In this article, I talk about which console gives you a better Value for your money. In order for everything to be fair I had to include additional Accessories that other consoles don't have like built in Memory, HD-players, etc.

Who Came out #1 Find out inside.

The console war has been going full throttle since 2006 when finally all consoles launched. However which console should you picked is based on what games you want to play. The Wii offers a new way to play Video Games. Xbox 360 has all the Next-Gen Games and the PS3 well it’s the PS3.However no one bothers looking at prices. When people see the $500 dollar PS3 they say wow its way too expensive. When people see the Xbox 360 they think it has better games. When people see the Wii they think a new experience and an inexpensive price. But are the price tags telling the truth? Let’s take this time to see which one offers you more for your money.

Wii:

                The Wii stands at $250 MSRP. It comes with a free game and there’s no need to buy a memory card because it comes with internal 512mb of free memory. The games range from $19.99 - $49.99 on average and I’m not including Guitar Hero and DDR. An extra 2GB memory card which is the maximum the Wii supports can cost up to $89.99 regularly but on sale you can find it as low as $24.99. An extra control can cost you as much as $60 and if you want to play with  your family which the Wii can support up to 4 players you’re looking at about $180 for 3 controllers more. Connecting to the internet is really hard on the Wii depending on where your router is connected. If you have a W-router that is far from your Wii chances are that it will detect it but it will not always connect. So if you want to connect with a Cat-5 cable you will need to buy the USB adaptor of if you still want to go wireless then you will need to buy a Nintendo Wi-Fi connector or something similar which will run you at $29.99.

                The Wii does not support HD but if you want to get a better picture you can buy Wii component cables which you can get for as little as $10 bucks if you do your research. An intercooler is not necessary but if you want you can buy one for $20 bucks and the cool thing about it is that it lights up. Also something important that is needed is batteries. You can buy rechargeable batteries for about $39.99 for a 30 minute charger with 4 AA batteries. You will also need extra rechargeable batteries for the extra controllers which can run you an additional $19.99 for 4 batteries.

So Let’s make the calculations on how much all this is going to run you.

Wii Console - $249.99, 2 Wii Games – $99.98, 2GB SD Card-$24.99, 3 extra controls - $180, Wi-Fi or Adaptor - $29.99, Component Cables $9.99, Rechargeable Battery Package - $39.99, Extra Rechargeable Batteries - $19.99

So you total spend on the Wii System to get started is: $654.92

Xbox 360:

The Xbox 360 has different packages and depending on which one you are getting I can tell you right now you are not getting a good deal. The best deal right now is the Elite bundle so I’ll take it from the elite Bundle. The Bundle will run you a pretty penny but for only $450 you get everything you need. The extra 3 controllers you can buy to get things started for your family can run you $49.99 wireless each or $39.99 for a wired controller. I say you just pay 10 bucks extra and just buy the wireless one. A 1 year Xbox live subscription can run you at $49.99. To watch HD-DVD you will need to buy an HD-DVD attachment which can run you at $179.99 but you do get 5 dumb movies with the bundle. Wireless is the word for today’s society. A wireless adaptor for you 360 Will run you at an additional $99.99. An intercooler which is necessary will run you in between $19.99 and $29.99. The 360 comes with component cables but if you want to buy an HDMI cable you are also looking at another $49.99-$99.99. Not to mention that you are taking a risk with the 360 which comes with a 3 year warranty but it requires you to sent it back and wait a while before you get it back. There are people out there who are already on their 4^th and 5^th 360 and it’s only been 2 years.

So let’s add everything up:

Xbox 360 Console with 2 games and Component Cables: $449.99, 3 Extra controllers: $150,HD-DVD Player - $179.99, Intercooler - $19.99, Wireless Adaptor - $99.99, Rechargeable Battery Charger $39.99, extra rechargeable batteries$19.99.

Your total to get started would be: $959.94 Average.

PS3:

The PS3 isn’t known yet to be a gamer’s first choice. The lack of good games and the availability of third party support really suck for PS3 owners. It has been a while since Sony got a good game and even now 3^rd party support lacks with game coming out for the PS3. Sometimes that support isn’t really what was expected. Madden is a fine example of that support the 08 version only ran at 30fps which is bad compared to the 360 version. But never the less the PS3 does get good 3^rd party games. So let’s take a look at how much you will be spending this holiday season on a PS3. The Best value for the PS3 right now is the 80GB version which includes the console and one free game. The console can play Blu-Ray movies and you also get 5 free Blu-Ray Movies so there’s no need for extra attachments. 3 extra controllers will cost $150. The console does not include Component or HDMI, which can run you in between $24.99 – $99.99. The console has built in Wi-Fi and is able to pick up the signal from far away so there is no need for extra attachments. Intercooler is necessary because even though it doesn’t over heat like the 360 it does get hot which in the long run can ruin your system. Even though there has been no reports of PS3’s overheating that doesn’t mean that it won’t happen. An additional game will run you at $59.99 and since the PS3 already has a built in HD which you can upgrade later on there’s no need to buy memory cards or anything like that.

So let’s add all of this up:

PS3 80GB console with 1 free game and Build in Wi-Fi $499.99, 3 Extra Controllers With built in Rechargeable batteries $150, HDMI cable for HD viewing $49.99, Intercooler $29.99, 1 game $59.99

Your total to get started on the PS3 is: $789.96

The Round Up

The Console that gives you a better value for your money go as follows with #1 being the best value out there and #3 being the worst value out there.

#1

PS3: While the PS3 may be expensive now in the long run you will save more money, with 3^rd party games being available for PS3 as well as 360, Blu-Ray player and Wi-Fi. The PS3 does give you an HD experience without burning a hole in your pocket in the long run.

#2

Wii: While the Wii is the most inexpensive console out there to get started you will need to spend some green. The Wii does not support HD graphics and I know what people say Graphics isn’t everything and I agree with them I still want the picture to look beautiful. I didn’t spend almost $1000 bucks on an HD just to play average graphics on my HDTV.

#3

Xbox 360: While the Xbox 360 is where the next gen is at it can prove to be the most expensive console of them all. Not to mention the risk you are taking when you buy one. Up to date there has been a reported 33% failure rate in 360’s. If you’re failing math that means that 33 out of 100 360’s are getting the Red Ring of Death. Not to mention all the additional add-ons that you need to buy in order to take full advantage of the 360. While Xbox Live may be the most and best online service it is still an additional $50 bucks a month and some games have really bad online play, whereas the Wii and PS3 offer free online play.

As it stands right now the Wii is the #1 console in the world, 360 Number 2 and PS3 #3. Not including Handhelds or last gen consoles. When you really think about it the PS3 is really the best value but games are what sells consoles. If you don’t have good and exclusive games then you have nothing. Not to mention how expensive it is to develop for both 360 and PS3, developers will always go with whoever is selling the most games and at this point it is the 360. But the only reason Microsoft is moving 360’s because many of them are failing and people don’t want to deal with Microsoft so they go and buy new ones. With a 33% failure rate and we are talking about 10 million + 360’s sold trust me 33% is a lot of the same people buying new 360’s.

I used the numbers above because I wanted to even out everything and see which one is a better value. The reason I included 2 additional games for the Wii is because Wii sports is not really a game but a compilation of mini games. I included the HD-DVD player because the PS3 has a Blu-Ray player. While you may not buy some of the things in the list, this is just an idea of how much you’ll spend in the long run if you want to have the full experience of HD. So if you still haven’t moved on to the next-gen. It is time.