Okay, I’m admittedly a PC guy. I play too many emulated video games to give Mac’s a fair shot. They’re solid systems though, and there are some damn fun things you can do with them. For example: COMBINE WIIMOTES AND MACBOOKS IN A VOLTRON OF AWESOMENESS!!!!

Here’s my instructional video.

There’s another program I was looking at called Wiinstrument, but I couldn’t get it to work on Lindsay’s computer. I’m going to keep trying though, it appears to have a drum machine and more instruments. But I am dedicated to writing some songs on Wiistrum. It’s somewhat limited in the notes it can play, but looking at those available, I can play Sister of the Moon by Fleetwood Mac. That’s got to count for something.

Links-
Wiistrum
Wiisaber
Wiinstrument

So I’m sitting here at work, it is Christmas day, and I am:

No!! I am not a multi-ethnic group of “employers” who are labelled “all who want to earn cash” by google image search. But the underlying theme IS me! I AM EXCITED! I HAVE A WII!

I’ve spent the last year just dreaming about a Wii but unfortunately my piloting career has rendered me

And I have been feeling like I am living in

I can’t wait until I get home from work (only 8 more hours to go!) so I can play with my new toy… EDIT: Went home on my lunch break and had a round of Wii tennis…

hehe WII

(bonus hardly worksafe nerdcore pic)

Now that all 3 of the latest consoles have been released, I feel it’s about time I chipped in. Being an avid gamer I’ve been following the console wars closely and I think I’ve got a nice summary down for all those of you who aren’t in the loop.

First, it should be known that Microsoft’s X-Box 360 came out last Christmas. Sony’s Playstation 3 came out in mid November and the Nintendo Wii came out in late November.

(sizes not to scale in that image)

Remember when the XBox 360 came out last year, and everyone was aghast because of the whopping $399 pricetag? Remember the huge scrambling anyway, and how everyone was putting their systems on e-bay and waiting outside in long lines to get their hands on one? Manufacturing problems created shortages and they were only able to sell 300,000 units in the first batch (in the US). This system made a loss of about $200 per unit for Microsoft at first but inside sources say they are just about breaking even now, a year later.

Well this time around, Sony upped the ante by making their system $599. People were clamoring even more this time around though, and Sony thought it would be best to provide… 400,000 units?! Wait a minute, that isn’t right! And to make matters worse, that is a worldwide figure. WORLDWIDE! Rumor has it that the US batch was less than 200,000. If that wasn’t bad enough, the system is reportedly making a $400 LOSS for Sony due to the high manufacturing costs.

Even the Nintendo Wii, which was the latest to enter the game, has sold 1,000,000 units… making it the best console launch in all of history. The media has been jumping all over this one, as it has a wireless controller with 3D movement that lets you swing it like a baseball bat.. or a hockey stick.. or a tennis racquet. Old folks love it because there is no confusing button layouts to memorize, and parents love it because you actually have to get your fatass out of the couch. To top it off, the price is only US$250 and Nintendo is making an undisclosed amount of profit on each sale.

Here’s a distressing quote from an article I just read:

“[My girlfriend] was scarily insistent, so I played through a quick round of golf, discovering that the game took a lot more finnesse and a lot less flailing like a gorilla, my previous strategy. Then I set the controller down, and went to get a drink.

It would be the last time I saw the Wiimote alive.”

Or this:

“And my date? She’s rarely ever even touched a game, even an NES. When she sat down from a game of tennis, she leaned over and said “This is actually kind of cool.”"

Or even this:

“This is exactly what’s been happening in my house with my wife. She keeps playing the Training games - Golf and bowling and tennis, mainly - and then reporting on how much better she’s doing than me.Then she orders me into the kitchen to make her and the children dinner, and declares that since she is the new “game master” I must worship and obey her. Which isn’t anything new, really.”

As cool as those sales statistics are for Nintendo fanboys everywhere, I think the most interesting thing is the lineups outside the stores. Randall Munroe’s xkcd comic (done in my style!) really details how the console lines played out:

But it goes beyond just being rude. Folks waiting for the PS3 were shot at, stabbed, and generally mugged; at one place in the US some guys in ski masks stole the wallets of everyone in line; and in New York City a cop used his above-the-law status to cut into first place in line. Once the doors opened to the stores, people frantically pushed, pulled, and punched their way into the shop, just to put their systems on ebay or to resell them to the second wave of people rushing in right behind them.

Several interviews with PS3 line attendees in Japan showed that nobody in line was going to keep the system… In fact, most of them didn’t even speak Japanese. They were homeless Chinese men paid to stand in line to pick up systems for other shops around town.

So what console do I own?

None.