Sell me on your system of choice

[Final-Fan]

(FIRST OF ALL -- DO YOU HAVE A DS? IF NOT, IGNORE THE REST OF THIS AND GET THAT RIGHT NOW. I'M NOT KIDDING.)

I would say that the best console for you is either the Wii or the 360 depending on what kind of games you like. I would lean toward Wii because of the 360's dependability issues. Wii games tend to me more varied in type and target audience, which is counterbalanced by the 360's greater library (so even neglected audiences have one or two games by sheer numbers). The 360 has online gaming, but, on the other hand, you have to pay for the good stuff. Also, I'm sure you know this already, but stay the hell away from Xbox 360 Core.

The Wii has or will have before 2008:
ALL GAMECUBE GAMES
Virtual Console
ZELDA
Rayman, Wario Ware
Trauma Center
Marble Mania
Mario Strikers Charged
Resident Evil 4 (ignore this if you have it on another system)
MARIO
METROID
SMASH BROS.
NiGHTS

The 360 has many, many games, but some of the best ones are (or will be):
MOST MAJOR XBOX GAMES
Xbox Live Arcade
OBLIVION
GEARS OF WAR
Viva Pinata
Dead or Alive 4
LOTR: Battle for Middle-Earth II
Lost Planet
Forza Motorsport 2
HALO 3
BIOSHOCK
MASS EFFECT

And I'm sure that there are many [edit: NOT] on this quickie list, many EXTREMELY good titles, that I'm just not thinking of. Look at these games, and decide which system is more likely to have games that appeal to you. Keep in mind that the Wii is only $250 retail, while the 360 Premium is $400 -- BUT you may have to pay a scalper upwards of $300 for a Wii if you don't feel like ambushing a store at 7:00 AM delivery day.

As for the PS3 -- well, I bought one, and no regrets, but it is NOT currently the best choice if you're only going to buy one console. I don't mean the price, I mean the availability of games. But if you're going to buy one, for God's sake go with hardware compatibility AKA the $500 60GB one. You can slap in any size laptop HDD you want, if you so choose.

I must say that, all teasing aside, Sony made a very nice machine. Easy to do simple mods (read: no $100 proprietary tiny hard drive screw you Microsoft!), easy to boot Linux or what-have-you, standard power cord and USB-mini cords for controller charging -- now if only it had some games.