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Since my purchase of the fantastic Xbox360 I have been searching for the perfect site with the perfect prices and the perfect delivery package to buy my games from online.

In this post I will be comparing three sites that I have found.

For this comparison I will be looking at three main criteria: Cost of game, delivery package (incl. cost) and variety of available games.

The Websites:
digitalplanet.co.za - This site is not exclusively about gaming. You can buy various other products and software. This sort of broad service always puts me off. The site is manageable enough for me not to feel lost.

You are able to search through the Xbox games by price tag (R0-R99, R99-R199 etc etc), alphabetically and by page. Nice and easy.

Take2.co.za - The great thing about this site is that I’ve actually tried and tested it. And it works. On top of that their game-filtering system, or search facilities are great.

You are able to search within the specified list of games and filter the search. Filters include asking for what’s in stock, sold out, pre-order, local, international and more. You can then sort your filters alphabetically and a variety of other ways. Very handy if you know what you are looking for.

Edreams.co.za - This site has done a lot of promotion on Facebook with banner ads and in fact that is how I found this site. That immediately, for some reason, puts me off. Although I have friends who swear by this site in spite of a couple of late deliveries. This is definitely the most visually appealing of all three sites and is probably the easiest to navigate. Edreams also sells various other products which as I have said, I don’t like (although I can’t imagine there is a lot of money is an exclusive Xbox or Gaming website).

Cost of games:
I will be looking at 5 games and comparing their prices across the three sites. The reason for 5 games is that I wanted to look at the most recent (pre-order) games as well as older more classic games.

The games and their prices:
Tiger woods ‘08

Digital Planet: R 421.20
Take 2: R 453
Edreams: R441

Cheapest: Digital Planet

Tony Hawk Project 8

Digital Planet: R 336
Take 2: R 361
Edreams: R274

Cheapest: Edreams

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

Digital Planet: R 513.63
Take 2: R 538
Edreams: Not on sale

Cheapest: Digital Planet

Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis

Digital Planet: R 250.80
Take 2: R 270
Edreams: R137

Cheapest: Edreams

Call of Duty 2

Digital Planet: R 237.60
Take 2: R 256
Edreams: R260

Cheapest: Digital Planet

OVERALL CHEAPEST WEBSITE: Digital Planet

There could be a better mix of games but this is what I have chosen.

Delivery Package:

Digital Planet: Delivery fees range from R30 to R250

From their site:

Currently we have a few delivery options. The delivery price is dependant on the size and weight of your product. Delivery fees range from R30 to R250. Please call our call centre on 0860 245 000 for any queries.

Take 2: Shipping to South Africa only - R29

From their site:

Deliveries to towns outside of the major Metropolitan Areas ( Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Durban, Pietermaritzburg, East London, Port Elizabeth, George, Nelspruit and Pietersburg) will be done by means of Speedservices Couriers. It will therefore be delivered to the post office where you have a post office box or private bag. If you only have a street address, it will be delivered to the nearest post office. We will notify you by email as soon as your order has shipped and your Speedservices tracking number will also be provided. In most cases the items will be delivered to your post office within 24 hours of despatch.

Edreams:

From their site: Calculated by weight

From their site:

All our shipping rates are calculated according to the total weight of your parcel and destination of delivery.

Variety of games:

From the review above it seems as though the only site that is lacking in games when I searched for them was Edreams. The others seem to have availability on most games available and Take 2 will even source and deliver from overseas distributors at a cost.

The end result:

Overall I like the results that Digital planet have presented. I suppose it really is a matter of choice and experience with each individual site. So if you have experience with any of them please let me know!

I am going to be trying out all three sites over the next while and will update as I do. For now, make your choice and get gaming.

I recently purchased an Xbox360. I deserved it. I worked hard for it and I didn’t need it.

Buying something that you want is always more rewarding than buying something you need. I need some new clothes - I’m tired of losing the office fashion show - and I need to get myself mobile internet of some kind. These things can wait. I WANTED AN XBOX360! So I got one. Simple.

My tip to make you feel good today: Go and buy something that you really want. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just make it something you want. Trust me, after the initial guilt settles, you will be the happiest person around even if it is just for one day.

What a laugh, takes me back… kind of.

Watching Sky news and they are previewing the new PS3. It looks amazing. The word on the street is that Americans are queing up outside Toys R Us just to PRE-order these things. Apparently without a high definition TV owning a PS3 is pointless. High definition basically means looking at a plasma tv, flatron vibe. PS3 is apparently only getting to the UK in March next year.

Interesting stuff. Strange that the Xbox 360 and new Nintendo gamebox have already been released (Xbox 360 has been out for a year), while PS3 is holding out. Personally I would think that this is a mistake, but I don’t work for Sony so what do I know. But as a user and Xbox fan I would not purchase an Xbox 306 to only a year later purchase a PS3. Im an Xbox man and think I most probably always will be.