Episode 33 Part One - Comparing the Prices of the 8th gen consoles as at Holiday 2013

  This post is a mini-post under "Episode 33: Which 8th Generation game console should you buy in 2013?". If you want the full story, read that post before this one. I'm comparing the various price options available for the 8th generation of video game consoles as at the holiday season, 2013.

        The Wii U goes for $299 (48,000 Naira), the PS4 for $399 (64,000 Naira) and the Xbox One for $499 (80,000 Naira). Please note that the Naira values I gave here are only approximate conversions from the dollar prices. If you were to buy these things in Nigeria, be prepared to pay thrice these values. Each console can be purchased in one of various bundle options so let's look at each one, staring with Sony's offering.
        There will be five different PS4 bundles available at lunch. The cheapest bundle ($399) comes with one controller and one game: Killzone 4, but without the Playstation Eye Camera so you won't have access to PS Eye compatible games and apps. There are two slightly more expensive bundles that come two games and one controller. There's a bundle with one game, 2 controllers the Playstation Eye and the most expensive bundle comes with 2 games, 2 controllers and the Eye. If you want the complete package, it would cost you $499, the same price as the Xbox One.

    

The bar with 2 cameras is the Playstation Eye

       There are two Wii U Deluxe sets (the console is black in color and comes with stands for both the console and the Gamepad) and one Basic set (the console is white and has no stands). The Deluxe Set comes with two games: New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U (which is really just some extra stages made for the former game where you play as Luigi instead of Mario). The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker HD Deluxe set comes with a digital version of the Zelda game and a digital version of Hyrule Hystoria, a book filled with artwork and the history of the Legend of Zelda series. The basic bundle goes for the same price but comes with both Nintendo Land and Skylanders Swap Force (and all the accesories required to play this particular game). This model only has 8Gig of internal storage, while the Deluxe version has 32Gig. While that pales in comparison to the 500Gig storage of both of its competitors, the Wii U accepts external hard drives via USB (and so does the Xbox One) while the PS4 does not.

     

Skylanders requires a lot of peripherals to play

      The Xbox One has only one price point. Whichever bundle you get, the only thing that changes is the game that comes with the console, unless you get the Day One bundle, available only on November 22nd, which comes with a host of bonus features, including a 14-day trial of Xbox Live Gold (online service subscription). The Xbox One comes with Kinect 2.0 by the way, which is more powerful than the Playstation Eye, and since EVERY Xbox One has it, the entire Operating System can be controlled through Kinect without ever touching your physical controller. You can go all Tony Stark, switch on your console by saying "Xbox, on!" then navigate to your video service, video game, internet explorer (or any other app) with simple hand gestures. What's more, if you have a smartphone or tablet, you can download the Smartglass app and control your console with that too. All Xbox Ones come with the Xbox One Chat Headset, so you don't have to buy a gaming headset seperately.


Don't click the Pre-Order button. I'm not selling, just stole the pic Mwuhaha!

       One more thing you should know before we conclude on the prices. While the Wii U allows you play games online for free, you'll have to pay a monthly subscription to be able play online on the PS4 and Xbox One. From a price point of view, I think it's safe to say that the Wii U easily wins this. To continue reading the main article, click here. Or any of these to read the comparisons on exclusive games and non-gaming features.