However, I’d argue that the Wii isn’t in the war so to speak. It’s a completely product than the PS3 and 360, and targets a very different market. The Wii is strictly a (relatively low powered) no frills game console with a brand new gameplay style that targets the casual gamer. The PS3 and the 360 on the other hand are in direct competition with each other, as they are both high powered entertainment systems that have the goal of pushing next-gen media formats, and they target the hardcore gamer and the videophile. So I’d argue that the PS3 vs 360 is the real war here, the Wii is somewhat irrelevant to talk about in a competitive context since it is not really in direct competition. In the 360 vs PS3 war, I do think that the PS3 will come out on top because it is the better deal overall. From the videophile’s standpoint, it provides a cheap Blu-Ray player out of the box, while the 360 makes you spend extra and ends up costing more in the end should you choose to add the HD-DVD functionality. From the gamers standpoint, the PS3 is more powerful, and Sony traditionally offers more unique games. Besides, the best Xbox exclusives have a tendency to end up on the PC anyway, so why buy a 360 when one could just wait a bit and play it on the PC later (often with better settings)?

All that said, I’m probably going to go for the Wii initially. I don’t own a 360, and I plan on waiting to see how the other 2 consoles and their game libraries turn out before I decide whether or not to shell out for them.

Or pay $199 for a 360 HD-DVD drive, when games won’t be able to utilize it for more capacity, EVER.

Low numbers will hamper Sony’s sales early on, certainly. It was the same with PS2. I think it will end up with PS3 having sold the most units in the end, followed by Wii, then 360.