Wrapping Up
The Microsoft Xbox 360 currently provides the richest overall gaming and media experience thanks largely to a robust platform and having a year launch lead. The Nintendo Wii provides the best individual, aerobic, gaming experience and will likely be the most popular with parents (and wives) as a result. The Sony PS3 simply doesn't feel finished, but, given the ability to download updates many of these shortcomings should be addressed next year. Once that happens the Sony should be able to better go toe to toe with the other players, for now the market (at least for the new generation of gaming systems) appears to belong to Microsoft at the high end and Nintendo at the low end.
If I were buying a system for myself or for someone into High Definition programming, I'd favor the Xbox, as a gift for kids I'd favor the Nintendo (assuming I could find it) and, with the Sony, I'd stick with the PSP (arguably the best portable player and both more affordable and more available this year) until the PS3 matures a little more and drops out of the Ebay nose bleed pricing phase.
