PS3 or XBox 360?

[Erkki]

I'm thinking of getting either the PS3 or XBox 360. Which would you recommend? On the PS3 I can think of a few exclusives off the top of my head that I'm interested in, mostly upcoming: Heavenly Sword and that upcoming Little Big Planet game, God of War 3. On XBox I can only think of Mass Effect right now, but many of the XBox exclusives seem to end up on PC as well (I think, i'm not that well informed atm?). So another option would be to just wait a bit and play the games on PC later.

Right now I'm most interested in Assassin's Creed and Gears of War, but GameSpot says the latter is better on PC (although the score is lower). And the XBox is cheaper, so everything seems to be pointing to Xbox.

Which one is the better media center, or are they good at that at all?

[Roderick]

It just so happens I'm having a discussion about this with a friend of mine right now. He's extremely hateful of all things Microsoft, so I always end up defending the Xbox. Personally, my view is that at this point, you buy a PS3 because of the future prospects of the machine, whereas the 360 already has a respectable line-up of really good [exclusive] titles. It basically all depends on what you want. The 360 has a stronger catalogue at the moment, with many of the PS3's best games also arriving on the machine. The landscape may change in the coming years, of course, but I'd be surprised if the 360 were marginalised even many years from now.

It's quite true that many of the 360's top sellers will eventually arrive on the PC. So if you've got a buffed PC and you don't mind gaming on it, it's a solid argument against the machine, though you can never be sure of ports of course.

The truth is, it's a difficult thing. The previous generation was easier because the PS2 was so obviously dominant and the Xbox had little of interest (the Cube being in a league of its own, just like the Wii right now). This time around, the 360 currently has the best support of all the development houses and easily rivals [and surpasses] the PS3. Still, I maintain that the PS3 is a future promise, while the 360 is a console that's valid this very moment. I'm certainly going to buy a 360 during the next two months.

[toblix]

I'm very happy with getting a 360. For a long time I saw no reason for getting one, but after all the talk about XBLA and having too much money I got one, and after getting a proper HDTV it's been awesome. I'd say the top reasons for getting one are (in no specific order):

1. Assassin's Creed
   
2. Dead Rising
   
3. Carcassonne
   
4. Switchball
   
5. Splinter Cell: Double Agent

I know two (or three) of these are available on the PS3 too.

To mee the PS3 seems like a quieter and more expensive 360 without XBLA, Dead Rising and Switchball. I dunno. One argument I hear for the PS3 is that it's more powerful than the 360, but to me it seems this potential goes largely unused. I seem to read that differences between the cross-platform games are neglible, so I guess I'd buy it for the potential. And that's what, Little Big Planet (which seems pretty but boring-getting quickly)?

Last edit: I'm uninformed, don't listen to me.

[Noyb]

To be contrary to many gaming forums (and indeed my own opinion since I don't feel like getting a PS3 at the moment, not do I actually know anyone personally with one), here is a list of exclusives that intrigued me.

- MC Escher is in the hizzouse.

Haze - Second Sight and Timesplitters were solid action games. Haze looks to carry that on.

Heavy Rain - Successor to Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy. Was supposed to be multiplatform, but is now funded by Sony.

Everyday Shooter - Top-down shooter with procedurally-generated acoustic guitar soundtrack.

Metal Gear Solid 4 - Self-explanatory.

Honestly, I'm happy with my 360, and don't feel like getting a PS3 at the moment, but there are reasons to want it. I forgot, do you already have a Wii, Erkki?

[Nachimir]

I think Rodi is right on the money. Give it another year and the PS3 will most likely be fantastic, but for now 360 is king.

Sony just halved the cost of dev kits, and maybe that will tempt more developers, but it's not much compared to the full development costs of a game like Assassin's Creed. Things could get "interesting" with so much publisher money flooding toward Wii and DS.

[miffy495]

Actually Noyb, Haze is going to be on PC and 360 as well, and as I'm also a big fan of Timesplitters (and a 360 owner) hooray for that. You're right about Echochrome though. God do I want to try that game out.

Basically, what everyone else has said. I love my 360. The Wii is the biggest draw for company, and games like Metroid and Mario Galaxy come around every now and then to make me play more traditionally games on it, but for the most part when I want to sit down and play a game by myself, 360 is it. The PS3 has a few titles that intrigue me, and I've always maintained that I would eventually get one used after a while for the exclusives, but I just don't see enough right now to warrant the price. The way I see it, you can buy it for potential now, or you can buy it for actual games later. I plan to get a 60GB one off of eBay after christmas, as it'll still be backwards compatible, I should have a bit of disposable income, and they're now about $400 Canadian, which is how much my 360 cost me back when I got it.

If you're just jumping into the generation now though, 360 is definitely the way to do it. Larger, stronger library (including the unsung gems like Earth Defense Force 2017 and Crackdown, which are both personal games of the year so far) and a great online system (XBLA is a godsend, and the Xbox game downloads they'll be starting next month seem cool too) have made me really happy with the system.

For media, you have to remember that you don't get the HD movie player for free with a 360, so if that's what you want, maybe that'll sway you. If you have a Vista PC though, media center will sync up with your 360 automatically if they're hooked together over a LAN. I stream downloaded videos to my TV off my PC quite a bit now using the 360 as my go-between. It's a really nice feature that's good to have. Works with music and photos too, but as my iPod also hooks up through the USB, I don't need to beam the music in through the LAN. I'm not sure if the PS3 has anything comparable to that, as I never looked into it and just discovered that feature when I got my new Vista system and it asked me if I wanted to set it up.

[baconian]

ninja gaiden 2 is 360 exclusive.

free network play on ps3.

Those two things dominate the argument for me, if neither are important to you then I would say neither is the decision.

[Spaff]

The Ps3 is a better, or at least more powerful and better constructed machine in every respect, and comes with all the extras that you have to pay for on the 360 - want a battery charger for those controllers? Built in HD movie playback? What about built in wifi? All in the PS3, but for the 360 that lot sets you back a tidy additional sum.... It's also region free for movies and games, how about that? No more waiting for games..... but that's the problem there are no games for PS3

So, here is my advice:

If you want an HD console to play games on right now, get a 360 - you will enjoy the XBL stuff, the free demos, the little XBL games, and things like Mass Effect, Guitar Hero, Eternal Sonata, Ace Combat 6, Crackdown, Gears of War online Co-op, pft whatever you're into.

That's what I did, I thought the same, that there was only Mass effect, but I've been playing my 360 a ton since buying it a few months ago, and love it far more than my Wii

The PS3 will (probably) have it's time, but it isn't now, and you may find that you are stuck playing remakes of 360 games a year after they come out, or nothing that really excels... at least, for about a year or so. You can watch Blu Ray movies though. and play Lair. woot? no.

If you can only have one, then maybe wait and see what happens, but I doubt the PS3 will become arguably worth owning over a 360 for at least a year, at the moment it's a no brainer.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Some really good points made here and, as a 360 owner, I've got to say that I'm pretty pleased with it. It took a while to find that first great game that made me glad I'd bought it (for me it was Gears of War) and others began to follow (Guitar Hero II, Bioshock, even the XBLA cheapy, Space Giraffe, has turned into one of my favourite games of all time).

With other good stuff on the horizon, I don't feel any desire for a PS3

It's also region free for movies

Hmm? I not sure that Sony, a member of the DVD Consortium, have made the PS3 DVD region free... Does anyone know about this?

[eljay]

It's blu-ray region free.

Also the PS3 does have free demos and small downloadable games on PSN too spaff

[Ben]

Hmm? I not sure that Sony, a member of the DVD Consortium, have made the PS3 DVD region free... Does anyone know about this?

I think Spaff meant for Blu-Rays, which are about 90% region free (certain distributors, I think Disney and Fox are region locked) so most Blu-Rays are playable regardless of the region of the disc or the machine. The DVD player, is still region locked though.

Edit: Beaten to it!

[Spaff]

yes sorry, not DVDs, but we all already have region free DVD players surely? ¬¬

mainly it's the games being region free that is awesome.

it's still not worth owning one yet over the 360 imo, for games.

for other reasons, it is though.

just get both

[toblix]

There's a lot of region free 360 games too, though, right?

[Roderick]

Are there? I can't keep track.

[toblix]

http://forum.xbox-sky.com/xbox360_regional_compatibility_guide/

[Coldkill]

I've got a PS3, had one for a little while now. The range of games available is pretty dismal compared with the X-Box 360 or the Wii but that's going to change at some point in the future if Sony are to be believed.

Heavenly Sword is an awesome game in my opinion. Especially on a HDTV.

Also, here is a comparison of the PS3, X-Box and Wii:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/xbox360_ps3_wii.asp After reading that it wasn't difficult to make up my mind about which one I wanted.

[Spaff]

http://forum.xbox-sky.com/xbox360_regional_compatibility_guide/

What! why did no one inform me of this incredible resource.... grumble grumble i could have imported a bunch of things grumble moan

[Erkki]

Honestly, I'm happy with my 360, and don't feel like getting a PS3 at the moment, but there are reasons to want it. I forgot, do you already have a Wii, Erkki?

Yep, I have a Wii and I'm quite happy with it, mostly. Some of the games have not lived up to what I expected, but some are very good. I hope to see better games on it in the future.

Thanks for your recommendations, I think I'll get the 360 (maybe not immediately). Can't afford both right now, but maybe I'll get the PS3 after a year or so.

[miffy495]

Pretty much exactly what I decided back when I got my 360. Good call, I'd say.

[twmac]

ninja gaiden 2 is 360 exclusive.

free network play on ps3.

Those two things dominate the argument for me, if neither are important to you then I would say neither is the decision.

Fair points, but have you looked at the number of games that actually go online on PS3 in contrast to X360?

Both VF5 and Virtua Tennis 3 are online on 360 and not PS3. This stemming from the fact that the servers are generally run by the developers and yet Sony still has very demanding requirements from the online service.

Microsoft may have the same amount (well more actually) of ridiculous requirements that need to be fulfilled before they will allow the release of the game, but from a developer perspective it will still be cheaper to implement an online component for the console as Microsoft handle the servers themselves.

The advent HOME is, if anything, going to make the online prospects on PS3 for games even worse. That being because I suspect that there will be a whole new set of requirements that the game will have to support before being allowed on the market. A fact which I suspect is why HOME has been delayed, and also why Sony have stopped bragging about supporting 40 players in online matches at once.

In short, Sony are lying through their teeth about so much at the moment that buying the console now when no promises have been fulfilled yet is a fool's errand.

Haze - Delayed

UT3 - Delayed

Stranglehold - temporarily delayed (although I suspect it is due out tomorrow)

The 360 falls apart if you look at it funny, yet somehow it is the better bet of the two.

Go figure.

[n0wak]

I will get a Playstation 3 eventually (honestly, the game I'm most interested is Little Big Planet and maybe the new* WipeOut) but right now the 360 is by far the better bet.

Yeah, you have to pay extra for Live and, yes, a strictly peer-to-peer service has its problems (lack of dedicated servers, possible latency issues) but it is a far more mature and established service than PSN. While everyone was playing CoD4 online on the 360, the PS3 version was having troubles because their servers weren't expecting the load and choked. Besides, a good developer can leverage the system to do a lot of amazing things like with Halo 3. Say what you want about the gameplay, but the matchmaking and stat tracking in that is better than anything else on a console ever. By far. Better than most PC games.

And the problem with betting on the Playstation's "potential" is that it's not a guarantee like it was last generation. Not with the way the console marketshare wars are going.

[elmuerte]

well... almost all good xbox360 games are delayed too, same goes for most PC games, and other software.

everything gets delayed

[twmac]

True, but when you can get simultaneous console/PC releases with Bioshock. Yet Unreal Tournament 3 is out soon on PC and delayed until next year on PS3. Stranglehold is out on both 360 and PC but is taking upwards of a month and half and counting to come out on PS3?

That doesn't inspire me with a lot of confidence as to the designof the PS3 being all that well thought out.

[elmuerte]

True, but when you can get simultaneous console/PC releases with Bioshock. Yet Unreal Tournament 3 is out soon on PC and delayed until next year on PS3. Stranglehold is out on both 360 and PC but is taking upwards of a month and half and counting to come out on PS3?

That doesn't inspire me with a lot of confidence as to the designof the PS3 being all that well thought out.

UT3 for PS3 just went gold. The reason UT3 was delayed for PS3 is because Sony Europe's QA sucks, well, apparently. Also, UT3 for XBox360 has been delayed even more. So that argument doesn't hold up much.

[twmac]

UT3 for PS3 just went gold. The reason UT3 was delayed for PS3 is because Sony Europe's QA sucks, well, apparently. Also, UT3 for XBox360 has been delayed even more. So that argument doesn't hold up much.

Then why is it not due out until next year? Have they managed to get it back on track? Good for them if they have.

Epic Games have a limited console exclusive deal with Sony, the reason the 360 version has been delayed is because Sony have paid for it to not be released on any other console for several months (a similar policy they had with Rockstar when San Andreas was released).

It is usually the other way round in terms of efficiency BTW, Sony America's QA are pretty slack and the European division are total pedants.