Wall of text crits you for 1000000000 damage. This post is IMHO and only applies to my situation and my way of life.
Granted I have no credibility (yes that means you can stop reading now), here are just a few comments from someone who generally stays quiet in these types of threads.
If the Wii, 360 and PS3 all came out on the same day and for the same price, the PS3 would be the best seller (based on the PS2 being the previous generation king alone and not considering title availability, future proof, etc). This would be tough to deny regardless of what type of fanboy you are.
However, the PS3 debuted at 2 times the price of the 360 and 2.5 times the price of the Wii. This put it out of the running for the majority of the gaming populous (based on a 2006 US census yearly average income of $48k per family) factored on price alone (more on this later). This did not reduce the amount of people who desired to own the PS3, but it did reduce the amount of people who could afford one. We would all be driving a Mercedes instead of a Kia if the price was the same.
After a few model changes and price drops the PS3 is slowly picking up speed and with Microsoft doing the same, the XBOX sales have also remained steady or slightly increased. The Wii is a great system but it’s hard to define it as second gen when comparing "capability" of it to the other systems. The 360 and PS3 are either capable of, or currently support; HD graphics, 5.1 audio, DVD playback (inc. HD-DVD/Blu-Ray support), Media Center functionality, upgradeability (somewhat), internal HD, and a more seamless online interaction.
This leads me to the point that the 360 and PS3 are competitors in the race and the Wii isnt in the race at all. To clarify, its running the 100meter and the 360/PS3 are running the 5K. They aren’t competing in the same race, well they shouldn’t be. While Sony and MS battle it out on who is going to be the nextgen king, the Wii is watching from the sidelines. The Wii isn’t trying to be nextgen, it’s not trying to be future proof, it’s trying to be fun, simple and affordable and it’s succeeding.
The #1 factor in retail sales for a consumer when making a buying decision is PRICE. Please don't confuse price with value. That is not to say that the Wii isn’t a better value, it’s simply the lowest priced. Add in a good game line-up, an innovative controller that can draw you in to the games and an ease of use that anyone can figure out in 10min, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Wii is on top in sales.
So that brings up the question of value. Which system has the best value? I say if you are looking down the road for the next 5 years then a lot of it will be determined by the winner of the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray war. I don't see the Wii being the best value that far down the road but I think it has tremendous value right now, and an increased value going into 2008. I don't see it slowing down until the price point on the other systems drops a bit more and a high def DVD standard is set. Sure the Wii will drop in price as well but I don't think it will carry the same value in the next few years.
So with all of that being said..
I owned a Wii when they first came out and sold it a month later because after Zelda, there was nothing left for me to play. When friends/family came over I missed the Wii (as did they), but there wasn’t enough value in that alone to justify owning it if I wanted to purchase another system (The wife made it clear I could not own both, and the truth is we didn’t have the money to afford both). I ended up making a couple of $$ because of the Wii shortage after Christmas so it worked out.
I picked up a 360 in Jan of this year and played it daily (I was even having dreams of GoW while I slept). I was happy with the 360 and saw no chance of me buying anything else for a long time… but then 2 things happened. I got custody of my son in May, and he had a PS2 that he brought with him (and a GB-SP), and he just did not like the 360. He was reluctant to use the 360 controller and preferred the types of games on his PS2 to those that were available on the 360 (Final Fantasy, Disgaea, GT, etc). The second thing was that we got the dreaded RRoD around Sept. We took the 360 back to Costco and got a... you guessed it... another Wii.
Are you surprised? I fall into that crowd of those who still wanted a PS3 but I could not justify the price based on its current value. The Wii seemed like the smart decision. The RPG's my son and I would like to play were not (and are still not) available on the PS3 yet and he had already made it clear he did not care for the 360 platform (even though I preferred it). I already knew the Wii was fun, and as a family it was something we could play together. My son had recently traded in his SP for a DS and was able to link to the Wii with his pokeman games and we have spent hours playing Rayman, MP8 and Wii Sports together. My wife plays RE4 and loves it (not to mention she kicks my ass in tennis lately) and I am almost done (on chapter 8) with Super Paper Mario. I already have Galaxy and SSB reserved and Metroid is sitting on top of the Wii still sealed in plastic. I picked up Zack & Wiki last week and it’s been taking up my time (and my son/wifes time) the last few days (except for the small break to play the Crysis demo, which is going to kick ass BTW).
So where does this leave the PS3? I still want to own one and I can still see it having the capability to be my favorite console in the future; just not yet... My son wants one for Christmas and we have about $400 on a GS gift card. The possibility of picking one up is there... I’m just still having a hard time justifying the value at its current state. If Blu-Ray was the standard, there would be less hesitation. If the game line-up was currently where it needs to be, there would be less hesitation. If the price was $100 less, there would be less hesitation. If the new dual shock controllers were released and bundled with the PS3 w/o a price increase, there would be less hesitation. If all/most/some of the above things were to happen, there would be NO hesitation and I believe that to be true for the majority of us living in or near the median income level.
But for now... the hesitation remains and the Wii's future (at least until the middle of 2008), is looking bright.
-Tirade (Not a fanboy, just a cheapass looking for the best value)
I want to say... and I try not to disrespect anyone.. But most people don't take things to heart. So with that said.. shut your ass up.. this is a forum not a 
