You can all stop reading the news now. The next-gen console
wars are over because IGN has declared a winner already. Well, at least 15,000 of their readers have declared one via a
poll conducted by IGN.
55% or some 8,234 participants believe that Sony's PlayStation 3 will be the most powerful next-generation console. Meanwhile, 31% of those polled, or 4846 readers, believe that Microsoft's Xbox 360 system will offer the most processing muscle during the next round.
That leaves 10% in Nintendo's camp and just over 4% in the "undecided" category.
What's puzzling about all of this is the focus on power as a predictor for console success. As the sun sets on the current PlayStation and Xbox consoles, it's clear now that the Xbox rules the PS2, at least in raw computing power. But where has that gotten Microsoft? Certainly nowhere near the PS2's 90-million units shipped.
There's more to the next-gen console war than power. If it were all about power the Xbox would be outselling the PS2. Ignoring all of the myriad other factors that will go into the upcoming battle is simplistic and does gamers a disservice. We need to focus the discussion on the stuff that really counts, like game libraries, developer relationships, feature sets, and the graphical fidelity of jiggle animations in the next version of DOA Xtreme Volleyball.
[Via Xbox-scene.com]
