Wii wish you a Merry Xbox

SF: Still pining over the demise of Sega? With the festive games market in full swing, it's time to leave the nostalgia behind and embrace the present, argues Liam Pritchard<br/><br/>PQ: Gaming is now more sociable than ever, be it playing with your family on Wii Sports or shooting a new found friend in the face over Xbox Live

Feature by Liam Pritchard | 07 Dec 2007
Christmas. If ever there is a time of year to delve into the nostalgic mists of the past, then surely this is it. The company of friends and family, the memories of Christmas past; most folk simply can't help but let out a content sigh as they recall fond memories from days of yore. If you are a gamer however, don't let the veil of nostalgia blind you from the facts - there truly is no time better than the here and now. This Christmas season brings with it an embarrassment of riches for gamers. Be you a hardcore gamer or simply a Nintendo newbie, there is a choice to cater to every taste.

Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft have all thrown their hats into the ring this Yule, trying their level best to pull in as big a profit as possible from the Christmas punters with quite possibly the biggest mainstream, mass-market push ever seen in the history of videogames. The Master Chief adorns nearly every bus, Nintendo adverts appear at alarming regularity on our TV sets and Sony... well Sony haven't really got all that much to shout about this Christmas.

For the cynics out there, this kind of visual bombardment is reason enough to retreat to the warm comforts of nostalgia - to a simpler time, when gaming was a purer art, unlike the supposedly tarnished market of today, filled with games of cinematic scope and staggering production values. To argue on this basis however would be to miss the point. The fact of the matter is the market has never offered such a degree of choice. No longer are these companies fighting solely for the attention of teenage boys; gaming now encompasses a much wider and varied demographic, a socially acceptable venture in which your previously clueless sister is as likely as your teenage brother to pick up a controller this Christmas.

For the retro heads out there hungry for the more simplistic gaming of years gone by, all three of the 'next-gen' consoles now offer extensive download services, with Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo providing a huge array of retro and arcade gaming at your fingertips thanks to Xbox Live, PSN and Virtual Console respectively.

But if you are new to gaming, drawn in by the family-friendly approach of Nintendo Wii, you're certainly not going to be short of choices in the rapidly expanding casual gaming market. From Wii Sports to Cooking Mama, there is something for everyone, irrespective of age or gender.

Of course, if you come under the banner of 'traditional gamer', fret not. For all the fears of the market changing to suit the ever widening demographic, the list of truly triple-A titles on offer is second to none. Although the Playstation 3 may be struggling after the much-hyped releases of Lair and Heavenly Sword fell painfully short of expectations, the Xbox 360 is home to one of the finest Christmas line-ups ever seen. From Halo 3 and BioShock to Mass Effect and Project Gotham 4, the choices are exemplary. Even the Wii is getting around to releasing some flagship first-party titles in the form of Metroid Prime 3 and the mesmerizing Super Mario Galaxy, giving its already eclectic line-up some much needed quality.

With gaming now more sociable than ever; be it playing with your family on Wii Sports or shooting a new found friend in the face over Xbox Live, this Christmas is surely the finest that gaming has seen and one that is going to be very difficult to top. So, if you're already one of the converted or simply an intrigued bystander, this is certainly the holiday season to forget about nostalgia and live in the now.
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