The console war summed up in imperfect analogies

by Kyle Orland { Sep 5th 2007 at 12:55PM }

Analogies help us make sense of life. They can take a complex, confusing set of variables and couch them in familiar terms. So for instance, when a major publisher compares the Wii to "two Gamecubes duct taped together," the listener gets a clear picture of the unfamiliar system vis a vis the familiar purple box. Complexity simplified!

Nintendo's George Harrison has a different analogy in mind to describe his system, though. In an interview with eclectic financial site The Motley Fool, Harrison compared the Wii to a hybrid competing against two SUVs with "big new chrome rims." While all three are technically cars, Harrison argues, the markets for each aren't likely to overlap much. "Two companies are going in one direction, and we're headed in another," Harrison summed up.

While he's definitely right on that last point, we're not sure the hybrid/SUV comparison is the most apt analogy to describe the current console wars. Here's a few other contenders we've managed to come up with:

A nutritious Apple (the Wii) vs. two heart-clogging double bacon cheeseburgers.
A pea-shooter vs. two rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
A $99 suit vs. two custom-tailored Giorgio Armanis
A Casio digital watch vs. two diamond-encrusted Rolexes.

These are just off the top of our heads. We're sure you can do better. Leave us your favorite Wii vs. the world analogies in the comments.

[Via Aussie-Nintendo]

Tags: analogy, comparison, console war, ConsoleWar, interview, nintendo

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

Captain Obvious @ Sep 5th 2007 1:01PM

It's like Star Trek: The Original Series vs. Star Trek: TNG. It's like Star Wars vs. The Lord of the Rings.

Really, though, I think it's like something everyone will kinda want to play vs. something that I really want to play.

hvnlysoldr @ Sep 5th 2007 1:17PM

Marvel vs. DC

Sean @ Sep 5th 2007 1:53PM

Pop 'n' Fresh vs. Helping Hand

hvnlysoldr @ Sep 5th 2007 1:55PM

Glover vs. Master Hand

aeamek @ Sep 5th 2007 1:03PM

You Joystiq writers are a riot. How about:

"The machine that works" vs. "red rings of death" vs. "a billion dollars?"

That work for you, asshats?

Jacob P. @ Sep 5th 2007 1:07PM

dang man...get offended easily?

aeamek @ Sep 5th 2007 1:09PM

Not really. It just gets annoying to see the same thing happen all the time.

J-Guy @ Sep 5th 2007 1:09PM

I've got to agree. Most of Kyle's analogies were anti-Nintendo. Hell, except for the first analogy, I'd take the second choice in the other three.

Calviin @ Sep 5th 2007 3:22PM

In aeamek defense, this was a rather obvious flamebait post. First of all, apples are not generally more appealing to a wide audience than chessburgers. If they were, McDonalds would be a different sort of food chain.

Likewise, neither pea-shooters nor rocket-propelled grenade launchers are wide market appealing. Maybe if they went with water guns instead of pea-shooters.

$99 suit doesn't seem to fit the concept of wide market appeal either.

With Casio digital watch, they actually got this right, except the diamond-encrusted Rolexes don't really match up on the other end of the scale. Diamonds on anything will always have high value, and so there is not a risk in buying diamonds because they don't lose value. Videogame systems, all of them, do lose value, every year, and quickly. Lets put it this way. This would be more accurate if it were a regular Rolex. No diamonds needed. It's not like the 360 or PS3 come with diamonds by default.

DigitalHero @ Sep 6th 2007 12:15AM

Too bad Wii doesn't have any games. Wii is more like a car out of gas.

ZPrime @ Sep 5th 2007 1:05PM

Oh, I don't know.....it is like comparing Kotaku to Gamespot and Joystiq?

Crono @ Sep 5th 2007 1:25PM

ouch.

HaleysComet @ Sep 5th 2007 1:21PM

LMAO

And while the other two manage to maintain an aura of dignity and some respectablility Joystiq has managed to descend into the pits of craptastic journalism...

Word of the street. @ Sep 5th 2007 1:41PM

Lets see Kotaku an excuse for a gaming blog which most of their news revolve with Hentai,crap that looks like mario and Furry. Don’t you dare to say “you know Nintendo isn’t that great” because Bam, Insta Ban.

Kotaku posters must be the dumbest morons ever, hell they make regular fanboys look like Geniuses.

Gamespot: Such a professional site with the best reviews in the web such as zelda a8.8, Bioshock 9.0 but Tony hawk a perfect 10.Please if its on Gamespot is because is OLD.

Or Joystiq, by far the best blog in the web with news at least every hour and if you are looking for news of some system in particular x360,ps3,wii,psp,or Ds just click on their sites below.

The posting system in Joystiq needs some work but is my personal favorite. “Nintendo fanboys and the Creator of God of War say Joystiq is evil but man they can suck a C*ck”.Joystiq is not the devils work, is Magical and Rad.

There is also Destructoid and Qj.net but who gives a….

GRANTED @ Sep 5th 2007 1:44PM

one of the few times ill agree with word of the street. i like joystiq.

samfish @ Sep 5th 2007 1:49PM

Joystiq WOULD be a lot better if they posted more hentai and ecchi games.

I'm SO buying Love-Death2!

I post on Kotaku, too...BUT NOT AS SAMFISH.
Who ever could I be? Who..?
Who?

baby sea tuna @ Sep 5th 2007 1:52PM

Yeah, me too. Fuck a whole bunch of Kotaku.

Sean @ Sep 5th 2007 1:54PM

@samfish: Mike Joooonesssss!

Calviin @ Sep 5th 2007 3:25PM

This comment is over 9000, plays Doom and has made a significant contribution to society while dealing massive damage. That's how awesome it is.

megaStryke @ Sep 5th 2007 3:59PM

Please, Joystiq is the worst offender of the bunch. I only come here because all the other sites mentioned are blocked from work.

wallapuctus @ Sep 6th 2007 12:04PM

This analogy wins the thread.

silkylove @ Sep 5th 2007 1:07PM

An intimate camping trip with friends and family vs. two luxury cruise trips full of annoying passengers.

Shagittarius @ Sep 5th 2007 1:14PM

I go on vacation to get away from family.

Crono @ Sep 5th 2007 1:16PM

No wonder you hate the wii so damn much, shaggi, its trying to bring together that which you so desperately try to pull apart.

Rubang B @ Sep 5th 2007 2:15PM

Nice work Crono.

aeamek @ Sep 5th 2007 1:07PM

Seriously, why does Joystiq write this fanboy flame bait bs?

nubular @ Sep 5th 2007 1:12PM

Because people keep taking the bait.

aeamek @ Sep 5th 2007 1:17PM

It probably gives them more clicks, too.

hvnlysoldr @ Sep 5th 2007 1:24PM

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/9351/fdku5.png

Vidikron @ Sep 5th 2007 1:29PM

What's amusing is you were the first one to take the bait.

aeamek @ Sep 5th 2007 1:35PM

It does look that way, you're right. However, I'm a fan of multiple current gen consoles. Can you be a fanboy if that's the case?

Jacob P. @ Sep 5th 2007 1:14PM

The entire analogy is this:

something cheap compared to something expensive.

Know what that sounds like to me?

Wii compared to 360 and PS3.

That could just be me though.

aeamek @ Sep 5th 2007 1:16PM

The 360 ain't all that expensive anymore, especially if you get the Core system.

ZPrime @ Sep 5th 2007 1:21PM

Watch how you play with words, there, chief. You are right, it is a comparison of "cheap" things to "expensive" things. It isn't a comparison of "inexpensive" things to "expensive" things. The problem is that "cheap" and "INexpensive" have two radically different contexts. That is the problem.

Lesson over.

Jacob P. @ Sep 5th 2007 1:35PM

Expensive =/= good or well made. It means it costs a large amount of cash money.

Cheap =/= badly made. It means it costs a small amount of money. (at least in this context)

This is why you shouldn't assume things. Just slow up a bit there, Turbo, and you can grasp what I mean.

This is a comparison of something cheap vs. something expensive.

warioswoods @ Sep 5th 2007 3:05PM

The analogy offered by Nintendo's rep was far more accurate, since, contrary to your collective inability to read, it was not meant to refer primarily to the difference in price between the consoles, but more the difference in image and, I would say, maturity.
Chrome rims are not a sign of quality or of a warranted higher price, but simply a matter of immature fantasy. Yes, only a young guy just stupid enough to be duped by the fantasies he's seen in music videos would purchase such a thing, just as the 'hardcore gamers' that frequent this site and chide the Wii for being too kiddy and not pushing hi-def technology are primarily immature, teens-20ish guys that would likely also put more thought into the power of their vehicle's engine than any other feature, even though they will rarely ever have any real need for powerful acceleration in their day-to-day driving and could do far better to go for features that actually have an impact on the driving experience.
The Wii, contrary to the wet dreams of all the misguided on this board, is actually the most mature system of the three, in that it doesn't try to be 'hardcore' with a name like XBOX or numbers that are meant to convey processing power as if it's horsepower. At its best, it produces enjoyable, intuitive gaming experiences that do not require the abolition of an adult social life and career.
Unfortunately, thanks to many of the people I've seen on sites such as this one, the word 'gamer' is now something I'd be ashamed of being associated with, since it has been reduced to the marketing equivalent of chrome rims.

Jacob P. @ Sep 5th 2007 3:46PM

I have so many problems with what you just wrote, I don't know where to begin.

First off, buying rims doesn't mean that you're immature. That's a retarded statement. That's like saying that people that paint their cars to make them look nice are immature. Buying rims is more about aesthetics than performance. And how can you say that having more horsepower doesn't affect day-to-day driving? I know that in big cities, I would much rather have more horsepower so I can stay up with traffic and get to where I need to go. Oh, and what do hybrids offer in day to day driving that is so valuable? I was under the impression that hybrids saved on gas...which is really more of a two week to monthly thing...hardly day to day...

Also, I disagree with your "Wii is the most mature console of the three" statement. How can a console with the majority of games geared toward younger people be the most mature? I would assume (although I did say that people shouldn't assume in a previous post...) that consoles with games that are actually rated "Mature" would be considered mature. The point that you just made, is the same point that George Harrison made. Wii caters to a different audience than the other two consoles. Maturity has nothing to do with it.

Also, I don't think the 360 is called "360" because it's supposed to be indicative that it has the most processing power. I could very well be wrong though, and if so, please inform me of what's up.

Now, all this is said in my own opinion, (probably not very well either...I tend to stray from the topic at hand and get sidetracked and whatnot) and I'm not trying to flame any console. I play games because games are fun. I lean towards the 360 in "fanboyism" I guess, but I'm fully supportive of the Wii and PS3. If a console has a good game, good for it. All consoles have their positives and negatives.

P.S. Also in my opinion, if you're ashamed to be called a gamer now, because people *ON THE INTERNET* are embarassing you, you were never a gamer to begin with.

Crono @ Sep 5th 2007 4:10PM

You totally don't get it, Jacob. Here's a clue. Just because the ESRB rates the game M, doesn't mean the game will be purchased or played by people who are actually mature. Most M games cater to the lowest common denomenator, the basist of emotions, and glorify violence, sex, and gore. You'd have a point if the standard M game touched on mature themes (like politics, or art), but they don't.

Also, just because a game is rated E or T, doesn't mean that adults aren't interested in playing it. Wii sports, rated E, is probably the video game played most by mature adults.

Shagittarius @ Sep 5th 2007 4:16PM

I can't believe I just saw the words Wii and mature used in the same sentence together.

Well I guess I could see it if the sentence was, "I own a Wii now but someday my taste in games will mature and I will move on to Xbox and PS3".

This is living.

Jacob P. @ Sep 5th 2007 4:34PM

So inform me...a game is rated mature, but that doesn't mean that mature people play it. But is it the same the other way around? Just because a game is played by mature people does that mean the game is mature?

You may know alot of mature adults who play Wii Sports. That doesn't mean the game is mature. In my office, and other offices throughout the hospital I work in, which are all full of mature adults, the bosses of each department bought us nerf guns. So, just out of the blue you'll be typing away on the computer and BAM you get hit by a nerf ball. That doesn't seem very mature to me, but alot of mature adults do it, so that counts for something, right?

Jake @ Sep 5th 2007 5:27PM

Crono. I am sorry to say this, but the Wii is the most "kiddie" of the consoles. You make valid points as far as violent =!= mature. And yes, Shrek is both for mature adults as well as kids so things can be both. I will even agree that many kids that play Gears are not mature.

But just look at Nintendo games in general. Your characters run around yelling yippeee, wahooo, and gadzoooks! They look like characters from childrens shows, talk like them, and the storylines are made for children and adults into children's stuff.

Mario yells yippeee and chases Bowser to save a chick that never talks. In Bioshock, I have to decide whether or not to kill little monsters or turn them into humans by balancing my morality with needing the Adam to survive. I got some Atlus dude I don't quite trust leading me. There is a madman I'm trying to get to who failed at making a Eutopia. I don't know if I hate him, respect him, or just think he's flat crazy. Each character in each new level is crazy and demented in ways that a 10 year old wouldn't comprehend.

In a typical Nintendo game, you have to take the choco man to cloud land or some BS that is dumbed down so a 10 year old can understand the story.

Look, Nintendo games more typically are simpler, have art design, and storylines that are much more similar to pixar movies that kids watch while 360 games are more like movies adults watch. A 13yr-old playing Gears is not necessarily more mature OR LESS than one playing Pokemon.

warioswoods @ Sep 5th 2007 11:26PM

Jacob - quick response, since back and forth is tiring, and I'm less in a ranting mood than I was before.

For one, I wasn't referring to the '360' in the Xbox 360's name, that second part of the sentence was to jab more generally at those who run around saying 'my console has [x amount] more power / storage capacity / whatever than yours' as if showing off vehicles.

Secondly, you're missing the 'fantasy' dimension I was talking about when I stated that the Wii games are, in fact, more 'mature', if we can use that word, than the games that tend to have an 'M' rating. With the chrome rims - they are, indeed, part of the aesthetics of a vehicle, but not aesthetics in a usual sense - they're a rather ridiculous attempt to embody a certain fantasy of wealth or badass-ness or whatever image one intends to recreate. There's just something immature and even dishonest to such an attempt, which is far different from painting a vehicle to make it look more pleasing, although there's no a priori rule that can parse out the tasteful from the immature, you'll just have to recognize it.

The reason that Nintendo games are more honest in their presentation is that they (tend) not to present everything within a fantasy frame. If it's platforming gameplay, there isn't a second layer tacked on that involves violence, crime, or some other element appealing to the fantasies of young 'hardcore' gamers, instead it is what it is; if you are sitting there controlling an animated character on screen, moving and jumping through worlds, it actually looks as comical and lighthearted as that gameplay warrants. You may say that Nintendo games look kiddy, and you'd be right, except that you miss the fact that there is an inherently childlike and fanciful quality to playing electronic games, and such a presentation simply lays that out on the surface without some second frame of adolescent fantasy or violence to support it.

It's simple - those products that try too hard to be adult, edgy, controversial, or generally hardcore are in fact the products that are, in actuality, targeted at a younger male audience. Most adults have learned not to fall for that.

Shagittarius @ Sep 5th 2007 1:16PM

How about :

The Wii is like your girlfriend giving you a tug job, the old cigarette machine while shes watches Dr. Phil and only barely concentrates on what shes doing.

The 360 and PS3 are like a Bachelor party with each chick trying to outdo the other. One of them is totally naked on the floor blowing you and her exotic girlfriend is behind you giving you the rimjob of your life.