dude this is what you should have done, if no one has said it yet, forgive me if they have... but why did you get a TV without haggling for a console!?!?!?!? I said to my wife last week when we went to buy our new 101cm 1080p tv, "Wife, I'm going to get us a free ps3 with our TV" and not only did I get a free ps3 with the TV but I also got $100 off so I baught a HDMI cable with it, (seeing as though im in Australia and things cost 10x as much over here!)
So now that I have all 3 consoles, yay, (very exciting times) I would have to say... make a list of the things you must have and then the things you can do without and factor that against quality and cost and you will have your decision. I'll tell you my thoughts, they might help :)
* I got a wii because I didnt need HD graphics and was mad for motion controles, zelda and metroid. it also had a very attractive price tag!
Then i realised i really really needed HD graphics!!!!
*I got the 360 because I was waiting for either ms or sony to give me the better deal, and it turned out ms came first with a deal cheaper then the wii so i rushed out the next morning after hearing about it and got it. I'm also swayed towards the 360 because their are some really good game bargains on that system for its older games, which are still reall good!
*I got the ps3 because I knew I could get the salesman to give me one for free with my HD TV. (I got the HD TV for my 360 lol) I would never have baught one on its own because of its insane price vs 360 price. ($300 more in Australia then the 60gig 360 with 3 games) But I needed one for blue ray because its so much better then standard dvd. I was also able to get some really cheap games for it from toys r us.
if your patient and play your cards right HD gaming is much cheaper then the wii! personaly I also feel the ps3 looks better on a bigger screen, especially a 1080p screen. But if your tv is just a 720p then you wont notice any difference at all. But I do like more games on the 360. If your tv is a 50cm or an 80cm running at 720p you could get away with standard dvd upscaling on the 360 but once you start going into the 100cm zone with 1080p you really need a blue ray player or a ps3.
You could get a 360 and a blueray player for the same price as a ps3, just have a look at prices at your local electronics stores. It pays to know your towns gaming shops and what kinds of prices to expect.
In australia-
EB= is great for trading in games you got a good bargain for at another shop because you will only lose like $10, maybe even make a proffit! They arnt the best for finding great deals on games but they usually have very compedative console bundles. Look out for their 2 for $50 sales! Buy your games here if you want to pay full price for them (what I think is over pricing)
Toys R Us= One of the best places to buy games! be patient and check in every couple of weeks, once a month should be ok, or once a fortnight, you can get older games for half the price other places are selling them for and occasionaly they will do "buy one get one free" deals which knock the socks off the copetition. They usually have games $10 under retail value)
Dicksmith= dont bother
Joice mayne = dont bother
harvey norman = only for pc games or clearance stock
Wow sight and sound = They are emerging as a great place to buy games, very compedative. I've noticed them following the sales of other shops to stay compedative so usually anything you could get some where else for a good price you could find it there.
Big shopping centers like Big W and K mart = amazing deals if you are lucky enough to be there at the right time.
These are just the trends I've noticed in my City, other cities might be a little different so other people may have different opinions of these retailers
If at first you don't succeed, you fail
