVD player and an HD-DVD add-on is expected. The Nintendo Wii uses a DVD drive, however, the system does not work for playing movies, just Nintendo games.

Backwards Compatibility
The Playstation 3 is the same as the PS2 was. You will be able to play both PS2 and PSone games on the PS3. Nintendo is taking things a bit more. Your system will be compatible with GameCube games and 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 Nintendo 64.

Sweet Features
If you want HD gaming, the PS3 is the way forward. It comes with a built-in Blu-ray and can output in 1080p. Although the PS3 controller may look familiar, which has had some updates. The controller is now motion sensing so in some games you will be able to move your character or fly a plane just by moving the controller.

The Xbox 360 was built to run on Windows XP Media Center. If you have a computer that already have media center on it, you can view images, videos and even recorded TV using your Xbox. You do not have to put your PC in your living room to take advantage of a Media Center PC.

The Nintendo Wii decided to completely change the way gaming controllers are built. In the past, a driver was held with both hands. The Wii controller looks more like a TV remote than a gaming device. It has built a motion sensor, for example, to swing a sword, just move the hand as they were in fact a sword.

Hopefully this review has helped to compare the three systems of new generation consoles. Each has its pros and cons, and they have that are unique to it. Ultimately, the decision will probably come down to which system has the most games you like. And that's a decision only you can make when deciding on a system to purchase.