Jinxstar

Contributor
CRank: 5Score: 64540

Price Wars

I made a post in the forums a while ago about this. I wanted to go into detail on pricing of consoles. What it means to each individual and otherwise.

The main reason I am writing this is because I am very tired of hearing about prices of consoles on this site. I want it to stop but I know there is no end to it. So here I want to break down the basics of all 3 consoles and what you get for each and why one may appear cheaper then the other.

First is the Wii. Most hardcore gamers dislike the Wii but it is a viable next gen platform and is pushing gaming into a more interactive dimension. Nintendo have always had a way of "Nickle and Diming" Gamers. I waited outside of Target in tthe freezing cold for 8 hours to get mine on release day because I wanted to play Zelda. I am a long time fan of the series and have played them all. The first thing I noticed was the console with 1 controller and Nunchuck cost me 250$ It came with Wii Sports which was ok but there is the problem. You want to play with friends and that means 3 more controllers and Nunchucks... 180$!!!! On top of that you need to buy a ton of batteries if you play it a lot. Then to play classic games you need to buy the "Classic" controller... So I am easily close to 450$ by now...

Hard drive space is limited and they plan to fix that one day with another addon... In the end the wii is a very expensive console with limited online gaming capabilities... So for the hardcore it's not a very suitable platfrom price wise and game wise.

Xbox 360. This one to me is a sore spot. It is a good gaming platform. I bought an Elite probably 6 months after it was released. I enjoyed a great many games on it like Bioshock and otherwise.

Now I wont go into costs of the past because there are so many consoles to choose from with so many prices it's irrelevant. but to break it down simply it's a minimum of 200$ plus the price of a game to play something on the 360. So thats 265$. I wont go into what game or how old basically because if you are buying a 360 now you are probably buying it to play new games and not old ones. How long do you plan to keep your console? I would say at least 3-4 years. For the full  experience on the 360 you need to be on Xbox live. Thats 5$ a month for 4 years. so lets just say 200$ give or take a few months.  So now to play 1 game and be on live your up to 465$ for the lowest end 360 model.

Do you want to be able to download a map for your game? Well you need a Hard drive right? the cheapest, new 20 gig HD I could find was 52 dollars. So 517$ total for your lowest end system to play online and have a few maps to go with your game. What else do you need? Well it really is all on the gamer but many people who are invested and hate cables all over their room would need a WiFi adapter... (Why this is not standard is beyond me as I have WiFi on my DS) The cheapest adapter I could find is 83$. That really is a nice round number too as we are now up to 600$ for the lowest end 360 upgraded to play a game you like with DLC. I wont mention the price for batteries for the controller as some people buy an adapter to recharge but this is still additional cost to the the 360 price.

Now many of you will be saying "Wow" at this point. I think so as well because you may notice there is another system with WiFi, a standard hard drive, free online and all these things added in with a game for 400$. On top of that you have a high def movie player too... Which the 360 doesn't have. A standard recharger with every console and all that. Keep in mind that the 400$ is the 80 gig Ps3 with MGS4 included(Also BC compatible). There is a downfall in price however you have the option of buying an HDMI cable which is not needed but may make a world of difference in your viewing pleasure. Those may cost anywhere from 3$ to 80 or 90$ depending on length and all kinds of things. So since I stuck with the cheapest 360 model I will stick with the cheapest for the PS3 as well. so we are up to 403$. Which in the end is nearly 200$ cheaper then a 360 I mentioned above. However with the PS3 you do have a bigger HD and like I said an HD video player.

The comparison I made was to get the lowest end 360 as close as possible to the PS3 in terms of capabilities.

Basically what I wanted to sum up in my blog is to tell people to stop saying the PS3 is "too expensive". Initially it is a little pricey for some but in the end it is a much cheaper investment. I bought the 60gig BC one with no games for 600$ back in the day and don't feel like I wasted any money. However I was dissapointed in the 360 from the start. I had 2 RROD and traded it in when I heard Gears of War was coming to PC with more content, better graphics and a lower price. I upgraded my PC with the trade in money and have a sweet rig now. I just bought Left 4 Dead and have been playing all morning and I am looking forward to free DLC, Player Mods and other things while playing for free online... Not to mention it cost me less then the console version.

Just for the record I am not a hater of the 360. I play whenever I get the chance and even hit up some friends to play Fable 2. I think if it's your thing then thats fine but really my only intention in writing this is to try and get people to understand that you get what you pay for. If you buy the cheap system you will be putting a lot more into it in upgrades then you may want to. So please everyone stop slamming the PS3's price. They are already selling it at a huge loss. If you don't like it don't buy it but really in this day and age I think it's a real good deal especially looking at the competition and how I feel both MS and Nintendo Nickle and dime you to death.

Not to mention the library on actual exclusives on the PS3 is just much more appealing to me then the 360 because to me I can play almost all those games on the PC. Maybe not today like you but I will be able to one day and I can wait.

I really tried to be fair in my views on price. And yes you can play Left 4 Dead or gears 2 on the 360 for as little as 265$ if you like... Is that all you want though? Really? Tell me you don't pay for live and own the 200$ version or show me someone who does just that and nothing else and maybe that 1 person out of every 25000 people may be on to saving money and enjoying just what he/she wants... Otherwise you are being a fanboy. I know that sounds like "Pot calling Kettle" but I at least owned a 360 for a long time and this is the conclusion I have come to on my own. Thats a lot more then most fanboys who just pick one and despise the other.

Either way if you like what I wrote or hate it thanks for reading it and game on!

littletad5643d ago (Edited 5643d ago )

Now as for the blog. There is some huge contradiction here. First, you wanted to start with the "lowest" end model with the 360/ps3 correct? Well, in actuality, you chose the most expensive. You basically built up an arcade sku. Adding for inflation, the things you "need". Now truth be told you do need a hard drive if you want to fully experience the 360's capabilities. Right now though you can buy an arcade and buy a "refurbished" hard drive, but I won't get into that. Simply put, the 360 pro is the cheapest model you can buy if you want the full optimal experience. So you said + a game correct? Well that's around 365. Okay next is Live, of course your going to need it if your comparing it to the ps3 right? Okay so that's what, u said 4 years? $565, and were not even going to add that most of the time Amazon sells this for $40. Now what confused me was that you chose not to add the optional hdmi cables or hd cables for the ps3 yet you added the Live charge? Let's be fair now, so the real cost of the ps3 would be 400+ a game+ the cheapest cables. I myself have a Sony hdmi cable which cost me 49.99 so I'll add that since it's middle rounded. So that's 515 right? Now here's the interesting part. You failed to add that the 360 right now adds two free games. The ps3 yes does have a free game, though it depends on if you can scout for the Mgs4 bundle or the uncharted bundle. At most your getting one free game and one movie. So let's subtract that $65 from the 360's price. And let's subtract that Sony game. So that's 500/450. Now let's see here what else? Obviously the 360 doesn't have a blu-ray drive, so that's a +. You can't add that feature :( so it won't be inflated to adjust. Oh, wifi. I will not even bother to add that one. Simply put, an ethernet cable is much faster than the ps3's wifi. This is simple math, the ps3 is a Wireless G. Even I have to use the ehternet cable on my ps3. Basically it's a luxury and there is no need to add that overpriced wireless adapter for the 360. Last but not least, you say you prefer the ps3 lineup. Which is very surprising. In charted facts, the 360 has higher rated games than the ps3. So to counter this you brought up the fact that you have a pc. Which is kind confusing since your comparing a pure gaming console to a pc gaming rig which cost's upwards of a thousands dollars depending on your specs. Not too mention the constant upgrading. But to each his own :). But to be completely fair, the real cost difference between the ps3/360 is 500/450

Jinxstar5643d ago

Nice rebuttle. It is all in the eye of the beholder. The truth be told my only real point was to try to get people to stop saying the PS3 is "Overpriced" because it is a different experience and at a minimal cost difference.

Basically with the HDMI cable. I bought a 90$ one myself but you can get them new on Amazon for 3$. As far as refurbished HD's. I was going for all new components and not used ones. you can get a used PS3 for pretty cheap or a 360 and there are some real differences in price there I didn't feel like getting into... Also no offense but Kung fu panda(37$ game) and Lego Indy(50$ game) are not games that people on N4G are normally hyped about. These are not games you buy a 360 for usually and if your on N4G it's probably not your thing. I own lego indy and it was fun but most here would not be excited at seeing a 360 with those games in it... I tried to make this an article geared to the N4G crowd not individuals. The main reason why I went with the cheaper model was because thats what all the fan's use to say "200$ to play Gears 2" and such...

A WiFi connector is optional of course but if you want to be able to move your 360 to another room or have a lan party with a friend or any number of things it makes life a lot easier and should have been in the box imho from the start and should not for any reason cost close to 100$.

Basically I tried to build the cheapest model's up but with so many SKU's it's hard to say. I'll give you the pro model may be the best deal but the price to upgrade and pay for live and other things is still expensive and I didn't even throw in the cost for the 16$ charge pack for the controller... Each controller...

The line up for the 360 vs PS3 is all in the eye of the beholder. Games like Left 4 Dead I own in PC, I like the free to play and the free mods, feel free to add me on steam and play with me if you like. Fable 2 and Gears 2 will make it to PC as well, probably with more content, Also there are games that wont be on 360 like Diablo 3(One of the main reasons I sold my 360) To me it was a smnart move to sell and I went to newegg and upgraded with only the money I got for my trade in and now there really isn't a game I can't play on PC... Line up for the PS3 is much more to my liking and I could do a fanboy rant on KZ2, GOW3 or LBP but I wont because it is all in the players preferance but the truth is most games are multiplat and there are still a few exclusives like Versus 13 which just make it. For me I like the PS3 line up better...

Thanks for the welcome back. I am super busy lately but I told some of the guys on the forums I would write my rant on this. I appreciate good discussion and I am really not trying to hate on the 360... I know that is exactly how this will look but the only real way I feel to get people to stop with the "ZOMG Drop the Price!!!1! SONY IS THE OVERPRICED JERKIES!!!" talk is to be as blunt as this...

ultimolu5608d ago

Well said but unfortunately it's all in vain.

Omega Archetype5550d ago (Edited 5550d ago )

I think it works both ways. PS3 is the best value for the money, but the 360 is more accessible to the average consumer.

Sure if you add all the features that the 360 is missing from the PS3 it makes the 360 more expensive, then again, those things aren't needed.

Either way, I feel that both systems are worth their respective prices (except for the extremely high priced wi-fi adapter for the 360,) and I'm glad I own all three systems. Of course if I had to choose just one, well the PS3 would get my vote faster then the other two.

pixelsword5534d ago

too bad we're busy doing other things to actually game together lol!

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