XBox or Wii?

[Kail]

I'm not much of a gamer, but I know I want the new Beatles Rock Band game. From what I can tell, it's available in a variety of formats. It's a big investment for me, and I want to be sure I get the best, most versitile game platform I can. What do you recommend? Please keep in mind I have a small son who will probably play more games than I will. Thanks!

 

[Aragorn]

Xbox 360 because you can download all the songs that are available to purchase, and actually have the hard drive space for them. The Beatles might also perk your interest in getting Rock Band 2, in which case you'll be able to go nuts on buying songs. Of course, songs for Rock Band aren't compatible with The Beatles game, and vice verse.

The complete albums for Abby Road, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Rubber Soul will be coming out, and the single All You Need Is Love is currently an Xbox exclusive download.

Of course, if you're not too keen on spending even more money on a game you've already purchased (I've spent more money downloading songs than I have buying Rock Band and Rock Band 2 when they came out!), and your young son will be using it more than you, you may want to go for the Wii. And since the Wii caters a lot to casual gamers, you may find that you have more fun playing games with family or friends on the Wii. But be warned that the vast majority of their games are crap.

 

[Cmndr J Crichton]

If you like keeping your console, I suggest a PS3, or a Wii. Four letters. RROD. The consoles' failure rate is staggering! I've had my Wii since 2007, and use it regularly. No problems whatsoever. I played Zelda Twilight Princess for almost 6 hours in one sitting, and had no issues. I plan on getting a PS3 next. That is definately the safest next-gen system to get. XBox has great exclusves, but I don't want to pay $249-$299 on a console that might not work when I want to play after work.

 

[CommodoreKong]

Based on your situation Kail I would recommend the Wii, it has a bunch of fun games that you're son will likely enjoy and even some you can play together like Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, the Bloom Blox series, Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort, Klonoa, Animal Crossing, Punch Out, Excite Bots, and later this fall New Super Mario Brothers Wii.

 

[Chris3123]

If you like keeping your console, I suggest a PS3, or a Wii. Four letters. RROD. The consoles' failure rate is staggering!

I like "keeping my console", and I love my 360 just fine. I got the RROD, but I still have an Xbox. If it fails, you get a new one for free. Two weeks without an Xbox, then bam, a fresh one at your doorstep. Hey, if I knew with certainty it was going to happen, and when, I'd still get it. What happened after the RROD was absolutely no different than if I just abstained from playing for a couple weeks (plus getting a free month of LIVE ). If you compare the RROD experience to all the rest of the time I've had a 360, it could hardly be considered even a minor inconvenience.

I've had my Wii since 2007, and use it regularly. No problems whatsoever.

If you got an Xbox instead at that time, you could quite possibly be saying the same about it. I play my Xbox regularly, and when I had had my Xbox for as long as you had your Wii, it had always worked perfectly.

I played Zelda Twilight Princess for almost 6 hours in one sitting, and had no issues.

You can play the 360 for 6 hours straight with no problem, too.

I plan on getting a PS3 next. That is definately the safest next-gen system to get. XBox has great exclusves, but I don't want to pay $249-$299 on a console that might not work when I want to play after work.

Yes, PS3 is safer. But the Xbox is great, too, even with the RROD problem. You said it yourself, it has great games. If you truly think the games are great, and you would love to play them, get an Xbox. If the RROD happens, you have to go a max of 2 weeks without your Xbox (and if that ruins your life, you need to go outside once in a while). They replace it for free. I love Halo 3, and I think it would have been so stupid of me to not get an Xbox (and thus not play Halo 3) just because of the RROD thing. The minor inconvenience the RROD caused me is nothing compared to all the good I've gotten out of my Xbox. If the RROD is the only thing keeping you from buying a 360, then the 360 must not be so great to begin with.

However, in regards to the original poster, the Wii is the one to get if your child will be the one playing the most. Get the Wii.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I'm not much of a gamer, but I know I want the new Beatles Rock Band game. From what I can tell, it's available in a variety of formats. It's a big investment for me, and I want to be sure I get the best, most versitile game platform I can. What do you recommend? Please keep in mind I have a small son who will probably play more games than I will. Thanks!

Tough one that, if you have a young son then the Wii would be perfect, but your also looking for versatility in a games platform and that's the PS3 right there....its a tough call this one.

Well firstly game wise they all offer some great games, price wise the 360 is the cheapest option but that's for the basic model with no Hard drive in the box, the wii and PS3 offer free online play, the 360 requires a subscription fee monthly or yearly, the wii has motion control and the PS3 and 360 are jumping onto that bandwagon in the next year, the wii and PS3 both offer a web browser, the PS3 comes out of the box with a BR player and built in wireless, reliability wise the wii and the PS3 are very reliable...

Its a tough call, you would really need to look into it more closely and see what platform meets your requirements.

 

[Steve Roby]

Xbox is more for serious gamers, Wii is more for family play. Xbox has much sharper graphics and is better for things like shooters.

Yeah, the Xbox fails occasionally. My wife and I have been through a few of them. And we keep going back for more, because we enjoy the games, we enjoy the Xbox Live experience (well, once you have a critical mass of friends and don't have to play so much with strangers), we enjoy being able to stream video and audio from one of our PCs, etc.

Some of our relatives have bought Wiis, but they're not gamers themselves, they're buying something appropriate for their kids. As for PS3, we don't have much experience with those (I hate the controller) but we'll probably buy one before too long, for Blu-Ray more than anything else. But it'll supplement the Xbox, not replace it.

 

[Chris3123]

Xbox is more for serious gamers, Wii is more for family play. Xbox has much sharper graphics and is better for things like shooters.

Exactly.

 

[Mistral]

The XBOX live community is robust, with user-created games aplenty that would appeal to a smaller child. As a wise man once said, "You get what you pay for." Xbox will cost you-but you get a lot for your money.

 

[Aragorn]

Your question is also just about the worst one to ask here, because while you may get a few legitimate responses, the majority of posts will be from tunnel vision fanboys who ignore everything you wrote and proceed to proselytize about the console they like to take to bed with them.

If it fails, you get a new one for free. Two weeks without an Xbox, then bam, a fresh one at your doorstep.

What makes getting someone else's broken Xbox that was refurbished "fresh"?

 

[Kail]

Thanks everybody! I think it's the Wii for me and my family.

 

[firehawk12]

Keep in mind that the controller options for the Wii are also more expensive.

Wiimote + Nunchuck + Wii Motion Plus if you're playing Wii Sports Resort would run about 100+ bucks in Canada.

Multiply that by 3 if you're into four player games and it's basically another console at that point.

 

[FPAlpha]

The fact that you have a small son means i'd recommend a Wii since it's game base is geared more towards family friendly fun games.

The 360 beats it in almost all categories save price and the motion control system but i'd not really recommend it for small kids.. its games are more for the teenager and adult market.

 

[Chris3123]

Your question is also just about the worst one to ask here, because while you may get a few legitimate responses, the majority of posts will be from tunnel vision fanboys who ignore everything you wrote and proceed to proselytize about the console they like to take to bed with them.

Indeed.

If it fails, you get a new one for free. Two weeks without an Xbox, then bam, a fresh one at your doorstep.

What makes getting someone else's broken Xbox that was refurbished "fresh"?

Nothing, because such a system obviously isn't fresh at all. But then I never said such a system would be. I said what I said while under the impression that they actually send you a fresh, new console. If I'm wrong, then I stand corrected.

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

While not super likely, I'd maybe wait a little bit to buy a Wii. The other two consoles just had a price drop so there may be a chance that the Wii will get one as well. The biggest issue is that it's still selling really well so they don't really have a reason to drop the price.

 

[-Brett-]

My 360 sees a lot more use, but for someone that's not too in to games and has a young kid, the Wii is probably a better bet. Throwing brightly colored turtle shells is probably more appropriate for a little one than sawing zombie-aliens in half with a chainsaw bayonet.

 

[Aragorn]

If it fails, you get a new one for free. Two weeks without an Xbox, then bam, a fresh one at your doorstep.

What makes getting someone else's broken Xbox that was refurbished "fresh"?

Nothing, because such a system obviously isn't fresh at all. But then I never said such a system would be. I said what I said while under the impression that they actually send you a fresh, new console. If I'm wrong, then I stand corrected.

Nope, where do you think all those consoles they repair go? The turnaround is somewhat quick because they send you a console they've already repaired, and once they fix your console, someone else will be getting it. For all I know, the 360 Pro I have could've been sent in by someone on this very board, and someone here has mine.

 

[Lookingglassman]

XBOX 360. I got one and a Wii and the Wii is just a dust magnet. I play my xbox all the time because they have better games.

But then again you got a kid so you might be better off with a Wii since alot of its games are kiddie games.

 

[Chris3123]

What makes getting someone else's broken Xbox that was refurbished "fresh"?

Nothing, because such a system obviously isn't fresh at all. But then I never said such a system would be. I said what I said while under the impression that they actually send you a fresh, new console. If I'm wrong, then I stand corrected.

Nope, where do you think all those consoles they repair go? The turnaround is somewhat quick because they send you a console they've already repaired, and once they fix your console, someone else will be getting it. For all I know, the 360 Pro I have could've been sent in by someone on this very board, and someone here has mine.

Well, I stand corrected then. Thanks for correcting me.

 

[USS Mariner]

I'd recommend getting the Wii MotionPlus in any case, as the addition of the second gyro finally gives you 1:1 response, though currently it won't offer enhanced control for most games (though I strongly suspect that they'll EVENTUALLY make the next logical step and offer the required patches to interpret the additional movement data for use in games developed and released before Wii Sports Resort, because all the MotionPlus does is provide an additional stream of movement data for the game to interpret.)

I've relented in getting a new system since getting the first Xbox, and I've avoided the Wii like the plague specifically because of how fucking terrible the Wiimote is. I've played Wii Fit and several other games with it at a friend's house, and I wasn't at all charmed by the fact that the only moves the Wiimote responds to are nothing like what you would do (or expect) in real life.

For example, in WiiBowling, the game responds in the same manner if you try to bowl normally of if you "granny bowl" (i.e. chuck the ball from between your legs like a dumbass.) Cooking Mama is the perfect game for developing carpal tunnel syndrome. Zelda seemed to work as well as any prior incarnations I've tried, though all I really could do with the controller was aim and tell him when to fire. Honestly, I didn't see how much better the Wiimote was for a game like Zelda.

From my experience, the original Wiimote is just the next-gen version of the PowerGlove; the PowerPimpstick. I'd love to try out how well the Wii MotionPlus performs, but I'm convinced of it's performance just from reviews, and because the addition of a second data stream is something that any moron who passed fucking high-school algebra would have figured out long before the Wii's concept stage.

Yes, I had a terrible time with the Wii.