PS3 actually costing LESS than a Xbox 360

[vimes]

Apparently; the PS3 is cheaper than the XBOX360 based on simple maths in a comment on Consolevania

The 60GB PS3 is £425 (if I remember correctly they aren’t even releasing the 20 gig version over here). The PS3 comes with built in blu-ray movie playing capabilites. To play high def movies on the 360 you need to buy an add on player which costs £130. WLAN is built into the £425 PS3. Wireless networking for the 360 costs you £55. The PS3 is launching a dedicated free internet service, Playstation Network, which is almost exactly the same as xbox live, minus the huge waste of time that is the achievement system. Xbox live subscription costs £34 a year. £280 + £130 + £55+ £34 = £499. So going by the facts, you get more for you money with the PS3

So, considering that,on one hand, there's nearly no movies for the BluRay but that, on the other, we can't tell how good the games are gonna be based on the line-up

...

...

I think it makes sense. The only question remaining for me is : are all the options mentionned a must have, or not ?

And : have we been wrong the whole time ?

[eljay]

I think it's extremely naive to say the PS3's online network is going to be almost exactly the same as XBL......

[Wrestlevania]

...whereas a less naive - and possibly more truthful - assumption would be to say PS3 online will be like PS2 online, except it'll be built-in form the start and support more titles. And micropayments. And you can get an adapter that allows you to swipe your credit card then and there, beaming your precious credit details across Sony's networks.

I think that last bit's actually quite terrifying.

[vimes]

and possibly more truthful

Possibly? Isn't the Playstation Store already running in the US and in Japan?

[Wrestlevania]

Possibly? Isn't the Playstation Store already running in the US and in Japan?

Yes.

I meant in terms of the quality of the gaming service. Which was "disappointing" (i.e. cheap and rubbish) on PS2.

[Noyb]

So a stock PS3 is cheaper than an xbox 360 with many options that the consumer may not want or need?

Blue Ray or HD-DVD - Not necessary, especially for the significant portion of the market that don't have hd-capable televisions.

Wireless networking - Existing wireless network adaptors (or at least the one I had) work fine with the 360. You can easily find a cheaper 3rd party adapter, use one of your own, or just plug in ethernet (which the Wii oddly doesn't support out of the box).

Xbox Live - The only main difference between the free and paid services is the ability to play online games (and also download some demos earlier, but that's not really important). The downloading, communication, and "achievement" system comes with the free version.

[miffy495]

Well, dumping the HDDVD player, which I don't want or need and isn't something that people will get unless they really want it, the Xbox 360 is comes in at 55 less than the PS3. That's with everything else mentioned left on. Seems ok to me, although Europe is still really getting ripped off.

[n0wak]

I think it makes sense. The only question remaining for me is : are all the options mentionned a must have, or not ?

And : have we been wrong the whole time ?

Ugh. Not this argument again. It's pointless. It's the equivalent to saying that you can get a Mercedes for less than a Honda Civic... if you rice it up.

The fact is, the INITIAL investment is the killer one. Staggering extra features over time doesn't hurt as much. With a 360, you're in to this "next-gen" game at a substantially lower cost. Everything else isn't needed.

And one thing about the Live comparison. Buying a premium 360 or an XBox Live bundle means that you also get the headset. It's STANDARD. Pretty much everyone that has Live has a headset (whether they use it is a different matter). With the PS3, you don't get such universality.

Also. Old, but:

[Marek]

Playstation Network, which is almost exactly the same as xbox live, minus the huge waste of time that is the achievement system.

And that's where I stopped reading.

[DanJW]

Seems ok to me, although Europe is still really getting ripped off.

Europe always gets ripped off

You know how I'm going to solve this moral conundrum? By buying neither a PS3 nor Xbox 360. BOTH are out of my price range.

Take that next gen. I'm saving up for a Wii and thats it. If I win the lottery... then I'll start my own fourth platform just to spice things up.

[vimes]

And that's where I stopped reading.

Come on, you were through most of the stuff!

[LOPcagney]

I think the PS3 is just so much more intimidating because it requires you to buy everything at once. It's a huge gamble. If blu-ray loses the war to be come the DVD's successor, and it's too early to tell, your investment in the PS3 is virtually meaningless, aside from the fact that you can play games which, so far, have reportedly been leaving the majority of the blu-ray disc data-less. From an all-around perspective, it would be safer to buy a 360, pay for the online service (which has always been Microsoft's edge-up on it's competitors quality-wise) and wait to invest in high-definition discs or one kind or another.

[twmac]

Are you getting the HD cables with your PS3s in Europe? The two friends of mine who bught PS3s had to shell out 50 dollars each on (cheap) component cables.