VIDEO GAMES
Deck the halls with gaming deals
October 10, 2009
Raju Mudhar
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER
Let's be blunt: Thanks to recent price cuts, hardware upgrades and a packed slate of games for Sony's PlayStation 3, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii, there honestly has never been a better time to buy the current generation of video game consoles.
Just as summer is blockbuster season for movies, the leadup to the Christmas holidays has traditionally been the equivalent for video games. This year is no different, with a great collection of games coming out for every console. The new slim configuration for the PS3 has given many PS2 holdouts a real, economical reason to upgrade. The Xbox 360, which backed the wrong horse in the high-definition standard war – it chose the doomed HD-DVD format, as opposed to winner Blu-ray – has announced a new service for streaming HD movies to your TV, and even the Wii, which has been a runaway success since its launch, recently announced a price cut to keep its sales momentum going.
After years of spectacular growth, video game sales have actually experienced a bit of dip so far in 2009 – as any economist will tell you, year after year of double-digit growth just isn't sustainable. So, to ratchet things up for the make-it-or-break-it holiday season, the big players are lowering prices across the board.
In truth, the big players also seem to be tiring of the massive holiday game glut, and are starting to launch some A-list titles throughout the year, such as the awesome Batman: Arkham Asylum, which came out in August. In fact, plenty of games expected for this holiday season have been delayed – Capcom's Dark Void, for example, reportedly requires a little more work, while others probably feared being buried in the coming onslaught. All this means that there will be a bunch of "AAA" games (industry parlance for big-budget, important titles) waiting in the wings early next year, hoping to build on what should still be an extremely exciting holiday season.
Toronto Star