PS3 for casual gamers

A

amateurPro2

CAG Veteran
One of my friends is looking to buy a new console mainly for his wife who is a casual gamer, and grew up playing Mario games. My friend also used to play games (original XBOX), but he cannot spend as much time as he used to - with his work, and studies.

It seemed to him that the Wii is the obvious choice. However I did tell him about the excellent multimedia capabilities of the PS3 (bluray, dvd upconverting, netflix streaming, watching youtube online..etc) apart from the gaming capabilities - that has him now leaning towards the PS3. (He does not own a bluray player yet).

Also the fact that Sony will be introducing the PS3 wand "should" make the gameplay experience equal to or better than the Wii (that is whenever the wand is available for sale)

- What are your thoughts?

- Do you think the PS3 has games for the casual gamer? Which ones are available currently?

- When the PS3 wand is introduced, will PS3 provide a better experience (and overall value) than a Wii?

Thanks for your inputs!!
 
Little Big Planet fits that nicely. I played the entire game with my wife. Has some challenge if you want to really game too and get all the stuff.

Ratchet and Clank games are good for everyone.

ModNationRacers looks to continue the LBP ideas but in kart racing.

Personally, I wouldn't count too much on the wand.

I'll let others take it from here...
 
How can you ask anyone here a question about how much of a better experience the "PS3 Wand" will provide, when not a single person outside Sony has touched the thing? No one short of a few developers and gaming media types can answer how much of a better experience it is over the wii...

I wouldn't count on very much support for it at all. If anything it'll end up just like the eyetoy. Sparse support from anyone outside of Sony.
 
Sony built up a few very strong "casual" brands in Buzz! Trivia and SingStar. They also have EyePet coming, which is more of a toy than game, but might be fun to someone who isn't a traditional gamer. The PSN offers plenty of inexpensive games that are easy to play in short, casual bursts as well.
 
[quote name='mtxbass1']How can you ask anyone here a question about how much of a better experience the "PS3 Wand" will provide, when not a single person outside Sony has touched the thing? No one short of a few developers and gaming media types can answer how much of a better experience it is over the wii...

I wouldn't count on very much support for it at all. If anything it'll end up just like the eyetoy. Sparse support from anyone outside of Sony.[/QUOTE]

Yes I agree. Only time will tell.

Without the wand, however, would you guys agree with going with a PS3 over a Wii - in terms of utility in the long term?
 
tell him to get his wife a ds. full of many diff types of games that women will love. 300 pluss ( adding into that games and such) is too much of an investment for a casual gamer.
 
[quote name='lokizz']tell him to get his wife a ds. full of many diff types of games that women will love. 300 pluss ( adding into that games and such) is too much of an investment for a casual gamer.[/QUOTE]

This isn't a bad suggestion. If they need the media capabilities and blu ray etc... yeah... PS3 no question. It all comes down to price. If it is just for casual gaming and nothing else... $300 can be steep.

Price is not an object... PS3. They won't run out of things to do. Budget conscious... DS is fantastic and Wii has plenty for a bit less as well.
 
tell your friend this - netflix.

problem solved. games for you and netflix to boot.

well, it will be, once full netflix implementation starts.
 
My wife loves to play Critter Crunch; there's also Zen Pinball, Noby Noby Boy (kind of pointless), and some others. You won't find the dearth of casual titles on the PS3 that you do on the Wii though.

I don't know what will happen with the Sony motion controls. There are some games out for the Wii that could be ported to the PS3 with upgraded graphics, but most of the good ones are only 1st party Wii games.

Anyway, I'm not too sure what Sony is trying to do with the motion controls--is it for attracting the Wii "expanded" audience or the traditional gamer Wii crowd that feels neglected but is on the fence deciding whether to go to another console.
 
[quote name='Saint Noir']This isn't a bad suggestion. If they need the media capabilities and blu ray etc... yeah... PS3 no question. It all comes down to price. If it is just for casual gaming and nothing else... $300 can be steep.

Price is not an object... PS3. They won't run out of things to do. Budget conscious... DS is fantastic and Wii has plenty for a bit less as well.[/QUOTE]


yeah women do love the wii and with the price drop coming he could get a wii and ds lite for a decent price and the ds has plenty of casual and hardcore flavored games. theres more for everyones tastes on the ds than the wii imo. also i know alot of people from all walks of life and age groups who play ds.
 
My mom is 69 years old, and I got her hooked on the DS; all she plays is Card Games now, but she loves it. Its a great accessible system for anyone.

I just wanted to comment on the PS Wand; I think that the tech of the Wand will be good. Meaning that it will do what it is supposed to do... however I am concerned about the software. I think it will cover the basic tennis and boxing, and Wii sports -ish titles well, but out side of that how good will the software be? That's what I'm hoping to find out.
 
Consider, though, that there was a stand-alone BR player for $100 recently posted in another deal thread. Other than Little Big Planet, most of the other good casual games for PS3 are not exclusive to them (such as the Lego games and music games). He's really better off getting a Wii (with Super Mario Bros Wii and maybe some Wii points) and a stand alone BR player (assuming he wants to start buying his movies again).

EDIT: And I don't consider Wii game to be casual because they have motion controls, thus PS3 wand =/= instant casual games. The Wii is a casual game machine because Nintendo made a conscious effort to develop their games in that direction (e.g., Mario Kart Wii which has many levels of complexity). The shovelware is another reason that Wii is considered a "casual" game machine, but that's only because those companies threw together cheap games that aren't developed with any depth.
 
This is just such a tough call. He says that the console he's going to buy is for his wife. So if it's for her, he should get a Wii for all the casual stuff. However, value-wise, PS3 is a better value. It's probably going to last longer (I wouldn't be surprised if there's a new Nintendo console out within the next 2 years). And depending on how much she plays, maybe the small amount of casual games on the PS3 would be enough.

I was a Wii-only owner for about 3 years, and since I bought a PS3, I've really expanded my horizons. I hated first person shooter games, until I played Uncharted (which is a 3rd person shooter that came with the system), and now they're one of the main types of games I've been playing the most. I even bought SFIV and Valkyria Chronicles (I'm not really into strategy games, but I'm still interested in learning how to play it).

Also, I love Blu-ray now that I see what my TV is capabable of...

But I am a Mario, Zelda, Metroid fan, so if I were the guy, I'd get both :D
 
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