A non gamers perspective on the Gaming consoles

Recently I got xbox360 kinect bundle. It was the appeal of Kinect that drove me to buy xbox. I also own ps3 and wii even though I am not a gamer. I have only played family games. Recently quite a few of my non-gamer friends have asked me about how these consoles differ, hence this post.

Wii has established itself firmly as an non-gamer console of choice. It probably has the largest collection of the Family Friendly “E” rated games. Wii also has a extremely low learning curve. It allows grandparents to play side by side with their grandkids and have fun! It is a great way to have a fun filled family night. *Wii Fit * is a must have, It puts fun back in the exercise. It actually makes you want to do exercise.

Few things that I did not like about Wii are that it does not do HD. I have a big screen HD TV, and I hated seeing crappy graphics on it, so Wii has been relegated to the basement “play room”, where my kids can enjoy it with their buddies on an older CRT. We have two Wii controls which get shared during group play dates. It usually becomes hassle to keep reminding kind to use the wrist band. and we have had our fair share of wii remote becoming a projectile tossed around the room.

PS3 has been a premier gaming console. I have not bought the new move so my review is of console only. I essentially got PS3 because of things it could do outside of gaming. I was looking for a cheap bluray player last year and PS3 was the cheapest and best bluray player. It is wifi ready, connects to internet, and does does DLNA. It comes with sufficient storage. We use it to view movies over net, watch dvds (it upconverts), bluray and to share pics/home videos via DLNA. PS3 does great hi-def and is 3D ready. Being able to watch online movies on big screen via ps3 is huge as most Bollywood movies are available online and I don’t have to run around to try to rent it.

Unfortunately PS3 is not casual gamer friendly, maybe move will change that, but having a physical control to gesture with, is just projectile waiting to smash your TV.

Xbox w/ Kinect Xbox with Kinect is a game changer. Its the newest kid on the block, thus, there are are just a few games. Xbox/Kinect has all the signs of being the console that rules the causal gaming and your coffee table will be the collateral damage. Kinect makes you move your whole body, making you jump, kick, wave, dodge and gesture with your hands, giving you a full body exercise. You will ache in places you never knew existed. Its very intuitive to use and is fast and amazingly good. It also makes a great party gadget, guests can joining and leave seamlessly. No controller to exchange. It is also a lot of fun to just to watch people play. Old and young play it alike. Couch potatoes will also have an urge to stand up and join in.

Although, Xbox does Hidef, it can’t play bluray disks. Also, for some inexplicable reason, MSFT changes monthly fee for online access (via xbox live). For me it means I cannot use netflix, facebook and other online features. Xbox doesnt have a browser, so cannont watch stuff online (like you can with PS3). You are stuck whats supported by xbox live and have to pay for it. I have not tried DLNA, but it seems to be limited to MSFT Media center.

My dream console would have been PS3 with Kinect. Sigh. Kinect will definitely dethrone Wii. Nintendo stopped innovating after Wii, and they will have to pay dearly for it. Kinect has enough appeal and geekry for it to rule the roost in my household. PS3 will still be there for its bluray and online/DLNA capabilities.