A lot has been happening on the video game front for me over the past few months. Unfortunately I haven't felt like blogging. I actually started a new blog a few times but canceled it and moved on to surfing other sites. Well, I've got some news. I just got an Xbox 360.

I've had the PS3 since about October 2007 and I love it. I personally consider it the superior system over its rivals the XBOX 360 and Wii. However, it was easy for me to say that since out of the three I didn't own the 360. Let's just forget about the Wii. It doesn't compare.

Now keep in mindthe 360 isstill under the Christmas tree so I haven't tried it out yet, but I'm pretty excited to finally get to try it out. I will truely know if the 360 is a superior system. Now there's at least two categories I'm going to be looking at: game quality and value. I seriously doubt the 360 will edge out the PS3 in the value categorey since the 360 doesn't include wi fi or a bluray drive or a rechargeable controller (what?), which are important to me. However, I'll be able to try out the exclusive games and Live service everyone raves about.

I'll be up front with my biases, I personally believe the 360 has a much larger user base due to its earlier release date. I'm a gamer and I know gamers. The 360 was the first HD system released and people aren't going to wait for a whole year to buy a PS3 at, what was it, $599? Release the PS3 and 360 on the same date at the same price point and I believe the PS3 would have cleaned house with its, from what's being said on the net, superior system capabilities (which we're starting to see with games like Uncharted 2 and Killzone 2), built in wi fi and bluray player.

That being said I'll end phase one of this blog looking at the value since I've yet to play the 360 (but I'm so excited). The Xbox 360 Elite with 120Gb came with one controller and a headset plus I got Lego Batman and Pure. That was $300. I ponied up another $20 for a play and charge kit for the controller, which brings the total to about $320. My PS3 slim (I also have the 60Gb b/c version) also has 120Gb and comes with a rechargeable controller but no headset for a cool $300. So the PS3 costs $20 less and trades the headset for a rechargeable controller, built in wi-fi and a bluray player. Hmm. This is just a no brainer. The Xbox fails in the value category.

I'm not sure why some folks tout 360's Live service as better than the PS3's. I'm not sure if they're referring to number of gamers or reliability or both. I've only played maybe 20 hours of online play with my PS3 and haven't had any issues. You also have to pay a slight charge for Xbox Live so to me that negates any benefit compared to the PS3's online service since Sony doesn't charge for it.

On the other hand the 360 came with two video games and I don't believe the $300 PS3 comes with any games in any reiteration. Mine didn't. I may have read about some package deals online but I have never seen in any Best Buy, Target or Wal-Mart any $300 PS3 come with any games. To me, this is a big deal but I would trade in these games for a bluray drive and built in wi-fi and a rechargeable controller. I think most would too. Lego Batman and Pure? Please...

That being said, this round in my mind goes to the PS3. I think it's clearly a better value when you compare the extra features the PS3 comes with. Yeah a headset is nice, but it's not like a top of the line headset (I bought a Tritton for my PS3). At most you could say the headset cancels out the rechargeable controller. You're still left with the fact that the PS3 has built in wi-fi and a bluray drive. Maybe that's how M$ got there system out so soon. That and a lack of quality control. I hope I don't get the RRoD!

I know, I know. You think I'm biased toward the PS3. Well, I have no reason to be since I now have both systems. Remember, this blog was about perceived value. We'll get to the games and online experience in a few weeks. At the end of the day, I do not believe anyone can argue that the PS3 is not a better value. For the same price you get built in wi-fi and a bluray drive (assuming the headset and rechargeable controller are equal. I am also not counting the two lame games that came with the 360 because I'm not 13 years old). Now, if I could have chosen my two games I'd call the value equal. Two good games compared to bluray and wi-fi? Mmmmm. Sounds pretty equal.