Andre Lewis on Tech

Derek Haynes on Oct 26

You must have thought this up on your way back from RubyConf...hillarious.

I'd also like to add that the Wii is a bit like that sweet girl you had a ton of fun with in the past, disappeared for a while, and then comes back looking really, really, cute. She's a breath of fresh air, and not afraid to be different (but in a wholesome, Ruby-like way).

Jason on Oct 26

I'd turn this around into a thing about women...

PS3 is the utterly rich and obnoxious chick that looks hot but is absolutely no fun to actually hang around with. The worst part is you had a drop a ton of cash on garbage you didn't need just to get with her and then everytime you turn around she's looking for you to spend more on her. Every date is expensive and very few end well enough to be worth it.

The 360 is that girl you met out with a bunch of friends someplace dark and noisy. She wasn't perfect but she was hot enough to get your interest. So you went out and partied and had a pretty good time. You see her a few more times with friends and while ever outing isn't the most fun, she's pretty cool to hang out with overall. But once you start hanging out with her outside of the places with dark lighting, noisy music and without all her flashy clothes and makeup... well, she's just kinda... plain. And until you see her again with all the other distractions, she's just not interesting enough to hang out with.

The Wii meanwhile is that girl that totally intrigues you. She's not all dolled up. She doesn't have too much make-up on... in fact, she's downright frumpy sometimes. But frumpy in a mysteriously hot way. She's quirky. She says funny things that catch you off guard and allow you to totally have fun with her anywhere you run into each other. And despite the fact that she doesn't look like super model or party like its 1999... she's just so much fun to be with that you have to spend more time with her.

Not to knock your analogy... but I like the girls better. ;)

Soup on Oct 26

Finally! Someone who can make sense of the console wars. I think I'm going to call up my Wii right now.

MagicalTrevorJr on Oct 26

I perceive the Wii as more of the ADHD kid you know; always running around flailing his arms, and you knew they were not as smart as the rest of the class.

Taylor on Oct 26

I liked your article, it seemed really accurate. I'm not too big on the new console craze because I spent way too much money on the last set of next-gens, but I thought of something to add to your list perhaps.

DS ; Your childhood chum's younger brother. In the past, he was fun at times, but not by comparison to your friend, but now he's a bit older and is pretty fun. Unfortunately he can't really learn to do much more than he already knows how to do. He has many friends that he can easily gather to party though, which adds to his amusement.

Bojokomofo on Oct 26

Can you say wii fanboi? Im seriously sick of all these artards going "zomg this console is so much better than that one", think about it this way:

#1. Microsoft is an evil company and they are only interested in selling their crap (look at the order of how they are going to release halo 2 and you will see what i mean).

#2. Nintendo's hardware is laughable at best, totally outdated crap. They only survive off of the companies that make the FEW good games for them and nothing else, if those companies signed on with xbox or ps3 then nintendo would be dead.

#3. Sony in past and presant has given more features than both wii and xbox withought charging extra (ps3 includes a hard drive STANDERD and does not require a monthly fee to be paid for online play).

#4. All these consols suck compared to a computer, because everybody who knows anything about hardware knows that with stuff like an Athalon X2 4800 for $250, and a geforce 7900gtx for like $300 and sli, you can easily wtf pwn any of those consols, PERIOD.

shortarabguy on Oct 27

Uh, I don't know if I'd call myself a fanboy, so I'll just give a little idea of my general thoughts, and if I sound "fanboy"ish, then just ignore this post and start a flame response:
>I don't like sony because I don't like being reminded that I can't afford to smash buttons every day.
>I don't like microsoft because I don't much like the idea of paying essentially to make the console backwards compatible
>I don't really like that the people of Nintendo openly admitted to having basically the same hardware running the console.

Okay, here's my response to the anti-wii people: The Wii is super-unorthodox, and that's both good and bad. Here's why:
Good: The sheer simplicity of the console makes it a perfect gaming machine for anyone new to gaming, or really anyone who feels like taking Dance Dance Revolution above their waistline.
Bad: It's so absurdly crazy that the proud gamers of the Xbox and Playstation will never accept the new design.

In response to Bojokomofo: Yeah, the console is kept alive by a few good games, like Super Smash Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Pikmin, and others( I'd name more, but it's 1:30 AM). Then again, it's not like Microsoft has that many more flagship titles( Halo, uh... Halo 2), and remember that I'm saying Flagship titles, as in when you think "Xbox," or "Playstation," these are the things that come into your mind within half of a second. If Microsoft sold out on some of this stuff, they'd be ruined.

It's the same with every single console out there, though. Nobody wants Batman Returns for the Xbox. That game makes children cry compared to the "flagship" games.

Oh, and a quick note about the computer vs. console thing: Yeah, duh. If it was about getting the best computers out there, any idiot in the world can do it. The difficulty is in standardization. When you buy Half-Life 2 for your computer, chances are that it's because you spent even MORE money on the computer to bring it up to the required specifications to get it to work. On a console you're never supposed to need to add RAM, or get a better graphics card, so you know that the game will just work.

antidan on Oct 27

I'm glad I read this! I thought it was going to be a Wii fanboy article. As it turns out, I was right! The comment about the Wii being an ADHD kid was spot on!

I'm so happy for smiling Nintendo ads promoting family fun and fancy controllers. They make me feel warm and fuzzy like rainbows and unicorns. The graphics on Wii Sports are very good... Wii!!!

I once had a Nintendo console with similar graphics, but I eventually threw it in a box in the closet where it gathers dust by the pound to this day. I think there's a Nintendo 64 under it... I should dig those pieces of junk up and recycle them so someone can build something useful with the materials like another Nintendo console that uses the same hardware.

Terot on Oct 27

To Bojomokofo:
Are you a ****tard? "[Nintendo] only survive off of the companies that make the FEW good games for them..." Are your retarded? Nintendo has no third party support, well at least not for the last two systems (N64 & GC). Nintendo only survives off the few great games they make, oh and that Gameboy and DS thing.

Don’t come in here screaming about fanboyism when you are so clearly a Sony shill: “Sony in past and presant has given more features than both wii and xbox withought charging extra (ps3 includes a hard drive STANDERD and does not require a monthly fee to be paid for online play).”

Sony is not giving anyone anything extra, no company is giving you something for nothing. It is true Microsoft and Sony loose money on every new 360 or PS3 you buy, but they do this in hopes of attachment rates going up. Do you really think a 360 control cost $50 to make? Come on, learn a little about economics before you start shooting your mouth off about who is trying to rip you off and who is your best friend economically.

Oh yeah, one more note, Nintendo is the only game company that is making a profit on every system sold, wow that would seem to make them a successful hardware company, I don’t see Sony or Microsoft anywhere near making a profit any time soon.

In the interest of full disclosure I will mention that I have a 360 and plan on buying a Wii. I will not be picking up the PS3 as I no longer trust Sony’s economic viability as a company after the failure of the PSP and the current stock situation.

General pen on Oct 27

bojokomofo you start off banging on about fan boys and then turn into a pc fanboy the fact is some people like pc some like consoles and both have ups and down like the charge for playing xbox live or the fact that ps3 are hight in price the wii not being as powerful or the pc games released a year later dont run smoth due to hardware upgrades you just find the one you dont mind getting rip off by i own a pc and a 360 have pre order a wii and when i can get a ps3 (i'm in the uk so not this year) i will get one of them to if you wanna game do it right and if you have to ***** tell it to a shrink

Vin on Oct 27

Cool comparisons.

@#6

"#2. Nintendo's hardware is laughable at best, totally outdated crap. They only survive off of the companies that make the FEW good games for them and nothing else, if those companies signed on with xbox or ps3 then nintendo would be dead."

Wow, it's rare to come to a new site and read this kind of hot garbage. What games do you think have ALWAYS sold the most on Nintendo consoles? Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Metroid...those immediately come to my mind, what about yours? Considering all of those are ORIGINAL Nintendo titles, I am at a loss to understand your comment about them surviving off other companies. Care to backup your "points" with sells numbers/data?

Azgalor on Oct 27

The problem with your ascertations, Bojokomofo, is that you judge them too harshly. For example, you can get a 7900 GTX for $300, but you still need RAM, a mobo, harddrive, cd/dvd drive... A passable computer will still cost you over $1000, and that is really cheap... since the Wii is only $300, and the games only ~40, you are still getting a deal...
And as for the companies making good games for the Wii? Those are mainly Nintendo. Zelda, Metroid, Mario... I don't think you will see a sony exclusive of those any time... ever.

Overall, you really do unfairly judge consoles... My ~$3000 computer is still my favourite piece of hardware, but my SNES still gets a lot of playtime. Hardware isn't everything; Super Metroid will NEVER be usurped as the best game ever.

Also, back before X-box live, I think there were lots enough Halo parties to justify that purchase.

David on Oct 27

Great another wii fanboy.

Personally, I think the wii is going to be novalty. All the pics that Nintendo has been showing are of people standing and jumping around, but come on, you are not going to be doing that all of the time. People are thinking that you are going to be swinging the remote around and that is not going to be the case. You going to be flicking the remote with your wrist, so don't think you are going to be swinging the remote like a sword to get Link to swing his sword too.

As for Bojokomofo, get real dude. Yeah sure, a computer will give you better graphics, but guess what, its going to cost you a lot more. Lets see, you are leaving out hard drive, a case, ram, controller, etc. A computer that will out perform a console is going to cost a lot more than any of the console out there.

And besides, if I want to play a game, I want to put the disc in and play it. I don't want to have to make sure that my machine is capable of running the game or not. It's just easier. If my PS, wii, or Xbox, doesn't work, then it's because it's broken. With a computer you gotta start checking stuff, like do I have the correct drivers, is the power supply dead, bad ram, corrupt data, etc.

Yeah a computer can be used for a lot more then gameing, but for the cost of a computer to do everything but play games and a console, it's going to be less then a gamer rig.

stephen on Oct 27

to bojokomofo...you're calling him a fanboy, and yet look at what you're saying. wow.

"#2. Nintendo's hardware is laughable at best, totally outdated crap. They only survive off of the companies that make the FEW good games for them and nothing else, if those companies signed on with xbox or ps3 then nintendo would be dead."

first of all, everyone already knows that the hardware is not the only selling point of the wii. all this crap i hear about how it's not next gen just because of the graphics is such BS. when did that become the only standard by which we judge a console? also, nintendo can definitely survive without the other companies. most of the games that are developed by nintendo are top quality. what kind of crap has sony done? they have a few good games, but there's no way they could make it on their own with the kind of stuff they put out. i think the ps2 owes a lot of its success to companies like EA and SquareEnix, and people who buy things just so they can show it off to their friends.
and then there's that whole thing about sony making crap quality products. i can't tell you how many people i know who've had their ps2 die on them for no apparent reason. i'm one of those persons too. i refuse to buy another playstation of any kind after that happened. and $600 is way too much to take that kind of risk. just look at those durability tests they've done. nintendo always wins. and the playstation is always the first to stop working...what's the point of spending extra on all those extra features you say sony has if they're not even going to be working in a few years? at least nintendo cares enough not to release a system that's gonna break in 2 years.
anyway...the only thing sony wants from the ps3 is to make blu-ray the standard. that's how they plan on making their money.

Jimmie on Oct 27

...

It's better than pressing a damn button.

Anyways, when did Sony ever do anything new?
Playstation? Started by Nintendo.
Analog stick? Nintendo again.
Dual shock? Rumble pack by Nintendo?
Motion sensor? Guess once...

marek on Oct 27

To Bojokomofo:
Ha, you really need to learn how to spell sir.

To Jason:
...Write your own article. Not everything compares to girls and clubs and drinking and smoking. Go hang out with Bojokomofo.

PS3, so far, is only a big mouth. It does promise a lot but they have changed a lot.

Xbox360 is pretty much what they said it would be. It has a good service (except you have to pay for it), and relatively good games.

Wii is going a completely different route. They are trying a new style of innovation rather than the classic "Beef up the next version with 10video cards and 15processors!"

All bring something to the table for different people. Why are people competing? Pick the one you like!

Eli on Oct 27

congratulations to all you who've seen the light, and have the guts to support to wii. I have one of the worst computers ever, (seriously, some people at my school started a "better computer than Eli club" that anybody can join. It can just barely play HL2, and almost nothing else. this cost me $1000 a year ago, and is now completely useless. I want to get a wii, because I know I'll be able to play games, and that the console will be good, because it's from nintendo. Rock on Nintendo!

Luke on Oct 28

So, letsee, lots of fanboys here, but each of you has some points.

The PS3, like both of its previous systems, most likely will have massive recalls because of faulty software. It also appears that they scrapped there original controller layout for something that could hold six axis sensitivity at the last minute. (this seems to me like a underhanded attempt to compete with nintendo and steal credit for their innovation.) Plus its expensive.

on the plus side, the PS3 carries ENORMOUS firepower. I love the idea, photorealistic realtime rendering, massive storage on a bluray, physics and multimedia support, HD and MORE. It will be a monster. I will get one, when i can afford it, and when im assured of its stability.

Now, the Xbox 360.

Very good graphics, Fun games i would love to play, Tested, tried and true. It has been on the market, and barring a few problems with overheating and glitches (common with any hardware that sucks that much power) it has already proven itself as a reliable system.

However, you do have to pay for the online portion, and i have heard alot of comments around the net from people who have had the limelight stolen from their 360's by the DS. I dont completely intend to get one, though mostly because my wife claims microsoft is "the great evil" and i kinda agree.

Now, The Wii

I am A Nintendo Fanboy, i freely admit it. but as you have read, i still hold out hope for Sony and Microsoft (evil as they are).

For those of you that claim their hardware is last gen, you need to do a little research. The "hollywood" Proccesor and the "broadway" graphics proccesor, while not as powerful in brute force as either the PS3 or the 360, are little masterpieces. the efficiency and abilities of the system are incredible. and nintendo is working on the expandability issues. they have included SD support, which can be used to store saved games and classics from the virtual console.

and lets not forget about that virtual console. being able to purchase classic console games and play them on the wii is a brilliant idea. and to have constant online support, so the wii is updating itself even WHEN ITS OFF is also a great idea.

and i havent even started on the motion sensitivity.

as for downsides, only having 512 megs of storage space onboard is only a pittance compared to the PS3, and the controller will take some getting used to. nintendo has always been a bit weak on third party support, especially in the past two consoles, but that is changing.

Nintendo has always taken great risks, GREAT risks, on thier consoles. They didnt know how consumers would react to the new interface, and they were blessed with a huge positive reaction. and dont forget folks, Nintendo has ALWAYS stood on its own feet in terms of games and consoles.

Sony has batteries, widescreen tv's, radios, sterios, and such to fall back on, so does Microsoft. they both jumped on when it was SAFE for them to do so, when they had capital to back any failure.

Nintendo has never done anything but games, and they have always taken the greatest risk to make their games enjoyable. they have taken big losses, but also some bad failures. even the biggest sony fans must begrudge some respect for their efforts.