I thought you were saying how that the advantage of a console is that it will last 5 years? Remember that?
Well, as an example, Madden 08 is out on the original XBox. So, you can get modern-day games that still run on the original XBox. No real need to upgrade.
Way to contradict yourself. I'll say yea, they are cheap for only XBox -> 360. (Wii doesn't count the actual hardware improvement is minimal). I can't say that it would last longer than it would for a PC though.
I have issues playing modern-day games on my computer. Serious slowdown and lag occurs, and I have to run the games in low graphics. I spent a boltload of money configuring my computer approximately 3-4 years ago. Shame, isn't it?
3-4 years later, the games that run on the XBox still look fantastic. And experience no lag. And on the 360, they're even better.
Oh yea, and if you want to play some old computer game, you can just bust out the old computer and play them. See, you're not playing to old Atari games on the 360 are you? Why talk about DOS games on XP... (Though I thought you highly praised Vista, lol the irony).
You can bust out your old Atari console though, can't ya? And I am willing to wager you could play Atari games on the 360 if you modded it and managed to put the Atari game on media (DVD?) the 360 could read.
You'd seriously rebuild your entire rig every 3-4 years? I'd just upgrade what needed (RAM, video card, processor at times) but if you're gonna go all out, be my guest. That just makes it even more expensive.
I mentioned XP because if I have trouble running DOS games in XP, good luck in Vista. Though System Shock 2 worked out-of-the-box on Vista, and I've had nothing but problems on XP for it... so :|.