Should I get a PS3 or Xbox 360?
I looked around the forums and couldn't find any recent discussions, so in light of recent E3 announcements, price drops, etc...I figured I'd bring it up.
I've got a Wii (and love it!), but am considering branching out into a second console, partially because the GWJ podcast continually talks about games I can't play because I don't have a 360 or PS3!
Right now, I'm honestly leaning toward the PS3, mostly because it still gets multi-platform "next-gen" titles, has some good PSN games coming out, plays Blu-ray discs, and for the time being, seems a bit more "future proof." I keep hearing rumors about Microsoft making some kind of announcement (or at least inklings...) of their next console in 2009, and it sure seems like PS3 is gearing up to get some good games out.
Soooo, keeping in mind that I have never played games like Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, Orange Box, CoD4, Warhawk, Resistance, and plenty of other games that have been out awhile and have been recently marked down in price...which should I go for? AND, keep in mind the PS3 interface improvements with trophies, in-game XMB, movie rentals, etc...
Is my head in the sand?! Should I get a 360, only to have to buy a new system in 1.5 years?!
(oh, and I use Linux, and would love to mess with it on a Cell processor!)
Steam: ilduce620 | PSN: ilduce620 | AIM: alinsenb17
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
It sounds like you have already made your decision and you are looking for someone to convince you otherwise.
Xbox Gamertag: Armchair Jockey
Ooooh, oooooh let me.
Xbox 360 has the better game library, and superior online community and interface. If you're buying it to play games the 360 is the only real answer.
You may hate yourself in 1.5 years if you get the 360, but you'll hate yourself every day for the next 1.5 years if you get the PS3.
"Excuses are like poems: they're for sissies and no one wants to hear 'em" - Ron Stilanovich
That's just beautiful!
I'd be really surprised if the next Xbox is out within 1.5 years. There are all sorts of analyses floating about that suggest 2012 as a more likely timescale, so there is certainly disagreement out there about this. Besides, if it does come out on that timescale, that's about the time over which your 360 will go all red-ringy! (I kid, as they claim they've fixed this...)
I love the 360. Right now there's a much more vibrant online community than on the PS3, especially within Goodjer land here. (Hell, you can add friends to your 360 from this forum...click on my gamertag in my sig if you want to see how that works through Xbox.com.) You sound like you're interested in the machine for purposes other than gaming, though, so the PS3 may be the way to go.
XBox Live/X-fire: firesloth
This is the problem. There is no "right" answer to this question. The PS3 (and also the PS2, my personal second console choice) has games you will never see the like of on the 360. Games like fl0w, Pixel Junk Eden and the upcoming Little Big Planet, Team Ico game and Flower. The 360 just doesn't bleed creativity and beauty the same way.
On the flip side the community is vibrant and exciting and you can easily get into a game with actual humans, no matter what genre you prefer. I went through a period of time when I was mostly playing Arcade games. I played Backgammon with people 4 or 5 times a week. The 360 taught me Catan and Carcassonne and now my wife and I play those regularly. So XBLA + the online community make the 360 awesome.
Unfortunately on the flip side (the other flip side?) you can almost feel the palpable desperation by fanboys and Microsoft to move on to the next console. Microsoft doesn't do 5 year life cycles, much less 10 like Sony. So buying a 360 at this point will be like the proverbial star that shines brightly for a short time. You'll really love that year and a half, but soon after everyone may have moved on to the next console. I wish this wasn't a consideration, but Microsoft hasn't done anything in their history (look at how they treat operating systems, software, how they treated the XBox) to suggest that they'll just keep improving the 360 and let it have a 10 year lifecycle.
XBox Live: DSGamer GWJ | PSN: DSGamerGWJ
I don't remember where I saw this but:
The man wears a bucket of KFC on his head. I wouldn't expect anything less. - Pred
EvilDead, it's arguably true. I guess the point is that many podcasts and sites seem to have a 360 bias, mostly because it's been out longer, has had a stronger set of titles, and has had its chance to re-do its interface multiple times in hopes of getting it right (and it still hasn't, or so I'm told).
I'm trying to get reasonable answers to the question, apart from the "stellar library." There are many 360 games (and PS3 games) that I'll never play, and I only buy a few games a year (I've got 9 for my Wii, besides VC and WiiWare titles). Really, I want the machine for 1). potential movie downloads, 2). good arcade-style games, and 3). the ability to play some of these excellent games I keep hearing about, even if they're simply as a rental title.
So yeah, backwards compatibility isn't important to me and the exclusives so far don't really interest me as much, either (there haven't been any exclusives, including MGS4, that I really want to jump into...unless they're on the Wii!).
Note: Fable 2 does look pretty neat, though...
So, apart from the better online community on Xbox Live (which is admittedly attractive!), is there really a reason to go for the Xbox? Is that really what it has going for it?
...'cause I can play Spore on either system, and UTIII on either system, and Assassin's Creed on either system...but I can only play Little Big Planet on the PS3...
Steam: ilduce620 | PSN: ilduce620 | AIM: alinsenb17
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” – Hippocrates
Both, or all three if you can afford it. It's the only way to go. Just don't string me upside down and shoot me in the town square for saying so.
MaxShrek .. Do it first, do it yourself, and keep on doing it.
Horror Vacui
I personally think the PS3 is going to have better exclusives in the long run.
Little Big Planet, Pixel Junk Eden, Flower (heck, PSN is looking much stronger, in my opinion), Future Team Ico game
compared with...
Gears of War, Halo, Fable II
I don't know. I think Halo 3 is great, but for what I'm interested in, the PS3 has better exclusives running long term. Although for my money the best exclusive right now is Viva Pinata.
Completely serious. Of all games this generation where I'd say I'm glad I own X console, that game is my favorite. Little Big Planet may change that.
XBox Live: DSGamer GWJ | PSN: DSGamerGWJ
360. Wait for the price drop though.
"That's because you were 10. Everyone likes Garfield when they're 10. When you're 10 you think a cat eating lasagna is genius." - Mumford
BF2 Stats
2005 GWJFFL League Champion
The 360 interface, when it was originally released, would still be ahead of where the PS3 is now in terms of functionality.
Also the upcoming deal with xbox & Netflix will add a huge library of downloadable movies for a monthly fee.
Other then that there are the exclusive games and arcade content for each console.
If those points don't sway your opinion then I would just get the PS3 and ease your pre-purchase angst.
Xbox Gamertag: Armchair Jockey
It sounds like you're really interested in LittleBigPlanet. There's only once place you'll get to play it
It's a tough call. I have all three systems and in all honesty if I had to stick with one it'd be the PS3. I like my 360 and I've had a lot of fun on it with more goodness to come. It does feel less reliable than the PS3, though... my 360 has died twice and it may be threatening a third. Granted MS has been great on the service side but still the PS3 just feels like a more solid device. It's also a bit more open as you can freely replace the hard drive yourself, use pretty much any USB or bluetooth headset, etc. Of course voice chat on the 360 is still superior with the standard pack-in headset but I do like the openness of the PS3.
Overall there are just more games on the PS3 I feel the desire to own. It's actually interesting, I looked at my 360 collection and realized how few 360 games I felt were worth purchasing (I use Gamefly for most games). I have a couple launch titles, Oblivion, Halo 3, Rainbow Six series and Test Drive Unlimited. That's it. I already have a much larger PS3 collection with more purchases in the foreseeable future.
I also think that PSN has really been one of the stars of the system. There are a few Live Arcade games I really love but the PSN has been showing a level of creativity that MS hasn't. Even looking down the road I think PSN will continue to have fewer games overall but they will be quality experiences.
Ultimately there's not a big difference between the two, at least nothing on paper that makes one the definitive buy over the other. Is online play a major draw for you? If so, then get the system most of your friends have so you can all play online together. HD movies really key? Then the PS3 is the obvious choice. Beyond that you just need to look at the exclusives for each and figure out which appeals most to your gaming tastes.
At the end of the day, my vote goes with the PS3. It just suits me.
Beware the Gazebo
XBL: Dreaded Gazebo | PSN: DreadedGazebo | BGG: Deliverator
Veteran Gamers' Board: PretzNChz
The easy answer is, "you should pick up a 360 and go through last year's killer backlog".
For online play this fall, however, I expect to be spending the majority of my console time on the PS3. SOCOM, LittleBigPlanet, and Buzz interest me more than any fall 360 online release, including Gears 2: Even More Gears.
Still, I will play Gears 2 before the nutso Gears crowd here (you know who you are) wears it out like an old blanket.
And I expect I'll be using my 360 a ton as a Netflix box.
Choosing only one from a game-ready PC, a 360, and a PS3 is too damn hard.
Gaming / PC Tech Blog: www.blastprocessing.net
Xbox Live: Legion SB / PSN: Legion_SB / Steam: legion028 / Twitter: legion
tits || gtfo
So, what exactly is the question...?
I mean, sure, we can compare system specs/features, exclusives list, blah, blah, blah... but in the end, you seem to be excited for LBP and so you have no other option but to buy a PS3.
Xbox Live: Nei HD | Playstation ID: Nei_GWJ
LBP looks incredibly unique among that list.
To be fair, the 360 also has Left 4 Dead (4 now), Braid, Geometry Wars, Castle Crashers, Too Human, Viva Piñata 2, Halo Wars, Alan Wake (if they make it?), Forza 3, some JRPGs I could care less about, a few other RTS projects that have appeared on the PC, etc.
Don't forget, it's also the sole home of Crackdown!! (I know you have a weakness for that game, like me). Oh, and of Bomberman: Act Zero.
XBox Live/X-fire: firesloth
I know. My list was by no means comprehensive. I love Crackdown. I love Viva Pinata and will love Viva Pinata 2 I'm sure. But what they're doing with PSN + LBP is so much more creative. Less Bald Space Marines blowing stuff up, more creativity.
XBox Live: DSGamer GWJ | PSN: DSGamerGWJ
Keep in mind that most third party games are going to both platforms day and date. So, it comes down to first party exclusives and where the community is you want to play with. Sony tends to have better first party releases than Microsoft, but MS offers the better online community.
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
I am facing the same dilemma. Although I have not bought anything at this point (still looking for a HDTV), the PS3 is pretty much a no-brainer decision for me. I have an extensive PS2 library (though, I hear the emulation isn't as good as it once was), and I know I'll want both an up-converting DVD player and Blu-ray player to go with the fancy new TV. I'm not much of an online gamer; I generally don't have the time to sink into games to realistically compete at them. Plus, from what I've read, the PS3 is significantly more quiet and built better than the X360.
I know everyone has their own opinions on what is important in a console, but for me, I think the PS3 should fill the role of both media center and gaming console quite nicely.
Seconded. The 360 has been around for a bit longer, and in it's day it has really proven itself. I'm still waiting for the PS3 to prove itself to me.
Now, I was hoping this holiday shopping season the PS3 would come into it's own, but let's face it, every major game everyone was anticipating for it this holiday season has been delayed, probably until next holiday season, or the one after that, who knows? Whereas the 360 still has an all star line up.
I can't really blame Sony for this, but they've thrown their lot in for exclusives from studios that are notoriously unreliable for timely releases.
Sure, XBox has to deal with Bethsoft and Lionhead's epic delays for amazing games, but Sony gets Square-Enix's epic delays for playable games.
Don't get me wrong: Squeenix owns my soul. And I'm going to buy their new Final Fantasy game whenever it comes out, for however much it costs. But the last time a Squaresoft or Enix game really blew me away was either Final Fantasy VI or Chrono Trigger. The 15 or so years have been utter crap. No, that's unfair. They've been decidedly not amazing. But most of all they've all taken three years longer than they were supposed to be released, without the kind of results you'd expect from that kind of polish.
Crazy idea, maybe they can step back from producing theatrical demos and give me only two thirds as many cutscenes and make me a game with a little more interactivity that I can play before I need to be fitted for dentures.
If you want an all-around entertainment center buy the PS3. If you want to use the console strictly for games I'd lean toward the 360.
"The light at the end of the tunnel is just the light of an oncoming train." - Robert Lowell
"Boy exchange is a fun pain in the ass." - LiquidMantis
Xbox Live - Trainwreck GWJ
I have no friends. I like the PS3 better.
Xbox Live: psu13, PSN: psu_13
I have a 360 and have been very happy with it. That said, there are lots of great things about the PS3. It all comes down to what games you want to play, and what else you want to do with your console. Do you want Blu-Ray? Do you want to play online games with the community? Netflix?
But again, most of all, it's probably about the games. And if LBP is what turns your crank, then that makes the decision easy (assuming the game actually turns out to be as fun to play as it looks).
XBL: fourdswisschees | Steam: 4dSwissCheese
I think LBP looks like it could be all kinds of awesome, but I would never pick a console based on a game that has not shipped, let along lacks a shipment date. There is a 50% chance that the game will not be what we all want it to be, especially since it relies on PSN.
While Soul Calibur features in game chat among the players and spectators, PSN limits the chat to between games in the lobby. the only reason for this I can come up with, is the poor speeds one finds on PSN, as has been alluded to over and over for anything people have to download. PSN is free, but I don't use free dial-up either.
Why does this matter? Right now, I am going to start score chasing via Soul Calibur. Within the game, it lists the scores of people on my friends list in arcade, story, that tower game, and online vs. matches. The game is going to be more fun where the community is. I used to like the same feature in PGR. Even if you are late to the game, it still has all of your friends records right there for you.
Xbox Live: JayhawkerGWJ
last.fm: JayhawkerGWJ
There's no right answer. Unfortunately you can't have your cake and eat it too if you buy just one console. Either way you're going to gain some advantages and disadvantages which have been pretty well batted about the 'net for a year or so now.
I'll also echo Jayhawker. Only purchase a console for games or features that you can take advantage of now. Everything else is pixie farts.
Danjo Olivaw Lives
!!
MaxShrek .. Do it first, do it yourself, and keep on doing it.
Horror Vacui
Indeed. This is the final answer. I bought a PS2 just for Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Why? Because I wanted to play them. I'm sure I'll buy a PS3 someday. But only when LBP is released and looks like it's everything I hoped it would be. Until then the 360 is the place for me. PSN is tempting, but it's not enough yet.
XBox Live: DSGamer GWJ | PSN: DSGamerGWJ
Rushing the 360 was more about dropping the Xbox than getting the jump on Sony, because the Xbox was a monumental money-hole. Microsoft made the mistake of buying chips, leaving them without the control of manufacturing costs you get when you licence the tech and build the systems yourself. Microsoft was probably losing more per unit at the end of the Xbox's life than at the start, due to the very deep price cutting needed to compete with the PS2. That doesn't mean we won't see the next Xbox closer to 2010 rather than 2015, but the 360 won't disappear when it arrives -- like the PS2 today, it'll stick around as an entry level console with the occasional new title and a great back-catalogue.
I'd expect Sony to do the same with the PS3 -- saying "the PS3 will have a 10-year life cycle" is very different from saying "the PS3 will be our lead console for the next 10 years". They might still be selling PS3s in 2015, but based on the 5- and 6-year gaps between PSX/PS2 and PS2/PS3, I'd be amazed if we don't have a PS4 well before then.
Xbox Live: pneuman | PSN: pneuman | my tech/games/rant blag
I don't understand the overwhelming community interest in Little Big Planet. People talk about it like it's going to be the second coming, the way the PS3 community talked about Lair and Heavenly Sword before they came out.
I've watched the videos. Little Big Planet is a physics-based side-scroller with a cute art style and customizable levels. The last time a side scroller was relevant was the early '90s. And, the game has suffered the sorts of huge delays that suggests that the trailers are writing a check that the full game just can't cash.
Take it from a DIE HARD PS2 fan...
Get a 360.
I know I may ruffle some feathers, but I have to be honest...
When the debate was Xbox (1st gen) vs. PS2, even though the Xbox had better processing power, 4 controller ports, etc, the PS2 still won HANDS DOWN because a) the library of great games was HUGE, b) tons of developers making more great games because the install base is huge, and c) the Xbox's controller SUCKED donkey you-know-what.
Now the debate is flip-flopped... The PS3 has better hardware, but the 360 has a HUGE library of great games and more developers making more great games.
And, as firesloth pointed out, the 360 has a much more vibrant online community... Add to that the new update to the 360's interface and their new relationship with NetFlix (although I'm a BlockBuster subscriber with no intention of changing) the 360 just has SO MUCH more to offer.
That's my $.02.
dK
Just for laughs: Zero Punctuation's Console Rundown (Rated PG-13 for Adult Language)
If you favor the PS3, get the PS3. I have an Xbox and it's okay, but it's not the greatest thing since swiss cheese (holes! my god- who came up with such brilliance?) The 360 has a big online community around here, but if the big friends list isn't your thing it seems to me you don't lose much by going with the PS3 and pick up a blu-ray player at the same time.