On Boxing Day 2006, I bought an Xbox 360 from Future Shop for the unbelievable price of $399 (unbelievable because the exact same kit is now on “sale” for the same price in the same chain. But I digress). But why? I’m not a gamer and I have very little time to spare, so it might seem like a pointless expenditure. Not so. “Next generation” gaming consoles like the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 (PS3) are much more than just gaming consoles; they are entertainment centers in a box – the link that brings all your digital content from your PC to your living room and onto your TV. With one of these sleek boxes hooked up to your TV and your home network, either wired or wireless, you can enjoy all your music, photos and video without having to plant your butt in the office chair.
Out of the box, both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 will link up to your existing network and let you access your photos and music to be displayed on your TV. Until recently, you were only able to play limited video content but that changed this last month with major updates to both consoles and now you are able to stream most video content including DivX and XviD files straight from your PC to your TV. Why is this important you ask? Well, most high quality video content on the web (legal as well as illegal) uses these two compression formats and until now the only way to get these onto your TV would be a complicated home entertainment PC setup or a DVD player that supported DivX. With the new updates, these cumbersome walkarounds are a thing of the past.
In addition, the two boxes support the new HD video formats HD-DVD and Blue-Ray respectively. An Xbox 360 with an HD DVD Player runs you about $600 (CDN) depending on the model and a PS3 goes for $400 (CDN) so if you are looking to buy HD disc players for your fancy new TV, your money is better spent on these gaming boxes than a dedicated player simply because they are cheaper and you get more out of the box.
Both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 are bridging the illusive gap between PC and TV, making digital content more accessible to everyone. They are easy to set up, intuitive to use and relatively cheap. So if your kid wants one for Christmas, you should remember that the term “next-gen gaming console” means that it packs far more than just games and that you’ll probably get as much use out of it as your kids will.
Oh, and did I mention they come with unbreakable parental controls?
Buy an Xbox 360 with an HD DVD Player
Buy a PS3
