The Playstation 3 was at one point the most expensive console of the the three. Since launch though the price has dropped quite a bit and is very competitive to the other two consoles. As I have wrote before there are some hidden charges in the PS3, but not nearly as many as the Xbox 360 or the Wii.

The PS3 bundle is usually right around $400.00 as of 2010. Now you get the system, usually a 40 gig hard drive a controller and a cord to charge the controller, which Microsoft does not due, plus the PS3 controller has a built in battery, so you will not have to purchase a separate one, unlike it’s Microsoft counterpart. The only real knock I will give the PS3 and this goes for all the systems, it does not come with a HDMI cord. If you have a Hi Def TV you will definitely want to purchase one.

Two major advantage the PS3 has, it plays Blu Ray movies and the online game play is free (for now). Blu Rays do look great on your Hi Def TV. At one point, Xbox 360 had way more games than the PS3, but over the past couple of years, PS# has caught up, and any major game release usually comes out for both, plus PS3 will have God of War 3 this March.

PS3 and Xbox 360 are both great systems, but of the two, PS3 has far less hidden costs, plus more features.

I would like to continue my in depth look at all three video game consoles. Today we are going to take a look at the Xbox 360 by Microsoft. The first thing you should know when looking into buying this console for yourself or family member, is the are multiple versions of the 360. One nice thing about the Nintendo Wii is there is only one to choose from, so eliminates a lot of confusion.  

The Xbox Arcade is the cheapest of all the skus of the Xbox. At $199.00 it is even cheaper than the Wii. But with this price reduction you also have a reduction in features. There is no hard drive in the Arcade version or headset. Which means if you would like to play online and download movies or demos you would need to purchase it separately for about a hundred dollars.

The most practical version of the Xbox 360 is the Pro model. This basically comes with everything you need to be a serious gamer. It includes the hard drive as well as the headset, but an extra controller will cost around $50.00 plus a rechargeable battery pack would be another $20.00 addition.

As far as online goes, it is not free like Wii or PS3 online, the service will cost about $50.00 a year for Xbox Live. Now it does cost but it is by far the best online experience of the three consoles. Also Xbox 360 does not play Blue Ray movies at all. You can however download Hi Def movie through Netflix right on your Xbox.

The best part of the whole Xbox 360 Experience is the games. They have the most and probably the best games available. From shooters to family friendly titles, Xbox has something for everyone. But by the time you buy your Pro Bundle (which does include two games) an extra controller, battery pack and Xbox Live you are looking at about $420.00 before tax.

The point of all these articles is that there are pros and cons to every system, and every system has hidden money you will be spending that adds up rather quickly. Next time I will cover the Sony Playstation 3.  

Hello world, there has not been a post in awhile and we hope to be posting more regularly. What we are going to do is change up a few things. The first we are going to add a comic section, we are huge comic book fans here, and I think it would be a welcome addition. The other is a new navigation look.

We will still have great free games to play, and hopefully more in the future. Plus great deals on games. Coming up in the future, we will have a more in-depth look at the rest of the video game consoles and some of the AAA titles that have come out for it. Also we are going to have some more coverage on hand held systems as well.

Well that is all for now, check back with us soon. 

The Nintendo Wii

What can you say about the Wii? Is it different from the other consoles? Yes. Will it appeal to a more casual audience? Yes.  The Nintendo Wii is the hottest system of the three, try to find one on a store shelf, it still is almost impossible to find and this article is being written in late April of 2008.

Some debate is that Nintendo purposely shorted their shipments to drive demand way up. Whatever the case may be, they are selling like crazy. About a month ago my wife bought a Wii. She found one at a local Target. So what is it that drives the demand? After getting some hands on experience with the Wii, I have come up with two reasons that help sell the system.

The first reason is price. It is the cheapest of the three systems, at $250.00. When average parents want to buy their child a new video game system, the Wii at $250.00 or an Xbox 360 at $350.00, they are going to go with the Wii. Now there are some hidden charges that Nintendo really don’t talk about. If you do not have wireless internet in your home, you cannot plug an Ethernet cable into the Wii, you have to go out and buy a separate adaptor for around $30.00-$40.00.

Another thing, if you want a separate controller you have to buy one, now I do not hold that against them because they all do it. But the Wii remote with the system comes with the Nun chuck attachment. When you buy separate controller it does not have the attachment, which will cost you around $20.00. Also they do not come with rechargeable batteries for the controller that will also cost another $30.00. You could just use regular batteries but do you know how expensive it would be to keep replacing them.

When you add in the extras that puts your price around $320.00-330.00. Seems a lot closer in price now, also if you would like different controller attachments like the control pad or Wii sports attachments or Wii points, it will all cost you more money. Now Xbox and Playstation do the same thing also, but for some reason Nintendo always gets a pass on this I do not think they should, they nickel and dime their customers just as much as the other companies.

The second reason the Wii sells well, is brand recognition. Almost every parent will recognize Mario before Kratos or even Master Chief.  Most hardcore gamers would disagree, but it is the truth, Nintendo properties are far more appealing to the mass audience, which is somewhat of the problem with the Wii.

When it comes to games with their iconic characters they are great, Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Smash Brothers and the upcoming Mario cart. But once you get past the first party games, there is a huge drop off in quality. Most games end being a collection of mini games or old recycled arcade games (Pointing at you House of the Dead).

The virtual console has some old school appeal, but after playing some of these old games you realize you just paid ten bucks for a 15 year old game that was not as good as you remembered. There are newer games on there but very few are worth the money.  Xbox live arcade also has this problem.

The Wii is a good family oriented video game system. If you are like myself and love great high definition graphics, online multiplayer and have been gaming for years, then this system is not for you. If you are like my wife who enjoys very simple, fun, basic casual games you can play occasionally with your friends, then the Nintendo Wii is for you.   

Consoles

Recently I became the proud owner of all three next gen systems, Xbox 360, PS3 and the Nintendo Wii. Now you might think that I have no life, which may be true, but I have been an avid video game player for years.

The first thing I would like to state is I have no hate for any of the companies that make video game consoles, well may be Sega, they really burned me on the Saturn! I have played just about every system that has come down the pipes, from Atari 2600, NES, Sega Master System, Intellivision, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Turbo Graphix 16, Playstation, Playstaion 2 and all the modern day systems.

Now I know I did not mention any handheld systems. I have played most of those systems but my main focus is on the consoles. So over the next couple of days I will go over each individual console and weigh the pros and cons for each system and who would benefit the most from these consoles.

I will start with the Wii, then the Xbox360, and finally the PS3. Also look for my game reviews and general thoughts on the industry