-News on the hottest gaming trends

 Ever since the early nineties when Sega and Nintendo went into a head on battle, the gaming industry has been a competition for developers everywhere. Though all produce wonderful consoles and games alike, today Universal Gaming will be going into detail to see which company is the best. The competitors in this list are Nintendo’s Wii U, Microsoft’s XBOX One, Sony’s PS4 and the PC platform.

Nintendo Wii U:

After the virtually indestructible Wii and a strong launch, selling more than 2.25 million units in its first weeks, many Nintendo fans foresaw a bright future for Nintendo’s most powerful piece of hardware ever. Though the first half of 2013 was nothing but disappointment, Nintendo and some 3rd party developers like Ubisoft, Sega and Capcom stayed optimistic about the grave state of the Wii U. With wonderful first party titles such as Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D World, and The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker HD, the Wii U started to slowly but surely climb the charts, peaking over 300,000 weekly during the holidays. Though the hardware may not be what many hardcore gamers consider next gen, developers are making tons of great games for the overlooked console and with a lineup with games like Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart 8, X, Bayonetta 2, Hyrule Warriors, and a brand new Zelda adventure, there is no doubt Nintendo will manage to let the system catch on to high sales. A valued console price and good first party support definitely help this console, but poor 3rd party support and lackluster online hurt Nintendo in ways.

Picture of Wii U GamePad (left) and console (right)

courtesy of  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wii_U_Console_and_Gamepad.png

PC Gaming:

With PC Gaming on the rise, many would think that PC would automatically steal the show. Though it may be as strong as a boar and have possibly the best support anywhere, there are still some minor flaws to the glorious “master race”. Letting any developers get on to the PC can be good and bad. While indie games such as Garry’s Mod and Rust sit comfortably in gaming nirvana, some titles such as Ace of Spades and Orion: Dino Horde make the PC seem as though it is a joke. As for 3rd party developers, many of them spend lots of time and money making their titles very compatible for gamers who like to use mods, be creative or just have a great online experience. Free online and user friendly games help make the PC a great place for everyone, casual or hardcore. And though PC’s may have steep prices, cheaper ones can be found and with hundreds of games for under $5 everyone can get a deal with PC.

Logo for the PC’s most critically acclaimed title, Half-Life 2. Along with other games, it was developed by Valve and received large amounts of critical success.

courtesy of  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Half-Life_2_Logo.svg/370px-Half-Life_2_Logo.svg.png

Sony PlayStation 4:

Being cheaper than its’ direct competitor the XBOX One, but being more expensive than the Wii U put the PS4’s value right in the center. With third party titles at a lower caliber than that of XBOX One and PC and lackluster 3rd party games (as of now) many would think this console would be hurting severely, the way the poor Wii U did back in its’ first winter. Anybody thinking that is terribly wrong at this point in the consoles life cycle though, as it is proving to be the fastest selling console of all time, beating the year-older Wii U out around a month ago with lifetime sales of over 6 million units. Though 3rd party support is just as high as hopes for Sony’s fourth slab of hardware, many gamers may prefer to stick with the graphically superior XBOX One or PC.

Picture of Sony’s newest console, the PlayStation 4. Despite having lower rated games than all its competitors, it is the highest selling eighth generation console to date.

courtesy of  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PS4-Console-wDS4.jpg

Microsoft XBOX One:

Selling extremely well its’ first holiday season, the XBOX One was unfortunately overlooked by the media as they overhyped the high sales of the PS4 and low sales of the Wii U. It is hard to say how much the console sold back in its first holiday season since reports of Microsoft lying about sales numbers circulated the internet, an estimated 3 million units were pushed in its first short weeks of life. With the ever thriving support from companies like Activision, Ubisoft, Rockstar, Valve, and EA, the XBOX One may be able to claw its way to success with titles like Titanfall benefitting the console greatly. Seemingly untouchable 3rd party support mean weak first party support, other than the ever-popular series Halo helping drive sales.

Photo of the current logo of the XBOX One.

courtesy of  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Xbox_One_no_X.svg

Universal Gaming’s Overall Ratings

1. PC- 9/ Tons of goodies and treats, but with little developer restriction some games smite the good name of the PC.

2. XBOX ONE- 8.5/ Great third party support and a wide variety of online play. High price hurts the console though

3. Wii U- 8/ Best exclusives available as of now. Most indie support next to PC. Lowest price and free online, although few games support it.

4. PS4- 6/ Lackluster third party titles that are better elsewhere. Extremely average exclusives and a boring controller hurt the console.

So which platform do you think is the best? Leave your comments below.