Must Buy Game Console – Microsoft Xbox 360 #DiwaliShoppingSpecial

It's spending season this fortnight, that time of the year when you're most likely to be splurging your money on a gadget. In this series, our team of experts picks the best deal in each category, from entry-level dual-SIMs to superphones, netbooks, ultraportables and luxury laptops. We've spent plenty of time deliberating on our choices, saving you the trouble of poring through a sea of specs sheets, reviews and benchmarks. Today we're gonna tell you why we think the Microsoft Xbox 360 is the most promising video game console to buy. Feel free to debate your choices and suggest alternatives in the comments below.

Overview

Buying a current generation of video game console presents a very limited choice between Sony’s PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. There is also the Nintendo Wii, but it caters to different kind of taste altogether and is not even officially available in India. Between PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, there are a fair bit of proponents who would argue that PS3 is a better choice due to its Blu-ray drive. While this argument may have some merit, we feel that looking purely at the gaming experience, the Xbox 360 comes out on top.

For various reasons — which is a discussion for another time — the Xbox 360 is the first choice among game developers.  This translates into third-party games performing markedly better on the Xbox 360. Microsoft may have gotten off to a patchy start with hardware that had high failure rate; however this problem has been largely addressed by the new model that is currently in the market. Since its release, Microsoft has regularly added new feature to its console with firmware updates; whereas Sony, in knee-jerk reactions to hacking attempts, has consistently removed both hardware and software features from the PlayStation 3. So if you are looking for a game console primarily for gaming, then we recommend going for the Xbox 360. 

 

Specs

Built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi, compatible with b/g/n networks
Xbox LIVE: online multiplayer, Facebook, Twitter
Xbox 360 wireless controller (black)
Ports: USB (three back/two front), Ethernet, HDMI, optical audio out

SKUs

Xbox 360 250GB Console: Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 Headset, Composite A/V cable
Price: Rs. 21,990

Xbox 360 4GB Console: Xbox 360 wireless controller (black)
Price: Rs. 14,990

Xbox 360 4GB Console with Kinect: Kinect sensor, Xbox 360 wireless controller (black), Kinect Adventures game-disc
Price: Rs. 22,990

 

Pros

Good after sales support
Lead platform for most 3rd party game development
Good controller, apart from the D-Pad

 

Cons

Requires payment of subscription fees to play online via Xbox Live

 

Bottomline

So if you are looking for a game console primarily for gaming, then we recommend going for the Xbox 360