Deal or No Deal: Are You Getting the Best Price on that Video Game Console?

When it comes to video game deals, whether it be for consoles, PC hardware, or video game titles, any savings can be a good thing. Or can it? There are times when the difference in the money you save up front will just end up costing you the same or more down the line. Today I break down the anatomy of a good deal and a bad deal from a gaming perspective.

Upon first glance, any deal offering a discounted bundle on an Xbox 360 with Kinect seems great right? Look past the surface and you'll start to see cracks.

A recent deal that's been popping up on retail sites all over the web recently is one offering a 4GB Xbox 360/Kinect bundle. Amazon is even currently offering a $5.99 discount (Yes, that's a whole 2% off!), dropping the bundle price to $294. That's a great price, until you consider that 4GB isn't a whole lot of space. I suppose you could rely on USB devices, but that's just not my cup of tea. That bundle doesn't come with an attached hard-drive. It's actually 4GB of Flash memory space. If you want or need more space to store games, music, movies and the like all in one place, you will need to purchase additional memory.

There are several different options available to you should you choose to purchase a hard-drive to boost the on-board storage of your 4GB 360. Brand new drives will be the most expensive of course. A 120GB drive from the Microsoft Store will cost you $129.99. (So much for that 2% discount huh?) The Slim version isn't any cheaper. Other places like Gamestop, have it for considerably less at $109.99.  If you are looking for less storage to save a few more dollars you can search around for a used drive from reputable retailers. These are usually refurbs that have been tested and certified to work. A used 20GB unit will run somewhere around $29.99, a 60GB drive will cost you about $49.99, and a 120GB one close to $59.99 used.

As mentioned on the official Xbox 360 Forum, purchasing the 250 GB Bundle would be the better value. You get the Kinect, plenty of space, and the ability to use three USB outlets for additional storage and data transfer. For $100 more at $399. In my opinion, it's best to pay a little more up front, to have to avoid paying additional costs down the road. That would effectively negate any perceived savings you got and possibly see you spending more money than if you would have spent a little extra to start.

There are plenty of deals out there. Finding the best one takes time.

There is always the chance as well that sites will offer discounts or Microsoft itself might lower the price on the Kinect Bundle.

As always, follow my tweets on how best to spend your gaming dollar on Twitter @SavingsGCapes. Until next week, when the Crysis 2 review will finally (hopefully) be up, stay geeky my friends.