Why Console Wars Don't Matter

NOTE: I originally wrote this post for my.qj.net so if you see it there, know that I didn't steal it. Gryff33 is just the name I go by there.
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First of all: my goal in this post is to be 100% neutral and bias-free.� My preferences may come out subconsciously, but this is not a psychology class, so I won't go into that.� Just trust me when I say that I am not trying to push my console preferences.

It happens every time new consoles come out: the console wars heat up and gamers take their choices in consoles very seriously.� It leads to insults (look at the comments of any console wars-related post on QJ), stress, and distraction from the entertainment of gaming.� We are all guilty of it.� You, me; even the people who repeatedly state the same kind of thing I'm saying right now are soldiers in the console wars.� But as a gamer since the 16 bit days, I can tell you that I never first picked the console that would eventually win until the DS (and that war isn't technically over yet), but I've still loved every console I ever had.� The console wars mentality is a problem, and as I hope to explain in this post, meaningless.

As long as you like the console you have, you'll always have good games.� Games make a console good, and just because something is less popular doesn't mean you should like it any less.� As long as your console doesn't fail (and I'll get into what that means in a moment), the games will keep coming and you'll have plenty to play.� The matter of what console sells best would only matter if the loser would no longer have any new games (that's what "failing" really means) because the console would become useless pretty fast.� Obviously, that is exceedingly rare for mainstream consoles (which for our purposes currently means PS3, Wii, 360, PSP, and DS).� So there's a million to one chance that you'll have new games until the next generation comes around, and maybe after.

True, the losing console's release schedule will be pretty bleak after it's been losing for a while, but does that matter as much as one might think?� Let's look at the consoles that have "lost" or are "losing" their respective console wars, shall we?� First off, the Gamecube.� While support dropped off considerably as Wii approached, I can tell you that I'm still playing Gamecube games even though I own an Xbox (not 360), PS2 (not 3), and Wii.� I still play all my old games, and it's important to remember that new games kept coming until very recently in the grand scheme of things.� To say the Gamecube "failed" is preposterous.

It's too early to say that the PS3 is losing the current console war (especially as it is not yet out it Europe), but I think it's safe to say the PSP is losing to the DS.� Whether it will end that way is anyone's guess, but that has been the case for a long time.� There are still plenty of awesome games coming, like Final Fantasy titles, Oblivion (eventually), the newly-released and under-rated (in my opinion) M.A.C.H., Full Auto, Burnout Dominator, and more.� Add homebrew and PSX downloads and you've got plenty to play.

Let's look back even farther than the Gamecube to the N64.� Check out this list: Goldeneye, Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie, Super Smash Bros, Majora's Mask, Mario Party, Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark (and those are just first- and second-party games), Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Quake 64, Doom 64, Chameleon Twist, Bomberman Hero, Tonic Trouble, and Extreme-G are just some of the games I still play.

None of the big 3 console makers (Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft) are likely to throw in the towel any time soon.� Each one has its own ways of staying around.

First, Nintendo: From a business and financial perspective, it doesn't matter how many consoles you sell.� It's all about profit.� Because Nintendo is making profit on every Wii sold, they can have the highest profit (and thus the lowest chance of going under) even if they don't sell the most consoles.� Also, DS-mania (I made up that term) doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon, and it will add to Nintendo's already high profits.� Of course, this only comes into play if Wii loses, and given sales records so far, that is far from the case.

Second, Sony: With the overwhelming success of the PS2, Sony's game division has an excellent track record, and the people in the company with the power to shut down a division won't go down on the game division so quickly.� Also, regardless of its current position in the console war, the PS3 seems poised for success with the likes of Final Fantasy XIII, Oblivion, and more (I don't mean to give the impression that there are only two noteworthy games coming out; it's just that I don't know many because not owning a PS3, I have no reason to).

Last, but opposite of least at the moment, Microsoft: I don't think I even need to tell you that Microsoft is not in any financial trouble.� Despite what Apple would have you believe, Windows is still by a large margin the most widely-used operating system, and Office is so popular that Apple bundles demos of it with new Mac laptops.� The Windows part affects Microsoft's gaming division as well: the success of Windows means more computer game developers will make games for it, and because of the structure similarity, a lot of those games are ending up on the 360.� Given the success of Xbox Live, on its own a reason that Microsoft has nothing to worry about, this trend will probably increase as the Live service extends to PCs.� It will allow developers of MMO games to maximize the number of players by getting PC and console gamers together.

Sega's cessation of console production inspired predictions of companies, particularly Nintendo, "going the way of Sega." I can assure you that Sega's situation was much different from any current console maker's. The Saturn and Dreamcast sold worse than the N64 and Gamecube (respectively), the Genesis lost its console war as well (giving them 3 losses in a row, to Nintendo's 2), and Sega did not have a popular handheld out. Also, despite the appeal of Sonic, Sega's exclusive titles couldn't compete with the likes of Mario, Zelda, Halo, Fable, Ratchet and Clank, and Resistance. In other words, it was a lot more than the Dreamcast coming in last place that forced Sega to stop making consoles, and no current console maker is in danger.

My point with all this is that none of the current consoles will fail, so it doesn't matter who wins; they will all succeed and they will all have good games. If nothing else convinces you, consider this: if your console of choice lost the console war and you found out only after the next generation began, would it make your time with the console any less fun? Here's another way to look at it: if you couldn't tell which console was winning, would you still care?