At first glance, the Xbox takes up more space than the Wii with the latter only half the size of the former. Although similar in color, mostly white, the Wii is simpler with a boxy shape and functional gray stand compared to the white with woodgrain front and curves on the Xbox.

Both the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii are seventh generation gaming consoles and are Internet capable, however, only the Nintendo Wii is capable of wireless connectivity or Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Nintendo Wii uses 512MB Internal flash memory, can use the Nintendo GameCube Memory Card and Secure Digital card while the Xbox 360 utilizes a 20 GB hard drive and memory cards. The Microsoft console has a 3.2 GHz PPC Tri-Core Xenon CPU or Central Processing Unit where-as its Nintendo counterpart uses an IBM Power PC-based “Broadway” CPU. As for the GPU or Graphics Processing Unit, the Xbox is using a 500 MHz ATI Xenos and Nintendo’s baby is using a ATI “Hollywood” GPU.

Though both are in competition with the each other, along with the PS3, each has its own following, based on what each gamer wants or needs from his or her console.

According to some critics, they prefer the Wii to the Xbox due in part to its shape and size as well as for its space saving capabilities. These two share some games, like the Marvel Ultimate Alliance, thereby making comparison all the more easier with some players saying that they like the graphics quality of the Xbox 360 compared to the one of the Wii. Some consumers state though that the Wii has a smoother graphic movement than that of the Xbox. Other comparisons cited pricing as the way to go, with the Wii being cheaper at $250 with the pricier Xbox 360 running between $300 and $400 per unit.

The Xbox 360 seems to be banking on its pure performance system to win them the top spot in the latest console race, while Nintendo is betting on it being more on fun in the console popularity game. Each has its own gimmick or add-on, however, that they hope will reel in customers to their side of the gaming market. With Xbox planning on having an optional HD-DVD Player for movie playback and their Xbox Live DVD store Online, Nintendo’s movieless Wii has opted for an online store that sells classic games from the N64 to the SNES to the even older NES in the hopes of snaring the old-school gamers to buy their system instead.

Whichever console makes it to the top of the recent gaming charts, both have not been doing too bad in the sales department, as recent statistics would show. These two have been racking up sales from around the globe, with the Microsoft Xbox 360 selling around 6 million units last year and Nintendo Wii having sold approximately 4 million units of late, making the race a rather close one indeed. The contest between the Xbox and the Wii obviously won’t end here as both companies have bigger and better plans for both their products in the near and not-so-near future, giving gamers young and old alike something to look forward to.