 of people who lined for hours, or even days, for a chance to get a Sony PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii, and actually scored a system you probably thought you were all set. But after a long night, you likely forgot something… or more to the point Sony and Nintendo planned to get a few more dollars from you with stuff that wasn’t in the box. But even then you might not have everything to get the absolute most out of these systems. Here’s a list of a few accessories and peripherals that you’ll want to put on the holiday list.</p>
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Memory – Remember when the old systems each had their own specific memory cards? Well, those days are long gone as the PS3 and Wii have moved to SD for transferring of saved games, downloads and other content. SanDisk has even introduced a line of Wii-branded SD cards, starting at $34.99 for a 512MB card.
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Second Controller – It is standard these days for the systems to ship with only one controller, so if you didn’t pick a second controller already, add it to the holiday list. And for the Wii consider getting the “Wii Classic” controller for those games you might download, especially if you don’t have a GameCube controller.
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Surge Protector – OK, you just dropped $600 on the PS3 and/or $250 on the Wii. Protect that investment with a quality power supply that includes a detected surge protector. Available for as low as $20, this also makes sure you have plenty of outputs too.
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Wii Component Video Cable – the Nintendo Wii supports 480p resolution, and if you have a TV that can display progressive scan then the first upgrade should be a component video cable… but these won’t be available until Dec. 1! This is almost worth waiting in line to buy!
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HDMI cable for the PS3 – likewise if your TV has HDMI inputs then go get an HDMI cable. These cables aren’t cheap, but if you dropped $600 on a system, you should plan to spend another $100 for a quality cable, such as the PureAV line of cables from Belkin.
1080p TV – The PS3 supports 1080p resolution, so there is finally a reason to make the move to a new HD set. With prices below $2,000 for some DLP sets, such as the Samsung 50-inch HL-S5087W. This is a bigger investment than the PS3 and Wii combined, but worth every penny.
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Stuff You Don’t Need
And for every accessory you should think about for your gaming pleasure, there are probably a dozen things that you don’t need:
Console stand – the designers took the time to figure out how you might use the system, so you probably don’t need a second stand from a third-party company.
Travel pack – if you’re taking your console on the go, don’t buy a travel pack. Save your money as you already have a great travel case… it’s called the box it came in!
Universal cleaning cloth – because a rag or towel isn’t good enough?
Wii controller glove – yes, someone took the time to invent a glove for the Wii controller… we don’t know why!
Happy gaming!
WTF? $100 on a HDMI? Are you mad? THEY ARE DIGITAL, extra money makes NO DIFFERENCE, spend $20 and have done with it.
Hmm…u must not have played the wii yet eh? those damn glossy/slippery controllers need a glove for some grip, not as much with the chuck, but i wasnt playin baseball 2 mins and even tho its a little unconfertable/weird, the strap did save me from having to buy my buddie a new controller. im sure those rubber gloves helps a lot! Im sure it would at least help identify which controller is yours.
but come on now, u act like u dont have the faintest idea what they are for!
I agree with Tetsugaku-San… $100 for an HDMI cable is just silly. Best Buy and Circuit City folks will try and sell you on that Monster garbage because they are trying to increase their units per transactions…but really… just get a decent quality hdmi cable for less than half of that and you’ll be fine.
You obviously don’t know what your talking about when You wrote that a cheap HDMI cable is just as good as “Monster Garbage (Monster cable=brand name)”…. Hmmm … You are wrong because those cheap cables do not give you a true quality picture. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR !!!!!! FOR INSTANCE: You’re probably the type of guy that loves to listen to your music on those cheap $.99 headphones to from the dollar store and I only listen to my music on Bose Headphones that cost $700 a pair …. My point is plain and simple “I love and appreciate Quality audio and video equiptment”. Keep in mind, I’m not rich and I’m not a “brand name snob” but I will save my money and buy what works the best as well as what will last a long time…. *remember kids German products = Quality & China products= Junk (LOL)
Jerry. Sorry, but you’re wrong. You shouldn’t insult other people when, technically, they’re correct. Throwing down $60+ for an HDMI cable is for the ignorant masses who don’t know anything but the marketing that they’ve been spoonfed. Third-party clinical tests have shown that “Brand-name” cables are not superior to many other “generic” brands on the market. The only tests in which some of the brand-name manufacturers excelled (due to increased cable shielding) were in wire runs in excess of 50ft. Most people only need 3-10ft HDMI cables. Therefore, in most cases, well-made off-brand cables are just as good as name-brand cables for a fraction of the price.