New game system purchase.

[Dreadstar]

So, I understand that the latest and greatest platforms have all been out for a year now, and the price is dropping pretty nicely for the holidays. This puts me in the market for a new game system. So I'd like to get a little input, if I may.

As far as I can tell there is no difference in the graphics of a PS3, XBOX360, or a Wii. They all look slick enough. Performance could be a factor. Reliability another factor.

The main factor, however, is which platform runs the games I would likely play the most.

I want a platform that runs games like the ones I love to play: WoW, DII, CoH, Torchlight.

I abhor quick-twitch first person shooters, and click fast or die interaction. I'd be OK with an FPS that allows for some RPG and doesn't require .01 second reaction time.

I've been told that I'm looking for Morrowind and Skyrim kind of games. Are those available only on one platform or all three?

Interested to hear you feedback, thanks.

[Alex]

Given your game tastes, i would recomend a pc.
However, addressing your actual issues..
Wii has by far the worst graphics, doesn't even output in hd.
I went through 4 xboxs with limited use that all failed, though im told the new hardware is better.
I have to stretch to think of games for you, because frankly, those games don't exsist on home systems.
Skyrim, and it's similar games such as Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas, are available on ps3 and 360, Red Dead Redemtion may also be to your tastes, also available for ps3 and 360.

The days of exclusive releases are mostly fading away, so game types isn't really a huge issue, but i say again, if you like mmos(like the ones you listed) and games like Diablo and torchlight, there isn't a lot for you on the systems, those games just aren't there. Closest i can think actually would be Borderlands 1 and 2, they are basicly first person Diablo with rpg elements in reguards to special abilities and state building etc etc, again for ps3 and 360 (and pc). Mass Effect games were great, ps3, 360, and pc.
In general, the 360 is SLIGHTY more focused on actiony games for it's exclusives, or games where you are a dude with a gun, the Gears of War Series, Halo.

PS3 is a bit more varied, The Uncharted Games (actiony third person platformers/stealth/shooty) Demon Souls...was a game i loved, but it's silly difficult, enough so that it turns a lot of people off, but it's basicly an updated version of an old school roguelike and was a fantastic game (imo), the semi sequel Dark Souls is ps3 and 360 however, MGS4 of course! The Ico and Shadow of the colusus HD collection is just two old games they HDified, but are games definetly worth playing by everyone. Valkyria Chronicles was a great action/strategy hybrid that was loved by most who played it, but wasn't played by enough people.

So i guess im trying to sell the ps3, but it's more important to note you aren't going to find much similar to the games you listed, and most of the ones that are similar are also available on pc.
I also like the streaming ability of the PS3 better, which is odd since i use windows machines and microsoft makes the xbox.

[Agent_Dark]

PS3 and Xbox 360 are at the end of their life cycles. Their hardware is ridiculously outdated and the 'next gen' consoles are just around the corner anyway

But PC really is the way to go. You don't get stuck with outdated hardware from the moment it's released, and upgrading a video card is a fairly simply task. Besides, if you want to play games like Skyrim or Fallout 3 then you're by far better off going with PC because you can mod the shit out of a PC game. Mods can significantly improve the experience of those games and that's something that's simply impossible to do on consoles.

[bkong0]

The thing is, a PC is going to cost considerably more. It'll certainly have improvements but buying a console at the end of the lifecycle is actually a great idea. You get it at a bargain price and you have an enormous library of games at bargain basement prices as well. I'd probably go with the Xbox 360 choice but just in case, go to some place like metacritic and pull up a list of the top 50 or so games. Look through them. If you don't find much appealing, maybe it is a better idea to save up for PC upgrades.