xBox or PS3? Plus...what to buy?.....etc! - Page 4

Jon Martin · 04-29-2008, 10:28 AM

Ron, thanks for starting this thread!!

I've had a PS2 for years, and rarely play it, except for the GTA games which I love (even though I've yet to be able to finish one. I reach a point where I get stuck and just give up).

With the new game, reading the reviews, I WANT to play it, but don't have a PS3 or 360, so don't know which way to go.

I don't have a Blu Ray player yet, so that is a big option, but there are plenty of other XBOX games out there I've been wanting to play for years (I've never played any of the HALO games).

I'm not big on online playing as I have an ancient DSL setup that, due to the house wiring, shuts down every time the phone rings.

One question, does the XBOX come with a wireless adapter? Reading the ads, I see an adapter for sale that goes for an additional $100. Do I need that?

Adam Gregorich · 04-29-2008, 10:45 AM

Quote:

One question, does the XBOX come with a wireless adapter? Reading the ads, I see an adapter for sale that goes for an additional $100. Do I need that?

There is a wired ethernet port on all XBOX360 models. If you don't have a network jack in the area you can buy some powerline adapters or you can buy the wireless adapter.

Aaron Silverman · 04-29-2008, 05:15 PM

FYI, the current Lightning Deal at Amazon is a blue wireless controller for the 360 for $30 (regular $50). They're going fast. . .

James_Kiang · 04-29-2008, 06:02 PM

While Ron has already made his decision, let me throw in my two cents for Greg. I would whole-heartedly recommend the 360. The newer units have had better reliability and the game library is at this point bigger and more impressive (at least to me). Performance-wise any game that is on both systems will play almost identical on either one.

As has been mentioned, a gold Live membership will cost you between $38-50 (Circuit City has 13 month cards on sale this week for $40 and buy.com sometimes has deals), but the service is solid. One of the main differences I have heard (my PS3 is not connected and I only have 2 games, both with no co-op) is that your friends list is much better integrated with the XBox.

The XBox arcade titles available online typically run between 400 and 800 points with the occasional 1200 pointer. There are some very solid games that are good for when you don't have or don't want to spend a ton of time in a particular game.

Ron, you mentioned that you like fantasy games. There are three out right now to consider: Blue Dragon (a bit on the juvenile side, at least in presentation), Eternal Sonata (in the middle), and Lost Odyssey (definitely a more mature look). Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata have both already been reduced in price ($30 I think), so those may be good ones to get started with.

Ron (and Greg, or anyone else who wants to), if you feel like it, throw me a friend invite. My tag is Tonner Cyn.

Craig S · 04-29-2008, 06:31 PM

I'm coming late to this thread, but I'll throw my two cents in anyway...

I own all three - XBox 360, PS3, Wii. Ron, I think you made the right choice. The XBox 360 is IMO simply the most complete & FUN console experience right now for adult gamers. It's the console I use most. I especially like the Arcade games. They're cheap, download quickly, and provide a quick fix of gaming fun when you don't have time to get into a full-on session of Halo, Bioshock, etc.

Now, what's going to be weird to most here is I haven't really explored the online gaming aspect yet. I am not a very skilled gamer at all, so the whole thing intimidates me a bit. But last week I took the plunge and bought a Gold membership, so I'm ready to put my toe in the water. My gamertag is SeanMorbo, for those who don't mind gaming with a noob.

BTW, on the reliability issue, I've had mine for 2 years now with no problems (knock on wood). I will say I give it PLENTY of ventilation - it sits on top of my equipment rack, out in the open.

As a huge Ratchet & Clank fan, I had to have the PS3 as well.

It doesn't get as much use, but I think it's future is bright. The Home network community which is now in beta (coming next year) looks potentially game-changing. As much as I love the XBox, I think in 2009 and beyond the PS3 could be THE console to own.

Now, I'm off to pick up GTA4!

Greg_S_H · 04-29-2008, 07:37 PM

Thanks, James. I appreciate your testimony. I pretty much made my decision today by buying the 360 version of the GTAIV Special Edition, but I won't open it until I get my system just in case.

I looked on the 360 aisle and found quite a few games I will want. Saint's Row, Crackdown, Dead Rising are the exclusives, and there's also Bully and the upcoming Bionic Commando. As to the latter, the main game looks good, but I'm mainly excited for BC Rearmed. Looks sexy. It's coming for everything, including the PC, but I don't have a PC that would do it justice.

One thing in the PS3's favor was the cover art for the Special Edition. PS3 players get a sexy babe sucking a lollipop, while 360 owners get Niko.

Jari K · 05-04-2008, 04:26 PM

Wow, this was just a thread I was looking for...

I have both PS3 and Nintendo Wii and I´m loving them both (for different reasons).

PS3 is not really a pure "game console" anymore, it´s a "media center" and quality Blu-ray-player. Minor "fan noise" is probably the only gripe that I have with PS3 (and many say that their unit is almost "silent", so...). PS3 lacks analog out (with Blu-ray), but I just recently bought a new HDMI 1.3-receiver, so it´s not an issue for me anymore. Plenty of great games for me also, been quite happy with the overall selection (no time to play *that much* anymore). So very little to complain, when it comes to PS3.

Wii has some inventive, fun and "cute" (

) games and "Mario/Donkey Kong" are Nintendo-exclusives. That´s enough for me, even when it´s using only SD resolution. Just got "Mario Kart Wii", and quite frankly it´s so much fun that I´m still smiling. If you have kids (I don´t have yet, though), Wii is a must. It really makes those kids active and moving, away from the couch.

So no real complains with Wii either (although not sure, that how much longer the console can keep up vs. PS3/Xbox 360 and HD-resolution.. looking good so far, though).

Now to my question(s)/topic: Since I have PS3 and Wii, why not Xbox 360 also? The thing is, that every console has some great "exclusive games" and since my time is limited (no time to "play" like the 15-20 years old), I want to play the selected, "best games" (well, "best" for my taste etc etc of course). I want to play e.g. "Drake´s Fortune". I want to play e.g. "Mario Kart Wii". And I would like to play e.g. "Halo 3". "Playstation" will be always my nr.1 choice when it comes to game consoles, but like I said, not all games are available on PS3...

So, I´m really considering getting also Xbox 360 (and then I could just buy every (console) game I want). Few questions...

1) The differences between "Pro" and "Elite":
Pro = 20gb HD
Elite = 120 gb HD

Do I need that much HD space? What do I gain and how much "content" is available to download?

2) I´ve learned, that it´s best that the console is "falcon" and that you recognize the "falcon"-consoles (at least the Euro-models) for the "175w" (old is "203W") in the side of the box ("box" or the "console", not fully sure?). True? I believe the "failure rates" are lower with falcon-models...

3) Both my PS3 and Wii are wireless (Internet). Can I get Xbox 360 to work wireless?

4) Controllers should be wireless, right?

5) HDMI is in both "Pro" (not originally?) and "Elite", but only "Elite" has HDMI cable in the box?

6) HDMI is "only" 1.2, right? Then again when it comes to gaming, not sure where would you need 1.3 (since games doesn´t have HD audio formats)...

7) Is Xbox 360 "noisy"? Some people say that it´s REAL noisy.. Note, that I don´t plan to watch movies (DVD, nor HD) with it. I have other players for films. ..well, perhaps some movies that I download in the future, not sure...

8) Playing games online costs something every month? This sounds a bit silly (and greedy), considering that PS3/Wii online-gaming is "free".. Again, I don´t play *that much*, so paying some monthly fee regardless doesn´t sound promising...

9) If I don´t play *that much*, is "Elite" "too much" for me? It seems, that the main difference is additional HD space (granted, quite a lot 20gb vs 120gb)..

Thank you very much for the time and take this as a positive list of questions to the Xbox 360-fans out there. Since I don´t know the console that well, I would appreciate some feedback. Since e.g. "Elite" is not that cheap ("Arcade" model is out of the question), I would like to be sure.

Adam Gregorich · 05-04-2008, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Do I need that much HD space? What do I gain and how much "content" is available to download?

It all depends. XBox Live has all sorts of things to download: movies, expansion packs, demos, classic arcade games, etc. If you aren't planning on downloading movies I think you would be fine with a 20 gig HD. OS and other stuff takes up about 10 gig, leaving you about 10. Each demo is about 1 gig and some expansion packs average around 400MB. Arcade games aren't that big. I find thatif space is getting tight I delete a few demos that I don't play anymore. I have an elite and a pro and since I don't download movies I find the 20gig works for me.

Quote:

I´ve learned, that it´s best that the console is "falcon" and that you recognize the "falcon"-consoles (at least the Euro-models) for the "175w" (old is "203W") in the side of the box ("box" or the "console", not fully sure?). True? I believe the "failure rates" are lower with falcon-models...

Not sure that they have been out long enough to know. Any new console that isn't a falcon did have modifications made to reduce the chance of failure. Since it will be under warranty and you can play Mario Cart while it's being repaired (if it dies) I wouldn't worry about this too much.

Quote:

Both my PS3 and Wii are wireless (Internet). Can I get Xbox 360 to work wireless?

Yes, but it requires purchasing a wireless adapter. I think retail is close to $100, but you can probably find them a lot cheaper on Ebay. There is a wired Ethernet port.

Quote:

Controllers should be wireless, right?

Here in the US all controllers that are bundled with systems are wireless--not sure about Europe. Additional wired and wireless controllers are available. Wireless controllers take AA batteries that actually last a long time. You can buy battery packs that can charge either through a cable (like the PS3) or on a table-top charger. Either way the batteries are removable.

Quote:

HDMI is in both "Pro" (not originally?) and "Elite", but only "Elite" has HDMI cable in the box?

Here in the US all three models are now shipping with HDMI (although you could find some arcade models on the shelf w/o it). Only the Elite comes with the cable in the box.

Quote:

HDMI is "only" 1.2, right? Then again when it comes to gaming, not sure where would you need 1.3 (since games doesn´t have HD audio formats)...

Correct, but like you said it doesn't really matter.

Quote:

Is Xbox 360 "noisy"? Some people say that it´s REAL noisy.. Note, that I don´t plan to watch movies (DVD, nor HD) with it. I have other players for films. ..well, perhaps some movies that I download in the future, not sure...

I have mine built into a rack. I notice it when I first turn it on and it spins up, but once you start playing the game I don't notice it. I don't have a PS3 so I can't compare the noise.

Quote:

Playing games online costs something every month? This sounds a bit silly (and greedy), considering that PS3/Wii online-gaming is "free".. Again, I don´t play *that much*, so paying some monthly fee regardless doesn´t sound promising...

You can get monthly, quarterly or an annual XBOX live gold account. There is a big price break for getting the one year one. I think it's $60, but like the wireless adapter it pays to shop around. If you want to go online and download things, I'm pretty sure you can with a silver account and they are free. Can someone else please confirm? I have only had gold.

Quote:

If I don´t play *that much*, is "Elite" "too much" for me? It seems, that the main difference is additional HD space (granted, quite a lot 20gb vs 120gb)..

If you think you will be fine with the 20gb then yes I would look at the pro.