This week has been a veritable overload of next (current?)-generation gaming. It all started Sunday when a casual glance the Best Buy flyer revealed that they (supposedly) had the Nintendo Wii consoles in stock that day. I was bummed, because BB opens at 10:00 and it was already 11:15 when I was looking at the flyer, so I was sure I had missed out (again). A tentative phone call led to a “spirited” drive to the store, and by noon I was back home, and for the first time ever, playing a video game that left me physically tired.

As if that wasn’t enough, the 360 has returned as well (as of Tuesday), and proven that it truly is capable of playing the copy of Crackdown that had previously been its downfall. Suddenly I’m left with more games than I know what to do with, all before a weekend where I’ll be away from gaming (which will hopefully be replaced by biking).

So that leaves me with the formidable Wii60 combo, as the cool kids call it, and playing the two back to back reveals an almost polar opposite in their philosophies. But there are some similarities as well in that they both are, uh, white. They also play discs, use wireless controllers, have online stores for more games and/or content, and offer some capabilities beyond just gaming.

The Wii is a great console at a great price point. It’s pleasantly compact and the process of creating a Mii is pretty dang fun, and the experience of seeing your Mii’s emulate your actions on screen is even better. But my favorite part about the Wii, the “wow” moment, was watching my avatar follow my moves through whatever sort of dark magic Nintendo has used to accomplish this. It’s incredibly fun to play a game of bowling or baseball (well, Hitting & Pitching would be a better title) and actually be moving instead of pressing buttons. It helps that Wii Sports is the best bundled game to ever come with a console (that the console actually includes a game is something to be excited about), as it provides an excellent way to orient yourself with the world of motion-based gaming.

But that’s pretty much it. It will be interesting to see how many more games are released with the same appeal of Wii Sports, because a game like Super Paper Mario doesn’t make me think “boy, I’m glad I have this square controller in my hands instead of one of those newfangled ergo-thingies.” So while the idea behind the Wii seems to be gaming oriented, it doesn’t seem to work spectacularly well, neither in graphics nor control, in more traditional games.

That’s where the 360 comes in. Microsoft may try to sell you on its prowess as a media center, but this box plays games, and does it well (except for the part where it broke). 720p beats 480p every time, so the 360’s graphics look great. Additionally (and somewhat surprisingly) the Xbox 360 boasts a menu (the Dashboard) that’s leaps and bounds more intuitive and usable than the Wii’s. We’re talking at or above Apple level here, a feat they can’t seem to duplicate on any of their other products.

Furthermore, while wireless is quite handy, the Wii’s secondary remote seems to disconnect whenever it feels like (namely when exiting or starting a game), while the 360’s behavior is much more predictable; as in, not turning off until you turn it off.

To conclude, because I’ve gone on waaaay too long, the Wii brings experiences to the table that the 360 can’t match, and is a great “supplemental” console. But I’d be hard pressed to call it my favorite; the 360 still takes that title.