There are three primary video game consoles on the market at the moment: the Nintendo Wii, the Playstation 3, and the XBox 360. Each of these are strong offerings, but they also have their acolytes and mega-fans. Clearly there are some reasons to choose one over another. Which one is better for different types of gamers?

Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii helped turned around Nintendo's business after the marginally successful Gamecube. The Wii's primary form of interaction is through a wireless device that you move around in spatial time, and, while this is a fairly quirky way with which to interact with a device, it *works* for many games.

Many of the games on Nintendo Wii are very fun, as well: Super Mario Galaxy 2, Mario Kart Wii, and Goldeneye 007 are top titles available on the Wii. You can also play online with friends, which is especially fun with Mario Kart Wii.

The Wii is available on Amazon for $159.99, making it the cheapest of the big three game consoles.

Playstation 3

The Sony Playstation 3's blu-ray player, amazing graphics, included Netflix, and Wi-Fi make it the most feature-rich game console. For users who are on a budget, though, it may not be the best option: the PlayStation 3 is the most expensive game console on our list, at $296.98 on Amazon. Additionally, the games tend to be more expensive on the Playstation 3 than on the XBox 360 or Nintendo Wii. Hardcore gamers would love the Nintendo Wii, but is the Xbox 360 enough for most gamers?

XBox 360

Now that Microsoft has released the Kinect for the Xbox 360, the Xbox can compete much more heavily with the Wii for the title of "most fun user interface." The Kinect can detect your *entire body* and allow you to play games with your friends by moving your limbs around. The XBox 360 is about $200.00 on Amazon, and its games tend to be the middle-of-the-range when it comes to price.

But Bear in Mind...

Please bear in mind that Sony's PlayStation Network encountered numerous security breaches and much downtime during April, May, and June of 2011. Some are not entirely comfortable with Sony's response to the breaches and downtime, and while Sony has responded by providing users with a free month of service, others want more clear and visible action on Sony's part to show that it is taking action to prevent such breaches and downtime from occurring again.

Users who want a fun, quirky game console should strongly consider the Wii. Users who don't mind spending extra money for an incredibly high-tech, powerful machine should consider the PS3. And, users who crave the full-body gaming of the Kinect should try a Kinect for themselves at the store to see how the

Most of all, though, consider the games available on the consoles before you buy one. If you buy a game console that is "perfect" when it comes down to the technical specifications, but it does not have many games that you'll enjoy playing, then it's not the perfect fit for you.