if you're still looking for a cheap(er) wii asda and sainsburys are currently less that £150

CJC

The best way to discover the cheapest deals is with google or on ebay, however, the cheapest deal probably won't be the best deal if you require after sales service or need to claim under warranty.

ASDA are good in that they provide a no-quibble 12 month guarantee of their own - so if the machine goes wrong they will change it for a new one without an inquest into what has gone wrong, and what has caused it - so no delay, and no need to pack and ship the item. When I inquired about an XBOX for my son in July at ASDA, they also told me that when they replace an item under their own guarantee pledge the warranty period of 12 months starts again from the date of replacement, so if the item goes faulty at 10 months, when replaced, you effectively get a 22 month period of warranty - which is unusual and a very good deal.

The XBOX I bought for my son was a replacement for his XBOX that had gone wrong after a couple of years - Microsoft didn't want to know because it wasn't displaying 3 red lights, which is conditional to their requirements for the extension of their standard warranty. So many XBOXes have developed the same fundamental fault that Microsoft have had to admit that their machines were sold with a fundamental design fault. Which involves overheating and warping of the mainboard.

BTW, I tried all of the fixes on sale, and none of them lasted longer than a week or so.

In the event, I bought the replacement XBOX from Amazon because they were known to be shipping XBOXes with the latest "Jasper" mainboard - being Microsoft's latest attempt at producing a machine that doesn't come with built in design faults.

Identifying XBOXes with the latest Jasper boards is tricky because Microsoft have not made it clear on the packaging whether the mainboards are the new ones or not - clearly wanting to shift the old stock.

One way of telling is to look at the power supply pack, as the new ones run at lower wattage. But that means opening the box and breaking the packaging seal, which most companies are not prepared to do. All I can say is that I tried all of the specialist games shops and couldn't find one that would say their XBOXes were of the new type. To their credit, two of the main national chains told me that they knew their machines were not fitted with the Jasper boards.

I'm not up on the Wii, so can't help with details on what to look out for - but, my general advice is not to think that the cheapest deal is the best one. The Wii is relatively low technology, but the way it works is very innovative and they have keyed the software in to fitness etc.

My other son (the serious gamer of the family) has a Playstation 3, which is technically far superior to other games consoles, and has given faultless service over the past 2 years. If you want a reliable machine with superior gameplay technology, I recommend Playstation 3.

If you find a cheap deal, ask about after-sales service, and how that will be provided. Particularly about return shipping charges and repair times. Is the customer helpline an 0870 premium number (many are these days) and hanging on for 20 minutes or more when you are paying premium charges is no joke. Having to pay the cost of returning a faulty item, and then waiting for a couple of months while they repair the item, and possibly arguing over 'who should stand what costs', is also very frustrating - and it does happen to a lot of people. Also ask if the item is an imported product that doesn't come with the usual manufacturer's warranty in the UK - some very cheap deals are of that nature.

Personally, I have found after-sales and customer service at ASDA, TESCO, Amazon, and ARGOS to be excellent.

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If you dont already have one...

they've just cut the price in the US so it may be worth waiting a little.

CJC