I'd go less expensive laptop (good enough to handle some decent games) + XBOX360/PS3
He could if he wanted inferior controls and graphics.
p.s. You can always get a mouse, keyboard, external speakers, and external monitor to make your laptop a "desktop".
Why not just get a desktop then.
Also, good luck finding a nice 20"+ monitor on a laptop.
my two computers right now are....
XPS desktop: 2.4 core 2 quad, dual 8800GT 512mb cards in SLI, 4gb ram, 1tb hard drive. 23" 2048x1152 monitor
Macbook Pro (dual booted with XP): 3.2 core 2 duo, 9600M GT 512mb, 4gb ram, 500gb hard drive. 17" 1920x1200 screen
My desktop is almost 3 years old and cost about $800 less. I only got a MBP because my college required it... even though i have yet to seriously use the Mac OS on it.