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In the past years, the Nintendo Wii undoubtedly won the console wars over competitors Sony PS3 and the Microsoft XBox 360. Many believe the triumph was largely attributed to games that caters to the entire family while its competitors have hard-core gamers as their target audience.

Nevertheless, after 16 months, the Wii may be slipping as the PS3 overtook sales for the first time in March 2009. With the hardware problems of the XBox 360, it may appear that the competition now has come down only between 2 video consoles. The Wii’s slip may be due to the quality of games available for the console. Developers have continuously encountered problems with the Wii’s configuration. This leaves the PS3 at the type of the industry with its wide variety of quality games.

I have always believed the PS3 to be the stronger console with its blue ray playing abilities and astounding game collection. In the end, is Sony still the King of the Consoles? The ball is in Nintendo’s court. We’ll have to wait and see how they deliver against this challenge.

Still trying to save up to buy that new game console? You may have to check the balance in your savings now — the Xbox 360 just cut its price on the entire line with the Arcade edition now as low as $199. This makes it cheaper by $50 than the Wii.

The Xbox 360′s Arcade has the lowest specs of the three Xbox 360 models currently available. It includes a wired controller and a 256 MB memory card rather than the hard drives found on higher-priced bundles. It seems that Microsoft is targeting the Wii’s market share while stock shortages still hound potential Wii buyers. The possibility to overtake the Wii in market share may have moved a notch higher considering that the Xbox 360 has increased its selections on family-friendly games and is planning overhaul to its interface that will make the dashboard more user-friendly.

Other Xbox 360 bundles received comparable price cuts with the Premium edition (which includes a 60 GB hard drive) at $299, and the Elite (with a 120 GB hard drive and a matte black finish) at $399.

Sony’s PlayStation 3 continues to be the most expensive game console with the cheapest system in its range retailing at $399. I guess the PS3 still prides itself as being the best console in the market in terms of specs and game quality. With Blu Ray now expected to be the leader in HD formats, you can still say that the PS3 outranks both the Xbox 360 and the Wii in terms of value. With the PS3, you still have a high quality game console together with a Blu Ray disc player. Nothing still beats watching a movie in a Blu Ray disc on your HD television. The quality and experience is still no match to other formats. Despite the price and its market share, my vote still goes to the PS3. It is still the better choice.

Despite the plummeting price of real estate and the skyrocketing cost of gasoline, video game sales seem to be surviving the slump. Even while everyone is trying to make ends meet, it seems that everyone still feels the need to play video games to relax and enjoy life. Why not? If we are going down the drain, why not do it while having fun? Besides, I believe we are able to find solutions to our problems when we are not too uptight about them. Creativity is spurred better when we’re not stressed. Read the rest of this entry »

When I became a parent, I swore my kids would have the time of their lives.  There was one thing that I wanted them to be — happy.  I believe that having a wonderful life started by having a happy childhood.  Of course, this had to be balanced by helping them develop self-esteem.  They had to have a sense of achievement — knowing that they are capable of doing something with their lives.  Making them independent and responsible was balanced by having fun playing with each other and friends.  For their leisure, I wanted them to have the best — it was a way of making them believe they deserved the best.  This meant that I had to provide them the best entertainment any kid could have — state-of-the-art games and gadgets.

Game consoles had then become something they looked forward to every Christmas.  Of course, they had to have good grades and no major misdemeanors were allowed throughout the year.  The first console I got them was an Xbox.  They were already given a PS2 as a gift earlier, so it was the next console on the line.  The following year, it was a PSP and then an Xbox 360 in the next.  Between my gifts and those they got from their uncles, my kids almost had all the consoles in the market right at their fingertips.  Other than those I mentioned, they have a gameboy advance, a gameboy SP, a Nintendo gamecube,  a Nintendo DS, and a PS3.  There was one thing left they didn’t have, it was the Nintendo Wii.  They were already expert gamers and the Wii was the last option because they thought it was for babies — the games were for adults playing tennis or little kids swinging swords.

Yep, my kids were considered the luckiest kids on the block.  But there are times I am concerned when I watch them playing games that border on violence and notoriety.  As I watch games becoming more explicit and violent, I started to be more strict with what they play.  I don’t usually mind the ESRB Ratings on the box, now I am more conscious.  I started when I watched my kids laugh while they ran over someone while steering a stolen car in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.  I bought the game based on their request, not knowing that it had an M (Mature) ESRB rating.

After having a serious talk about how these games can affect their perspective about things in life, they were not allowed any more Mature rated games.  The most they were allowed were T (Teen) ESRB rated games.  I had to give in to that because I realize that challenging games rarely went below a T rating.  Luckily, our serious talk seemed to be working.  They know the difference between games and real life.  And even while they play, I can see that they avoid killing whenever possible — none of them ever chose to play the antagonist, even in role-playing games (RPG).   I have not been called at school for any misdemeanors.

I try to watch them play whenever possible so I can monitor how they characterize themselves while playing.  Any sign of going over the dark side, would mean a serious debriefing and a warranted punishment.  So far, my security measures were working.  I just have to keep reminding them that it’s still best to be the nice guy.

Could it be that in the console war between the Xbox 360, PS3, and the Wii, the casualty are the players? Considering that my players include a 13-year old kid and 2 younger boys, this can be alarming news for Moms like me. I want all my boys to get the best out of their childhood. As much as possible, I want to balance learning with enjoyment. Thus, I got them the best consoles to make their leisure the best ones possible.

Greenpeace released in their new Playing Dirty report that all three home video game consoles, Sony’s PS3, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii, tested positive for hazardous chemicals such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), beryllium, bromine, and phthalates.Phthalates were found in relatively high levels in both the Xbox 360 and PS3. These are not allowed as components in toys or any childcare product. But game consoles are not classified as toys and thus, are not subject to existing legislation.

All three systems also contained significant levels of bromine which has been linked to impaired memory functions and other health problems. One of the phthalates found in the 360 and PS3 is also known to cause problems with sexual development in mammals.However, they also indicated that the three console manufacturers have “avoided or reduced uses of individual hazardous substances in certain materials within their consoles.” As such, if would be possible to make a green console if the 3 manufacturers combined efforts to do.

Please . . . I’d really like to have grandchildren.