I would say at this late stage, a PS3 would be a better option. There's no subscription fee like there is with Xbox Live, all of the major online titles are cross platform and Sony has a good history of continuing to support their systems long after the next-generation iteration comes out, while Microsoft....doesn't.
Considering that Sony has already announced no backwards compatibility with any PS3 games or any purchases made on the PlayStation Network when the PlayStation 4 drops this fall, this is a rather dubious recommendation at best. :-|
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WIUHusker, at this point and time, I would either go with the 360 for the online play as you mentioned, or wait until Microsoft announces their new system in June and see what it offers, then pick between the PS4 and Next XBox (whatever it will be called).
But I'd avoid getting a PS3 at this point and time. There's a reason Sony is doing blowout game sales on the PlayStation Network and "Buy 12 get 3 free" offers for PlayStation Plus on the PS3--kinda hard to get people to buy if they know nothing will carry over to the next system, as Sony has already announced.