Listen to the wisdom of an old fart, I have the basic 360 and it has been running fine for 2 years now. I can't sasy the same for the power brick that came with it as mine died after a year. I bought a new brick off ebay and have had no probs since. My original brick didn't have an earth but the new one does which I think makes a difference, correct me if I'm wrong anyone which I'm sure someone will. It has the largest library of adult orientated games I believe where as the Wii(even though I like it) is aimed at a younger audience and I'm not to sure where the PS3 is going. The only reason I get PS3 is if your after a cheap Blu-Ray otherwise 360. I hope everyones opinion has made that as clear as mud lol. Get the elite version if you can afford it and want it, I got my 360 with a phone deal so that was the only reason it was the basic version and not the elite. While I remeber you can get an add on fan to help keep the 360 cool if you want for about $15-$20.