Vote for console of the year in the '06 Engadget Awards

how is ps3 and Wii on the list and 360 not.
when it its the only one of the 3 that actually came out in 06?

It's a shame that the outstanding DS Lite, with it's outstanding library of games, is losing to the as-yet-unproven Wii with less than half a dozen games worth playing.

I know the DS Lite has an "unfair advantage" of not really being a 100% new system, but thems the breaks. Whatever. Fanboy popularity contest ho!

@1

The 360 launched Nov. 22 2005

Thanks for playing

Johnny: and the Wii and PS3 both launched in North American in November of 2006.

@Kizzle

Yeah I agree. I voted DS. But I'm sure the Wii will win. But the Wii is a console, the DS isn't. And the PS3 is doing pretty bad, so we're all sure it won't win that. I don't even know what the other option is.

Of all the "consoles" the Wii should win though.

I voted for the DS Lite. Even I like it and I always thought the touch screen was gimmicky. Then again, I'm only playing my GBA games on it.

Im just itching to say something.......

PS3-new form of disc format(blu ray), half ass motion controls, Resistance, Motorstorm.

Wii-New motion controls, VC, Zelda, Wii Sports

If you want to compare technology PS3 win by far.

If you want to compare mass appeal Wii wins by far.

@Jack

I agree, however I wouldn't count Blu Ray as a plus to the console. It doesn't improve gameplay at all. And if they didn't add it, the PS3 would be alot cheaper, and therefore tearing through the competition early.

DS isn't even a console it is a handheld...wtf...Engadget is a bunch of retards.

Damn.

Im still not used to it being 2007.

i voted for the wii but immediately after realized i should have voted for the ds lite.... its definitely shown its a heavy hitter, while the wii may be, but i still havent been able to buy one so thats a weakness.

The blu-ray player is an excellent feature. If you love technology you would praise the PS3. Im in love with my PS3. Its a sexy beast when on its side. My g/f always looks at me funny when I say that.

If the PS3 didn't have blu-ray I wouldn't have bought it. I know you might think that is stupid. Blu-ray gives it an edge.

If you're going to include the DS Lite then the 360 should be included. The DS Lite isn't exactly "new", it's a revision. So I guess using this definition that will mean that the 360 Elite and possibly the 80 GB PS3 will be the only contenders for 07 console of the year?

@Jack No Trades... I tought this PS Brand was about games, not movies

@Jack

I see. I'm a technology whore myself (oh boy, I just finally said it lol)... and I think the idea of HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray DVDs is trash.

But then again, that's just me. I just don't think it's the natural progression from DVDs.

The general public is not going to be willing to adopt a new "DVD" format until the price is comparable. Not just for the DVDs, but more for the players.

*sigh* Why do we have TWO formats to choose from? The only reason why I'm against Sony is because I'm TIRED of them trying to force a new format down our throats (UMDs).

*shrug* It is definitely better from a technology stand-point. You've got a great point there.

/4th rant... I need to get laid... jeeze.

@Jack No Trades... well, enjoy you $600 movie player

@16

What do you think is the natural progression from DVDs? BR/HD-DVD offers a lot more storage, much higher resolution, better audio formats and better interactive menus. Now, I'd say it's not quite as dramatic as the jump from VHS to DVD and you need the right equipment to take advantage of it all, but I'd say it's a pretty natural progression. HDTVs are becoming more common everyday, a new format needs to replace DVDs to keep up.

Also, this isn't really just Sony's fault. There are two main camps, each with major backers. I too wish this format war never made it into the marketplace, but I can't pin it all on Sony when they are just one player out of many in this war.

... I don't understand how the DSL can be on this list...

1) It's not a console, it's a handheld.
2) It's just a DS Hardware revision. That's like saying the PSlim deserved to be on the best Console list of 2004.

/sigh

@Vidikron

You're right. But I own a 55" HDTV with a nice sporty Phillips DVD player hooked up to it through Component, and it looks amazing. I don't need better than that, honestly, to sleep at night.

But I know some people rush out and buy the new thing just so they can feel like they have a place in this sad world.

Give it time, and the whole format war will slowly dissipate into a bloodshed. (I don't know what I'm talking about in this paragraph).

Anyway, I'm off work... See you all on Monday. :P

Vidikron,

I agree that neither HDDVD nor Blu-Ray are the natural progression. I see them as a short term stop prior to real use of online distribution. I figure we're probably less than 5 years from true, accessible online distribution of movies. DVD's played on good upscaling players are plenty good enough to get through to that point.

(Only marginally related to topic)

Whatever happened to the "New N-Gage" that Nokia was making a big stink about?

Weren't they supposed to reveal that at GDC?

Not sure if the DS Lite really needs to win, albeit on the list, as it's merely a redesign of an already established gaming (mobile) console.

Blu ray and hd dvd are the 8track of this generation. the new hotness is holographic disks.

@21

Well, you could have a point about digital distribution. I think it may be too early for that to take over. Downloading and moving around 5 MB music files is one thing... downloading and storing multi-GB movies files is something entirely different.

I know what everyones idea of digital Distribution is. I see that as a far future idea (for me anyway) I live out in the country where the closes thing to highspeed internet is sat. internet which has a a download limiter. So digital Distribution sounds good, but No internet for that. Plus, personally If I buy something, I want to be able to hold it in my hands and letting people barrow a movie is a hell of alot easier.

The DS Lite isn't even a console... it's a handheld...

I still consider Pluto a planet.

The ds lite is a handheld...

console....


Its a handheld console. Shut up you fucking morons.

" I wouldn't count Blu Ray as a plus to the console. It doesn't improve gameplay at all"

Actually it does. It gives developers more freedom, and the ability to do things they can't do on DVD.

Your comment was as ignorant as claiming processing power doesn't affect gameplay. It affects gameplay far more than motion sensing.

Digital download will never replace discs sold in store. Why? Cause the filesizes will be huge, and it'll take forever (yes, even in the future) to download an HD quality movie.

Then there are other issues. People will need to have huge harddrives to keep their collections on. You have a 250 gig hard drive? Sure, thats only enough for about 5 or 6 movies. People don't want to go buy another $100 hard drive every 6 movies. People don't want to download and delete either.

Then there is a big issue, ISPs like to cap bandwidth. Mine for example limits me to a total of 40 gigs total up and down. That's not enough for one movie a month.

And video on demand? Thats lower than DVD quality.
Those of you talking about upscaled DVD being good enough are freaking blind.
And holographic discs cost over $10,000 each.

Bluray is the natural progression of DVD. It makes DVD look like VHS in terms of video quality.

@ Extinction

In the future, you could just WATCH the movie you're downloading, as you download it

That would certainly kill those long load times, a system that streams movies and saves them simultaneously

I'd say the only thing stopping Disc-based media from going the way of the dodo is the fact that Broadband STILL isn't ubiquitous (it'll probably be another 2 generations of consoles +/- a decade before you see digitally distributed consoles)

Yet another article that has turned into a PS3 and Sony bashing...


I've never understood how people can say that Sony is “forcing blu-ray down our throats”. That doesn't make any sense. A blu-ray drive is INCLUDED IN ALL PS3s! Thus, Sony is not forcing you to buy anything beyond the PS3 hardware in order to play games.

If, for instance, Microsoft were to (stupidly) begin to make 360 games on HD-DVD disks only, then that would be a clear instance of “forcing [a format] down our throats”, as all 360 owners would be forced, by Microsoft, to buy an extra accessory to play a game. But that obviously isn't the case with the PS3, where all systems have blu-ray


By that fanboy logic, aren't the PS2, Xbox, 360, and Wii all systems that “forced” DVD down our throats, and so on?

Now, certainly that does not exclude arguing whether Sony should have included blu-ray in the PS3. But the fact remains that blu-ray was, for better or worse, included in all PS3s, and all games come on blu-ray disks.

Ken,

“I agree, however I wouldn't count Blu Ray as a plus to the console. It doesn't improve gameplay at all. And if they didn't add it, the PS3 would be alot cheaper, and therefore tearing through the competition early. “

So by your logic, is DVD not a plus to any console? After all, the DVD “merely” offered more disk space than the CD, which is the same benefit blu-ray offers over DVDs.

Of course blu-ray will be less of an improvement than DVDs, but that is a result of the law of diminishing returns: as you add more, the benefit of doing so lessens. But that certainly doesn't mean that there is no improvement whatsoever from blu-ray.

As far as the second part of your post, certainly it is debatable whether including blu-ray was a wise move for Sony. I would say that it has hurt the PS3, though at the same time will definitely benefit the blu-ray format, of which Sony is a major backer.

Matt,
“Blu ray and hd dvd are the 8track of this generation. the new hotness is holographic disks.”

What?! An HD movie only needs the disk capacity of a blu-ray disk or dual-layer HD-DVD disk. So what possible benefit do holographic disks offer as a media format?