Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Game On


Christmas is just around the corner (according to the department stores, at least). And for once you’re looking forward to carols being destroyed by the latest “discovery” on Australian Idol / X Factor/ Australia’s Got Talent (But Not Here).

Why? Because with a bit of luck they’ll drown out the incessant cries of “Can I have an Xbox for Christmas?” you’ve been hearing for the past month.

Actually, it hasn’t been quite that bad. More like “Can I have a...”, followed by “Xbox”, “PS3”, “Wii” or whatever they’ve just played with at a friend’s house.

(It’s just a pity you didn’t know the Wii was actually a game console. The family still teases you about pulling up outside a toilet block when you heard “Can I have a Wii” from the back seat.)

But you’ve done your research (by reading the toy catalogues instead of just hiding them), so you now know what they all are.

You also realise just how expensive they are. (You were hoping they were model numbers, not prices.) There’s no way you can afford all three, so which one do you choose?

You could just buy one and hope for the best. But if it turns out to be the wrong one… well, let’s just say the toilet block teasing will seem trivial in comparison.

Instead, why not try all three (ideally not at once) and see which one your family likes best?

Simply rent a PS3, Xbox 360 Kinect or Wii from Home Appliance Rentals, grab a few games from your nearest Blockbuster, and have the family try it out for a week or two. When you return it, hire out another one, and so on.

And once you’ve tried them all, you can choose the system you like the best (i.e. the one where you got to kick your partner’s butt).