With the next generation starting later this year, now is a great time to look back at how well you think each of the three gaming giants managed to please its userbase. Here are some categories you should consider:

- Hardware

- Software

- Online functions/capabilities

- Controllers (in Wii's case; the Classic Controller)

- Motion controls

Of course you can narrow it down or come up with some new interesting categories.

You obviosly don't need to rate each of the big three or keep your rating within the 1-10 range, but by doing the latter it would make it easier to compare yourself with the other users. You also don't need to rate each category.

Now, let the score war begin!

- Hardware

360: 7/10 +Easy to develop games for +powerful - Horrible failure rate for the first 3 years - smaller discs lead to many games being on multiple discs

PS3: 9/10 + very powerful +reliable +blu-ray + Most options/most capable - hardest of the 3 to develop for

WII: 6/10 +simple for devs + reliable - 6th gen graphical capabilities - only supports SD

- Exclusives

360: 8/10 +Gears, Forza, Halo, Crackdown, Alan wake + XBLA games - lack of variety among AAA titles

PS3: 10/10 + Uncharted, Gran turismo, God of war, Infamous, LittleBigPlanet, Killzone, Resistance, Motorstorm, MGS4, Heavy Rain (plenty more) + Huge variety

WII: 9/10 +Nintendo franchises +Good variety - lack of new ips

- Online functions/capabilities

360: 10/10 + most sophisticated online experience of the 3 for gaming + Fantastic online store

PS3: 8/10 + Great online experience + Free + Good online store - not as sophisticated as XBL

WII: 5/10 + it can connect to the internet - Lack of dedicated network - friend codes 

- Controllers (in Wii's case; the Classic Controller)

360: 8/10 + Comfortable + excellent triggers and analogs - batteries -  bad d-pad 

PS3: 8/10  + Comfortable + excellent analogs and d-pad - bad triggers 

WII: 7/10

- Motion controls

360: 8/10 + Plenty of dedicated software + mostly works well - not tangible 

PS3:7/10 + Most accurate of the 3 - not enough dedicated software

WII: 8/10 + plethora of dedicated software - lacks the accuracy of the move

Final scores: 

360: 8.2

They all had their ups and downs, in my opinion.

Hardware:

- Microsoft: 10/10 because 10 out 10 launch systems failed.

- Nintendo: 10/10 because they were smart enough to know that the weakest hardware always wins, and unless Nintendo had made the Wii a digital watch instead of the console we all know and barely tolerate, it could hardly have been weaker.

- Sony: 10/10 because they didn't make a reliable system but it was still more reliable than the 360 (what isn't?) so that by the time people started to notice the YLOD, the PS3 had already established a great if completely undeserved reputation for reliability.

Software:

- Microsoft: 10/10 because all they have is Halo, but that's pretty good.

- Nintendo: 10/10 because all they have is Mario, but that's pretty good.

- Sony: 10/10 because all they have is nothing, really, but that's pretty good.

Online:

- Microsoft: 10/10 because I'm pretty sure that calling Xbox Live a ripoff is a bannable offense.

- Nintendo: 10/10 because they didn't spend any money on online, which is very thrifty and smart.

- Sony: 10/10 because they just rip off Xbox Live wholesale, which saves them precious energy they might have wasted on thinking up new ideas.

Controllers:

- Microsoft: 10/10 because it feels the nicest of the three in your hand and it also raises your skills because the D-pad is so awful that if you manage to actually play a game with it, I'm pretty sure you automatically become good enough to beat Ninja Gaiden on Master difficulty with one hand while simultaneously 1CCing Ikaruga with the other.

- Nintendo: 10/10 because they realized not everybody wanted to play with the stupid waggle stick and gave us an alternative, even if it wasn't a very good one.

- Sony: 10/10 because it's not a very good controller but at least they're consistent from generation to generation, so nobody even really notices anymore.

Motion controls:

- Microsoft: 10/10 because YOU are the controller.

- Nintendo: 10/10 because they were the first, which was smart.

- Sony: 10/10 because they were last, which was smart. I'm also impressed by the fact that they totally anticipated Kinect with the EyeToy, and by the fact that they totally avoided doing anything of note with it.

Overall:

- Microsoft: 10/10

- Nintendo: 10/10

- Sony: 10/10

In short, awesome generation. Would buy in again!

Excellent post Andres!

Vita says otherwise.

I can understand that point of view, but my point is that there is a clear pattern here: PSP >>>>> PSPGo >>>>>> PS Vita. Whatever comes next is likely to be worse, not better.

Sony have definitely pleased me the most this gen, we have sex at least three times a week, it's great.

-Nintendo-

Hardware: 5/10 Ideal for casuals who wanted to save money, terrible for "hardcore" gamers and developers.

Software: 6/10 Nintendo made some top-notch software for their console, but the weak hardware prevented certain titles such as Metroid and CoD from standing toe to toe with all other big FPS releases on other consoles this gen, and BF3 wasn't even released for the console among many others. Also, Nintendo even left out some of their key-franchises including Star Fox and F-Zero, probably due to limited hardware.

Online: 4/10 It was there, but just barely.

Controllers: 7/10 I never tried the Classic Controller, the score applies to the aging Gamecube controller.

Motion controls: 7/10 Very comfortable, fits perfectly in your hand. The "1" and "2" buttons were placed awfully though, and the lack of a second analogue made several games pretty awkward to play imo.

Overall: 6/10


-Microsoft-

Hardware: 7/10 Had to replace one console because of RRoD. Offered a lot of graphics for a (relatively) low price from launch.

Software: 8/10 Excellent third party support. Few, but great first party titles.

Online functions: 9/10 The leader of the pack. Slightly lowered score due to paid online, although I guess that's a reason for its current quality...

Controllers: 7/10 Very comfortable. Low quality buttons that breaks after a few years of use. Sticks tend to get worn out easily. (I'm currently on my third controller.)

Motion controls: 5/10 Never tried Kinect, but from what I've seen you look like an idiot while playing it. Would probably prefer Wii remotes over it.

Overall: 7,5/10 Lots of money spent...

I never owned a Sony console, so it would be unfair to give them scores.