@skeeuk, the new 360 elite comes with no HDMI cables

360 no longer comes with an HDMI cable, and many people forget that you have to buy batteries, or a battery recharging system for its controllers....

I think it really doesn't depend on how much you spend but on which console gives you the best quality and features. Ok of course it matters how much you spend but not in this case where all consoles prices are relatively the same.

im almost 100% sure that, that story was updated and corrected, and hdmi cable is included.

if not then thats a farce, as they are so cheap. i dunno why the ps3 also isnt bundled with one in.

I think this generation is really amazing from a price perspective - Wii still at $249 being the obvious one.

But as Im a Xbox fan, this gen is far less humiliating than last gen, where the HDD equipped Xbox had dropped to $149 by this point in last gen.

Instead, think about this: If, like rumour has it, the Pro SKU will be deleted, that leaves the new Elite 120GB as replacer for the $299 (originally $399) priced Pro.

Nov 2005: X360 launched with a HDD SKU $399 'Pro' along with the basic SKU $299 'Arcade'.

And still, in Nov 2009, a whole four years later, it looks like the 'main SKU' - the HDD equipped one - will cost as much as $299. That's only a $100 drop in price in four whole years, which is never before seen in a generation. Same with the Arcade in fact - no rumour yet about a $179 price, so maybe the Arcade will keep costing $199 this Holiday (although I doubt it) - so that's also just a $100 drop in price in four years.

Meanwhile PS3 has dropped from $499/599 to $299 in just three years. And that's the big behemoth of last gen we're talking about.

Yes at this point you all have figured out that I'm comforting myself here, but I'm just saying that even if X360 gets stomped this Christmas, there's reason to be satisfied with this gen. And price wise MS should still have some great potential to drop further.

@ slimebeast, the funny thing is that the PS2 was launched at $300, like the PS1

Yeah. And today is almost three years after the PS3 originally launched. So in reality you could compare PS3 Nov 2009 with Nov 2000 (US/Euro launch of PS2) if you want to get a sense of how long this generation could be. Nine years.

It's not a tough choice at all.

PS3

Best hardware and best software with free online.

PS3 slim

Not when you value blu-ray it isnt ;)