Cian Hayes

I think it's important to note that he placed the sound meter about an inch from each of the consoles and I doubt many people have played the wii with it right up to their ear so I don't really doubt his numbers (though I think it might raise some questions about the overall value of the test). I haven't got my hands on a wii yet but, to me, it makes sense that the wii would produce more sound than the others when the drive is running, it's smaller so there's less bulk to absord the vibrations and it tends to be positioned on it's thin edge so there's less opertunity for the sound to be absorded by the shelving unit, of course I have no idea how the fans would impact this. Of course we have to presume that the numbers were peaks rather than averages so that reduces the value of the report further.

I think the entire issue is pointless because, as a rational consumer, I'm going to buy the machine which gives me the best value for money. The profit margin of the company does not have any bearing on my decision to purchase a machine, the only issue for me is "Is the price fair and do I feel I am getting good value for my money?".

And actually VC also violates his own "All things are equal" argument because at every turn he is comparing two products which are not equal. Even if it's only colour that is different, that still creates a disparity and some people will be willing to pay extra for the difference.

The real issue here is that Sony and Microsoft make loses on console sales because they could never afford to sell the machines at a profit, I can't remember for sure but I think I heard that the components alone for the PS3 cost over €1000. If Sony were to make a profit on that they'd go bankrupt. €250 is still good value for money for the Wii and kudos to them for producing a reasonably priced machine at a profit.