Console Wars!

The current generation has given us the most fevered gaming contest since Sega vs. Nintendo and the 16-bit battleground of the early 90s. It was a simpler, more innocent time for The Shed, just moving into double figures as we were. Back then the rivalry seemed to be confined to the games, iconic characters going head to head (a pit fight, Mario vs. Sonic: who wins?) as gamers took sides, arms folded in a b-boy stance. It was a contest between the fans of the two camps, it was about the gamers. The difference between that time and the current conflict is crucial and telling and when we get down to the brass, just as silly.

This time it's the companies who are so openly fuelled by the competition. No longer are they content to sit back and let the software speak for itself. It's a constant to and fro, Sony and Microsoft vying for press attention in a bid to look bolder. Their is no holding back, the inner workings of the marketing machine are obvious and plainly exposed and honestly, it's fucking boring. Do gamers really care about the conflict? Must we still pledge allegiance to a side?

Microsoft's bearing is that their machine is all about the software. "At its heart, (the 360 has) been built as the best video gaming machine that's going to be available in this generation. That is what it's all about for the gamer." So sayeth David McLean, one of Microsoft's Home and Entertainment Division bods. A bold and fair statement, if only it were the whole truth. It's contradicted somewhat by the announcement of the new 360 Elite, due later this year complete with 120GB HDD, HDMI hook-up and ugly black casing (a step back in design terms, perhaps).

"We won't force experiences that require the new HDD. Games will still be optimized around the 20GB experience. Nobody will be forced to buy a new drive." So speweth Albert Penello, Microsoft's director of global platform marketing. So if not required for essentials like game saves, then what is the extra storage for? In the long haul it'll be painfully obvious: movies, photos, music and all sorts of downloadable firmware and game expansion packs. The extra space will be indispensable if you want to get the best from your machine, and Microsoft knows this. And so we have to ask why these features weren't implemented from the off. Shrugging and saying 'the technology wasn't ready' doesn't quite cut it when you're faced with an army of 10 million raging 360 owners. Suddenly Sony's 60GB basic startup seems like a stroke of marketing genius. Microsoft's constant attack on Sony's PS3 pricing is starting to sound tired too. A fair point - the PS3 is expensive - but we've all known this for a while now.

Sony says the European cost of £425 is justified when consumers consider the long term capabilities of the machine they are buying. A 'fully blown entertainment device', a lifestyle device not confined solely to playing games. The BluRay capabilities and the ambitious plans for the online 'Home' community are just two examples of their widescreen view. Still, there is one Sony pricing issue worth talking about - the pricing up of the PS3 for the European market. That certainly can't be justified. For a CEO, Howard Stringer seems to have a bleak realist view: 'If we fail, it is because we positioned PS3 as the Mercedes of the video game field." Contrasted with Phil Harrison's optimism, again we see contradictions and shaky marketing plans revealed.

Alberto Penello on the 360 Elite: "And for a unit that's got twice the hard drive storage space as the PS3, comes with an HDMI cable, an Ethernet cable and a headset, it's still $120 cheaper than the $599.99 high-end PlayStation 3." Not for existing Xbox 360 customers, sadly. The Elite looks a timely marketing move and a shameless attempt to steal some of PS3's shine in the week of its Euro debut.

Fortunately, the competition on the software front is something heads can really get excited about. Awesome, era-defining games are on the horizon for both consoles, and the frenzy of anticipation can be marred only slightly by the two giants taking every opportunity to snipe the exclusives. The Shed says this: neither console has the edge, neither is better, it's all gravy. Consider that the predicted shelf life for this generation is 10 years, it's dumb to pledge loyalty like shit isn't gonna change. Until consoles can wax your genitals and print bank-notes, hardware and spec talk will remain a mind-numbing bore. Can't everybody just get along and enjoy the games? It's a bit sad that all the consoles, peripherals and HDTVs will cost game lovers a couple of grand to enjoy the best of the best.

^ Nintendo: Slick and unique console design.

Perhaps Nintendo should be held up as an example called 'How to enjoy the fanfare without blowing your own brass'. They have quietly and calmly done their own thing with the Wii and have made a massive impact, 1.2 million sold and counting. The approach is savvy and refreshing; from the much-loved Wiimote, to the classic games for download on Wii Shop Channel, to the unique little touches like WiiConnect24. Massively expanding the potential audience of worldwide gamers, the Wii is ironically more about 'lifestyle' gaming than its bully rivals can currently hope for. Surely there are seismic shifts to come, but right now Nintendo are standing small and acting clever.