Being a Nintendo Fanboy (part 3)

Being a Nintendo Fanboy (part 1)

Being a Nintendo Fanboy (part 2)

6th Generation - This was a turning point for several reasons. Firstly, it was Sega’s last hurrah in the console market, it saw the introduction of a new major player (Microsoft), and other than the big 4 there were only a couple of other consoles that I’ve never even heard of. A lot of games were released on all four consoles (or all three once the Dreamcast bowed out), so the games section is focused on exclusives. I’m also changing the Console Design category to include the User Interface, since this is the first generation to have a menu beyond just on/off.

Category	Winner	Reasons
Graphics		I think the XBox just slightly outperforms the Gamecube, and both were moderately more powerful than the PS2 (both having about another year of development time)
Sound Effects/ Music		At this point, all 3 consoles could put out real music and sound effects and didn’t need to be programmed/digitized.
Controller		Nintendo is the clear winner here. The GCN controller is the best designed controller conceived by man. PS2 is pretty much the same as PS1 with analog sticks, and the XBox/Dreamcast controllers were large and unwieldy.
Games		Sega only had a few good ones, and it seems to me that the other 3 systems had their share of great games, so the tie-breaker goes to Nintendo for having 3 Zelda games. Sony had the Square-Enix games, and XBox had things like Halo.
Price/ Availability		The Dreamcast was difficult to find after about a year out, but the others were readily available. The Dreamcast and Gamecube were $200, while the other two were $300.
Accessories/ Peripherals		Between the GBA Link cable (cross-compatibility), the Wavebird (the first bluetooth wireless controller), and the GBA Player (letting the GC play every GB/GBC/GBA game) it’s no contest.
Online Services		All of them had some form of connectivity with added modems, but Microsoft was ahead of the curve on this one with the origins of XBox Live.
Backwards/ Cross- Compatibility		Nintendo did have a bit of cross-compatibility with the GBA via link cable and backwards compatibility with the GBA Player, but the PS2’s ability to play PS1 games and DVDs makes it the clear winner, with Nintendo coming in second place.
Console Design/ UI		Hard to compete with the sleek black design of the PS2, and it was first to do the vertical standing thing. The UI’s were pretty similar.
Box Design		All of them were plastic DVD cases.
Coolness Factor		They just kept the ball rolling as the system that (now) adults play, and weren’t trying to be family friendly like Nintendo. Microsoft was new and unfamiliar territory, somewhat.
Overall Winner

7th Generation - Like the last generation, there were the big 3 and only a few other “also rans” that aren't worth mentioning. This was also where Nintendo took a hard left turn and re-captured a portion of the market that hadn’t been tapped while focusing on new ways to play rather than just adding more processing power/speed and resolution. It somewhat split the fans into hardcore gamers (who usually owned either an XBox360 or a PS3) and the more casual gamers (who had a Wii). The Wii outsold the other 2 consoles and became a minor cultural phenomenon amongst the casual gamer market.

This is also where I discovered that I’m not so much into online multiplayer games, really. Part of it might be that I actually don’t like them, and some of it might be that I was a bit resentful over some of the more capable online abilities of the other systems. 

Category	Winner	Reasons
Graphics		Nintendo is the obvious loser of this competition. The Wii was more comparable to an overclocked Gamecube (~1.5x as powerful), while the other systems were roughly 7 times more powerful than their predecessors. Sony and Microsoft also had higher resolutions and were set up for higher end TVs.
Sound Effects/ Music		Like the last generation, all 3 consoles could put out real music and sound effects and didn’t need to be programmed/digitized.
Controller		“Normal” controllers were available separately, but Nintendo made a huge leap in innovation with the motion controls. Sony just used the same design, but Microsoft cut down on the size and made it better from the first XBox. Both systems had motion controls added after the popularity of the Wii.
Games		The Wii tended to get a lot more shovelware and games targeted toward a casual audience, but there were some heavy hitters as well. Meanwhile, the other 2 consoles added or continued other major franchises.
Price/ Availability		Both XBox and PS3 had cheaper variants that came with less storage, but the Wii was more economical than any of the others. X-Box had a year jump on the other two.
Accessories/ Peripherals		Microsoft and Sony’s attempts to add in motion controls felt “tacked on” and weren’t as intuitive as the Wii Remote, which had the ability to turn into a gun, sports equipment, and could also be used in conjunction with more traditional controllers.
Online Services		Sony’s PSN somewhat caught up to XBox Live’s offerings, but Nintendo’s was very hampered by slower speeds and parental restrictions.
Backwards/ Cross- Compatibility		All three played pretty much all of the previous generation of games, but the PS3 is also a Blu-Ray player, and at one point was the cheapest Blu-Ray player on the market.
Console Design / UI		Each had several variants, and there’s not a clear winner/loser here. But the Wii introduced its channel-based UI, where each game and app looked like a different TV channel to be controlled with the Wii Remote.
Box Design		Again, all three came in DVD cases.
Coolness Factor		Maybe coolness isn’t the right word here - more like hype and general public awareness. The Wii became a minor cultural phenomenon, while the other two were just the next iteration of their hardware.
Overall Winner

8th Generation - This was the first generation where there were only the 3 major companies - Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft released consoles and nobody bothered to try to break into the market. But Nintendo released both the Wii U and the Switch during this generation so it has 2 entries (sort of), while the Xbox One had 2 slight hardware revisions (X/S), as did the PS4 (slim/pro). For right now, I'm going to keep it to the original Xbox One, PS4, and Wii U. 

To be honest, I’m not super well versed in the all of the ins and outs of the different versions and what does/doesn’t play on each system, nor on the accessories as much (VR, etc.). It was also during this generation that a few non-console competitors entered the market (specifically Oculus and Stadia).

Category	Winner	Reasons
Graphics		The Wii U's graphical capabilities caught up to and slightly surpassed the XB360/PS3, but it was surpassed by the current gen consoles, which were both fairly comparable.
Sound Effects/ Music		Like the last generation, all 3 consoles could put out real music and sound effects and didn’t need to be programmed/digitized.
Controller		While the Wii U Gamepad was large and a little unwieldy due to its size, it did have a large tablet style touch screen that had a lot of features built into it. Nintendo is nothing if not innovative and willing to try new things.
Games		Normally I would put Nintendo ahead because of some Zelda games, but all Wii U Zelda games were HD remakes or simultaneous releases. But other than Mario Maker, it seemed like Nintendo was kinda coasting here, which allowed the others to catch up in this category. It's also similar to the N64 era where 3rd party support was particularly weak.
Price/ Availability		All three were available at the usual places and not hard to find, but the Wii U got a one year jump on the other two, and was only $300 compared to $400 for PS4 and $500 for XB1.
Accessories/ Peripherals
Online Services		Nintendo's services were free, but quite lacking in features by comparison to the others that required a monthly subscription.
Backwards/ Cross- Compatibility		Nintendo wins due to having full Wii support as well as Virtual Console games, while the other two consoles had more limited selections of previous games.
Console Design / UI		All three were fairly similar in terms of console design and UI.
Box Design		Again, all three came in DVD cases.
Coolness Factor		Unfortunately, the Wii U was seen as the uncool, little brother console and a way of trying to catch up to the PS3/XB360 in terms of graphics and other features.
Overall Winner		This is the only one where I have to admit that Nintendo kinda dropped the ball.

The next one will pit the PS5 vs Xbox Series X vs Switch. (coming soon)

Being a Nintendo Fanboy (part 4)

9th Generation - This was the f

Category	Winner	Reasons
Graphics
Sound Effects/ Music		Like the last generation, all 3 consoles could put out real music and sound effects and didn’t need to be programmed/digitized.
Controller		Joy Con
Games		BotW
Price/ Availability
Accessories/ Peripherals
Online Services
Backwards/ Cross- Compatibility
Console Design / UI
Box Design		Again, physical games from all three came in plastic cases.
Coolness Factor
Overall Winner