Holiday shoppers this year seem to be looking for two things – cheap and fun, as they scour stores looking for technological gadgets with low prices, yet high entertainment value to raise their spirits.

Such devices are the $250 Wii from Nintendo and the Arcade version of the Microsoft Xbox 360, whose price was recently dropped to $199.99 (in September) to compete with the Wii. The Arcade is now the cheapest of the 6^th generation consoles, and sales went through the roof.

Monday Microsoft reported that sales for the 360 were 25% higher on Black Friday than last year, and it had outsold the Sony Playstation 3 three-to-one.

Today Microsoft boasted it had scored the best sales month ever in Europe in November, as sales rose 124% compared to last year.

''Since the reduction … in September, bringing the entry-level price point for Xbox 360 down to €179.99/£129.99, consumers have responded enthusiastically to the Xbox 360 offering,'' said Chris Lewis, regional vice president for the Xbox division of Microsoft.

''In the current economic conditions, consumers are more cautious than ever and looking for more value for their entertainment spend.''

Sony’s argument could be that its Playstation 3, which costs $399 offers better value due to its larger hard disk, built-in Wi-Fi and its Blu-ray disk drive. On the other hand Sony has started selling its standalone Blu-ray players for as low as $150 in the previous week, so this puts a dent in Sony’s case. On the other hand, value is a rather subjective term, now isn’t it?