Consoles & Shelf Lives?

Hi,

I am looking to buy my son a console for his birthday (not a hand held) & I was just wondering if anyone out there had any advice please?

I don't want to invest in a console & games just to find out they are going to stop making the consoles & games in a few months

Can anyone please advise which is the best affordable console that is likely to be around for a few years and / or give me advise on websites that give you up to date information on this type of thing?

Thanks in advance?

ps3 and xbox 360 will be around for a good while yet, so its a toss up between those two.

Cheers Tomo...Just to ask a bit more, there is a no. of different x box ie x box, 360, pro, elite...what is the difference please?
Thanks

If you go into smyths toystore they sell these and just ask the lads but the more expensive ones usually come with wireless handheld remotes, better screen resolution etc, perhaps a few more games with them etc. I think the PS3 is more popular with the kids but the xbox is cheaper, (just as good in my book), either or!

Hi Nightdude,

i think its just the size of the memory, check this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Box_360

the pro has a 60gb memory while the elite has a 120gb memory.

IMHO which console to get depends on the age of the kid who'll be using it. I got my lads (8 & 7 years old) a second hand PS2 for Christmas. They think it's top and there is a huge back catalogue of games available (used games are very cheap) and they are still releasing games for PS2. If my lads were younger again I'd probably have got a Game Cube or Nintendo 64 bundle on eBay. PS3 & xBox are more suitable for teenagers.

For playing games, they are both similar, but the PS3 is a far superior bit of hardware, with a built in blu ray disc player and a CPU. Can browse the internet etc. Xbox has none of these things, but can play regular DVD's. The Xbox is also very loud when it runs where as the PS3 is almost slient.