At risk of kicking off a full-scale war that will melt the Internet and destroy humanity as we know it, we’re going to do the console wars this week (but seriously, no fanboy flaming, please).
Of all the current-generation game platforms out there, which is your personal preference for gaming, and why? Do you like it because of its exclusives, the hardware, the indie scene, or even just one particular game?
Thanks as always for the support and enjoy the conversation!
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This is a tough one for me, as I have all the game platforms (sans a gaming PC) and I like them all – hardware doesn't really matter to me, I care more about the user experience and the games.
That said, I'd probably have to single out the iPad as the device I enjoy using the most. It's got a huge range of really great games on it now (that go for cheap, no less), some genuinely great exclusives, and now the Japanese developers are paying attention, there's some great JRPGs on it too – this is a critical genre for me.
I like that the iPad allows for more niche games to get released, too. Hardcore strategy games that you would never see on a console are easy to release on iPad, for instance.
And it's portable, but at the same time, thanks to Air Play, very comfortable for play at home as well.
Second for me would probably be my PS3 – the JRPG selection on that console this generation has been fantastic – Atelier games, Ar tonelico Qoga, Final Fantasy XIII/ XIII-2, Record of Agarest War, Rainbow Moon, Legasista, Demon's Souls/ Dark Souls, White Knight Chronicles and, of course, the almighty Nier.
For me it's the 3DS right now, even though I haven't been playing it much lately. It pretty much covers all of my gaming needs: great original first-party titles (SM3DL, KI:U), great remakes (TLoZ:OoT3D, SF643D), even better third-party titles (BIT.TRIP SAGA, MGS:SE3D), and fantastic downloads (VVVVVV, Mutant Mudds).
Now that NSMB2 is on the eShop and more of my favorite games of all time such as Cave Story and NightSky are headed to the platform, I'm perfectly fine with sitting out on the Wii U for the majority of this generation and using the 3DS as my main gaming platform.
PC technically should be my favorite games platform, since 9 times out of 10 the best, most inventive, most atmospheric, most stunningly creative indie games can be found on there, and I end up falling in love with each of them. However, there's something inherent about the platform that bothers me and makes PC gaming hard for me to enjoy.
Once I get my hands on a PS3 (or even a Vita), I have a hunch that might soon become my favorite platform, since it looks like all of the creativity is on Sony systems at the moment. Besides the requisite Sony games (Uncharted, Infamous, LittleBigPlanet), you have Papo & Yo, the upcoming Unfinished Swan, Journey and thatgamecompany's other stuff, Sound Shapes…and I could go on forever, but suffice it to say if Nintendo doesn't sucker me into buying the Wii U I'll get a PS3 this year. 🙂
No fan-boy-ism here. I have pretty much everything at this point, but for me it is the PS3. I enjoy the exclusives more than the 360 ones, the hardware and online presence is better than the Wii, and unlike the 360 my family can play online for free – a big factor when I am looking at a game like CoD or Madden between the 360 and PS3 that has a heavy online emphasis. On top of that, I like the menu layout better than the 360, we have a fairly extensive Blu-ray collection and the streaming services like Netflix tend to look nicer than they do on the Wii. Overall, it has been the best system for our household this generation, though all of them have their merits and quality exclusives.
While my PS Vita is getting a crap-ton of playtime, because of Disagea 3: Absence of Detention, the 3DS XL has to be my preferred. It's got the "tablet" feel to it with it's massive size, an improved 3D screen and a great line-up of indie titles, RPGs and, of course, Nintendo's very own first party titles. Let a few more RPGs land on this baby and I just might not ever put it down!
PC gaming has trained me to be a lazy, semi-selfish prick who does whatever he wants whenever he wants.
And I love it.
If my laptop had a graphics card that was read properly, I would be too, but even with my decent specifications, I get stuck running on the lower settings on most games when I shouldn't be. 🙁
Despite another Super Mario, I'm probably not getting a WiiU either. I don't know, there's just nothing there that screams 'buy me' yet.
I have all the consoles in this gen and I was a huge Sony fan right up until the Microsoft's first console launched, but I've been mainly an Xbox guy ever since. Aside from the Halo series (which is one of my favorite series' in gaming), probably the biggest reasons that it's my preferred console are the controller (way better than the PS pad for FPS' IMO) and the whole Xbox Live 'experience'… If that makes sense lol.
Portables are split for me, I use my Vita and 3DS pretty evenly at the moment. Though the 3DS gets a lot more use overall.
Also, I just kinda realized I'll be skipping the WiiU launch. Mixed feelings about that…
I agree; the 3DS XL is a lovely bit of kit. I hardly ever played my standard 3DS, but the new model is getting a fair bit of playtime. I'm still a PC boy at heart, though.
Perhaps I should invest in a XL, if it does improve the experience.
One question – How good do Virtual Console and DS games look on it? I play a lot of those.
A _whole_ lot better than you'd expect them to look! If anything, they look like they did when playing them on a television with their respective consoles. I'm sure there's some stretching involved, but it's never been an issue for me.
What I do have an issue with is the tiny 3D screen on the original 3DS. It hurt my eyes to try and play games on it. It's just entirely too small!
You guys are seriously making me want to pick up an XL.
Virtual console games look great – suddenly, they're not infinitesimally small. I prefer to use my standard DS games on my standard DSi XL – I did a one-after-another test using New Super Mario Bros, and I got the feeling that the 3DS' superior screens made it look just a little too blocky.
Incidentally, brightness is about the same for a 3DS and a 3DS XL. There's a slight loss of colour vibrancy when you step up to the larger screen, but the gameplay is much more immersive.
As others have said, the 3DS XL is absolutely worth it. The original model left me with a bad taste in my mouth, but the XL is like a nice swig of Listerine (but replace the burning sensation with that of a nice beverage).
It's not just the bigger screen, better battery life, better slider, better brightness, etc., but the very system design itself. I found it rather irritating to look at the standard one with its color scheme and uncanny ability to collect fingerprints. This one actually has a consistent look inside and the red on the front is stunning. I absolutely prefer playing both my DS and VC games on this beast, though perhaps others might have a problem with the DS games (which seem to look worse on the standard 3DS anyway). I couldn't recommend it more.
So yes, that one would be my favorite. Ask me next month, though, and it could be PS3, 360, Vita, PC, iOS, or Wii. In November, it'll probably be WiiU. I find myself cycling through systems to the point where a favorite isn't clear. Give me five years or so, please. 😛
I think MGS:SE3D was created solely for the purpose of torturing Nintendo console-only owners. It makes you want to play MGS 1, 2, 4, and Peace Walker incredibly badly, and the fact that Ground Zeroes is coming to PS3 is just overkill. Seriously, I need a PS3. 😛
Without a doubt, PC. There's always new hardware available to improve your PCs performance should it be lacking, whereas Consoles run for several years without changing, thus newer games have to limit their games (often graphically) for them to be able to run on Consoles properly.
PC is also where the Modding community is at, and if there's one thing that can vastly increase replayability, it's mods. Especially when the tools are provided by the developers themselves.
Finally, MMORPGs.
I prefer to play my standard DS games on my DS Lite. The DS Lite is just a fantastic kit!
You should get one! 🙂
lol you're not helping! Seriously though, I might have to get one judging by how much you all like yours!
Probably the Nintendo DS. It is like the PS2 of this generation in breadth of genres and series. I own nearly 100 games for the platform, and it is the system that keeps on giving.
As for consoles, I like the Wii the best. It has the most variety of the three consoles, imo, and I adore most of Nintendo's franchises. The PS3 is also awesome. I don't really care for the 360. I don't like having to pay for online, and I don't like the exclusives being offered.
Being into PC gaming since the mid 90's it pains me a bit to say that the 3DS and Wii are my platforms of choice for this generation. One factor is not wanting to sink money into a decent rig and continually upgrading to keep pace. I've had a few laptops with dedicated GPU's which give me just enough power to stay connected to the PC world (eg: portal, portal 2, etc..) without breaking the budget.
The last 10 months with my 3DS have been great and am really looking forward to getting back to Wii titles now that it's back in my hands again. 🙂
As for the PS3 or 360, I'd go for a PS3 if I were to make the leap, but I don't want to put money in that direction and fragment what I budget/can spend on 3DS/Wii/PC at this point.