where can i find a definitive guide to all three of the new consoles?

[Jason]

i know there's already this huge, multi-page thread about the next gen consoles, but i'm not looking to read every trencher's opinions about them. i just want a website that gives me a definitive guide to all three. i want to know specs, strengths and weaknesses, actual retail cost, what the game library is expected to look like, some of the major launch titles for each system. i want to know all of that sort of stuff, and i'm sure there must be a website out there with an article that tells me all of it. i'm just too lazy to search for it myself.

so then, anyone know where i can find such a guide? toss some links at me!

[Miku19]

http://ps3.ign.com
http://wii.ign.com
http://xbox360.ign.com

[Vykromond]

i like the avatar jase

[Jason]

thanks dude :]

long time no chitty chat

edit: and thanks to you as well, phren. much obliged, but certainly not disobliged. (*TERRIBLE PUN ALERT*)

[Dameon Angell]

I can just bust out some straight up facts w/o the spin, if you want.

[Jason]

no need, i'm already sold on the wii. i just can't afford an xbox360 or a ps3, plus i don't have an hdtv to hook them up to, so i don't see the point. the wii will be the perfect system to tide me over until later on down the road when prices come down on the other two consoles, and i finally have an hdtv. i'm also really stoked about the wii-mote and the nunchuck and playing the new zelda. :]

you could answer me this, though. how much do you think i'll get for a trade-in at ebgames for the following:

- ps2 (older version, not slim version)
- two controllers
- two controller extensions
- memory card
- roughly thirteen games i think (onimusha, virtua fighter revolution, def jam fight for ny, madden '02, nascar '04, nascar '05, burnout 3, gran turismo 3, gta3, call of duty big red one, mortal kombat forget which one exactly, final fantasy x, star ocean 3)
- a couple ps1 games (twisted metal 3, twisted metal 4, final fantasy tactics)

that about wraps it up. i also have a logitech force feedback wheel, but i don't think they take those sorts of things at ebgames, so i'd just have to ebay it. anyway, i'm looking at trading in the ps2 to get credit toward buying the wii. i never play my ps2 anymore, just bored silly with it so i figure why not get rid of it. i could always buy a used one again if i really felt like having one.

[Dameon Angell]

I'm not really big on trading in my stuff. I've only done it a couple times, but this is what I think you may get. But, hell, I could be totally off on the hardware. I think I'm pretty close on the games though, due to my experience.

PS2 w/ controller: $50.00-$75.00?
Extra controller: $15.00
Memory Card: $8.00
ps2 games: $9.00 per
ps1 games: $3.00 per

All prices based on having the original packaging (dvd cases, ps2 box, instruction manuals, hook-ups)

[Dameon Angell]

Oh, if anyone's looking for a 360, still. You can get a used one for the same price as a new Wii.

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=909081

[Liquid Blue]

I'm not really big on trading in my stuff. I've only done it a couple times, but this is what I think you may get. But, hell, I could be totally off on the hardware. I think I'm pretty close on the games though, due to my experience.

PS2 w/ controller: $50.00-$75.00?
Extra controller: $15.00
Memory Card: $8.00
ps2 games: $9.00 per
ps1 games: $3.00 per

All prices based on having the original packaging (dvd cases, ps2 box, instruction manuals, hook-ups)

I dunno about the 50-75 for the ps2, I traded in my gamecube to Gamestop before the Wii came out and they only game me like 25-30 bucks store credit for it. Older version your best bet is probably 50 bucks, most likely between 35 and 50 bucks.

[Jason]

i figured on only getting $8/per ps2 game when i did my calculation and $50 for the ps2 itself. came out to $170. not bad at all. i only need to come up with $80 bucks for a wii! although, ideally it'd be more like $130 'cause i'll need an extra fifty for zelda. :]

[Jason]

hmmm, so i just looked at that used 360 for $269.99 and my interest is a little piqued. i suppose i could make due with a 360 hooked up to a standard def tv and still be happy. question is, what's the game library like for 360? and is the controller easier to use/more intuititive than the original xbox controller? i hated that thing. i always had to use the smaller s-type.

dameon, do your thing dude. gimme the guru rundown. B)

[Dameon Angell]

Xbox 360 at $260:

Games:

First Person and Third Person
- Gears of War (the "Killer App")
- Call of Duty 2
- Call of Duty 3
- Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
- Rainbow Six: Vegas
- Prey
- F.E.A.R.
- Perfect Dark Zero
- Farcry: Predator
- Chromehounds
- Just Cause
- GUN
- Bioshock (coming 2007)

Racers Arcade and Sim
- Burnout Revenge
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted
- Need for Speed: Carbon
- Project Gotham Racing
- Ridge Racer 6
- Forza Motorsport 2 (coming 2007)

Hack n' Slashers
- Ninety-Nine Nights
- Samurai Warriors 2
- Dynasty Warriors 5

Sports
- NBA Live and 2K
- NHL EA and 2K
- Madden Football
- Blitz Football
- Fight Night Round 3
- Table Tennis
- Dead or Alive 4
- Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball 2
- Rumble Roses XX
- WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2007

Action/Adventure
- Splinter Cell: Double Agent
- Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy
- Dead Rising
- King Kong
- Condemned: Criminal Origins

American and Japanese RPGs
- Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
- Enchanted Arms
- Final Fantasy 11 Online
- Phantasy Star Online
- Blue Dragon (coming 2007)
- Lost odyssey (coming 2007)

"Sandbox"
- Saints Row
- Grand Theft Auto 4 (coming 2007)
- Crackdown (coming 2007)
-------------------------------------
The Controller:

- Around the same size as the Xbox v1 "S" controller
- L + R Triggers are very intuitive to use and hold
- New L + R Bumpers add 2 more, easy to access buttons which replace the black + white buttons that were more out of the way
- Control Pad does not feel like it was made from Fischer-Price
- Excellent Joystick control
- Wireless and Wired Controllers, depending on what you prefer
- Battery charge lasts for a good chunk of time, if you buy the "Play and Charge Kit" you extend it to a near-infinite amount of time.
- Easy to connect to headset microphone for online
- In my opinion, the best controller to use out of all the current consoles past and present
------------------------------------
Online Play:

- Xbox Live is still the #1 used online, console service
- Yearly fee to play online for $50/year
- Voice Chat in ALL games
- Everything closely tied into the operating system and online features with messaging, friends list, voice/video chat, game swapping w/o shutting down the system
- Xbox Live Provides entertainment features with TV, Movies, and Music Videos
- Xbox Live Arcade has classic coin-ops, classic PC/Console games, and some new properties

And for $269, its a good deal.

[Jerome Scuggs]

Jase: the 360. Dead Rising... enough said.

[Jason]

so here i am asking all these questions about consoles, whilst at the same time i'm applying to work at ebgames. hah, the irony. i'm trying to finish filling out the application, what do you think they mean by "game software knowledge" and "pc knowledge"? for "video game systems" i just listed the systems i'm familiar with, which thanks to you guys, is not pretty much everything out there on the market, save for the nintendo ds.

anyway, what do you think i should put for those two categories? i'm at a loss.

[Jerome Scuggs]

so here i am asking all these questions about consoles, whilst at the same time i'm applying to work at ebgames. hah, the irony. i'm trying to finish filling out the application, what do you think they mean by "game software knowledge" and "pc knowledge"? for "video game systems" i just listed the systems i'm familiar with, which thanks to you guys, is not pretty much everything out there on the market, save for the nintendo ds.

anyway, what do you think i should put for those two categories? i'm at a loss.

pc knowledge probably means like physical problems or OS problems. when I lived at home, mom saw me making a website and for the next 4 years, I was somehow "computer repair guy". ffs.