Wii is winner in Hesperia

All across the globe, a battle is underway; but it is not a fight that involves actual violence and destruction, but entertainment and fun, and Hesperia is one of its fronts. It's a fight over the future of video games, pitting Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, and Sony's PlayStation 3 against each other in a three-way gaming console battle. And with the video game industry now earning more annually than the movie industry, many are closely watching the results.

"The Wii, bar none," said Brandon Hahn, store manager of Game Crazy, located at the intersection of Main Street and G Avenue, on which console Hesperians are buying. According to Hahn, the store receives three to five calls a day asking if any Wiis are in stock.

After the Wii, the Xbox 360 is their second best seller of the next generation consoles, based on Hahn's estimates. At the end of the sales chart in Hesperia is the PlayStation 3.

But the Wii outselling its rivals in Hesperia is not an isolated occurrence: As of June 2nd, the Wii has sold more than 3.1 million units in the United States since being released on November 19th. In comparison, Sony's PlayStation 3 has sold more than 1.4 million units nationwide as of May 1. The PS3 began selling on November 17. Microsoft's Xbox 360 currently leads in numbers, with 4.5 million reported sold as of December 31. But due to its release on November 22, 2005, a year before the Wii and PlayStation 3 hit shelves, many consider the Wii as the current leader.

"We got moms coming in and buying [Wiis]. We got all these non-gamers buying them," Hahn said about why the Wii has been selling so well. "It's hyped to the people."

"The PlayStation 3 has good hardware, but is losing in the software," Hahn said, on why its sales have lagged. "I have people coming in and asking about good games for it [but] there's no games out for it."

According to Hahn, programmers are having difficulty making video games for the system: "The technology is still too new."

"I think the 360 is doing just fine," Hahn said. Most gamers in the area already own a Xbox 360, according to him.

According to experts, the Wii's price tag of $250 has also been a major factor in its sales, compared to its opponents' higher priced consoles. But with the PlayStation 3 60GB model's $100 price drop to $500, and the Xbox 360's $50 decrease to $350, the Wii's price advantage could soon become far less effective.

But despite the current numbers, it's still too early to say which will come out on top in the end. With each system's biggest video game titles yet to come, any of the three consoles could still gain or keep the lead. It has been very common that many people will buy a video game console just to play one exclusive video game.

According to Hahn, that will happen when Microsoft's Halo 3 becomes available for the Xbox 360 later this year. He believes the Xbox 360 will near, if not surpass the Wii this holiday season. Nintendo will be offering two of its heaviest hitters as well: Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Galaxy, at the end of this year. PlayStation 3 will see its mega-hit, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, some time in the beginning of next year.

"Come March, Wii, PS3, and 360 will be neck and neck," Hahn said.