Spendy Gifts: Microsoft Xbox 360 (Instead of a Playstation 3)

There are two new videogame consoles available this Christmas…in theory. The Sony Playstation 3 is going to ship in such limited supply that finding one will be a labor of much frustration. In fact, we can’t in good conscience suggest you ask your loved ones for PS3—it’s too expensive, there aren’t very many games, and it’ll be a pain for them to get a hold of one.

The Nintendo Wii will be slightly less difficult to track down, but the initial shipments are already depleted. It’s relatively cheap, though, at just $250. It also has plenty of Christmas morning novelty; it’ll be a blast to gather ’round the TV and learn to play the virtual reality-like games with the family.

The Xbox 360 has great graphics, a fledgling HDTV download service, industry-leading online play, and a full year head start which has afforded it a sizable library of great games.

Dethroner suggests both the Wii and the Xbox 360, but since we’d like to narrow it down to just one console suggestion, we easily select the Xbox 360 Platinum Edition for $400. It will have everything necessary to start playing right out of the box, although you’ll want to add a game or two, as well. We suggest Gears of War and Dead Rising.

There may be other accessories that would go well with the Xbox 360, but that will certainly get a man gaming right out of the box. (If we were going to suggest anything, we’d suggest you pick up an extra controller.)