THG's Xmas 2002 Holiday Buyer's Guide

Gaming Devices

Xbox Video Game Console

Everything There Is To Know About the Xbox: Technology, Games, Accessories and What's At Stake
$199 US

We chose the Microsoft X-Box as our choice for the Holiday Buyer's Guide. It provides a good mix of titles and value with the current $199 bundle deal.

Of course many are going to disagree with our recommendation of the X-Box over the PS2 and Game Cube, but the reality is that at $199 with the current bundle it does offer great value over the other two systems. It's also fair to say that the Xbox's PC qualities makes it familiar territory for geeks, adding extra value and modding opportunities which may make the manufacturer unhappy, but sure are fun.

With the introduction of many new titles and the addition of X-Box Live, Microsoft seems to have built quite a firm foundation for the X-Box. While it continues to perhaps lag behind the PS2, it does seem as if Microsoft is gaining some ground with the new titles being released. The current $199 bundle features two games, Sega's JSRF-Jet Set Radio Future and SEGA GT 2002, plus the new Controller S. Rumors continue to circulate that Microsoft may in fact drop the price again to $149 by breaking the bundle and leaving off the controller S and the games. In addition we have seen some other bundle deals in places like Sam's Club that include an additional game, plus a memory card, and the DVD playback kit. If you are going to buy the X-Box consider all bundle deals carefully, because depending on the pricing, you may or may not be getting a value.

We do consider the X-Box to be for 14 years or older. Much of the content on the X-Box seems to be targeted at a mature 17 years and up.