I am a self-professed gadget freak and love messing around with hardware. Those who know me know that I have a nice collection of video game consoles, the collection includes:

Nintendo

• Original NES
• Super Nintendo
• Nintendo 64, gold
• Nintendo Gamecube, black
• Nintendo Wii
• Original Game Boy
• Game Boy Color
• Game Boy Advance
• Game Boy Advance SP
• Original Nintendo DS

Sony

• Playstation, 2nd revision
• Original Playstation 2
• Playstation 3, 60GB
• Playstation Portable, a.k.a. PSP

Sega

• Dreamcast

Microsoft

• XBOX 360, 20GB

I also have a Turbo Express, a portable version of the NEC Turbo Grafx 16. Almost all of my consoles I purchased new or was given as a present; the only somewhat exception is the original NES. I originally was given an NES as a child but later grew tired of it after getting a Super Nintendo, so I gave it to one of my-then relatives. A couple of years ago, my hankering for the original Mario and Mega Man games grew and grew and I wanted to play the unadulterated versions, so I picked up a used original NES with a bunch of games online.

Anyway, I have a nice collection of consoles and I really like all of them, as well as drool over some other consoles that I have yet to own (those that are wondering, the two that I really want are the NEC Turbo Duo and the home version of the Neo Geo Gold; both are insanely expensive and hard to get a hold of).

So when the media and blogs started to spin the wheel-of-hype regarding which of the new consoles will come out as the clear winner, I started to ponder: why all the fuss of trying to fight over which one console should rule them all?

The way I see it, every product has particular strengths and weaknesses, target different audiences, and need to be somewhat selective in which features to promote the most. For most buyers, there are a couple of key considerations that need to be made when deciding on which console to purchase:

• Initial cost of the console
• Incremental cost of accessories
• Catalog of games available at launch
• Catalog of games available within the near future
• Quality of the console and games
• Cost of the games
• Additional features, such as multimedia capabilities
• Availability

The order of importance is different for everyone; for me, I purchase consoles for gaming first (so the catalog of games is important) while multimedia generally sits at the bottom of the list (with one exception). Cost of the console is a partial concern for me, the cost of the games is much more important. Next is the quality of the product and the selection of first-party accessories (additional controllers, memory cards, video cables).

Availability is kind of a toss-up for me since, for the past several generation of consoles, I usually wait a couple of months until I purchase a console and games. If there aren’t enough enticing games, I usually will wait out longer. For instance, I held out on the Playstation 2, Playstation 3 and XBOX 360 for a while until there was enough games that I liked were available (with one exception). On the other hand, I either ordered or purchased the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and the PSP on launch day due to the games available.

As I have alluded to above, the one exception for me was the Playstation 3. My initial intention for the Playstation 3 was not as a console, but as a Blu-Ray player that so happens to allow me to play my collection of Playstation and Playstation 2. There were no games available that I cared for when I purchased it, but since I had recently purchased a 1080p television, there was enough HD movies and documentaries that enticed me. (Sidenote: if you have the equipment to watch HD content and haven’t already purchased or rented it, Planet Earth and Discovery Atlas, watch either one.) If you are wondering, I still have not purchased any Playstation 3 games yet, but have still been watching more HD content.

I have the same number of games for both the Wii and the XBOX 360, with the focus of games that make use of motion for the Wii and games that are targetted for a standard controller or steering wheel for the XBOX 360 (though Excite Truck for the Wii is very fun, as I like crashing into things).

My time with each of the current generation of consoles is split almost evenly across the three, in addition to playing older games on the other older consoles. I do not favor one over the other since each has its set of games or content that I really like.

Some may ask me why did I choose the Playstation 3 over the XBOX 360 with an HD-DVD player as my HD player of choice? It came down to what content was available on either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. At the time, there were more movies on Blu-Ray that I liked than on HD-DVD, but that doesn’t mean that I am Blu-Ray exclusive. I still have the option of purchasing the HD-DVD player for the XBOX 360 if there is enough content that I want on HD-DVD (and yes, there are some that entice me right now). Just for disclosure purposes, my television supports supports up to 1080i over Component and 1080p over HDMI. Do I really see the difference between the two? Not really, as I am still awed at how well a game looks at 720p or 1080i looks when scaled to 1080p.

As far as order of purchase, I bought the XBOX 360 first, then the Nintendo Wii, then the Playstation 3. Why in that order? The games for the XBOX 360 and the Nintendo Wii, and I had to save up for the Playstation 3 and waited until Planet Earth (BBC version, the Discovery HD versions have recently been announced and released) came out on Blu-Ray. I had been playing games on the XBOX 360 on an SD tube television before purchasing an HD television.

Anyway, long story short, I primarily ignored the “fanboy” fights on which console is best and the hype (played as coverage) by the media and decided to purchase them on each of their own merits. I like all three of the current consoles and will continue to purchase games and content for each one based on my own tastes.

For those that cannot afford to purchase all three consoles, I would recommend on making your own decision based on the games or content that interests you, what is within your budget, and test driving each one out. Each piece is very important in making the right purchase for you, since each of the perceived or hyped disadvantage of each console may not be important to you.

If I had to pick my favorite of the three, I couldn’t. But, I do have to say that I am still very fond of my Super Nintendo and the games for it :)