PS3 or XBox 360

Re: PS3 or XBox 360

I didn't realize the PS3 had these problems. I hope mine does not go belly up as I have the original 60GB and really enjoy it (as a Blu Ray player).

As a gaming machine, I stillprefer the 360. Mine did get the 3OD and after it got repaired by MS, runs better than ever.

I suspect I will be in your shoes as I do want an Xbox with the latest chipset and HDMI so I would look for an Elite with the latest chipset. I don't think the Jasper will be the latest. I thought I read that another will follow.

Re: PS3 or XBox 360

A lot of those bluray drive problems ended up being dirty lenses (which you can clean yourself). IMO, the Xbox is a game system. The PS3 is an entertainment hub (which plays movies, games, etc.). If you want all the latest great games then stick with the Xbox platform (despite it's ring-of-death issues). If you are an occasional gamer who wants a Bluray player then get the PS3.

Re: PS3 or XBox 360

I think both have had their share of problems, but the coverage is overblown. I've had a 360 for a year and a half, use it in a very hot/dusty location and have had no problems. (Well, my son lost a disk when he tried to move it while it was running.) I've also heard that both companies are good with fixing them when they break. I'd choose first by the games you want to play. And then secondly by the media extras. The PS3 gives you a good bluray player, the 360 a good Netflix player.

Re: PS3 or XBox 360

Gary:

Did you know that Microsoft includes three-year coverage for RRoD? That makes the BB extended warranty a little less valuable.

Re: PS3 or XBox 360

I only have a PS3, but that comes down to the fact that the XBox 360 exclusives aren't really interesting to me, whereas the PS3 exclusives are what I really want. If you already have games for the 360 then you might as well get another one.

In terms of media playback, the 360 is obviously limited compared to the PS3. As for Netflix, you should be able to stream in-browser with the PS3 as well as access websites like Hulu that you can't get on the 360. And you don't have to pay for it.

MS is going to lower the price of the Elite this fall and abandon the other models (Arcade and Pro) and the PS3 is going to get the PS3 Slim at a reduced price this fall, also.

The BD drive failure issue is such a minimal problem in comparison to the red ring failures on the Xbox 360 that they aren't even worth comparing. Sony has delivered an exceptional piece of hardware with the PS3. With any consumer electronics products there will be a certain failure rate, but the PS3 is built like an tank and if you do end up buying the machine, I think you'll be extremely happy with build quality.

The red ring problems, on the other hand, have been a nightmare for Microsoft and it's cost them dearly both financially and in reputation for delivering such shoddy hardware. The good news is that the current 360's on store shelves have made great improvements in correcting the problem and offering stable, solid hardware. It's not going to wipe away the issues of the past, but you're much more secure in buying a 360 today than you were two years ago.
Outside of the lack of a Blu-Ray drive, the 360 is every bit as much an "entertainment hub" as the PS3. Both consoles offer playback of movies, games etc. Though I will agree that the PS3 offers a more elegant interface.
Outside of the lack of a Blu-Ray drive, in what way exactly is it limited? The 360 is fully capable of streaming both audio and video via a wide range of codecs including H.264, DIVX, WMV, MP3, WMA and more. The media streaming capabilities of both consoles are utterly comparable and I would say the 360 is the better of the two in tems of handling DIVX files along with its ability to integrate into a Media Center PC.

If Blu-Ray were the only consideration, I would agree with you completely. However, it's a bit specious to say the 360 is limited in its media playback. I say that as someone that has grown extremely fond of the Cross Media Bar for searching through my media library on the PS3 too.
Nope. 

kotaku.com/5303207/that-hulu-that-your-ps3-wont-do

...via an extraordinarily bothersome browser interface and I think that's definitely worth mentioning. The Netflix integration on the 360 is excellent and will be getting an update soon to provide full content browsing and 1080p support.

Link please? Some confirmation of such a rumor would be nice as Microsoft has not announced the discontinuation of the Arcade SKU at all.

Once again, an absolute rumor that as of today holds no truth outside of some fun pictures running around the web. Could it happen? Absolutely and likely but we've no confirmation from Sony proper on the PS3 Slim or a price drop (which *IS* likely to happen before the holiday season).

..and that's what it comes down to. What games are you going to be playing? If the PS3 exclusives are of more interest, then the decision should be pretty clear. If the 360 has the games you want, go for it. I personally have, play and enjoy both!

Edited by Romier S - 7/1/2009 at 05:25 pm GMT
Edited by Romier S - 7/1/2009 at 05:26 pm GMT

In regards to the PS3 and Xbox being media centers, one think I left out is the 360 will support your IPod as a docking station so you can play it through the entertainment system if your 360 is hooked up that way.... PS3 does not.

I suggest waiting, word on the street is the new Xbox 360 suppose to be coming out soon.  Supposedly it's going to be a regular Xbox 360 but with upgrades.  Along with the upgrades, project natal looks very promising too.  I'm guessing the new Xbox 360 will have a blu-ray drive in it. 

By the way, I really wouldn't worry about Xbox 360s failing because they have a three year warranty on them.   Just set it right back if you get a three ring of death.

I think Xbox 360 will soon be on top after project natal is passed, this will blow the stupid Wii out of the water.  Wii doesn't have the power to outdue the Xbox 360, unless they come out with a new system. 

The other systems just don't have the games Xbox 360 has.  Wii just has kids games and the Sony PS3 just doesn't have the game selection.

I'm a big Xbox fan, but I can't agree with what Erik wrote.  Yes, especially since you have a blu-ray player and some 360 games already, I think it is the system to go with.  Yes, I prefer gaming on the 360 as opposed to the PS3 (I only own one PS3 game and I have not even played it; my next will be God of War 3).  But to think the 360 will ever catch up to or pass the Wii is...mistaken.  I do think it could definitely outsell the PS3 unless they do put out a new console (total rumor and not one I believe at this point) and Sony stays committed to the PS3 for as long as they have said.  And just to add - I'm looking forward to Natal!

Good old HTF, the look may change, but the arguments are the same ones from the past 8 years.

My comments about the PS3 vs. the 360 in regards to media was more about blu-ray than anything else.  Everything the 360 does, the PS3 can do.  It might not have Windows Media Center, but TVersity does the trick just fine as well.  Also, I'm pretty sure you can connect an iPod to a PS3 using the USB cable, but even if you can't then you can still use a USB thumb drive, an external HDD, or software like TVersity to achieve the same effect.  You might not be able to watch everything on Hulu, but you still have access to the internet for free with the PS3 and can watch most things on Hulu for free, versus the $50/year XBL subscription cost and the $10/month minimum Netflix membership.  There's also a rumor that Netflix will be coming to the PS3 and Wii in the next year, but I'm not really going to take much stake in that.

Regarding the PS3/360 rumors, it's pretty well known that only Nintendo can keep a secret.  Pictures of Natal and info about the PSP Go! were both leaked months before the official announcements (I'm not talking about the Qore episode with the Go! either).  If there was a rumor about Nintendo releasing the Wii HD in the fall then I would consider that to be suspect, but I think the rumors about Sony/MS are probably true.

Natal looks promising, but Nintendo said they looked at that tech while developing the Wii and went with the current design instead because it worked better.  As Sony pointed out during their E3 presentation, people need to hold something and get feedback in order to enjoy a gaming experience.  If people think the Wii is a gimmick, then Natal is no better.  Also, Natal won't be out for more than a year (which is several years into the 360's lifecycle).  While all Wii games use the Wii remote/nunchuck, only a handful of 360 games will probably use Natal in a serious (read: non-gimmick) way until the next X-Box is released and has Natal as part of it's core system.  There's also no reason that you can't connect a webcam to the Wii and use WiiSpeak to get the same effect, it's mostly the software that's behind the tech than anything else.

And in the end, I still suggested that Gary get another 360.

Eric,

I just happened to come across this post while browsing the forum.  While you are entitled to your opinions, I really don't think that it's necessary for you to use words such as "stupid" and similar when describing a particular product.  There are other ways to get your thoughts across without resorting to using such wording.  You might think that the Wii is "stupid" but I'm sure that a lot of people don't share your opinion.  It is counterproductive to use inflammatory language because no good can come out of it.  On the HTF we pride ourselves on trying to maintain civil discussions about our various passions.  Perhaps because you are new here you might not have realized this, even though we have specific rules to maintain decorum.  There are plenty of gaming sites that use this type of "baiting" language in their posting areas and the results are usually ugly.  You are welcome to discuss whatever you like (within forum guidelines, of course) but please avoid language that might be insulting to some.  This is what we expect from all our members so I'm not just singling you out.

Thank you.

Stick to what you like, I've got all 3 systems (counting the "cute" wii). PS3 shines as a blu-ray player, however I'm still waiting for the killer titles - I've got an original 60gb and most of the game playing on it is PS2 games (upconverted!). Xbox looks pretty but reliability is iffy and it's noisy (at least mine sounds like a jet fighter :))

 I like the PS3 but never had a 360. I have an original 80 gig model which is backward compatible memory card capable and 4 usb ports. My son is not a game Cleaner and it has performed flawlessly for 3 years and counting and we use the Blu Ray player a lot. My friend likes the 360 and I like the PS3. My friend has had 3 X Boxes fail so far with Rings of Death. 

I own a PS3 almost since it's first release.
I've always told myself I would never get an Xbox 360.
I got tired of missing out on all the exclusive games to Xbox.

As of yesterday, I purchased an Xbox360.

I like having both the PS3 and Xbox360.

My first Xbox360 game is Mass Effect!
Very excited.

You're in for a treat -- the first Mass Effect is superb, and mere words cannot describe Mass Effect 2's sheer awesomeness. You're gonna be catching up with the series just in time for the third game, down the road.

John, I also purchased an Xbox 360 for the exclusives awhile back.

My first game on the Xbox was Mass Effect.  It is indeed an excellent title and I hope, and believe, you will thoroughly enjoy it.  I purchased Mass Effect 2, but as of yet have not begun it.  I am currently playing through the Game of the Year edition of Fallout 3; which has been an incredible time sink (in the best possible manner.)

BTW, I would recommend making use of the Install to Hard Drive option to reduce the optical drive access on your Xbox.  You still have to have the game disk loaded (for verification at startup) but after that the game plays from the HD which eliminates the noise from the optical disk drive.

- Walter... 

I'm the opposite.  I only ever wanted a Wii, but I had to buy a system to play GTAIV, and I finally settled on the 360.  Now, I'm on the verge of just having every one of this generation's systems, as God of War 3 is making me get the PS3.  I could have passed on games that looked great like Uncharted 2, but GOW is pulling me in.

Oh, God...Fallout 3...kiss your social life goodbye. Seriously.

Mass Effect 2 is simply incredible, and a definite contender for GOTY, right out of the gate in January. Expectations are now pretty much sky-high for the concluding game of the trilogy, but if anyone can pull it off, BioWare can.



Yeah, you'll definitely want to install as many games as possible to the HDD -- not long ago, I upgraded to the 250 GB model (from my old 20 GB drive), and the difference is like night and day.

Yeah, between Elder Scrolls Oblivion GOY, GTA4, and Fallout 3 GOY, I have at least 3 games I'll probably never finish ha ha.  Time sponges they are.  I'm still madly in love with my PS3.  I thought it blew up in a power surge a month or so ago.  I had it on, power surge, the PS3 shut off and it seemed dead and wouldn't turn back on.  After 5 minutes of me frantically blowing on it, it powered up and has worked fine ever since.  Which is a good thing since I'm still playing some version of ROCK BAND nearly every day.  My 2 nitpicks for the PS3 was how Sony handles DLC since the XBOX gets all the Rock Band Network offerings, but as of this week, the PS3 is starting to get some RBN content so I can scratch that off my list. 

My other nitpick is that it streams files off my laptop that wont play if I plug a hard drive directly to the PS3.  I guess the media server software converts some file types like MKVs on the fly, since the PS3 when I have the drive plugged directly into it shows the files as non-playable or doesn't show them completely.  I can live with it, I just want my cake and eat it too.  

The only other console I considered was a Wii, but with the PS Move coming out, I think I can skip the Wii all together.  I'm keeping my eye out for reviews.

I'm really enjoying the Xbox360.
I'm playing around with the music on Lastfm.

I'm trying out all the demos on marketplace.
Even some demos that the PS3 doesn't offer.

I got a gold membership to take advantage of all the goodies.

I downloaded the classic arcade room(which I'm really liking unlike some other people I have read about)

I installed Mass Effect and Lego Batman onto my HD

I've already made a list of old games and future ones coming out.

And Mass Effect is fantastic!!

I own both the Xbox 360 and a PS3, I use my 360 for almost all my gaming. I like the titles and the online service is more accessible for me.
I use my PS3 almost exclusively for watching movies. But I am sure there are many folks that are the opposite of me.

I have all three.  Pros/Cons of each:

PS3

Pro: 

Some great exclusives which can't be found on any other platform (Little Big Planet, Infamous, God of War, anything Pixeljunk, Fat Princess, etc.)
Online play is free
The PSN store titles are generally affordable and quoted to you in dollars/cents so you know exactly what's being spent
Bluray player.
hard Drive can be easily changed/upgraded at user level with no gimmicks, and very affordable.
Bluetooth means easy access to a range of periphials, especially for mic/headsets.

Con:

 

Unlike the XBOX360, there is a very minimal number of demos and the store seems very limited in comparison.  VERY.
Some exclusives of course will be missed if on other platform (true of all)
Limited title base in comparison.

XBOX360:
 

Pro:
Tons of exclusives thanks to MS's pockets; and if a title is on both PS3 and XBOX360, the XBOX360 version will normally have much easier access to Downloadable content (see: GTA3)
In depth storefront, with community games and small minimal cost items, tons of demos.
Compared to PS3, relatively fast load times per title, the ability in new versions to copy disc to HDD speeds that up.
Direct integration with MS Media Center as an extender, etc.
High profile exclusives

Con:
Most dated of all the generation of hardware, so some functions are simply not viable; MS bet on HD-DVD.. and lost, and has no plans to adopt BD.
Even though they keep redesigning, the thermal control in the units is still wrong.  Which means red ring of death is still not a thing of the past.
Exclusive titles on other platforms.. etc. etc. etc.

Wii:

Pro:

While other consoles are adding motion control, since it's "in the box" on wii, almost all titles have access to it.  Developers for motion control on Sony/XBOX will be appealing to a much more limited audience, because it has to be someone who has both the PS3/XBOX and the add-on, which means fewer games to take advantage of those functions.

Generally light, quick play games which are best played in groups; if you are into large local play, Wii for sheer "fun factor" is a real contender. 

If you're a fan of Guitar Hero, etc. let me make a case here.. I have it on all three platforms (I know), but nothing, on any platform tops GH5 on Wii.  By far, the most fun version of that game, anywhere.. with modes that aren't available anywhere else, and wow does it just work.  I play it and then go back to the PS3 for Rockband and miss it :)

Nintendo First party exclusives.  Don't knock it.  Access to Nintendo's vast library is a huge plus, and for people who are oldschool gamers, it's a chance to go back and find things out of their childhood.  My kids play more "Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past" then any other game I have on any console.

Wii Store is generally affordable with some great titles.

Cons:
 

Online Play is virtually non-existant with few exceptions.
 

Display is NOT HD (480P at top via component)

Storage space in Wii is beyond meager, meaning you may rotate in and out games you have bought using SD cards



I like each of them on their own.  But find what works for you.  I'd say this of the XBOX360/PS3:  If you're getting one, do the right thing and make sure to get the newest revision.  For a PS3, that's a slim.  For an XBOX360, that at this point should be everything on the shelf.  Older units of both all had minor to major issues with stability and lifespan.  Newer versions correct that.

Matt, what is it about the Wii version of GH5 that makes it better than the PS3 and XBox versions?  I played one of the games on Wii (I think it was RB2) but everything else I never got the Wii versions since I already had PS instruments.

That's a great comparison, but you left off one very important Con about the Wii: the sheer amount of garbage on the shelves.  There seems to be hundreds of crappy games flooding the system, so you have to be extra careful to research games and never make an impulse buy.

On a more positive note, the other day I saw Real Heroes: Firefighter at Walmart for $20.  That's one of my absolute favorite Wii games, and I've never seen it in a store before (only for sale online).

The Wii GH5 is, by far, the best version of the game.. it's not even close.  Here's what makes it different:

* Mii Freestyle mode... I'm sorry, but this is awesome.  Just let players jam as their Mii.  Doesn't exist on any other platform.

 

*DSi Band management: Nintendo DS can connect and manage things while you jam out.  It's pretty cool..

But here are the two big reasons:

* It imports even user-created music/tracks off the PC version easy, with minor effort.  That's big.

* Roadie Battle.  This is the best mode in any version of GH, and it is probably one of the most fun local modes.
http://ds.ign.com/articles/101/1010745p1.html

I agree about the issue with shovelware on Wii.. then again, there are lots of big name titles on PS3/XBOX360 with major price tags that suck a---.  Which is why I generally recommend something like Gamefly.  Try it first, then if you like it, keep it.  Or buy it used.  I almost never buy anything without playing it first.  Rare exceptions if I can play the demo before hand or if it's a sequel to one I already own.

 

That does mean spending money, but at least you can launch directly from the SD now.  Get a big enough one (it now supports SDHC), and you should have full access to your library at all times.