xBox or PS3? Plus...what to buy?.....etc! (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Love to hear these positive posts for the xBox as that is where
I am leaning.

Great to hear about the integration with the PC. Unfortunately,
I have a MAC so I don't see much compatibility there.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

No it isn't. I have the PS3 version. It features some motion-control, but I forget exactly how it works in that game.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Here's a question: I always hear that Live is superior to PSN for online play, but I've never actually been on Live (for that matter, I've never actually played a game online on PSN either). What makes Live better?

Also, is it true that the 360 has no web browser? (Someone mentioned it upthread.)

 

[TonyTone]

Ron--I believe you can purchase an extended warranty directly from MS:

MS Xbox 2-year Service Contract

Note--although the contract/info states "Xbox", it also applies to the 360 (unless things have changed since I bought mine from MS).

Also--any general hardware failures indicated by 3 flashing red lights (aka, RROD) are covered for 3 years:

3-year Warranty for RROD

I bought one for my 1st-gen 360...although back then the extended warranty cost $30 IIRC--it's now $39.90; came in handy when I got the RROD (this was before MS offered to extend the original warranty for RROD-related failures); no muss, no fuss--MS mails you a prepaid shipping box, you ship back bad 360 in said box, roughly a week later you get back a repaired (possibly refurbished) 360.

Re: losing data on hard drive--unless your hard drive experiences a failure, you will most likely be told that you won't need to include the hard drive when returning the 360 back for repairs (if returning under MS warranty)...and even if you were concerned about the possibility of losing saved game data--you can always purchase a 360 memory card for backing up your game data. Obviously the memory card isn't nearly large enough to hold your downloaded content, but as Patrick_S pointed out, you are allowed to re-download any content you already paid for (you have to log in under the XBL Gamertag that was used to download said content).

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Those are the two biggest things to consider.

I think Sony left rumble out of the SixAxis controller because they were being sued over the patent. Now that that's straightened out, they're releasing a rumble version of the SixAxis.

To say that games without vibration are like silent games is totally absurd. I honestly don't miss vibration at all.

 

[TonyTone]

Most of the downloadable games are smaller (in size); whether MS will eventually make available for download games that are currently only sold in stores remains to be seen. XBL does offer many "old-school" arcade games (e.g., Pac-Man, Asteroids, etc.) available for download at reasonable (subjectively speaking) prices (actually, you purchase MS Points which can then be redeemed for purchasing online content).

Another example of making use of the downloadable content feature--dunno if you're into the Karaoke Revolution video game (or karaoke in general), but the 360 version allows you to also purchase additional song titles online...thus adding more playback value to the game. Ditto for Guitar Hero III and Rock Band...

 

[TonyTone]

Whether XBL is better than PSN may be subjective, but at the moment it is the more robust of the two online gaming networks...if only because XBL has been around longer than PSN, meaning that MS has had plenty of time to work out the kinks.

And yes it's true--360 has no web browser (heck, even the Wii offers a web browser--free if you bought a Wii at launch, otherwise you have to pay for it); your guess is as good as mine as to why MS didn't include one in the 360.

 

[Edwin-S]

Regarding the reliablity of XBOX360. I'm presently on my second one. The first one was used only moderately and failed after about a year. The second one is HDMI equipped and presently seems to be working fine; although, it is only a few months old. This new XBOX360 is still as noisy as the old model. Lack of noise is one thing I like about the PS3.

I have heard that the XBOX360 online play is better than the PS3. I haven't tried the XBOX system. I'm not willing to pay for online service. However, I have tried the PS3 online service with WARHAWK. The service seemed to be reliable, but I find online play boring. All you do is run around and get slaughtered. I just find there is no strategy. You can't pause and work out a plan. If you stop for a second to think, you almost invariably get killed. In my case, I prefer solo play. Story mode gaming appeals to me more than aimlessly running around online. Both the PS3 and XBOX360 are capable machines for solo play.

If a person thinks they will spend most of their time online then the XBOX360, presently, sounds like the way to go; although, I think the gap between the two services is going to close. The importance of an online service is not lost on SONY and I expect SONY is going to be putting a lot more resources into developing their service very soon.

The fact of the matter is that, as usual, if your interest is primarily game content then both systems will eventually need to be acquired. There are going to be plenty of games that will only be available on one system or the other.

 

[Edwin-S]

Just to add. PSN also has downloadable games. You can download full featured versions of a lot of games. PSN also allows one to purchase and download older PS games as well. I have downloaded movie trailers, free demos of games, and at least one game from PSN. All have downloaded reliably. There is one thing I like about SONY's PS Network. It's FREE. For me, there is zero online functionality that would make it worthwhile for me to pay MicroSoft 50 dollars a year for.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

The PS3 versions of those games have downloadable songs as well. When Singstar comes out, it will too (I *think* it's a Sony exclusive, but I'm not sure).

The older Karaoke and Guitar Hero games didn't come out on the PS3, only on the PS2, so they have no downloadable songs. I don't know whether they came out for the 360.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I keep hearing things like "Live is more robust" and "Live is more full-featured," but getting specifics is like pulling teeth.

Like Edwin, I like the "PSN is more free" part.

The downloadable 1080P movie trailers (which I assume are available on both platforms) are a nice bonus.

 

[Gary Seven]

It has no web browser. No a big deal since it is a gaming machine.

MS provided a more robust framework that developers can make use of for a variety of types of on-line play and rankings. This provides a more conducive environment to develop interesting types of play, matchmaking and social interaction. The online interface itself is far more polished and easier to navigate.

The PS3 depends on the developer to produce the online play environment. This leads to to more basic presentation since the developer has to produce the framework themselves. So it depends on what is left in the budget for the developer to produce an online product.

As an example to the difference in online play, Virtua Tennis is available for both systems and can be played online only with the Xbox. But lets say that PS3 version could be played online. It is still outmatched since the Xbox version also supports match viewing so you have a vitual TV within the game to watch other matches going on in the Live environment. Project Gotham also has that option. An example of a more robust capability of social interaction.

I should add XBox now integrates with IM. In addition, a headset comes with the online package so in game chats, planning and strategizing is very simple and fun. Virtually, everyone online has a headset. Some games support the video cam as well... used for chats and in game communication. And some games even make use of the headset in the solo games to issue voice recognized commands.

You will need to experience Live and explore the possibilities with a variety of games to appreciate the environment given to you. Fifty bucks a year is a small price to pay for the benefits honed from Live.

 

[Shane D]

20 bucks.

connect360
Nullriver Software : Products : Connect360

works in the system preferences. gives you options to share itunes videos and music, and photos thru iphotos. when you browse to your machine thru the xbox you can even look in your movies folder in your home folder. Apple h64 mp4's work great. I've watched 2 episodes of HD Battlestar and some movie trailers.

Im using it on a 7 year old 1.2ghz g4 tower'


edited to add: true, it wont play protected files.

 

[DaveF]

There are programs that provide media integration between a Mac and the XBox. Unfortunately, none of them can play purchased iTunes songs (ripped, yes. Bought from iTMS, no).

Unless most of your collection is bought from Apple, you might find this a surprisingly useful feature. I have my Tivo connected to my Mac and it's a great music player -- I love it.

 

[Michael_Waters]

Another thing you may want to consider in this is the types of games you play and which systems have which exclusives.

I bought all 3 of the last generation consoles because each one of them had exclusive games that I couldn't get on the others. With Sony you have Gran Turismo, the proper Final Fantasy series, Metal Gear Solid, God of War, and many others. Microsoft has Halo, Gears of War, Bioshock, Forza, Project Gotham Racing, Mystwalker RPGs, most of the good Tecmo/Team Ninja games, and many others.

At the prices they're charging for games and systems right now it's impossible for many of us to buy all 3 right now. I chose the PS3 for blu-ray playback and it carries more of the series that I've played over the years. I would like to buy an X-Box down the road when the prices go down to play some of the great games it has, but for now the PS3 is my system of choice.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I can't think of a stupider or more useless "feature" than being able to watch other people's games online. (Well, I probably could if I tried, but I'd have to work at it.)

Thanks for the info about the gaming framework built into the service. Didn't know about that.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I just went ahead and ordered the xBox.

I will continue to monitor dialogue here as this has been
a highly informative thread.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Question about the downloadable games on the xBox....

Something that is difficult to find on Amazon is card games,
Tetris, etc. Simple stuff.

Are there high resolution versions of these games available
online? What kind of prices do they charge for downloads?

 

[Gary Seven]

Perhaps, but it was an example. However, if you were conducting a tournament of sorts, it would allow you to view how an opponent plays prior to playing them. I know I did that when I played tennis tournaments in real life.

My point being that the online experience in games is far broader than simple deathmatch and the framework allows for the focus to be put on creativity rather than the technology to make the game work online.

 

[Gary Seven]

List of Xbox Live Arcade games - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think its 6.95 for 500 points.

The games are all in HD.