NY Times: It's a Wii60 Holiday

by Alexander Sliwinski { Dec 6th 2006 at 9:05AM }

The New York Times' Seth Scheisel, who already gave a critical review of the PS3, comes back in this morning's NYT to finish the job with console holiday picks. Scheisel says, "If you are anything other than a complete Sony fanboy (that's Internet lingo for an obsessed, myopic groupie) go ahead and forget about the PlayStation 3 this year." He goes on to say that the "overhyped PS3" doesn't deliver with its $599 price (plus accessories).

The Wii becomes a holiday pick at the NYT for being a "riotously fun experience" for the whole family. When comparing the Xbox 360 and PS3, the Xbox 360 won in every given category. The only two toss-up groups were graphics and movie-playback. Graphics were called a tie, but Scheisel points out developers have complained about difficulty programming for the PS3 system and that Gears of War looks better than anything on the PS3. Movie playback was considered a wash because both systems offer the same thing, in different formats, for what would end up being the same price. Scheisel says, "Right now there is basically no rational reason to buy a PlayStation 3 instead of an Xbox 360."

Tags: ny times, NyTimes, ps3, seth scheisel, wii, xbox 360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

phat @ Dec 6th 2006 9:13AM

wow

Jason W @ Dec 6th 2006 9:14AM

Right now there is no reason to buy a ps3. I say this as a PS3 owner, but there will be in the future. The PSP add on that started yesterday was nice. Its also nice to have both new HD formats to watch movies. Rocky is comming out of BluRAY and the Matrix on HDDVD. Rock on.

whosmav @ Dec 6th 2006 9:15AM

Up until very recently I've believed that the Playstation brand would sell PS3, but now???? who could tell?

The public has a way of listening to things like the NYT and Lil Johnny probably ain't gonna care which system he gets for christmas.

And what about when Vista sells a billion and it has everyone burning HD-DVDs?

I'm starting to believe that talk about no PS4....

OH WELL, back to Wii sports

Gamer98 @ Dec 6th 2006 9:16AM

Ill have the whole Wii60 combo complete when I get my Wii for Christmas

Steven @ Dec 6th 2006 9:18AM

Same here, I'm hoping to complete my wii60 combo as well. For me the Xbox 360 is the perfect system. I simply can't imagine buying a PS3. A wii is different so I'd like to add that to my gaming experience this holiday. If I could only have one, I'd just keep my 360 without a doubt, but having both will be nice.

clo1_2000 @ Dec 6th 2006 9:27AM

I have the PS3Wii60 combo, but I have given my system to my brothers for the short term. The only good game is Resistance, and I don't see any "Need to Have" games on the horizon till middle of next year. Meanwhile, I'm having a blast with GoW and Viva Pinata on my 360 and Madden, Zelda, DBZ and Wii Sports on my Wii. Common sense would dictate that you should forget about realistically owning a PS3 until Q1 next year just due to supply issues.

clo1_2000 @ Dec 6th 2006 9:27AM

I meant to say I gave my PS3 to my brothers for the short term.

crono141 @ Dec 6th 2006 9:28AM

I'll get a 360 after the first price drop (which will hopefully be after the new 65 nm processor).

I'll get a PS3 if/when it hits 200 dollars and still has ff13 exclusively. If it loses FF13, I won't buy one at all.

Paul @ Dec 6th 2006 9:31AM

Dont underestimate the impact of this article - people that will be able to afford a Ps3 for their kids over the next few years are the same people that read the New York Times.

They will go out and buy a readily available 360 this year and then no new console for another couple years. By that time the HD DVD and Blu Ray battle will have been sorted out and whichever is the winner will drop significantly in price - reducing the cost of the Ps3 but killing its current competitive advantage... I am not saying this one article has sunk the Ps3... i am just saying that i am very sure that Sony is upset.

Lixie @ Dec 6th 2006 9:33AM

I can't wait to see the Japanese press get wind of an American press saying, "There is no rational reason to buy a PS3."

This could be interesting.

Mike @ Dec 6th 2006 9:34AM

Dude.. if you have a Microcenter nearby, get a 360 now! They have a $100 mail-in rebate on both models.

I have all 3 systems and am underwhelmed by PS3 so far. The initial launch titles are all ports from Xbox360, typically look a tad worse (certainly no better), except for a couple exclusives (Resistance), which aren't super exciting. Right now, it's a glorified Blu-ray player. I'm just waiting until March for Motorstorm. ;)

360's online experience is so smooth, the game demos are great, and Wii is so insanely fun that really, the PS3 and 360 have been collecting dust since I got my Wii on launch day. :)

nick @ Dec 6th 2006 9:37AM

i think ill get a ps3 cuz i think it will coem through in the long run. the xbox 360 had a rough start too and after a couple years the games like halo 3 and gears of war ect have made the system amazing. i think the ps3 will be the same way. just give it time. when the 360 came out everyone was saying the same bad things about like the power supply catching on fire cuz of the heat.

Batzarro @ Dec 6th 2006 9:40AM

PS got here fighting the 64s and Saturns of the world. But the games changed(no pun intended). It's not gonna be a juggernaut victory of always, IF a victory at all.

fester @ Dec 6th 2006 9:41AM

New York Times FTW! ;)

"When comparing the Xbox 360 and PS3, the Xbox 360 won in every given category"

And we told you so. We can try to understand the New York Time's effect on man, hopefully that effect will be waking up a few thousand hype-blinded idiots who may just instead put their money into companies who are really striving to deliver what gamers want and want to shape the gaming future into something more than hardware one-up-manship (Nintendo and Microsoft).

your left nut @ Dec 6th 2006 9:44AM

So movie playback is the same and the 360 wins on price? To compare systems, you need to spend $400 on an 360 premium and $200 for the HD drive...if my math is right, you are at $600. If I'm not mistaken, that's the same price as the overpriced PS3. Whatever. Buy what you want, don't worry about the analysts and critics. Remeber, the Xbox was deemed superior to the PS2, yet still lost the battle. So by that logic, 360 may win this round, but it could also go the way of the dreamcast. I bought an XBOX for Halo and was not impressed. I enjoyed MOH on the PC more. I won't be buying a 360 for Halo 3, Dead Rising maybe, but not until the console drops in price.

tituspullo @ Dec 6th 2006 9:44AM

who cares what any newsman thinks, i sure don't. i don't care if there in japan or the US. the new york times is so out of touch with mainstream america there opinions carry very little weight with most people. it makes me wonder if they guy really played the ps3 or made the whole thing up. yeah the NYT has a history of creating news. and this from a wii60 person i have no intrest in the PS3 at all never will. but lets be fair it's only the first few weeks into it's life.

Unimental @ Dec 6th 2006 9:45AM

Viva la Wii60! There truly is no reason for me to buy a PS3 at this point. I didn't preorder, and I'm sure as hell not going to pay a premium for one off of eBay. My interest level for the whole HDDVD & Blu-Ray deal is rather low at this point.

However, I expect my desire for a PS3 to increase when the SCEA and Square exclusive title start dropping in 2007.

@ Dec 6th 2006 9:47AM

Ouch! Anyways, the relative sales for USA xmas '06 will go something like this.

PS2 > Wii >> 360 >>>>> PS3

Basically, theres something for everyone at all price ranges.

But, i dont think 360 will do as well as he thinks; people have had a full year with to pick one up and there are really good deals (bundles) to be had right now. His arguments are somewhat sound (im not gonna get into that here) but the public seems to disagree. Essentially, if you wanted one why havent you gotten one already? He doesnt address that.

And, using the fanboy card is something that should be reserved for blogs, not mainstream media.

Buckshot @ Dec 6th 2006 9:50AM

Wow! Truth in print, I am truly amazed! Especially from the NYT, it's a holiday miracle!

32_Footsteps @ Dec 6th 2006 9:50AM

Hey, who wants to tell the New York Times that the term "fanboy" has been in common use amongst geeks well before the Internet exploded into a daily part of everyone's lives? I first heard the term on Freakazoid - and I figure if Hollywood script writers had known the term enough to make a joke about it in a Saturday morning cartoon, it's an established term outside of the Internet.

I have to wonder if the coverage is going to keep at this pace... how long could Sony drive sales with as much negative press as they've been getting?

Tim @ Dec 6th 2006 9:54AM

Get a 360, it has more (and better) games. That's all there is to it. If your complaint is that PS3 is a year behind and the games haven't had as much time to get polished, then the obvious answer is; PS3 will always be a year behind. PS3's games will always be a software generation below 360s. And eventually, PS3 will be obsolete because the next Xbox will be out. Again.

Oh and it costs more and Sony is a huge liar. Pretty clear choice here people.

fester @ Dec 6th 2006 9:57AM

STEP AWAY FROM THE MOVIVE PLAYBACK!!!

Forgetting for a minute about the articles movie player comparisions, the fact is the 360 has OPTIONAL HD movie playback.

Last time I checked games were not movies.

A console should be bought primarily for gaming, if there is an "added bonus" of movie playback then it shouldn't be at the cost of nearly half the retail price! (blu-ray aint cheap). So comparing both consoles for gaming the Xbox 360 easily has the PS3 beat in every category except possibly First Party Sony exclusives and some (smaller every day) Third Party exclusives.

If you all want to spend $$$$ to have a shiny black box in your room but nothing decent to play on it for over a year then go ahead, It would be more in keeping with the whole "gaming" thing to actually spend less (on the 360) get better/smoother graphics and killer games that are out RIGHT NOW.

If games are your thing then the 360 is what you want, simple as that. If you want bragging rights then get a PS3 but be warned it will soon be not "cool" to own one at all but just plain "stupid", people will start avoiding you in the street (or more likely scamming you due to your naieve dropping of cash on anything that's marketed/hyped enough).

DBX00 @ Dec 6th 2006 9:57AM

This guy clearly doesn't know what he's talking about; the Wii60 combo cost more than the PS3. Just a few reasons why I bought a PS3 over a 360.

1) Linux (this gives access to a whole world of things)
2) upgradable standard hard drive (up to 120GB)
3) RFOM, Madden 2007 (tournaments)
4) Free online
5) PS1 downloads (currently enjoying Crash; the next wave of games to be released in like another week)
6) BUILT-IN high definition drive (Vista will support whichever drive wins the war, just like Microsoft said they could add a blu ray drive to the 360; that would be funny to have to pay Sony fees for every time one is sold)
7) Support for my old PS1/PS2 titles
8) Game lineup (just look at February to April and you'll get the point)

Pixelbox @ Dec 6th 2006 9:59AM

ok, we get it already. The PS3 is dead in the water and will have to be content with 3rd place. Can we just move on already?

funkonaut @ Dec 6th 2006 10:01AM

I'm not buying a 360 until they replace that DVD drive. There's no reason why the 360 should be as noisy as it is.

Matt @ Dec 6th 2006 10:04AM

Right now there is no reason to own a PS3, I agree. In a year or two, however... :)

crono141 @ Dec 6th 2006 10:06AM

"Essentially, if you wanted one why havent you gotten one already?"

Because there hasn't been a killer app until the last 3 months with Gears and Dead Rising. And its Christmas. Anyone who was waiting for software to show up to get one will probably get one for the holiday.

Not everybody runs out and buys they latest toys when it drops and/or as soon as they have enough interest.

Also, 360 will see another jump in sales when the price drop hits. 400 dollars for the essential system is still a bit steep for most reasonable americans, but drop that to 350 or 300 and plenty of people will bite.

Blackrose @ Dec 6th 2006 10:06AM

So if you are interested in rpgs you should pick any of the other two? No way. Rpgs will never hit the xbox beacuse of the low support in Japan, and the Wii just cant handle the demands.

Hopefully I can get Fire emblem to the Wii. Or wish anyway.

Paul @ Dec 6th 2006 10:11AM

Wow tituspullo are you serious? Out of touch? Maybe with lower class ignorant america that buys the BS that it is a 'liberal' paper... but they wont be buying ANYTHING this holiday season anyway that costs more than the Wii.

The NYT is the most read and respected paper in the country accurate article or not (which it pretty much is no matter what side you are on) this will have a HUGE impact on lifetime sales of the Ps3.

BlindsideDork @ Dec 6th 2006 10:12AM

#12 nick....

that looks fake...he said "after a couple of years the games..." well it has only been out for one year and he lists Gears of War and Halo 3 as amazing but Halo 3 isn't out, hmmmm something smells fishy!

Reggie Fils Aime @ Dec 6th 2006 10:12AM

Checks in the mail Seth. Have a nice christmass and say hi to your wife and kids.

Sol.. @ Dec 6th 2006 10:19AM

even though I agree to some extent..the joystiq summary really sounds a whole lot worse than the actual article.

your left nut @ Dec 6th 2006 10:21AM

Fester,

You can't step back from the movie playback issue, especially if he argues they offer the same thing but in a different format. It could be misleading to potential buyers that they get similar functionality from the 2 systems out of the box. They don't. To compare apples to apples, you need to upgrade the 360 and spend similar money. That was my only point. And yes, 360 has a couple of great games RIGHT NOW. But down the line, so will sony. (Review scores for Resistance were not too far off from GOW, from what I had seen.) Also, as soon as MS releases their next system, they will forget the 360 exists, just like they did with XBOX.

I'm tired of the analysts and their opinions. Make up your own minds and buy what you will.

Mike M @ Dec 6th 2006 10:21AM

I have all 3 systems. This is obviously a biased opinion from the Times. How is the movie viewing experience a tie? You have one system with Bluray built-in, along with 1080p, and a HDMI connection. On the other hand you have the 360 which requires an external drive for HD-DVD, doesn't use digital cables (no HDMI), which means you won't be able to get 1080p on most TVs, and most HD-DVD movies require a digital connection for their copyright protection or they won't play in 1080p mode.

The graphics are very close (now). BUT, The PS3 is noticeably prettier than the 360 was when it launched (example: Resistance vs Perfect Dark...yikes). I wouldn't say Gears of War is necessarily better looking than Resistance either. I have played through both games in the entirety, and have found Gears to have much more detail, but Resistance to run smoother and have much less aliasing (jaggies). Both games look great. I anticipate seeing a difference in graphical quality in about a year (going in Sony's favor). The difference won't be huge, but it will probably be as big of a graphical advantage that the Xbox had over the PS2.

The Wii's graphics are poor. You look at a game like Wii sports for example. I have absolutely NO problem with the very low poly-count characters. But, if you are going to have basic shapes as characters, at least anti-alias them. There is no reason to have as bad of jagged edges as there are on those simple shapes. There should be more than enough power in the system to smooth out edges on characters made of simple shapes. Some of the Wii games I own look like poor Gamecube games as well. Tony Hawk downhill jam looks like a Nintendo 64 game. Out of the 5 Wii games I own, Zelda probably looks the best, but I was playing Viva Pinata on my 360 last night and switched over to Zelda on the Wii, and I was amazed how bad it looked in comparison. I should mention that I have a 1080p TV, I guess.

The one advantage that the 360 really has is their Live service. I know Sony and Nintendo's service will get better as time goes by, but they are SOOO far behind that it looks like it'll be years before they catch up (if ever). The services don't even compare at this point, with Nintendo definitely in last place as far as online goes.

Internet Troll @ Dec 6th 2006 10:31AM

I already have a Wii, and I plan on getting a 360 for Christmas. I will get the PS3 after FFXIII comes out. That game will be a PS3 exclusive, because Square needs FFXIII to sell in Japan, and we all know the Japanese 360 numbers. They suck.

logikil @ Dec 6th 2006 10:39AM

Blackrose:

Just to correct you on the RPG front:

JRPG's

1. Blue Dragon
2. Lost Odyseey
3. Eternal Sonata
4. Cry On
5. JRPG from TGS that i cant recall the name of
6. Enchant Arm (completely under rated in my opinion)

Western RPG's

7. Oblivion
8. Mass Effect
9. Almost certainly a KOTOR RPG

So those are 9 off the top of my head, with others in the wings. Please don't tell me there will be no RPG's on the 360.
6.

TheBigUnit622 @ Dec 6th 2006 10:42AM

To whomever it was that compared Resistance to Perfect Dark Zero, that is an apples/oranges comparison. You'd need to compare Resistance to COD2, I'm not saying that because COD2 is a better looking game, but because what the artists meant to achieve with the graphics. From purely a graphical standpoint PDZ is a "cartoony" game in the graphics dept, and you can't compare that to a "realistic" type of game such as COD2 or Resistance (and I use "realistic" in a sense of that's what the designers were aiming for when creating the engine, not so much a "cartoony" look.)

And I haven't seen Resistance running on final PS3 hardware, I've only seen screenshots, so I don't know how it looks compared to COD2. I was just making the point of the apples/oranges comparison.

Hoffer @ Dec 6th 2006 10:46AM

I completed the trifecta of gaming yesterday. I stopped by Gamestop on my way home from work to ask about a game I have on preorder for the Wii. I asked how often they got in PS3s and the manager said she had one in the back. So, I walked out the door with a 60 GB PS3 and Resistance.

So, I'm doing the PSWii60. :-)

To be honest, I'll probably use it as a Blu-ray movie player more than gaming. I did buy and download Blast Factor and it's a fun game. Not as addicting as Geometry Wars, but it does certain things better. I then downloaded the Motorstorm demo and I'll probably skip buying that game. I then ended the night playing Resistance for a bit. It's a good FPS, but nothing ground breaking so far.

Evan @ Dec 6th 2006 10:48AM

20. "Hey, who wants to tell the New York Times that the term "fanboy" has been in common use amongst geeks well before the Internet exploded into a daily part of everyone's lives? I first heard the term on Freakazoid"

Hey, who wants to tell this kid that the "internet" has been in common use amongst geeks before the show Freakazoid was created. Freakazoid, and it's predecessor Animaniacs, had a large fanboy following in internet newsgroups, and it was the popularity of these shows on the internet that prompted the shows creators to make those fanboy jokes.

dean @ Dec 6th 2006 10:50AM

I really believe that the 360 will do well these next couple years. Not PS2 numbers but will be the leaders of the pack. GOW did it for them as the game to buy with high price console. And the 100 or so games already in their library. And the 360, most of the time, gets the best reviews from a multi-platform games. While the Wii get great reviews, I think its a little to early to judge existence. Will it still be fun in the next six months? Or next year and so on?

Krzyleo @ Dec 6th 2006 10:53AM

I have a 360 and on Christmas getting the Wii. I will buy a PS3 but in due time. Right now there is "no rational" reason to buy a PS3 because they have no stand out games except for Resistance. At least the HDDVD for Xbox 360 is optional. Sony seems to have that "my way or the highway" mentality with is really old and outdated.

logikil @ Dec 6th 2006 10:56AM

Mike M:

"On the other hand you have the 360 which requires an external drive for HD-DVD, doesn't use digital cables (no HDMI), which means you won't be able to get 1080p on most TVs, and most HD-DVD movies require a digital connection for their copyright protection or they won't play in 1080p mode."

The 360 is capable of a digital only connection as stated by at least 2 different MS folks. The HDDVD comment is inaccurate because i don't believe that any HDDVD movies are enforcing the 1080P over digital restriction.

"The graphics are very close (now). BUT, The PS3 is noticeably prettier than the 360 was when it launched (example: Resistance vs Perfect Dark...yikes). I wouldn't say Gears of War is necessarily better looking than Resistance either. I have played through both games in the entirety, and have found Gears to have much more detail, but Resistance to run smoother and have much less aliasing (jaggies)."

I hate the whole 360 vs PS3 launch comparison and it still strikes me as annoying that people don't understand why the comparison isn't valid. From the whole notion of getting to grips with the new shift in programming mentality (single thread vs multi thread) to having almost an extra year of development time handed to you by Sony, 1st gen PS3 titles should be directly compared to 2nd gen 360 titles. Not 1st to 1st. Also, having completed GoW i certainly don't recal much in the way of Jaggies.

One thing i do agree with with respect to the Wii is that it does look overwhelmingly inferior to either the PS3 or 360. But it's graphics have never been billed as anything else. And to the demographic that Nintendo is trying to attract, graphics don't matter.

Bill Gates @ Dec 6th 2006 11:08AM

If we dont move more systems with this article, we will resort to price fixing, and we will try to squeeze sony out by buying every single exclusive available. Once this is achieved, we will stagnate development like we did with Windows. So thank you everyone who supports us through and through and whishes to help us in our goal to rid the gaming industry of sony and hopefully once nintendo becomes a real threat, them as well.

- LOVE BILL.

earl g @ Dec 6th 2006 11:08AM

#23:

Madden tournaments are on XBox not Playstation now.

Welcome to 2004.

32_Footsteps @ Dec 6th 2006 11:13AM

Obviously, Evan wouldn't do anything close to something resembling research.

I'm fully aware of how big Freakazoid and Animaniacs were online - their creators even posted to alt.tv.animaniacs more than once (oh yes, I remember Usenet well).

But here's the thing - the Internet was but a shell of what it is today. It was certainly fun, but it wasn't nearly as widely accessed or accepted. And yet the term "fanboy" already was formed and used frequently at the time - the Inernet had nothing to do with it.

In fact, as I suggest, the term dates back to science fiction conventions, and there's evidence that it had been used in the current context a full 20 years before Freakazoid even hit the air.

So my point still stands - don't give the Internet credit for coining the term "fanboy."

And finally, before you dismiss me as some kid, do some digging on me (it's really easy, considering the volume of material I've written about myself on the site linked to in my name). I'd give it a 50/50 chance that I'm older than you - though that might be based on your apparent level of reading comprehension.

Flit @ Dec 6th 2006 11:15AM

You fanboys are funny. A $600 machine has 1 decent game this season, so the NYtimes says not to buy it YET, and you all have a heart attack. Calm down man.

BTW, if i tell my MOM to buy her grandkids a "videogame console with HDMI for HIDEF", she'd probably stare blankly at me, or ask why they needed it for a $700 tv. Just sayin.

Flit @ Dec 6th 2006 11:16AM

@43:

Troll Flamebaiter. Man. Are you still sore that you bought windows ME?

Speaking of companies being sheisty, look at how Sony developed their first playstation, and how they USED nintendo to do it.

Price fixing? How do you price fix if you are the only ones who are fixing the prices. "uh, we are fixing console games at $100 a pop. There, that will show sony and their $60 games!"

I don't care if microsuck gets every exclusive, at least my 360 wont have a ROOTKIT that infects my computer, or explode, or SUE MY ASS OUT OF BUSINESS...

/feeding troll

Jonathan @ Dec 6th 2006 11:17AM

Mike M, I really disagree with your assessment of Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. I don't have a 360 to compare it to, but the game rocks, the controls are amazing and I haven't had that much fun since SSX Tricky. It's too bad most people are too busy playing Zelda to notice it, because it's a LOT of fun!