PS3 or Xbox 360

[holvy83]

Finally about done with my man cave and looking for a new gaming system to compliment the new big screen. Which platform is best? Have had a PS2 and never have played any type of Xbox. The 1 thing that leans me towards PS3 is the blu-ray player. Other than that is there really a difference between the 2? Have had a couple friends tell me that they have had to get their PS3 sent in for repair, is that a common thing?

 

[redblooded]

Finally about done with my man cave and looking for a new gaming system to compliment the new big screen. Which platform is best? Have had a PS2 and never have played any type of Xbox. The 1 thing that leans me towards PS3 is the blu-ray player. Other than that is there really a difference between the 2? Have had a couple friends tell me that they have had to get their PS3 sent in for repair, is that a common thing?

The blue ray player was a bigger selling point when it was new and cost 400 and the stand alone blue ray players were around $1000, now you can find them for under $100 dollars.

 

[Landlord]

PS3. Most objective observers will tell you that the 360 has been waning for a while now, while the PS3 has been surging and getting better and better each year. 360's are far less reliable than PS3's, and now that they're focusing all of their time on Kinect there are barely any new and exciting exclusives going to to that system.

I don't see that there's any real argument for the 360 at this point unless you're a Halo junkie.

 

[VectorVictor]

PS3. Most objective observers will tell you that the 360 has been waning for a while now, while the PS3 has been surging and getting better and better each year. 360's are far less reliable than PS3's, and now that they're focusing all of their time on Kinect there are barely any new and exciting exclusives going to to that system.

I don't see that there's any real argument for the 360 at this point unless you're a Halo junkie.

This is just one person's POV, and a decidedly fanboish one at that. <_<

Look, I own both a PS3 and a 360. Both are great systems, but it depends on your needs as to what you should get.

If you want to predominantly play online, then the 360 is your system. If you haven't procured a Blu-Ray player yet, then get a PS3 to save shelf space.

-Both systems have pay online services (Xbox Live/PlayStation +), and while folks can play games online for free via the PS3, many features (cloud storage, cross-game chat) are going behind the paywall. The endgame for all of this is ultimately online play itself will go behind the paywall.

-3rd party titles (read: not from Microsoft or Sony) tend to be slightly better on the 360, as it's an easier machine to code for. The gap is closing, but it's still there.

-Sony has good 1st party titles (Uncharted, MotorStorm, God of War) and quite a few mediocre ones (Gran Turismo, Resistance, Killzone). Microsoft, while they have been focused on the Kinect, still has strong first party titles: Gears of War, Halo, Alan Wake, and Fable (except 3) are all excellent titles, and the Forza series has dethroned Gran Turismo as *the* driving simulator to own on the market.

-As for the Kinect, it's actually quite fun. Kinect Sports, Dance Central, Children of Eden are all great Kinect titles, and they have great exercise and kids titles (if you need to sell a significant other on your purchase).

-Sony has their version of the motion controls, but it's pretty much what the Wii has. Unfortunately, it seems like the Wii does this better, despite having crapier graphics.

In the end, you won't go wrong with either system. Both of them have their strengths and weaknesses. Just get one and enjoy.

Have had a couple friends tell me that they have had to get their PS3 sent in for repair, is that a common thing?

It's becoming more common with the first generation PS3 units (the ones with the Piano black finish). It's called the 'yellow light of death' or the 'pink screen of death', as you'll get one or the other. The root cause is the early Blu-Ray disk players in the systems are crapping out, and it's happening more and more as the early PS3s age.

Granted, the PS3 problems are not nearly as bad as what the 'Red Ring of Death' on the 360 was back in '06-'08, but both companies have revamped their systems and both are fit for purchase. Again--either way, you'll be fine.

 

[strigori]

PS3. Most objective observers will tell you that the 360 has been waning for a while now, while the PS3 has been surging and getting better and better each year. 360's are far less reliable than PS3's, and now that they're focusing all of their time on Kinect there are barely any new and exciting exclusives going to to that system.

I don't see that there's any real argument for the 360 at this point unless you're a Halo junkie.

This is just one person's POV, and a decidedly fanboish one at that. <_<

Look, I own both a PS3 and a 360. Both are great systems, but it depends on your needs as to what you should get.

If you want to predominantly play online, then the 360 is your system. If you haven't procured a Blu-Ray player yet, then get a PS3 to save shelf space.

-Both systems have pay online services (Xbox Live/PlayStation +), and while folks can play games online for free via the PS3, many features (cloud storage, cross-game chat) are going behind the paywall. The endgame for all of this is ultimately online play itself will go behind the paywall.

-3rd party titles (read: not from Microsoft or Sony) tend to be slightly better on the 360, as it's an easier machine to code for. The gap is closing, but it's still there.

-Sony has good 1st party titles (Uncharted, MotorStorm, God of War) and quite a few mediocre ones (Gran Turismo, Resistance, Killzone). Microsoft, while they have been focused on the Kinect, still has strong first party titles: Gears of War, Halo, Alan Wake, and Fable (except 3) are all excellent titles, and the Forza series has dethroned Gran Turismo as *the* driving simulator to own on the market.

-As for the Kinect, it's actually quite fun. Kinect Sports, Dance Central, Children of Eden are all great Kinect titles, and they have great exercise and kids titles (if you need to sell a significant other on your purchase).

-Sony has their version of the motion controls, but it's pretty much what the Wii has. Unfortunately, it seems like the Wii does this better, despite having crapier graphics.

In the end, you won't go wrong with either system. Both of them have their strengths and weaknesses. Just get one and enjoy.

Have had a couple friends tell me that they have had to get their PS3 sent in for repair, is that a common thing?

It's becoming more common with the first generation PS3 units (the ones with the Piano black finish). It's called the 'yellow light of death' or the 'pink screen of death', as you'll get one or the other. The root cause is the early Blu-Ray disk players in the systems are crapping out, and it's happening more and more as the early PS3s age.

Granted, the PS3 problems are not nearly as bad as what the 'Red Ring of Death' on the 360 was back in '06-'08, but both companies have revamped their systems and both are fit for purchase. Again--either way, you'll be fine.

I'm going to disagree with a couple of your points. And make a couple others.

While early 3rd party games tended to lean to the 360, its certainly not the case anymore. While the coding was a factor early in the PS3's life, its pretty much a non factor anymore. And more and more games are being built for the PS3 and ported to the 360. Its almost impossible to tell them apart in many unless you are sitting with still frames side by side. In any case its certainly not something to make you decision on.

The Playstation Move has a great deal in common with the Wii, but the Move does have a reputation for being a bit more accurate in its motion tracking, but again, its not a deal maker or breaker on picking a system. Every system has movement sensing and other than the Wii its pretty forgettable on the other systems. The Kinect is an interesting piece of hardware, but for almost anyone its not something to make a system choice on. Unless you are someone who just has to have every piece of tech.

If you are a hardcore shooter player, like HALO or all the modern warfare games, then the 360 has a slight edge. For most other genres the PS3 will have an edge. The 360 will require you to shell out $60 a year to be able to even play a game online, while that feature is free with the PS3. The PS3 does have Playstation+ as a subscription fee, but after having it as a part of the 'welcome back' package, I can't really recommend it at all, unless you are a heavy downloader of small games and want the discount. The 'cloud storage' are really only a benefit to people who want to access game files from more than one PS3.

Any PS3 you buy now shouldn't have any issues with needing repairs. There are a couple tech things that are in the PS3's favor. You can replace and upgrade the Hard Drive with a SATA laptop drive for much, much more space. I have a 750gb drive in mine, and after having had the headaches with a measly 60gb that came with my original system do not underestimate hard drive size. The PS3 also uses Bluetooth and with work with nearly any Bluetooth headset, and a great deal of other peripherals, and uses standard USB connections, where the 360 uses Microsoft proprietary and can be more limited on some types of items.

The PS3 is a blu-ray player, and that does actually have a gaming impact. Many newer games come on multiple dvds for the 360 and only one disc for the PS3, for some people this is a non issue, others tend to be annoyed with either massive installs or disc swapping mid game.

The OP mentioned his friends with PS3s. One major thing to consider is do you plan on playing games online with friends? If so going with what they run is probably the best bet.

 

[corncraze]

This should help break every measurable down.

Good luck!

http://gear.ign.com/articles/111/1116182p1.html

 

[holvy83]

Thanks for the input everyone, I think I am leaning towards a PS3, I see they have a couple package deals with Call of Duty and another one with Tiger Woods. Sounds pretty good to me!

 

[VectorVictor]

I'm going to disagree with a couple of your points. And make a couple others.

While early 3rd party games tended to lean to the 360, its certainly not the case anymore. While the coding was a factor early in the PS3's life, its pretty much a non factor anymore. And more and more games are being built for the PS3 and ported to the 360. Its almost impossible to tell them apart in many unless you are sitting with still frames side by side. In any case its certainly not something to make you decision on.

True, though not all third parties have gone that way. There are still the significant 3rd party holdouts (Valve comes to mind) that still abhor developing on the PS3, privately and publicly.

If you are a hardcore shooter player, like HALO or all the modern warfare games, then the 360 has a slight edge. For most other genres the PS3 will have an edge.

Disagree here. Microsoft has throttled the hell out of Gran Turismo with Forza 3, and all indications are that any deficiencies with 3 will be made up with in 4 this fall. Plus, Microsoft Arcade is heads and shoulders better than what the PlayStation store offers. The only genres that one could say Sony has in their pocket are platformers and hack and slash--the rest are either tied or tilt towards Microsoft.

The 360 will require you to shell out $60 a year to be able to even play a game online, while that feature is free with the PS3.

It won't be for long, and you're fooling yourself if you think otherwise. Part of Sony's problem when their whole network was hacked and CC data stolen is that Sony laid off security and infrastructure experts requisite to keeping their network running properly and securely because of budget/fiscal concerns. Microsoft doesn't have to worry about that, as much of XBL goes right back into their server center in Redmond.

If anything, this past summer showed everyone you get what you pay for with regards to network services.

The PS3 is a blu-ray player, and that does actually have a gaming impact. Many newer games come on multiple dvds for the 360 and only one disc for the PS3, for some people this is a non issue, others tend to be annoyed with either massive installs or disc swapping mid game.

This is purely FUD. There's only one AAA game that will have multiple disks coming out during Q4, and that's Forza 4. The next one after that is going to be Mass Effect 3.

Also, where do you mention that PS3 games routinely require massive hard drive installations, some of which take 20+ minutes before someone can actually play the game (read: Metal Gear Solid 4)?

The OP mentioned his friends with PS3s. One major thing to consider is do you plan on playing games online with friends? If so going with what they run is probably the best bet.

Very true. If you're wanting to play with your friends, you should probably be speaking with them, and not us about what to buy.

 

[redblooded]

I think you are fooling yourself if you think a ton of game designers are switching to the ps3.

The next big round of games is probably going to be PC targeted, as the available hardware has increased to way beyond the aging consoles and developers want to try to cash in on the MMO style subscriptions and microtransactions. (or for phones and tablets, since smartphones are becoming way more ubiquitous then xbox or ps3).

I know there's a starwars MMO, planetside2, a new tribes game and a whole bunch of other shooters. That's just what was getting hype enough to find me, I haven't been looking.

And don't fool yourself with the "hardcore" shooters playing on Xbox. No hardcore FPS player plays on xbox, and if they did they'd cease to be hardcore... The reason they are ported between the two as much as they are is because of directx and the success of Halo. Even their beloved Halo was a PC game, until Microsoft subsidized the development to keep it platform exclusive to get their "killer" app on xbox when they saw the hype it was getting.

 

[Apathy]

Thanks for the input everyone, I think I am leaning towards a PS3, I see they have a couple package deals with Call of Duty and another one with Tiger Woods. Sounds pretty good to me!

Thats the best option in my opinion. I've owned both and I used the PS3 the most because of the Blu Ray player and all of the games that I play were only on the PS3. I got the ROD on my 360 the first day I owned it and took it back to Wally World and got a new one.

To those who are saying that the online is better on 360 are completely wrong. I don't know how many times I was playing COD or Halo and the room would be laggy where I got kicked out of the room on several occasions. There were other times were I'd be playing the game and then it would stop to find a new host. Once it found a new host I continued to play and the same thing would happen and in some cases it happened more than twice in one game.

I'm not saying that the PS3 online network is better than the 360's but the 360 has its flaws too.

 

[Landlord]

The biggest reason the PS3 is the logical choice, in my opinion, ties into what redblooded said. The console hardware is already outdated and holding videogames back quite severely compared to what we're capable of on computers, but the PS3 is holding them back far less than the 360.

Also, if you think Kinect is fun that's your opinion, but I personally don't see any appeal in it at all until they actually come out with something worthwhile that doesn't have severe input lag.

 

[Enhance]

Thanks for the input everyone, I think I am leaning towards a PS3, I see they have a couple package deals with Call of Duty and another one with Tiger Woods. Sounds pretty good to me!

Thats the best option in my opinion. I've owned both and I used the PS3 the most because of the Blu Ray player and all of the games that I play were only on the PS3. I got the ROD on my 360 the first day I owned it and took it back to Wally World and got a new one. Furthermore almost any game that issues on one system (as far as connection) is almost guaranteed to have symptoms on the other platform. I've seen it happen with other COD games.

To those who are saying that the online is better on 360 are completely wrong. I don't know how many times I was playing COD or Halo and the room would be laggy where I got kicked out of the room on several occasions. There were other times were I'd be playing the game and then it would stop to find a new host. Once it found a new host I continued to play and the same thing would happen and in some cases it happened more than twice in one game.

I'm not saying that the PS3 online network is better than the 360's but the 360 has its flaws too.

If you're talking about Black Ops, this is not a 360 specific issue. Black Ops had (and possibly still does have) severe server and hosting issues. It was not a problem with the system. In fact, I spent a lot of time in online forums researching the serve issues with Black Ops, and the impression I had was the PS3 had more issues than the 360. Furthermore almost any game that has issues on one system (as far as connection) is almost guaranteed to have symptoms on the other platform. I've seen it happen with other COD games.

In my opinion is really comes down to preference in games as everything else plays second fiddle to the kind of games you want access to. If you own a PS3 - no Halo. If you own a 360 - no access to great series like God of War.

As far as the comparison between the Playstation Network and Xbox Live, the differences today are minimal. Yes, people have to pay for XBL, but content, maintenance and features generally appear on XBL first and in better fashion. Furthermore support has always been better on the XBL, and XBL has yet to be hacked like the PSN was. But with the exception of a few more players on XBL, both online networks are pretty much toe-and-toe, however XBL is still considered the better product in the industry.

 

[wildman]

Another thing you might want to look at is 3D. If you have a 3D tv i know the playstation 3 does have 3D games available, I don't think the 360 has that capability. If your tv isn't 3D then either system would be good.

 

[VectorVictor]

To those who are saying that the online is better on 360 are completely wrong.

Personally, I think you're in the dark here, owning both systems and all. It's much simpler to play with a friend or join a friend in XBL compared to PSN, there's cross-game chat (something PSN doesn't have), so even if my friends don't want to play the same game, I can still talk with them. The only exception to this are the EA games which use their own dedicated servers, regardless of platform.

Plus, XBox Live Arcade has a significant number of excellent exclusives (timed or otherwise) for download. PlayStation store is catching up, but very slowly. And despite some of the prices, there's over 100 retail games available for download on XBL--I can only think of a handful (LBP, Infamous 1/2, Burnout Paradise, Assassin's Creed 1/2) that are retail titles that you can download.