MSNBC playtesters choose Wii

From an article today on MSNBC.com:

“Which machine wins the battle for consumer bucks and gamer thumbs will be determined this holiday season and in the months after.

But for a sneak peak at how the console wars may unfold, we invited a group of six gamers ’ hardcore and casual players, adults and children ’ to spend some time with us, the Wii and the PS3.

After plowing through several hours of gaming and many boxes of pizza, the resounding favorite of our playtest was ”¦drum roll please … the Wii.”

Reasons for the decision included the fact that some people have seen games get too complex; the rise of “hop and go” gaming (pick up and play to us); the rumble features; the Virtual Console games; and this gem, which many of you will groan about, but was too hard for me to resist:

“With the PS3 and the Wii each hooked up in neighboring rooms, we found the PS3 sitting all alone at several points during the evening (hooked up to a giant high definition TV no less) while all the gamers gathered around the Wii and played together.”

Cons: graphics (really? no way); no DVD support; Wii Boxing’s quirky controls (this one is looking to be one of the big stinkers with each passing day).

I think something happens in two days.

[Thanks, fitz]