Tips on Buying a New Gaming Console
The recent release of Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) and the less recent but nevertheless highly acclaimed Microsoft Xbox 360, has players entering a new age of multimedia, High Definition [HD] video gaming. The war between next generation consoles has not been without its casualties; mass chaos ensued in some stores on the release of the PS3 on November 17, and Wikipedia was forced to lock down its Wii, PS3, and Sony entries due to virtual vandalism. Interestingly, the Wii seemed to attract more conflicts of opinion on the site than Britney Spears (9,886 revisions), Scientology (8,475 revisions), and even God (7,537 revisions)... But for those of us game-lovers out there who didn’t camp out in front of the neighborhood WalMart to pick up the latest gaming technology, the question is still pertinent: which new console is the best deal? While the debate rages on online, check out these top tips from BestStuff.com Senior Editor David Gregg:
1. PS3 – A lot larger than its predecessor PS2 due to its built-in 1080P disk drive (called a "Blu-ray") that enables you to play the latest state-of-the-art, or gold standard HD disks, the PS3 boasts the most incredible graphics yet. The PS3 also plays DVD movies, and features free multiplayer gaming, great storage capacity, and the processing power of the Cell Broadband Engine. The only real drawback to the PS3 is its cost. It’s expensive at US$499 and $599 for the 20 GB and 60 GB configs, respectively.
2. Wii – pronounced "Wee”, the best thing about this new console is its motion sensor controller, a revolutionary new breed of this technology, combining 3D motion with pointing, sound effects and force feedback. The graphics are a bit more simplistic than PS3’s. The price is a bit better, and starts at around $250 (but goes up to $670!). It’s also worth pointing out that the Wii browser is only free for the first 6 months (although if you download it before June 2007, it’s straight up free). A final thought: with some 4 million available, you might have a better chance of tracking one down than a PS3.
3. Xbox 360 – The console that started the HD gaming revolution, since it was released last November, Microsoft has sold more than 6 million Xbox 360 consoles. One major advantage to owning this one is that over the last year, the console has built up a catalogue of over 100 titles; whereas the newly-launched Wii and PS3 will only have 32 and 22 games respectively, by year’s end. The Xbox 360 Core system costs $299; the Platinum system costs $399. However, one eBay user found a Core unit for $247 by searching with common misspellings; and Playfeed got tipped off from SlickDeals.net on the best deal on an Xbox 360 Platinum (plus three great games) for $370 (shipping included) at Fry’s Outpost.
Comments
thanks for the tips..i'm a bit confused if i have to buy an addtional stuff other than the xbox 360 like a memory card or somethin