Most pundits are calling Sony’s Playstation 3 dead in the water. The argument makes sense, in a superficial sort of way. The Wii costs only $250 and the Xbox 360 Arcade costs “only” $200. So people are buying both of those platforms in massive quantities. But it’s the quotes around the Arcade’s 200 dollars where the logic of the argument falls apart.

Sure, Microsoft’s Arcade can be found for $199.99 nearly everywhere. But it lacks a hard drive and a Live account. A 60gb drive with a 3 month Live starter kits costs about $100. Of course you’ll need more than three months of Live, so that’s an additional $36 per year.

So in reality, that “$199” Arcade is really about $336. For one year and three months, then you’ll pay another $36 again. But let’s stick with the $336 price for now.

I know what you’re thinking, that still makes the Arcade about $84 less than the $400 Playstation 3. So the Arcade is still a great value, right?

It all depends on how much you love movies and your favorite shows in true 1080p High Definition. You probably know that the Playstation 3 includes a Blu-ray player, but did you know that it’s considered the best Blu-ray player on the market. It is the standard against which all other Blu-ray players are judged.

Did you also know that the Playstation 3 can run Linux so you can fully surf the web right from your big screen TV?

Did you also know the Playstation 3 automatically upconverts regular DVDs to a near HD experience?

And you can buy all of that for only an additional $84 bucks.

I know there are some Xbox fanboys that are going to argue in the comments that the “Xbox Rulez” and that there are great games exclusive to the Xbox 360. But you know what, those types of fanboys will not be buying the Arcade version. Those guys (and gals) will be buying a higher end version. So this posting has nothing to do with fanboys. Heck, even the Playstation 3 fanboys will not be buying the $400 version.

So this posting is not about what platform is the “best.” That’s completely subjective and is something you’ll have to determine yourself. This posting is for people who want value for their living room experience. And between the Playstation 3 and the Arcade, I think Sony wins this round.