How To Choose A Games Console To Buy

First off the Nintendo Wii. By far the cheapest of the three, the Wii's unique feature is its revolutionary motion sensitive controller, which matches the movements of your hands and puts them in the game. According to Kitt from the online team the Frag Dolls, the pros and cons of the Wii are: Pros: Anyone can play. Cons: Not graphically or technically advanced enough.

It's also worth pointing out that the Wii has some great extra features. In addition to being able to play every single game from it's predecessor console, the Gamecube, the Wii will connect wirelessly to the internet allowing you to download classic games through the Virtual Console service and it also offers several information "channels" that put a fun spin on the internet services you'll find on the other machines. The control system makes the Wii both accessible to all and extremely fun, but the Wii seems to be falling for the same curse that has affected every Nintendo console since the Nintendo 64 in the late '90s, namely a lack of games. Nintendo aim for quality and not quantity and so while the games they make are probably the best on ANY system, the trouble is you'll simply find more to play on the other machines.

Microsoft's curvy box was the first of the new generation of consoles to hit the market. They've capitalized on this head start buy building up a software library that the PS3 has to work hard to compete with and establishing an online service that has yet to be beaten. According to Kitt from the online team the Frag Dolls, the pros and cons of the Xbox 360 are: Pros: Xbox Live play and downloadable content. Cons: Not enough family games.

The Xbox 360 is very much a boys console, with most of the big games involving shooting and driving fast cars. Sony may have made bigger initial steps toward High Definition gaming, but look out for the black XBox 360 Elite with a larger hard disc and HDMI port and the add on HD-DVD drive if you want to keep up. And if you prefer to look backwards rather than forwards, the 360 will also play most, but not all, of the games for the previous Xbox.

"PlayStation" has been the word for games console for the past ten years or so, but the trouble with being at the top is that you've got the furthest to fall. The PS3 is the most powerful of the three consoles and is certainly the most expensive, but the PlayStation brand has a loyal following around the world and despite a slow start, in the long run the PS3's raw horse power may see it outrun the Xbox 360. According to Kitt from the online team the Frag Dolls, the pros and cons of the PS3 are: Pros: a good all rounder and cheap for a Blu-Ray player. Cons: Very expensive.

Sony seems to have made some questionable decisions with the PlayStation 3. The inclusion of a Blu-Ray drive not only pushed the cost of the machine past the £400 mark but it also delayed it's launch for several months. The Sixaxis motion sensitive controller the PS3 launched with proved unresponsive compared to the Wii's and although the machine is the most powerful on paper, many users have been hard pressed to spot much difference between the graphics on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. You'll also have trouble running PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games on the PS3 (in the UK at least) as it's missing some of the backwards compatibility that is present in US and Japanese PS3's. But time is on the PlayStation's side. As prices drop, hardware flaws are ironed out, developers get to grips with the machine's potential, HD televisions become more commonplace and Sony's online service and Blu-Ray market matures, what seems like a list of extravagances now may well leave the competition playing catch up later.

In summary, then, the Wii is unique, fun and affordable. The Xbox 360 is a good all-rounder that has a lot to recommend, but you'll need to take it online to get the most out of it, while the PS3 is the long term investment with lots of extra bells and whistles that could be its salvation or its downfall. Done.