Artful spin, dodgy claims about rivals, mudslinging and outright lies - either we're in the midst of an election season, or the middle of a videogame-console war. A quick look at The Browser calendar tells us....we're in both!
Sony's latest
whopper, Engadget reports, is that Microsoft's Xbox 360 costs $698, $200 more than Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3. That's something of a headscratcher, considering the retail price of an Xbox is $299, which is $200
less than the $499 PS3. Sony's new math is that to get as many features with the Xbox as you do with the PS3, you have to add an external hard drive, an HD-DVD player, a wireless controller, and an online subscription.
But Sony's new math doesn't add up, Engadget points out. For one thing, none of those extras are required to play videogames on an Xbox. And for $399, you can get an Xbox system which includes a hard drive, a wireless controller, and a basic online subscription. Granted, watching high-definition movies will cost you extra, but is that why gamers buy consoles?
Where Sony really crosses the line is when its so-called "fact sheet" claims that Xbox users are "required to buy" these extras. The Browser's question is this: "Required" in what sense? Is Sony still smarting over the fact that Microsoft beat them to a punch -
by a full year - with the Xbox?