PS: Bitcoins woo.

Sure, PS3 and X360 have incredible graphics, but the gameplay behind games like Super Mario 3D land and Fortune Street are bar-none. I think the reason that the Wii fell to the wayside in terms of quality games is simply that the third-party developers refused to really grasp the power of the peripherals. There were very few third party games that were any good, and most of the ones that were used the motion controls perfectly. Games like WarioWare: Smooth Moves were incredibly innovative in how they made you play, involving the players around you and making you look like a fool, just to make everyone have a bit of a better time. And isn’t that what we play games for?

‘Gimmicky 3D’ is a useless, ad hominem attack. The 3D effects feel perfectly natural after a short time, and the headaches are a person to person effect. I played on my first day with the 3DS twice for three hours straight each time, with no eye strain or headache problems. Seven days and 24 hours of gaming later, still no eye strain or headaches. (And I wear corrective lenses.)

The games are high quality, too. Call Ocarina of Time 3D a rehash of the same thing, and you’ll be right, but you’ll also be missing the point. It’s a great game. And Mario Kart 7 brings top-speed-boosting coins into the mix, which makes the game an entirely different beast (though I’m sure many will disagree).

If you only have money for one system each generation, and you like the traditional ‘hardcore’ games provided by the big game companies, then perhaps you’re better off with an X360 or PS3. But Nintendo provides an excellent selection of games on innovative and experimental hardware, something Sony and Microsoft don’t do. In my opinion, their systems are just higher tech versions of the same thing; stagnating while Nintendo innovates. Honestly, what changes were made between the PS2 and the PS3? Hard drive, more memory and processors, upgraded to Blu-Ray, wireless controllers. Oh yeah, and kinda-sorta motion sensitive controllers, though no one used them. (Need I mention that the controllers are almost exactly the same in every other respect?) Nintendo may be having a hard time right now, but to say that the more powerful side of the fence is greener ignores the fact that your grass feeds the cows better.

-Sam