To 360 or to PS3?

[gr4yJ4Y]

I'm having trouble deciding between getting a PS3 and a 360. I was planning on waiting until Resident Evil 5 was out to decide, but I'd really like something I can watch DVD's on in my room since I got the first season of Arrested Devolpment as a late Christmas gift. Maybe others can use my indecisiveness as some kind of guide for if they're trying to decide which console to get. I left out mention of unreleased games to not make things too complicated.

- I think I'm leaning towards PS3 just because of its built in WiFi. If I were to get a 360, I'd have to spend around $40 on a WiFi reciever, and an extra $60 a year if I wanted to play against other people online over Xbox Live. In this sense, the $100 price difference between the 80GB PS3 and the $300 360 are pretty much non-existant, or even favoring the PS3 since I'd be paying $60 every year for Live.

-I like the 360 controller over the PS3's. The fact that the Dual Shock 3 is rechargeable is really nice though (vs. the AA batteries of the 360).

-The PS3 is a lot bulkier than the 360. It'd be a tight squeeze to find a place for it.

-I'm going to be playing these on a standard definition TV. That shouldn't affect anything should it?

-When doing research on which to buy, it stung to learn that the new PS3 models aren't backwards compatible at all. It also hurt to see that Beyond Good & Evil, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, both Otogi games, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, Legacy of Kain: Defiance, ToeJam & Earl III, Crazy Taxi 3, and Gun Valkery aren't on the 360 compatibility list. I only had a Gamecube last-gen, so I was hoping to be able to play a few of those. (I know Beyond Good & Evil is for GC, but it's hard to find at a decent price compared to the Xbox version.) Of course there are a lot of other original Xbox games I'd be interested in, namely Indigo Prophecy, Psychonauts, Halo, Halo 2 (I know most people here aren't fans), Panzer Dragoon Orta, JSRF, Dead or Alive 3, the GTA games, Breakdown, and Silent Hill 4: The Room.

-The PS3 is capable of much better graphics than the 360. Has any game on PS3 really shown far superior graphics yet?

- I've heard that most game for both systems are built for Xbox 360 and ported over to PS3, due to the higher 360 sales. This can cause the PS3 to run games less smoothly, since the devolpers didn't have the PS3's architecture in mind when it was being made.

-Red Ring of Death.

-I heard that for many (maybe even most?) PS3 games, you have to install a large file (over a GB) to play blue ray games. Meanwhile on 360, the only game I've heard of needing to be installed is Soul Calibur IV.

-If I bought a PS3, I couldn't play Gears of War, Gears of War 2, Halo 3, Ninja Gaiden II, Tales of Vesperia, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, Dead or Alive 4, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, Fable 2, or the XLA games.

-If I buy a 360, I give up owning Ratchet & Clank Future, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet, Motor Storm: Pacific Rift, Valkeria Chronicles, Resistance, Resistance 2, and the PSN games.

[Segaholic2]

PS3. It plays Blu-Rays, contains excellent stable hardware, is regularly supported and updated by Sony (more often than the 360), is very quiet and discreet (unlike the 360, which sounds like a passenger jet when running), has lots of excellent features both in software and hardware, and in my opinion has the better game exclusives.

Plus, PSN is free and in my experience much more hassle-free than Xbox Live.

EDIT: Metal Gear Solid 4 looks better than anything on any console to date.

[Senbei]

So, the obvious question is: what kind of games do you like to play? The 360 has expanded nicely from its predecessor's limited library of testosterone-packed FPS's, but the apple still doesn't fall far. The worst bit is how cookie-cutter much of the software is -- Gears is probably the only one worth playing, IMO -- but most of the games are solid fun. The PS3 is home to some more unique, plucky titles that, being an Dreamcast fan, I've preferred, but they're pretty hit-or-miss depending on your tastes.

The thing about the PS3 is that it's not as popular as the 360 and supposedly harder to develop for, so developers that like to make money opt to make their games for the 360 and MAYBE port it to PS3. Much of the PS3's library is an afterthought, which is probably why multi-plat games that look and run fine on 360 are sometimes jaggy and laggy on the PS3.

However, the PS3 is unquestionably a superior piece of hardware and if you want any of its standard features on your 360, you're gonna pay out the ass. The thought of 360 owners paying an extra $100 for the add-on HD movie player before Blu-Ray won still makes me giggle.

The Red Ring isn't so much of a problem anymore. Microsoft has supposedly fixed it on the new consoles and even includes a 3-year warranty specifically for the Ring. What IS a major problem is the circle that your 360 will scratch into the disc in its drive if you bump or move the console, making that disc instantly unusable (I think it will actually continue to work in your 360, just not in others. This is just hearsay I've gathered, so don't quote me.)

I don't have any experience with Live, but I understand that the fee is there for a reason. Yes, PSN is free, but you get what you paid for. The service is excellent in general, with plenty of updates as Holic pointed out, but I know I've experienced a fair amount of trouble actually playing games online. It isn't cripplingly bad, but it might be worth playing $60 a year to solve. Also, I don't think the PSN game selection really compares to XLA's. There's echochrome, flOw, the PixelJunk games ...maybe Pain?... and that's about it except for the downloadable PS1 games, which are admittedly pretty hot if limited in quantity.

And yeah, the game installs on the PS3 are a pain. The worst offender I've experienced is MGS4, with 2-5 minute install times for each of the five chapters of the game.

I've been playing my PS3 on a standard def TV and it's been fine unless I need to read small text. Like, I regret buying the Penny Arcade game on PS3, 'cause it's ALL small text. But I think it's the same for any 360 game designed with high-def in mind, the most famous example being Dead Rising.

Backwards-compatibility: don't even worry about it for the 360. Seriously, just buy an original Xbox. They're only fifty bucks at GameStop and you can probably find them for cheaper elsewhere. There's a very limited number of good games on the original Xbox, and I don't think most of them made it onto the backwards-compatibility list. Also, I understand that GameStop is going to stop carrying Xbox games in February, so if you buy games from them, you might want to get on that ... they'll probably also put a decent discount on them.

If you decide to buy a PS3, just go for the gold and get the old 80GB or the 60GB. Make sure you get the OLD 80GB: the new one is NOT backwards-compatible. You can tell the difference based on the number of USB ports on the front: the new only has 2 where the old has 4 (AND a port for Memory Sticks AND SD cards). It's probably a good idea to get the MGS4 (black, not gun-metal) or Motorstorm bundle.

Oh, another awesome thing is that you can install your own hard drives and even OS's onto a PS3. If you have any Bluetooth stuff it should all be compatible, too.

In summary:
- Library of games: 360
- Most FPS's: 360
- Most unique risk-takers: PS3
- Graphics: Technically PS3, but few developers take advantage of it.
- Most standard features: PS3
- Most features that you have pay a shitload for: 360
- Most unstable: 360
- Free online service: PS3
- Better online marketplace: 360
- Longest install times: PS3
- Better backward-compatibility: The 60 or 80GB PS3 is a must

Based on my personal taste, I would recommend the PS3.

[Senbei]

Crap, I double-posted.

I'll just take the opportunity to mention that most of your friends probably own 360s and owning a PS3 will be a lonely experience.

[Green Gibbon!]

I've got both (actually two of each) and I can't really recommend one over the other. If one console is more powerful, I can't tell. I own equally few games for both - the 360 has much better download content, but Metal Gear and Little Big are better than anything else out right now. I also prefer the PS3's interfaces and general aesthetic. It's the only one of the consoles where charges are made in proper real-world currency (as opposed to monetarily misleading "point" systems) and, at least so far, there's no cornball super deformed avatar system.

I'm still using my original first-run 360 and I've never had any big technical problems with it. On the other hand, my first-run 60gig PS3 stopped reading discs after less than a year, but at this point I buy Sony systems expecting mass hardware failure. It's almost like a jack-in-the-box, "When is this going to blow and how?" It's kind of thrilling.

Both systems are huge. You will need to make a space.

The only thing I would suggest is investing in an HDTV - both consoles are designed for high-def and you're going to be missing alot (blu-ray is completely pointless unless you've got HD) if you have an older TV. That shit's cheaper now than ever. Buy one while the world is still in recession.

[Segaholic2]

I would like to point out that the annual fee for Xbox Live actually gets you nothing, as none of the 360's online games have servers of their own and all online play on the 360 is done via P2P connections with the other players in your game. Most PS3 games have their own servers, and therefore lag is less of an issue.

[Majestic Joey]

I bought a PS3 about a week ago and it has Valkyria Chronicles which is probably the best game I played this year. It's pretty much the only reason I bought the PS3. I also got MGS4 and LBP but I have not started MGS4 yet because I've been to busy play Valkyria.

Also I started playing LBP and honestly I don't think it's as great as everybody says it is. For one I hate having to collect all these useless stickers and objects. then on top of that you have to listen to these super long tutorials on how to use these things and the narrators voice is super annoying.

But Seriously, Valkyria Chronicles to me is like the Mario 64 of PS3.

[P.P.A.]

Valkyria Chronicles is indeed amazing, and thanks to it I fully appreciate having a PS3 now. Even though I wish the lancers wouldn't all be fully drunk and could actually aim properly.
Also I'm watching torrented Code Geass episodes on it using a 1GB USB stick, which is kinda neat.

The Xbox 360 has a lot for it as well, however. It's got more games (even though the libraries of both systems aren't terribly different) and is quite open for communication (MSN, headset included for chats any time), but you have to pay 60€ for online play each year, which is a little too expensive in my opinion. If you do decide to get one, buy Senko no Ronde. It's the best 360 game I have played thus far.

(My PSN is P-P-A and my XBL Gamertag is PPAChao by the way)


Conclusion: Get a PSP. It's got more good games than both consoles combined, a lot of useful features and it's overall the console I have had the most fun with this generation.

[Kogen]

The controller is a big issue for me. The 360 one, while it fails entirely at D-pad, is very good for the average game. I could never enjoy Sony's controller at all, as the d-pad has no edges and the dual-sticks are placed stupidly. I would suggest a 360 over PS3 on that alone, despite PS3's superior hardware and free online service. If you are not into FPS gaming (or if you have a good PC), then XBox Live becomes much less appealing. Once I got my PC, I basically ignored the service and repurchased some of my games on PC instead for better graphics and free online.

I think the biggest issue with PS3 is developers, including Sony, being idiots. Multiplatform games always run worse on PS3, usually with more bugs even, and it has nothing to do with the PS3's hardware. 360 also gets a lot more exclusives and multiplatform PC games, companies like Valve have started to ignore PS3 entirely. XBox Live Arcade is also vastly superior to Playstation Network's games; however, it turned into a casual crossword download service with high prices lately. I do not know what future XBLA has with this kind of Wii-Ware content.

Basically both are bullshte but 360 is cheaper. PS3 has Blueray, 360 has online play/content.

[Oompa Star]

Seeing as I am not a rich white person, and still bitter about the death of the Dreamcast, there are no PS3's in my house. I do have an HDTV in my room, but it is only 19 inches and the resolution will only go as high as 1080i. (Incidentally, mine is the only HDTV in my home, since the rest of my cheap, old fashioned family still has yet to make the jump to HD.) As for Blu-Ray, most people in our economically troubled world would agree that there is no point in buying movies on an expensive format when you can still get them on DVD for about half as much. I rarely use Xbox live to play online multiplayer, instead I mainly use it to download content and post high scores on leaderboards.

I would say get whichever console has the most exclusive games you would be interested in playing.

Also, I understand that GameStop is going to stop carrying Xbox games in February, so if you buy games from them, you might want to get on that ... they'll probably also put a decent discount on them.

Once again, GameStop is ruining childhoods and making the world a dull place to shop for video games.

[Delphine]

Where would you shop for games if GameStop didn't exist? I'm not being sarcastic -- I don't know of any place better besides the locally-run game shop near where I used to live, which is two hours away and not worth the drive.

[Kogen]

Electronics stores, computer stores, game stores, typical 'all-purpose' markets (K-Mart, Walmart, etc), toy stores, video stores/rentals, internet, and ordering through the mail.

[DackAttac]

There's Game Crazy which I've been told is good although a little out of my way personally... I'm more apt to buy games from the Best Buy across the way from my local GameStop, just because GameStop isn't a store. It's an overglorified garage sale. I couldn't get a controller there that wasn't used. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I like my games new, with the manual, scratch-free, in a case with the original artwork so that while on my shelf the spine bears a logo, not the game's title typed in Helvetica. I certainly don't want to put my hands all over some potential leper's old controller.

I think I swore I'd never get a 360 or something like that just because I tried playing Halo and loathed it or something, but when Mirror's Edge came out, I looked at both my options and just felt like the 360's done the most horizontal growth out of the three consoles in its lifetime. (It was technically a Christmas gift, but I also technically paid for a third of it.) You're prone to get more cockery from the strangers you play against on Live, but it's better than it used to be since they subdivided the community into four zones (social, sportsmanlike, g-rated, douchebag pit). And when you're not playing against strangers, like Senbei said, you'll probably have more friends to play against if you get a 360. (But don't take our word for it, you might wanna actually ask your pals what they've got first.)

They're really so similar to each other, a little bit of research should eliminate any chance of buyer's remorse. Between what people have discussed here, what your friends have, what console-exclusive titles tickle your fancy... There's so few differences between the two of them, it's not like trying to decide between a PS3 and Wii.

PS - Wasn't there some thread where we were all swapping gamertags? I can't find it for the life of me, so mine's DackAttac, add me or else.

[Yami CJMErl]

Electronics stores, computer stores, game stores, typical 'all-purpose' markets (K-Mart, Walmart, etc), toy stores, video stores/rentals, internet, and ordering through the mail.

I wouldn't reccommend the "all-purpose" and "toy" stores all that much--when I was shopping for a copy of Chrono Trigger for DS over a week after it came out, Toys 'R Us had sold their ONLY copy and didn't have anymore anywhere, and Wal-Mart and Target didn't even have LISTINGS for it in their computers. I felt so...unclean...having to go into the overly-crowded GameStop just to find a copy.

I would personally recommend Best Buy. They're not perfect, but at least they'll have a decent selection of games there.

[Oompa Star]

I like places that sell games from over 2 console generations ago, of which there are now none of in my area due to GameStop swallowing them up. I now have to rely on eBay and Amazon for my retro fix. GameStop seem to have this unwritten slogan that says out with the old, in with the new, which really bothers me. I also hate buying used games from them due to them covering the cases with stickers and using tacky store-created inserts. Almost every used controller that I have purchased from them was defective in some form. I often have to make up excuses to not subscribe to Game Informer when sales associates persist on trying to force the magazine down my throat. A 10 percent discount on uncleaned, defective trash is not worth it for 12 months of douchebaggery and you can find the latest gaming news and opinions on games that no one cares about for free on the internet.

In short, I just have a untainted loathing for the entire corporation.

[DackAttac]

GameStop seem to have this unwritten slogan that says out with the old, in with the new, which really bothers me.

Oh, it's written. Word is they want all original XBox games out of their stores by next month or so. I can imagine the rest of last gen will follow soon enough.

[Delphine]

Yeah, but aside from Best Buy, none of those places are any friggin good. GameStop usually has what I'm looking for, and I can play it that day and don't have to wait for it to be delivered. And I hate dislike Best Buy even more than I dislike GameStop. I have conversations about games with GS employees. I have conversations about how much I don't want their service plan, really no, really I don't, I swear I don't, just sell me my shit you asshat with BB employees.

PS - Wasn't there some thread where we were all swapping gamertags? I can't find it for the life of me, so mine's DackAttac, add me or else.

Auguris.

[gr4yJ4Y]

If you decide to buy a PS3, just go for the gold and get the old 80GB or the 60GB. Make sure you get the OLD 80GB: the new one is NOT backwards-compatible. You can tell the difference based on the number of USB ports on the front: the new only has 2 where the old has 4 (AND a port for Memory Sticks AND SD cards). It's probably a good idea to get the MGS4 (black, not gun-metal) or Motorstorm bundle.

I didn't consider buying a backwards compatible PS3 because I figured it'd be impossible to find a new one. I don't like to buy used systems (unless they're out of production, can't be found new too easily, and don't cost too much) for the reason GG! mentioned. While PS3's aren't breaking as much as the 360 is getting the red ring or disc scratching (I've witnessed this on 3 separate occasions from 3 different 360's), I think a used system is more likely to break than a new one. I did see a few on ebay at decent prices (around $430 after shipping), but I don't know how much I trust those selling $400+ systems online. I'll have to look at them auction by auction I guess.

Speaking of Game Stops though, I went into one today to see if they had any used 60GB or backwards compatible ones (not really planning on buying one at that second, but just curious). When I asked about it, the guy working there just kinda laughed and walked away, which I think means they don't get them too often. I think the last time I had a gaming conversation with someone who works there, it was a couple weeks after E3 and this guy was telling me about the Super Smash Bros. DS game that was planned to come out before this last Christmas. I think I'd rather just walk in and out with my game than have a conversation with someone who thinks they know better just because of their place of employment. The overturn rate is pretty reflective of a revolving door at those places. It's like they try to hire people who don't have an interest in games. Best Buy usually has better service. It might just be the stores by me though.

Friends: I know more people that own 360's of course. But I do know 3 people with a PS3, one of which doesn't go online with his. But I don't think it's that big of a deal, since I know a lot of people with Wii's and have only actually played with any of them online a couple of times. A couple of guys I grew apart from after high school used to play games on Live religiously, and it wouldn't surprise me if they still do. But I've known other people to subscribe to Live and a year later say it was kind of a waste.

Game-wise, my exclusive killer-apps are Gears of War 1 & 2 and Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise on 360, and LittleBigPlanet and Valkeria Chronicles on PS3. Of those, Valkeria Chronicles would be the one I'd most likely buy (I loved Skies of Arcadia). I don't think I'd really play MGS4 because the story is self-referential to the previous games and I haven't played MGS2 or 3 yet. But I'm nearly positive I wanna get a PS3 now. It's just a matter of whether I get a backward compatible one or not. I'll probably look for a new backward compatible one for a week and if I don't find one, I'll just get a new 80GB without backwards compatibility.

[Green Gibbon!]

I've actually seen the red ring once on my 360 - right after I got it shipped to me here, I plugged it in and the first few times I powered on, I got the red ring, and I thought it was all over. But then I hit the button one last desperate time and it worked like normal and I haven't had any problems since.

Actually, now that I think about it, I've only ever played 3 proper disc-based games on the 360 (the other dozen or so games I have are all downloads from Live), and in all 3 I had occasional problems (I assume due to overheating) where the disc would stop loading and I'd have to reset.


Also, I am still of the opinion that the Dual Shock is the greatest controller ever devised. The 360 controller is good (much better than the original Xbox controller), but the PS3 controller still edges it out. The d-pad sucks, but nobody uses that shit anymore except to toggle menu options, so it's a moot point. (I actually always seem to have trouble pressing down on Xbox d-pads... I think you have to press it harder than the other 3 directions...)

[Xyton]

Xbox gets my vote, but there aren't many games on PS3 that I'd want to play for more than a rental's time, so yeah. Also, not having backwards compatibility is a complete dealbreaker for me, and as stated, finding a new 60GB is hard at best. I will you luck in your quest if that's what you end up going for! ;)

[Senbei]

I'm almost certain that I would be better at Gitaroo Man if I could use an Xbox controller instead of a Dualshock.

[Kogen]

Sony also seems to hate trigger buttons. It is kind of a kick in the balls for driving games.

[Green Gibbon!]

I'm curious to hear some opinions on Infinite Undiscovery, Last Remnant, and Fable II.

Also, Lumines Supernova. It is true that I loves me some Lumines, but I've already bought it twice - is there anything spectacular that would make me want to plunk down another $15 for Supernova?

[Protodude]

Never beat Infinite Undiscovery, but here's my experience with it: Starts out really bad, slowly gets better and better until it gets bearable for the remainder of what I played. I was looking forward to interacting with all my party members and the townspeople, but it's actually kind of an annoyance and a bit obtuse. Battle system's decent. Mind if I ask what those three games you mentioned were? I know one of them must be Mass Effect.

As for buying games I found that Fry's tends to be the best if anyone has one near them. They have a good selection, and plenty of older games at cheap prices. Hell, they had Exit and Beyond Good and Evil for like, $5 new. Some of the new games are even $5-10 cheaper then some places. They even have some semi-obscure stuff long after they're gone from all the other stores (Gitaroo Man, Contact, Nippon Ichi games come to mind).

[Baba O'Riley]

I had the opposite experience from Protodude. I enjoyed it at first, but as time went on, it felt like another Star Ocean retread (after all, this IS a tri-Ace game), but with more of an emphasis on 'live-action' gameplay, which is unfortunate, because the items do not pause the menu, and you have to go out of the town in order to access the IC options. It all feels a bit cumbersome, and while I can appreciate the idea of trying to bring a somewhat new spin to the genre, it ultimately uses ideas that are ham-handedly executed from the JRPGs which it blatantly borrows from.

The plot is also absolutely nothing to write home about. The plot twist(s) are easy to see a mile away. Like anyone who looks identical to another character isn't related and/or (emphasis on and here) a potential replacement character these days. Of course, while I can generally enjoy a well-tread storyline, it adds a touch of dullness to a fairly bland product. I'd say experience it used or on sale, at your own risk.