Next-gen gaming consoles go mano-a-mano

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET Networks)

And then there were three.

The Xbox 360 has had the next-gen mantle to itself for a year, but it's about to get some major competition in the form of the Sony PlayStation 3 (November 17) and Nintendo Wii (November 19). We've compared the final shipping versions of the two newcomers with our tried and true 360, and we've posted our hands-on reviews of each.

Note to fanboys of all stripes: before you unleash venomous attacks that question our sanity (whoops--too late!), please keep a few things in mind.

• With these reviews, we've focused on the hardware and its capabilities. The ratings are a reflection of the device itself and its potential, which includes a lot of non-gaming capabilities.
• If you're judging these consoles strictly on gaming merits, your choice will come down to the actual games available--which is a short list for the PS3 and the Wii. As more (and better) games become available for each platform, choices will become more clear cut--and more subjective. In other words, the highest-rated PS3 will never play Zelda or Halo 3, so if those are your must-have games, you should opt for the Wii and Xbox 360, respectively.
• All three consoles have online components and upgradable firmware, so they can--and will--experience upgrades in the upcoming weeks and months. For instance, Microsoft will be adding downloadable movies and TV shows to the Xbox 360 on November 22. Sony and Nintendo won't be activating the bulk of their online features until their respective launch dates; we'll update the reviews accordingly when they do.
• Availability can trump all. Xbox 360s remain widely available, but the new Nintendo and (especially) Sony consoles will be hard to get in the upcoming weeks and months.
• The CNET user opinions date back to when these products were first officially announced (May 2005). With the possible exception of the 360, almost nobody who's "rated" these consoles has actually spent any time with one yet.
• In the final analysis, all three consoles were judged to be "excellent," and with good reason. It may be harder than ever to choose just one, and we fully expect a lot of consumers to eventually own at least two (one of which almost certainly being the affordable Nintendo Wii). Again, the importance of lust-worthy, exclusive titles is likely to be the tiebreaker.

With those explanations in mind--see how the Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii compare.

[bazanime]

You have influence!!

Hmm ok! Nice disclaimer, but i really don't trust Cnet reviews anymore, i just watch the videos to see new gadgets "live".

Well, the damage has been done already and you probably don't really give a damn about it anyways.

Note! The 360 can use a usb hub and thus any memory storage device can be attached to it. So in terms of memory expansion options against the PS3s built in slots, its equal. Game save onto memory card can be enabled via software upgrade if needed.

Next Gen dvd format wars aside, both system are on par with each other. The only thing stopping me from a PS3 is the price, and i really rather build my own quad core pc for that amount (which i am planning to do).

The Wii will keep my 360 company for now and later in the year so will the PS3.

I know Playstation is brand name that everyone and their granny know so well, but try not to jump so quickly to that bandwagon.

[jpfalcone]

thanks for not trusting us

You're absolutely right on the 360 having the potential to read attached USB drives and flash media readers. It also does a great job of streaming media from networked PCs. And, indeed, you can add an HD-DVD drive to the 360 as well. But doing so adds significant cost--equal to the PS3--and a rat's nest of wires and cables. I don't think pointing that out and rating accordingly amounts to "jumping on the bandwagon"--especially when the review specifically states that the PS3 games, to date, don't represent any real improvement over their 360 counterparts.