Next Gen; Battle of the Features

Possibly not as significant as the games, online capabilities, or overall ability - is the features that Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony will be incorporating in their next-gen consoles. Last generation, Microsoft clearly ran away with the title; with the likes of the Gamecube and PS2 having nothing more exciting than an internal clock.

However, this generation will drastically change that. With broadband now a feature in most homes, consoles will benefit from the use of internet to deliver downloads, news, announcements, internet browsing and more. Tales of graphics manipulation, gigabytes of storage for music, videos, and so on have gamers cringing for all the features they can get.

The Red Corner: Sony's PS3

Ever since PS3's price was revealed to the world, Sony have been ridiculed to death for their new console, which is expected to be rock-bottom in the market for the next generation of gaming, beaten to 1st place by either Microsoft or Nintendo. But let's take a look at their assets in the feature department. The PS3 will use Sony's Cross Media Bar, already featured in their PSP and most high-end television sets. It is comprised of a series of icons arranged horizontally, each one representing a 'category'. Once one is highlighted, a whole load of icons appear vertically across the screen, each one accesible by navigating up or down.

The PlayStation 3 version of the Cross Media Bar shown at E3 2006 (video) included the ability to switch between different user profiles, the ability to explore photos, play music and movies from the system's hard drive, compatibility with a USB Keyboard and/or Mouse, an Internet browser and a 'Friends' menu. In a separate demo Sony presented the "Marketplace" where users can buy and download music. The PS3 will also come with Linux pre-installed on the harddrive.

As you can see from the screenshot above, the PS3 interface looks strikingly similar to that of the PSP. The PSP's user interface recieved a lot of positive feedback, so chances are it's a good choice for the PS3 - except maybe a bit limited, considering this is a stand-alone and not a portable console. The only new features we were shown at E3 differentiating the PS3 from the PSP GUI are the user profile and friends options.

PS3 also has the ability to play DVD and Blu-Ray discs.

So the PS3 will include video, music and photo browsing, (all capable of being stored on the PS3's massive harddrive) as well as separate user interfaces and a (so far sketchy) friends menu. Compatibility for USB Keyboard and Mouse looks certain, Blu-Ray and DVD play-back, and the Marketplace, although suspiciously similar to Xbox 360's Live Marketplace - looks promising. How Linux will work with the console is yet unknown. Details on PS3's online play are also sketchy, but is speculated to be very similar to XBox Live!.

The Blue Corner: Microsoft's Xbox 360

With the Xbox stealing the title of 'Feature King' last generation, Nintendo and Sony have latched on to the potential of not JUST designing their consoles to play games. The question is, does the apprentice surpass the master, or does Microsoft still own the feature side of things?

Well, with the Xbox 360 already well released around the world, details on features aren't exactly sketchy. Xbox Live!, The Dasboard with all it's scrummy-yummyness, Live Arcade, as well as music and video options are all in Microsoft's proven arsenal of weapons. Microsoft certainly have THE online play of all consoles -with a profile, gamercard, gamer score, reputation - and quite frankly this writer doesn't see Nintendo or Sony surpassing them in that field this generation. Xbox is likely staying top spot of online gaming in home consoles for at least another generation.

The high-end model of the 360, like the PS3, comes with a pretty large harddrive capable of storing music, video, pictures, and game data, all obtainable from Xbox Live Marketplace, where you can download game updates, game demos, music, music videos and a lot more. Much like The Wii's virtual console, users can download games to the console's memory and play them.

Also, the Xbox 360 can output High-Definition games onto HD-Ready TV screens, as well as play HD-DVD and DVD discs.

The Xbox 360, with all it's online and media goodness, looks like a strong contender this generation. Xbox live is going to be hard to even come close to, and for that reason the Xbox holds an edge over the PS3, which can do pretty much the same things, albeit probably not as well. But that's not certain - I could be very wrong. Only time will tell.

The uhh... 'Other' Corner: Nintendo's Wii

The Wii interface and features are so new and different we ran a whole separate article on it - here. The Wii chooses to present its features as a series of 'Channels', selectable by simply pointing and clicking. Unlike the PS3, the Wii has recieved little criticism - and when news surfaced of the console being full to the brim of exciting innovations and features, fans were simply drooling.

So what's in these channels? There's a channel for the creation of characters that can be used in various games on the Wii console. This channel, named 'Mii', allows the user to create South Park-esque charicatures and save them to their Wiimote, like a sort of 'Avatar' for use in a whole variety of different situations. The Wii also has a photo editing channel, whereby users can obtain pictures from a flash SD card and manipulate them in certain ways - either using filters, brushes, and so on.

The Wii, unlike the Gamecube, will have full connectivity to the internet, allowing users to browse using a specially designed browser from Opera. News and weather forecasts will also be available, simply at the touch of a button on the Wiimote. There will also be an online shop channel, where users can purchase and download a huge back-catalogue of games from Nintendo's N64, SNES, NES, some SEGA Saturn titles and even some new indie-developer games. And to top it all off, Nintendo's solution to a 'cork pin-up board' is the Wii's 'Mesage Board'. Now you don't have to actually STICK a note to the TV to get someone's attention - it's in it.

A downpoint of the Wii, however, is the lack of DVD playback. When questioned about this, Nintendo simply replied that it "wasn't needed", most households either have a console that can play DVDs, owns a DVD player, or can get hold of one oh-so-cheaply; which is true. Also, no DVD playback ensures the Wii's low price - a huge selling point for the console.

Nintendo must have learnt from the last generation, because unlike the Gamecube, their Wii is bursting with internet features, quite unlike Microsoft's take on going online with a console. Online gaming isn't completely clear yet, but it'll be there, although perhaps not to the quality of the Xbox 360's version.

It's hard to say which console will have the most user-pleasing features, the most useful, the prettiest - the list of possible 'awards' goes on. But one thing is for certain - this is a battle mainly between the PS3 and 360. They have such extremely similar features and functions compared to each other (unlike the Wii) which will definitely make it an interesting match. Prepare for Blue Vs. Red as the other just watches.