You forgot to include HD cables. Sony touted the PS3 as having "True HD" out of the box with its blu-ray, and they didn't include the HD cables.

The Ps3 also has it's fair share of extra costs and peripherals. Here's a list of the things I've dished out cash for;

Hdmi cable - €50
Bluetooth Logitech headset - €35
Two extra controllers - €100
Bluetooth Logitech keyboard - €35
320GB SATA HDD - €60
Console repairs - €160

Always rational, 100% of the time! Isn't that one of economic's founding assumptions?

What are you doing in New Zealand? You should be at the University of Chicago with Robert Lucas. The ranks of the Rational Expectations and Efficient Market Hypothesis disciples have become rather thin in the last 2 years for some reason. :P

I don't see any negative or positive correlation relating to maths usage really, so perhaps the half of the world that buy Xbox 360s are foolish and the other half which buy PS3s are not? The Wii buyers are just kicking to a trend.

Before someone jumps down my throat, I'd like to emphasize that was not a serious statement.

However, I can't help but point out that your link definitely shows a correlation. Notice how Japan and various continental european countries tend consistently beat out the US, UK, and Australia?

Every gamer is in a different situation. Each gamer should look at what they want to do and make the best decision for themselves. Speculative and optional costs should not be factored into "everyone's" comparison.

Here is my situation:

I wanted 6 consoles, one for every TV I own. I have wired networking through my home, and I wanted a wireless headset, and online gameplay, with lots of hard drive space to buy lots of downloadable games and to add music/videos. So, here's my comparison:

XBox
1 Elite 360 = $399
5 Arcades = $199 x 5 (Don't need extra hard drives because one can be snapped onto any 360 by any brainless chump)
5 HDMI Cables = $20 x 5 (Arcade only comes with basic video)
1 Bluetooth headset = $70
1 XBox Live Subscription = $60
Total Cost = $1,624

PS3
6 PS3 160 Gb = $499 x 6 (Have to buy 160's requires disassembly to move from machine to machine)
1 Blue tooth headset = $50
Total Cost = $3,044

As you can see it is all about perspective and people can make the numbers say what they want when you factor in optional or speculative costs. It is clearly beneficial if you will have more then one console of the same type in your house to buy 360.

As for the article's speculation on RRoD failure.... I have 6 x 360's and have had two failures under warranty in both cases. I have two PS3's and each have failed twice. First under warranty and then afterwards off of warranty costing me $250 each to repair.

Maybe the people in countries with poor mathematics think for themselves more whilst the people who live in countries where they have a good standard for mathematics tend to play 'follow the leader' so therefore because they are more likely to follow trends they automatically get a PS3 without considering the alternatives? I don't know!

Anyway I don't think anyones mentioned rationality for a while, its in one of my text books. But its something I remember from highschool, my teacher was very keen to emphasise that point.

@OP.

The big problem is how come I cant afford a PS3?

You say it's the cheapest console to game on on, and it isn't.

Arcade 360 is £129.99. Cheapest PS3 is £300. You assume everyone wants to be online and you assume everyone wants to be wireless.

Even If you buy the HDD 360, the PS3 does not break even till 1 and half years after owning 360 and Live and buying Wireless adapter. But then you fail to mention PSN is an inferior online system.

The problem is PS3 entry price is WAY to high. Therefore I cant afford it. They would have done better to bring the entry price down. But instead fail to see the benefit of that.

^ You forgot the huge quantity of cut price titles whilst a lot of the major PS3 titles are still full price.

Isn't that a poor comparison seeing how rare it is for someone to purchase a house outright? People do not get paid 10-20 years of their salary in advance, which is why the mortgage is more attractive than saving for 20 years is. In that case it's similar to the PS3's situation on a larger scale. Also you're comparing a fixed payment plan on a house to optional accessories on a gaming console. Not exactly apples and apples.

To poke fun though, a PS3 in a 10 year mortgage with a 30% interest rate back in November 2006 would have cost you about $3.30 monthly. Fuck, I think I'd have taken it.

This is serious ownage...

On the other hand, the OP is oversimplifying the argument.  The PS3 is like a Mercedes: you can't get it for less than $400, but it comes fully loaded.  The 360 is like a GM car: you can choose the Chevy Geo at the low end for $200, if that suits your needs, or you can opt for the Cadillac by getting the Pro, a WiFi adapter, Xbox Live Gold, etc.  I won't argue that the add ons aren't too expensive, but for someone that has little money and is happy without the add ons or online play, the unit is half the cost of the cheapest PS3.  Also, how much does it cost to add the 360's backwards compatibility to a current PS3?  Oh, yeah... no amount of money can buy that.

I don't expect any of the PS3 fans to accept this argument... but at this point in time, I don't care.

Best post in this entire thread.