It's a well-known fact that the big three console manufacturers - Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft - all want your money. Once you fork out a few hundred notes for a console, they have you in their mighty grip, and bleed you dry with their capitalist agendas. In some cases, this can be as much as £300 over the next five years, not including essentials they don't include with the console. It's similar to hidden bank charges, except Watchdog's Nicky Campbell won't be fighting your corner - he'll be kicking your a*se at Halo instead.

Before we begin tearing apart consoles for their economic crimes, the SKUs (Stock-keeping Unit) tested are the standard ones - the basic Wii bundle (with Wii Sports), the 60GB Premium Xbox 360 package, and the latest 80GB PlayStation 3 with DualShock. Prices are the RRP, but you can knock off a few quid here and there if you shop around.


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Electricity Costs
Like any appliance, consoles will use up different amounts of power, and the difference between them is staggering. The Wii, the simpleton of the bunch, will use up to ten times less power than its high-definition competitors, with the PS3 requiring the most electricity. They weren't messing around when they said this is the most powerful generation yet. Nuclear power station peripherals are yet to be confirmed.

Wii - 12.41 kWh - £1.98 a year
Xbox 360 - 120.45 kWh - £19.21 a year
PS3 - 204.40 kWh - £32.60 a year

The Wii is hands down the cheapest, but the PS3 will make those energy price rises your worst nightmare. Figures are based on playing a game from a disc (standby and movie playback differ) for two hours per day for a year. (Figures obtained from sust-it.net.)


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Controllers
You'll be screwed without them, and charitably each console comes boxed with one. If you want to play with your mates then your wallet will have to take a gut punch, and in the case of recharging them, selling its kidney on the wallet black market.


PS3 - Technically there are no added extras, however early adopters missed out on the now-standard rumbling DualShock 3. This will set you back £40.
Wii - Comes with a Wii remote and Nunchuk, however an additional remote costs £30, and Nunchuk £15. That's £45 for one additional control set.
Xbox 360 - There is no rechargeable option out of the box - a Play & Charge kit retails for £15, and additional wireless controllers are £30 a pop. That's £60 for two charge kits and an extra wireless pad. However you can save by getting a Wired controller for £25.

The PS3 is hands down the cheapest, however the others differ according to what you buy. Getting the full set for both - Nunchuks (Wii) and wireless with recharge packs (Xbox) - makes the 360 £15 more expensive. On the other hand you don’t need a Nunchuk for most Wii games, and you can just use cheap rechargeable batteries or wired controllers for your 360.


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Television Cables
Confusion sets in at this point, where many gamers are left stranded behind their television, adopting the foetal position and shaking in bewilderment. All consoles come with connection cables, but the quality varies immensely, even between standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD). From plain awful to crystal clear the cables rank composite (SD), RGB (SD), component (SD / HD), and HDMI (HD). Considering there are more HD sets than before, cables are as vital as anything else on this list.


Xbox 360 - Comes with component for HD out of the box, also doubling up as composite cables for those with normal tellies. While there are better SD and HD options, these options will do you just fine.
Wii - Comes with a composite cable. While it looks bad, on a standard definition set it is passable, but you should get either an RGB or component cable. You need component for the best resolution on HDTV sets. They each cost £20.
PS3 - Just a composite cable; no HD option in the box. Your gorgeous new HD console will look like it's being played back through an '80s VCR. You need a component or HDMI cable, stat. That's £20, thank you very much.

While all three consoles could have better cables, the 360 offers you a near-perfect solution out of the box that gives you decent HD and SD connections. The Wii could do with an upgrade, while the PS3 needs one. What's cheaper, a HDMI cable or cataract surgery? You be the judge.


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Connecting to the internet
If there is one big leap this generation, it's that each console feeds on byte-sized information from the World Wide Web. If you want to get the most from your new pride and joy, you need to connect to the internet.


PS3 - Comes with both Wi-Fi receiver and LAN port for both wireless and wired connections. Perfect.
Wii - Wi-Fi receiver only. If you want to connect via LAN port, you can buy one for £20.
Xbox 360 - Ethernet port only. If you want to get a plug in Wi-Fi