Topic: wiiware vs xbla vs PSN

PS3 wins for me due to auto-credit-card saving and not having to purchase points. Being able to click a game, confirm purchase, and have it auto-charge my card without cumbersome screens = win.

@Terranigma - a pretty vast majority of those mentioned games are VC-ish ports.....almost every original game mentioned is trash. TBH, PSN's selection of original games is better.

There's actually not all that many xbla games that sell for more than $10 and it seems that there is actually more overpriced wiiware like with crystal defenders broken up into 2 releases and no way to have a bundle for any of the episodic adventures.

What would tempt me most to get another console after my wii is the online store rather than the physical releases. As I have no one to play with locally the online multiplayer is temping on xbla & psn. There aren't enough classic or new indie titles on either service to convince me yet though. From this thread it seems that xbla is recommended more than psn so far?

The XBLA games I've seen were split evenly between 10 and 15€, with WiiWare 10€ is pretty much the upper end with only very few games exceeding it. Plus, well, WiiWare has the Wiimote to work with and often takes advantage of it.

Geometry Wars? Trash? LOL, you funneh!

XBLA = 9/10
WiiWare = 6/10
WW + VC = 8/10

I have no clue on PSN.

I love WiiWare and everything, BUT....
...for every AAA title on WiiWare there's about 3 great games on XBLA.
You like Water Warfare? XBLA just launched Battlefield 1943, a full HD FPS with tank, boat, jeep, and airplane control.
You like World of Goo? Try downloading Peggle.
Not to mention Braid, Geometry Wars, Space Invaders Extreme, and 1 vs. 100 (a free live game show with real prizes). And coming this summer Marvel v. Capcom 2, Turtles in Time, and Shadow Complex (think Metroid 2D meets HD),

If the level quality in games weren't enough how about the fact that you can download demos? That's HUUUUUUUUUGE!!!

Or, what about achievements. I'm a newbie to Xbox, but I find myself searching out the little corners in games to try to beat little obscure achievements.

There's really no excuse for Nintendo refusing to take your Mii and build stats like a gamerscore. It's pretty addictive and only encourages people to play more games (and spend more money).

The Wii is console numero uno for me. But the download service of X360 is hands down the best this generation. It's no contest.

@Adam: I didn't say there wasn't an inconvenient cost to what effectively amounts to importing downloads on PSN. My problem is actually with the use of the term "region coding," as it technically doesn't apply. Any PS3 is capable of playing any PS3 game from anywhere without need of modification. A Wii or 360 is not, meaning you have to import an entire CONSOLE to play games from those regions. So there may be a hassle with PS3, but it's actually far LESS of one than you get with the other consoles, which should make the PS3 an import gamer's console of choice.

It'd be cheaper to import another PS3 than to get a permanent address in another country just to apply for a credit card there. So unless you have a friend in each region, I don't see how it's relevant.

PS3 is super convenient for retail games, but that's another topic.

I 100% agree with AURainman - Post 29, there is generally more quality on XBLA than WiiWare, no doubt because of the cap on memory on WW. VC does even things up a bit though.

The ability to download demos XBLA is great, if WiiWare had that then Fun Fun Minigolf would never have found its way onto my Wii!!

However, the thing that WiiWare and VC have going for them in my opinion over XBLA is the drama of it all! I love logging onto NintendoLife every Friday morning, eager to see what has been released. Sure, I am disappointed pretty often but it keeps me interested in the latest releases, XBLA tends to announce its releases in advance, in fact this week with Monkey Island is probably the only time I have looked forward to the Wednesday release in the 4 months I have had my 360.

@Adam: I see what you mean about the cost of Japanese PSN cards now that I look it up...
No PSN cards in Europe really sucks, too. Okay, so importing download games on PSN is a bad idea with the exception of that one FREE game on the Japanese PSN. Unless you have a European friend to set up a deal with. Somebody on a forum I looked at did that. Awkward, but it looks to be the best option if you really must import for some reason.

Most of the XBLA games are ports. Like classic games. I have not played too many XBLA games though, But Ive played some that arent that are good and aren't available any where else. (Castle Crashers is awesome.) Never played anything on PSN so don't know much about that. I think WW and XBLA are equally good.

You can't forget the WW games coming soon too. Peggle better than WoG? I don't know...

I never said it was better. I'm just commenting on the VAST library of quality games. Just because WW has WoG, doesn't mean it trumps the Peggles, Castle Crashers, and Braids of the world.

That goes back to my earlier point though, while Braid and Castle Crashers are certainly good games they aren't better than many of the top Wiiware titles which sell for $10 and under, which makes their $15 price point seem like a ripoff in comparison. Especially for a game as short as Braid.

I'll say my ranking is:
1)XBLA - because it's the easiest to publish for, so you get some really original titles.
2)WW - Just because the Wii rocks, also some very original games.
3)PSN - $ony fanboys only.

I'd hardly call $15 for those games a ripoff. $15 was WoG's price and it was pretty short, with only four "worlds" and a bonus at the end.

I wish wiiware would have sales, even 100 points off would convince me to buy more games

@ Stuffleupagus
What free Japanese game? I want it!

I'd love to exchange games with a UK PSN user, but it would have to be someone I really trust. Gifting games on Wii is not bad because you just pay for the one game, and if they lie to you, oh well, you're out 5-10 bucks. But on PSN between regions you'd have to exchange credit card info and home address. Yikes.

I have used the Euro PSN for getting demos we didn't have yet, like Wipeout, but never purchased a game from another region due to aforementioned obstacles.

I've got to declare my love for LIVE. I own all systems, a must for the work that I do, and I have to say, out of the three I use LIVE more often than any other platform. Yes you have to pay but you get your money's worth with fast downloads, a slick ping and the best PvP gaming currently available. Wii's generally pretty good, although a few games do tend to lag when MPing online. PSN, I'm totally not a fan of at all. Horrendous download speeds, laggy online play and the store is a nightmare to navigate, it's not as clearly laid out as the American mirror/version.

With regards to the WIi download size limitations, a bit of pimpage here but I work for Legendo and we're about to launch Three Musketeers: One For All! for WiiWare and we've managed to shrink the game from it's original 300+MB down to the required size Nintendo states. We've had to scale down a few textures here and there but on the whole, we've managed to do it, add more exclusive content for Wii owners and keep in the full orchestral track! So you can squeeze quite a large game into the size constraints Nintendo limit....but only just!

@Adam: Well, this will give you the title, at least. Serious Trophy whores downloaded the game and struggled through the butt loads of Japanese text to get them (apparently quite straight-forward, really just skipping past dialogue to get it, but boring as anything since you can't understand any of it...I've never done it myself), but I don't think there's really anything enjoyable about it for you unless you know Japanese.

@eripmav: None of the problems you stated with PSN exist for me, and some of them sound very outdated. Have you even used it in the past year since they upgraded the store?