Video Game Mania: How Do You Choose Which System to Buy These Days?

With all three major players in the video gaming world releasing their new systems this Christmas season who can decide which one to buy for them. Especially when you know that parents will be shelling out hundreds of bucks for a game system that they know nothing about.

Sony released the most expensive system of the three. The new play station 3 is probably the hottest on the market, but it is the most expensive. There are two different versions of play station 3 that you can buy. There is the more expensive of the two which is 600.00 dollars. And the other which is a hundred dollars cheaper at 500.00. There actually isn't very much difference in the two. The one that is for 600.00 has a little bit more memory than the 500.00 one. It also is a little bigger. That is the only difference in the 2 versions. They both do the same, play the same games and movies, and adapt to any extra things you buy for it. There has been a lot of stories about people waiting in line several days, camping out even to be able to get the new systems. Sony did release a statement saying that there were a shortage on the new play station 3 across the globe.

They had the same problem whenever they released play station 2 back in 2001. That makes it an absolute chaos for all gamers to be able to get the new system that they want. The lines at the stores for people that want these systems around here have gotten way out of control. Here in Kentucky and southern Indiana many of the stores such as Wal-mart and best buy don't orchestrate lines outside for the fans to wait in. People do camp out closest to the door so that they can have a better chance of actually getting a system. But that doesn't even assure them of getting a system. The stores usually only get a shipment of about 40 to 50 systems at a time each day. Thats nothing compared to the couple of hundred people that are always waiting outside for a system. You would think they would have a single file line or something for that but the stores around here don't. Someone finds out the shipment came in and the next thing you know you have a couple hundred people running toward the electronics section of the store.

On the news here they showed police arresting people, other people getting trampled in an attempt to be one of the first there. There are even reports that there has been a lot of people here that have gotten a system and gotten half way home and gotten robbed. Some people for their play station 3 system, and some people getting robbed because someone follows them home from the store where they see that they have that type of money. I personally have not seen anything like it. I would have to say that play station 3 is probably the hottest of any gaming system that either of the companies have ever released.

The fairly new xbox 360 also has two different versions of the system that you can buy. They are fairly cheaper than the play station 3's, but in this case there is a lot bigger difference in the two versions. The more costly of the two versions are 400.00. Making the cheaper of the two for 300.00. Unlike play station 3 these versions are very different. The 300.00 version does have less memory. The important thing about it is this. It doesn't have a hard drive. What does that mean? You can't save your games after playing them. Games are really long these days and take days if not months to complete all the way through. And if you don't have a hard drive then each time you play, if you play the game for 2 hours and turn the game off. Then the next time you play you have to start all over again virtually never being able to conquer the game. Which means if you buy the 300.00 version of xbox 360 then you will also have to buy a 40.00 to 50.00 memory card just to be able to save your games. Another important difference having the hard drive is being able to play games from the original xbox. If it doesn't have that hard drive then you won't be able to play the old regular xbox games. That in itself is reason enough not to buy the 300.00 version. The box 360 is a hot item but it has been out for a year now. When it first came out last year it had all the same problems with long lines and people camping out as the play station 3 does now. But since has cooled off just a little. On walmart.com they even have a coupon to where you can get the 400.00 version for 60.00 cheaper. That I think is a good buy.

The cheapest of the three by price not in quality is Nintendo's new Nintendo's wii. It only has one version and is only 250.00. That is the cheapest of all three systems. The Nintendo wii is a little different then play station 3 and box 360. The other systems have controllers that have to be held with both hands. The new Nintendo wii is held and controlled with one hand. The first system to be able to do so. It has motion sensors that when you're playing for say a golf game. You have to emulate the exact swing that you would if you were playing golf, if you're playing tennis you have to swing it like a tennis racket. I have yet to play this but I hear it is pretty fun. They say that Nintendo products are more for children but adults like to have that kind of fun too. The Mario's series games alone make you feel like your 12 years old again. I'm 28 and my wife makes fun of me for playing games so much but, I don't think I will ever stop. Every since I got my first Atari system in 1985, with the stick men running around and the one dot balls bouncing around all over the place, I've been hooked on playing video games. There is nothing like it. They're fun, they're a great stress reliever, they're challenging, and getting more realistic every day. I can't tell you to choose what kind of new system you want to buy or which to buy for your children for Christmas but, hopefully with the info that I gave you will have a little help.