What we're really seeing here is a rapid progression towards a sort of unified, multi-platform "PC-lite" phenomenon. As you've mentioned, the line of distinction between Sony and Microsoft's offerings has blurred significantly in this past generation, but it's a line that's only going to become less and less defined from here on out. Game developers are simply refusing to commit to exclusivity (and why would they? When engines like Capcom's MT framework have been built from the ground up with ease of portability in mind, there's very little monetary enticement either Sony or Microsoft could feasibly offer that would outweigh the profits of a multi-platform release) and gamers are quickly coming to expect the same lineup from both Sony and Microsoft.

Additionally, the ancillary features of these modern consoles mimic those of home theater PCs. Microsoft and Sony are continually embracing the fact that future game consoles may simply be modern gaming PCs with an accessible, simplified, sleek user interfaces to wrap booting games, watching movies, and other trivial PC activities. For those major players, the divide between console gaming and PC gaming is rapidly vanishing. I've kind of gone off on a tangential rant here, sorry.

On the other hand, whether it's with respect to control gimmick or platform, Nintendo still lives in its own slice of alien world - and it's thriving there. Does the Wii provide a watered down experience? Well, technically, yes, but practically, it's just providing a different game experience. If you're trying to compare and contrast it with a beefy gaming rig or a 360 or what have you, you just have to remember where Nintendo is coming from - part of its design ethic is to take dated hardware, twist out a new spin on it, and make it relevant (and fun) today. Truth be told? Nintendo does a damn good job of it. Let's consider the following: at E3, Nintendo and Microsoft both showcased 2D platformer offerings for the coming year; Nintendo displayed New Super Mario Bros Wii, while Microsoft displayed its Metroid-inspired Shadow Complex. Which do you think is going to sell more, by millions? Which do you think will be more technically and visually appealing? Lastly, which will be the more *fun* "game experience"? These questions provide some real insight into the question this story is asking.

And so it is my very good honor to meet you -- and you may call me P.

A sickening depravity beyond words, beyond recognition. My fingers quivered - I could barely hold my pen to paper; the mere presence of this twisted human perversion was enough to chill my bones. A squeaky phlegm accompanied my nervous stutter, "What, what, how do you even think? What demented trauma's going on in that head of yours?"

"Spam", he gruffly coughed, staring at me through a fisheye lens into reality reserved only for psychopaths and Apple fanboys, an intermittent twitch pulsing his left eyelid, "is not a problem."

Examining Intel's Latest Offering: Socket 5!

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