But I don’t want a PlayStation 3; I want a Wii

With the European release date of the Nintendo Wii drawing ever closer, people have asked me why I am so adamantly not going to be rushing out to spend my hard earned money on one.

I could say it's that I'm not a Nintendo fan but that would be lying. I could say that I don't like the look of the games being released with the console but again that would be a lie. The fact is, I am scraping every penny of my self-imposed gaming budget to prepare for the heavily delayed launch of the Sony Playstation 3.ps3-controller-ss-1.jpg

Already I can hear at least half of you sighing or spitting already but I have a very good reason for my madness. Yes, the Wii has many cool features, including the very interesting new controllers that I am sure you are all aware of. Also, the Wii is going to be several hundred pounds cheaper than the Sony machine, which would allow me to get a whole stack of games and add-ons for the same cost as just the PS3 console.

With the cost of the new Playstation running up to some six hundred pounds, it is going to be one hard slap in the face for my bank manager. So with all this, I have still to answer the question my friends have been putting to me for weeks now and I'm sure more than one of you readers is too: Why on Earth aren't you getting a Wii?

Well, my answer is this. "I don't want a Wii, I want a PS3."

No amount of money saved or interesting new controllers is going to put me off that simple fact. I had the same adamant stance way back when my PS2 was on order, I was being asked "Why not wait for that new Xbox or the Gamecube? Why, Why, Why?!" The answer is simple, for me at least. No console to date has done more for the way we understand gaming than the Playstation. Let me also send another piece of information back your way also, that at the time of the impending PS2 launch, I was exclusively a Nintendo gamer. My N64 was my temple and I, its humble priest. However, at the time, I knew that the PS2, regardless of how expensive it may be; and regardless of how many special features its upcoming rivals may possess, would be something special.

The Sony consoles over the last decade have had everything a gamer could want. For instance, many people admit heartily that the official Playstation control pad is the best pad available for any console. This may seem moot to many people with the new Wii controller that I am oh so sick of being told about, but for just regular gaming, whether it be a racing, fighting, shooting or stealth game, what controller is best for all of them? Can you imagine playing Splinter Cell or Hitman on the Wii controller?wii_controller.jpg

My main stance however, lies in where the companies seem to market their product. Nintendo has its strong fan base, people that love Mario, Zelda and all the things Nintendo have given us over the years. However, the Playstation have given us some very special friends as well. Compare the mainstream Nintendo characters, such as the ones I mentioned above, to our favorite Sony characters. Crash Bandicoot is the first that jumps to mind but how about Rikimaru from the internationally renowned Tenchu series, which was actually the first game that we now recognize as "Stealth" games. Solid Snake was slithering around before then in 2D but modern games such as SOCOM: Navy Seals or Manhunt are titles derived from that beautiful game that Sony gave us. That all says to me that Nintendo is a world of innocence and happy endings, not entirely I admit, but their franchise seems to thrive on the happy ending.

Let me put to you a game that is a Sony incarnation that I think will be the real next generation idea that all the giants will be having a go at sooner than we think: Fahrenheit. Not heard of it? Then give it a try, I assure you that this is what we were promised when the current Next-Gen consoles were going on about "Interactive Movies." I will give nothing away about this title so if you haven't already experienced this game then I urge you to try it. I send you into it blind so it can hit you like it hit me that we have stumbled upon an idea that, if taken the right way, could be the real future of gaming. Once you have seen that, then maybe I will convert some of you budding Wii fans to join me on the Sony side of the line.