Total Cost of Ownership

[Steve 3.2]

Something that hasn't been discussed much is the 'Total Cost of Ownership' of all the new systems. Today, we evaluate everything from cars to water heaters to determine how much more something will cost us down the road. As such, I think it's only fair to give some thought about how much a video game system may run us over the course of it's lifetime. Anyone care to break them down to come up with some estimates? I've got the ball rolling below: 360: $400 Initial Purchase $40 - Extra Controller $600 - 10 New Games $40 - Charge and Play Kit x 2 $250 - Online Service Over 5 Years Total So Far - $1,330 ($1,080 w/o Live Gold) PS3: $500 Initial Purchase $50 - Extra Controller $600 - 10 New Games Free - Batteries (Included in controllers) Free - Online Service Over 5 Years Total So Far: $1,150 Wii: $250 Initial Purchase $500 - 10 New Games $60 - Extra Controller (You really need both the Wiimote and Nunchuck) $30 - Batteries (Buy rechargeable NiMH) Free - Online Service Over 5 Years Total So Far: $840 So feel free to add whatever else you feel is necessary to own the system over 5 years. (10 games is based upon the attach rate of the last generation of system in the US.)