Nintendo has decided to name their next-gen console "Wii" (pronounced 'We'), it was hyped under the codename Revolution until now. There is a lot of speculation on what will go into this machine, but what is now known is that the controller is innovative and different.
Sony has indicated that PS3 will ship later this year, probably for around US$400. XBox 360 has been around for a little while now, mostly to good reviews.
Who will win?
XBox 360 has the lead, PS3 alledgedly has the best graphics (alledgedly), Wii has the new controller. My take is that
if 'Wii' works as advertised in the
videos and the controller is indeed simple and
fun to use -- they will pretty much sell a lot more units than Sony or M$.
My reasoning is that ultimately consumers will buy a console for game-play, not to replace their home-entertainment system. Not in 2006 anyway -- and Nintendo seems to be pretty much focused on great game play and making their console as widely accessible as possible. Even if they can get 10% more women to start playing their games -- that along will be a huge new market for them.
Sony/M$ seem to be starting on a long path to build '
the entertainment box', and in this regard their product line is really Version 1 and we/they have a long way to go before it will be the 'one box that will rule them all'.
In 12 months we will know...
