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Lately, there has been a considerable amount of discussion on which console will win this generation's war. Will it be the Wii with its established base and strong sales? Will it be the Xbox 360 with its steady growth? Or will it be the Playstation 3 with its strong sales over the past few months?

If you ask me, it'll be the Xbox 360.

Now I know what you're thinking -- "how?" The answer is actually quite simple: the Wii is not nearly as strong as some want to believe and Sony's strong growth is the result of a lower hardware price, which is allowing it to catch up to the pack.

Of course, Sony's Kaz Hirai doesn't agree with that sentiment. According to the company's gaming chief, Sony will follow a "ten-year cycle" with the PS3 that should propel it to the top spot in the industry once it's all said and done.

And while his desire to do that isn't quite rooted in reality, I guess you can't blame a guy for trying.… Read more

When Take-Two released GTA IV to the masses last week, some wondered just how big this game would be. Most analysts pegged the eventual first week sales at around $400 million and thought that was a huge week. But in an interesting turn of events that should press Take-Two's asking price higher, the company is poised to announce that it realized over $500 million in revenue in just the first week of Grand Theft Auto IV's availability.

But before it was met with such success, GTA IV garnered some of the biggest hype we have ever seen in gaming. Unlike any other title released in recent memory, the story of Niko Bellic and his rise in the criminal underworld achieved blockbuster status and quickly realized the full potential of a title that can totally change the way we're expected to think of gaming in general.

With that in mind, I entered the world of GTA IV wondering what would confront me. Would it be just another example of debauchery and disregard for humanity like some critics believe or a title that would change the way I think about gaming?… Read more

This weekend was a major time for both the video game and film industry. Whether you sat at home playing Grand Theft Auto IV or decided to head down to your local theater and check out Iron Man, you had choices to make. And it's that choice -- video game or movie -- that has been setting the movie industry's profits ablaze and creating an entertainment environment that could be turned upside down.

Now I know what you're thinking -- "the movie industry is as mainstream as you can get and the video game business is still a niche." Sure, some may espouse those beliefs, but this past week has shown that games like GTA IV are capable of competing at the same level with major movies and become a mainstream focus in this industry.

In other words, the outdated notion that the video game industry is for the geeks and the film industry is for everyone else, simply doesn't hold water anymore. Instead, we're currently knee-deep in an environment that's not only welcoming to the video game industry, but has proven to be damning to the film business.

And I, for one, couldn't be more ecstatic about it.… Read more

In yet another vexing move by the ill-fated Blockbuster execs, the company announced today that it would be going retail and start selling video game consoles, games and accessories in all of its corporate locations. Some have said that this is a good move for the company and could jump start sales. I think it's crazy.

What is Blockbuster, exactly? Is it a rental chain? Is it a retailer? Is it both? It certainly looks like the company wants to be all things to all people, but not only is that plan foolhardy, it flies in the face of reason.

Whatever happened to the concept of a corporate identity? You know, that old idea you were probably taught in business school where your professor told you about the need for companies to find and solidify core competencies and stick to those. And once you found that, it was your job to be unique in that space and maintain a lead in the industry through price leadership or differentiation. Whatever happened to that idea? Did Blockbuster execs skip that class?… Read more

When Mario Kart Wii was delivered to my doorstep, I wasn't sure what my reaction would be to the latest in the popular franchise. Would I love it? Would I hate it? Would it be just another title that couldn't live up to the hype? After playing it for about four hours yesterday, I can say with full certainty that Mario Kart Wii is one of the best games I have played in quite some time.

Now I'm sure you're wondering how I can make such a statement after playing the game for four hours and I can understand that viewpoint. But until you actually play the game and have the opportunity to use the Wii Wheel and interact with this game, you won't truly understand.

And let's also not forget that the true beauty of Mario Kart Wii isn't necessarily found in the amount of time you play, but in the quality of your experience. And so far, after playing through 20 tracks, I can say that Mario Kart Wii is easily the most fun game I've ever played on the Wii and certainly is up there with other titles as one of the most entertaining games of all-time.… Read more

The New York Times recently featured a compelling piece on its pages that delved deep into the world of Nintendo. The piece focused on the Wii's customers and outlined the fact that people simply aren't buying enough games. And while seemingly everyone knows about this issue and that it could spell trouble for Nintendo, the company seems like it doesn't care.

But if it doesn't come to its senses and realize that video game sales will propel the hardware forward as console sales start to dwindle, what will be left of Nintendo's venerable console?

Some believe that Nintendo will dominate this generation no matter what, but I'm not so sure that's true. Is the company controlling the market right now? Sure. And with its installed base of over 20 million, there's little chance Sony or Microsoft will overtake it anytime soon. But as we tread deeper into this generation, Nintendo may not be able to rest on its laurels forever in the hope that its hardware will continue to sell the way it does.

In other words, Nintendo's tried and true tactic of selling compelling hardware and its many popular franchises may work for some time, but I don't think we can expect it to last forever.… Read more

Everyone likes to talk about the battle between Microsoft and Apple on the OS front, but that seems like old hat to me. Sure, there's certainly a battle being waged in that space, but is it really as hotly contested as some want to believe? Call me when Mac OS X hits 20 percent market share.

But there is one battle raging between Apple and Microsoft that many people don't even see. No, it's not in the MP3 player market where the iPod reigns supreme, it's in the home entertainment business. More specifically, the battle being waged pits the Apple TV against the Xbox 360.

Now I know what you're thinking -- "isn't the Xbox 360 a video game console and the Apple TV is a media device"? Yes and no. The description of each device may be correct, but the Xbox 360 description doesn't say enough about the console. Aside from its gaming capabilities, Microsoft's product performs many of the tasks already found on the Apple TV -- streaming entertainment, music, movies and TV show viewing and a hard drive that can store your favorite material.

And with an installed base of over 18 million that easily eclipses the Apple TV's 1.7 million installed base, there's no reason to suggest Microsoft can't win the battle and finally deal the Apple TV its death blow. And here's how it should do it:… Read more

Every year, the technology industry tries to crown the one attribute that dominated the landscape all year. And while it may be early to decide what 2008 will be defined as when it's all said and done, I think gaming has taken the prize already.

Let's face it--what else could possibly take the cake? Will it be the year of mergers just because Microsoft and Yahoo may join up while Circuit City and Blockbuster do the same thing? Boring. Will 2008 be the year of computers? Try one decade ago. Will it be the year of Web 2.0? Who cares.

The fact of the matter is that in 2008, nothing will be nearly as important or groundbreaking in this industry as gaming. Whether it's the fact that the Playstation made a huge turnaround this year or that a new DS will hit store shelves or even the fact that this year's line up of games is simply better than any other year in recent memory, 2008 will be big and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens from here on out.… Read more

In a recent column over at the The Times online, a guest contributor named Giles Whittell wrote one of the most ridiculous articles I have ever read on the subject of video games. And while he may be entitled to his opinion, his belief that video games are the root of all evil and on par with "heroin and teenage parents" is not only sickening, but ludicrous.

In his piece entitled, "Video games: I'll never buy one", Whittell outlines his hatred for video games and his utter lack of knowledge about what the form of entertainment really means to children and society.

"I hate video games, on or offline," he spewed. "I hate the way they suck real people into fake worlds and hold on to them for decades at a time. I hate being made to feel hateful for saying so, and I hate being told to immerse myself in them before passing judgment, because it feels like being told to immerse myself in smack and teenage pregnancy before passing judgment on them."

Whoa. Calm down, Giles. Smack and teenage pregnancy? That's a new one. Not too sure about you, but where I come from, smack usually involves a nose or a syringe. Oh and pregnancy, yeah, that usually involves something a bit more intimate than pressing buttons on a piece of plastic.

But I digress. What is wrong with this character? Obviously this is a man that's both misguided and misinformed about what's really going on in the world of video games.… Read more