Begun these console wars have

Michael Gartenberg | November 14, 2006, 02:23 PM

I haven't written too much about the new console experiences and I promise I'll be talking a lot about my experiences with the new PS3 and the Wii. A few things to remember, with all the hype around secondary features, there are three things that remain most important to consumers when they're making their purchases. Backward compatibility, widest selection of games and price are the three biggest drivers.(Conectivity is fourth). At the end of the day, it's not about media consumption or the like but rather the games that will drive the next generation of sales.

This quarter will be interesting but the real action is next year and the tipping point is 2008. I also wouldn't look at the price difference of the PS3 over the next few weeks either. These are hardcore folks buying and Sony could have priced the PS3 at $1,000 and still sold out.

One interesting note, despite all the new consoles here, it was a different game (running on a PC no less) I've been testing that really captured everyone's attention here and I mean everyone. The title is in the casual space and it's just amazing (combines several interesting elements in a unique way and presented in a format that's just plain fun). I've been asked not to discuss the title or the developer, but this one's going to be REALLY hot when it's finished.