Times may be tough but there’s a silver lining to the recession: if fewer people spend, then companies start slashing prices to get rid of all the products they’ve foolishly stockpiled. The result: ultra cheap consoles!
Stash a bit of disposable income aside and you can pick up a Nintendo Wii, an Xbox 360 or a PS3 (or hell, all three) for a bargain, and we’ve got the best of them right here. Save a scoop and get the perfect Christmas prezzie right now.
Nintendo Wii
It’s the craze that’s been sweeping the nation for about two years now with no sign of abating. The price hasn’t dropped much in that time (And Nintendo has said it’s not likely to soon) but stores are chucking in plenty of stuff on the cheap to sweeten the deal.
You can shave twenty quid off the price of Mario Kart by picking up a bundle from Game for £199.99 – and you’ll even get the bargain basement minigame-packed More Game Party in the box too.
If multiplayer really is your thing though, you can get Super Smash Bros. Brawl in there for another £20 from Gamestation.
Sony Playstation 3
It’s the most expensive console on the market, but you have to view it as investment: the PS3 is a home entertainment system in one box, so even at full price you’re getting Blu-ray on the cheap. There’re deals to be had too though.
Comet sells the 80GB premium version for £299, but it also sells it with LittleBigPlanet for er, £299. Can you guess which deal is better?
Alternatively, you can get it with an HDMI cable, a Madcatz controller and Ratchet And Clank for £339. Bargainacious. You’ll need a HDMI cable to enjoy top-notch HD visuals, so if you don’t have one already, it’s a good deal.
Xbox 360
It may be the oldest console of the three, but Microsoft is pulling out all the stops to make it worth your cash, by churning out top game after top game, and drastically reducing the price of the box. The Arcade version (which lacks a hard disk) will set you back just £129.99, but the real bargain is the 60GB model.
At Gamestation you can get it with both Gears Of War games, and Fallout 3 for less than 200 notes, and when you consider that two of those AAA games came out on Friday, that’s probably the biggest saving this side of the Beeb sacking Jonathan Ross. Not into shooters? Get the 60GB model with Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 for £180 instead.
