Xbox360 false economy

[partridge]

Someone I know is thinking about getting an xbox360 because its cheaper than a PS3. Noooooo, false economy; look at the prices (UK)

PS3 £289.99 40Gb (includes hard drive, wifi and blu-ray)

X360 Arcade £149.99, mmm sounds good, but wait...
£64.99 for a 20Gb hard drive or £109.99 for the 120Gb
£54.99 for the wifi adaptor

= £269.97 20Gb option, but still no HD movie playback
= £314.97 120Gb option, but still no HD movie playback
(no, I don't include downloadable movies, they are not true HD)
Not too mention the bizarre array of official chargers for the pad

Anyway, rant over.

[allstar780]

here's my breakdown of it (in canadian dollars) as i presented it to my friend who was torn between the two

$350 for the XBOX 360 Pro Bundle
$100 for the wireless internet adapter
$30 for play and charge kit
$200 for HD-DVD add-on (before the war ended)

Still no web browser or linux capabilites

Total Price for the 360 to rival the PS3: $680

Price for 80GB ps3: $500

[WickyWoo]

Your prices are off

$299 for the Pro (dropped today)
$20 for the P&C
$150 for the addon drive before the war ended.

[blu-dave]

and about £4 000,000 worth of battery's for the xbox controller

[AliceT]

The problem with those examples though, is if you just want a game machine, you do not need any of those things. You do not NEED wifi, you do not need an HD-DVD player, you do not NEED the play and charge kit.

[Mikeblu]

360 arcade: £150 (no HDD, 1 IR wireless controller, no wifi, £40/a LIVE)
PS3 40GB: £300 (40GB HDD, 1 BT(better) wireless controller, built in wifi, built in BD, free internet)
360 elite: £300 (120GB HDD, 1 IR wireless controller, no wifi, £40/a LIVE)

so if you want to even them out you need
arcade: HD DVD Drive £45, wireless £54, 120GB HDD £109, total £358
elite: HD DVD Drive £45, wireless £54, TOTAL: £399
so it costs more both ways, doesn't have internet and still isn't as good.

(didn't include LIVE as thats annual)

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Your prices are off

$299 for the Pro (dropped today)
$20 for the P&C
$150 for the addon drive before the war ended.

$50 for a Live Gold subscription.
$80 for a Wireless adapter, not everyone has wired their consoles in.

I think from a value proposition, the PS3 is obviously the best choice, but in monetary terms the X360 is undeniably cheaper.

Anyway, I would wait until after E3 to talk about pricing, things could have changed by Tuesday afternoon.

[allstar780]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Your prices are off

$299 for the Pro (dropped today)
$20 for the P&C
$150 for the addon drive before the war ended.

i'm aware the prices have changed... but that was the prices at the time.... it was about september last year.

[MasterXeus]

Originally Posted by partridge

Someone I know is thinking about getting an xbox360 because its cheaper than a PS3. Noooooo, false economy; look at the prices (UK)

PS3 £289.99 40Gb (includes hard drive, wifi and blu-ray)

X360 Arcade £149.99, mmm sounds good, but wait...
£64.99 for a 20Gb hard drive or £109.99 for the 120Gb
£54.99 for the wifi adaptor

= £269.97 20Gb option, but still no HD movie playback
= £314.97 120Gb option, but still no HD movie playback
(no, I don't include downloadable movies, they are not true HD)
Not too mention the bizarre array of official chargers for the pad

Anyway, rant over.

If the person is looking for a gaming machine the Xbox 360 is technically cheaper. Sure it doesn't come with all the features the PS3 has, but you don't really need all those features to play games. (Well you'll need Xbox Live to play online)

Honestly if one is looking to buy a game system to play games, they should look at the games that are out and the games that are coming out before deciding which system to buy. It doesn’t make sense to buy a game system that doesn’t have the games you care to play. It’s a waste of money.

If you want to play online, What system do most or all your friends have is another factor some may want to consider before buying.

[AliceT]

Originally Posted by partridge

Someone I know is thinking about getting an xbox360 because its cheaper than a PS3. Noooooo, false economy; look at the prices (UK)

PS3 £289.99 40Gb (includes hard drive, wifi and blu-ray)

X360 Arcade £149.99, mmm sounds good, but wait...
£64.99 for a 20Gb hard drive or £109.99 for the 120Gb
£54.99 for the wifi adaptor

= £269.97 20Gb option, but still no HD movie playback
= £314.97 120Gb option, but still no HD movie playback
(no, I don't include downloadable movies, they are not true HD)
Not too mention the bizarre array of official chargers for the pad

Anyway, rant over.

Also, why are you using the price of an arcade plus a HD , which is more than just buying the pro system with the HD. You are manipulating the numbers to make it look like its alot more than it really is.

[mightypen]

Originally Posted by partridge

Someone I know is thinking about getting an xbox360 because its cheaper than a PS3. Noooooo, false economy; look at the prices (UK)

PS3 £289.99 40Gb (includes hard drive, wifi and blu-ray)

X360 Arcade £149.99, mmm sounds good, but wait...
£64.99 for a 20Gb hard drive or £109.99 for the 120Gb
£54.99 for the wifi adaptor

= £269.97 20Gb option, but still no HD movie playback
= £314.97 120Gb option, but still no HD movie playback
(no, I don't include downloadable movies, they are not true HD)
Not too mention the bizarre array of official chargers for the pad

Anyway, rant over.

Not everybody wants or needs those accessories. Depending on the individual, the ala carte nature of the 360 may be superior to the significantly higher price tag and barrier of entry of the ps3.

[AliceT]

Originally Posted by mightypen

Not everybody wants or needs those accessories. Depending on the individual, the ala carte nature of the 360 may be superior to the significantly higher price tag and barrier of entry of the ps3.

Exactly, if you want to throw in all of those other items to make the systems "match up" how about adding these items

360 pro comes with a headset, ps3 does not, so add $30-$50 for a bluetooth headset.

Also, 360 has rumble standard, so you need to add $55 to have a dual shock 3.

If you are buying the ps3 to be your BD player, you are going to want the blu ray remote, add $20

Also, if you want to watch 1080p BD, you will want HDMI, so add $5-$100 depending on where you buy your hdmi cable from.

See how easy it is to add things to any list to make anything look like not such a good deal?

[Mikeblu]

Originally Posted by AliceT

Exactly, if you want to throw in all of those other items to make the systems "match up" how about adding these items

360 pro comes with a headset, ps3 does not, so add $30-$50 for a bluetooth headset.
arcade doen't, and i didn't add it for the arcade and it only costs £10 for a HQ one
Also, 360 has rumble standard, so you need to add $55 to have a dual shock 3.
PS3 has SIXAXIS standard
If you are buying the ps3 to be your BD player, you are going to want the blu ray remote, add $20
well then you need to add DVD remote into the 360s side
Also, if you want to watch 1080p BD, you will want HDMI, so add $5-$100 depending on where you buy your hdmi cable from.
neither pro or arcade come with HDMI in box
See how easy it is to add things to any list to make anything look like not such a good deal?

basicly if your making them even no matter what you wantthe 360 will be more, the only way its cheaper is without HDD, wifi, ect which some gamers NEED!

[AliceT]

Originally Posted by Mikeblu

basicly if your making them even no matter what you wantthe 360 will be more, the only way its cheaper is without HDD, wifi, ect which some gamers NEED!

Right, but why are you pricing it as an arcade unit? The pro, since you add on the HD, is cheaper to buy than buying an arcade unit and adding the HD. The only reason to do that is to inflate the price.

[Tai95]

Originally Posted by AliceT

Exactly, if you want to throw in all of those other items to make the systems "match up" how about adding these items

360 pro comes with a headset, ps3 does not, so add $30-$50 for a bluetooth headset.

Also, 360 has rumble standard, so you need to add $55 to have a dual shock 3.

If you are buying the ps3 to be your BD player, you are going to want the blu ray remote, add $20

Also, if you want to watch 1080p BD, you will want HDMI, so add $5-$100 depending on where you buy your hdmi cable from.

See how easy it is to add things to any list to make anything look like not such a good deal?

Well I'm a new guy here, but I have had this talk with many of my friends.
The numbers you used could have been an argument before the MGS4 bundle was released.

Now for $499 you get an 80gig PS3, Dualshock3 controller, MGS4 ($60 game) plus free pain download, BD player, free online play, and wifi built in. You are right about the mic, but any BT/USB headset works and most people have one or the other laying around. If not you can pick one up for like $10.

For a similar Xbox system you would pay $399 for the elite system. This would get you a larger hard drive 120 gig and an HDMI cable. Then to keep things even controller wise you would need the play and charge kit $20.00. The wireless network adapter would be another $90. Then the Xbox live which is like another $45 a year. Add that up and the total price for a similar system would be around $520. Now you do get a larger hard drive, headset, and HDMI cable. You could buy the headset and HDMI for $20 making the price almost equal again. So the only thing different is the hard drive size, Oh and the fact the PS3 is a Blu ray player.

If the math isn't enough to swing people to the PS3 side the ~60% 360 failure rate is usually enough. I have had 2 360's die and only have one friend who still has his original 360. Everyone else has returned at least one for various reasons.

[mightypen]

Originally Posted by Tai95

Well I'm a new guy here, but I have had this talk with many of my friends.
The numbers you used could have been an argument before the MGS4 bundle was released.

Now for $499 you get an 80gig PS3, Dualshock3 controller, MGS4 ($60 game) plus free pain download, BD player, free online play, and wifi built in. You are right about the mic, but any BT/USB headset works and most people have one or the other laying around. If not you can pick one up for like $10.

For a similar Xbox system you would pay $399 for the elite system. This would get you a larger hard drive 120 gig and an HDMI cable. Then to keep things even controller wise you would need the play and charge kit $20.00. The wireless network adapter would be another $90. Then the Xbox live which is like another $45 a year. Add that up and the total price for a similar system would be around $520. Now you do get a larger hard drive, headset, and HDMI cable. You could buy the headset and HDMI for $20 making the price almost equal again. So the only thing different is the hard drive size, Oh and the fact the PS3 is a Blu ray player.

If the math isn't enough to swing people to the PS3 side the ~60% 360 failure rate is usually enough. I have had 2 360's die and only have one friend who still has his original 360. Everyone else has returned at least one for various reasons.

Anytime you have an argument that calls for adding components together for a comparison, you can also make the contrary argument about subtracting them. Ie-why should I pay 100 bucks more for a system with wifi and blu ray which I don't want or need? Not everyone wants or needs those things.

[allstar780]

the point of the comparison is just that, to compare. it would not really be a fair comparison if you didnt add the price of accessories because 85% of people will add on some/most/all accessories listed and thats unavoidable.