In the latest announcement from Sony Computer Entertainment, the U.S. and Canada will now be receiving the 40GB PS3 model bundled with Spiderman 3 BD for USD 399, and the 80GB for the reduced price of USD 499.
With these new changes, consumers must now know that when comparing the three consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii), the PlayStation 3 is the best buy for this X-mas. Not only is it a bang for your buck, but it also offers the best features.
This comparison will go over price, features, and upcoming games for each console. Click the image to view larger version
As you can see every PlayStation 3 comes with at least 40GB of hard drive space, crucial for game saves, downloadable content, and games requiring HDD for streaming data. Also, every PlayStation 3 comes equipped with Blu-ray disc drives and HDMI outputs to enable users to watch beautiful high definition 1080p movies.
You might say that the Xbox 360 system is also equipped with hard-drives and HDMI outputs but the problem lies in there being no HD format playback built-in. For Xbox gamers to enjoy 1080p movies they must buy an additional HD-DVD add-on at a price of USD 179. Also with the Xbox 360 bragging about its amazing online services, people forget that in order to play without Ethernet, gamers must buy a Wireless adapter for USD 99. Oh, and of course the yearly or monthly Xbox live fee ranging from USD 7.99 for one month to USD 49.99 for a year.
When you add all this up, the premium Xbox 360 (with HD-DVD player, Wireless adapter, and year of Xbox Live) could be costing buyers USD 677 (and people think the PS3 is expensive!)
Now let’s talk about the Nintendo Wii. Yes, it is the cheapest console on the market, but for everyone upgrading their TV’s to new 720p or 1080p HDTV’s people are going to want high definition video. The max the Wii supports is 480p, and with no support for HD-DVD/Blu-ray or even plain DVD playback, the longevity of this console comes into question.
Looking ahead, for those of you wondering what the future holds, here is a quick comparison of upcoming popular titles for each console. (This is not an accurate depiction of all titles of each genre.) Click the image to view full size.
So if you are a gamer without a next gen system or are looking to buy your family a new console this holiday season, we strongly suggest the PlayStation 3. It has all the needed features (Blu-ray/DVD playback, free online service, built-in hard drive) and for the current price it’s quite the steal.
Oh, and if you buy your PlayStation 3 before the end of the year, don’t forget, the Blu-ray Disc Association is giving away 5 free blu-ray movies for free with purchase of specified BD players (including the PS3).