Which console?

[Virago]

This is going to sound like the most basic question/issue of all time... but here goes:

I've had a recent change in my living situation, part of which means I no longer have an Xbox. It's time for me to go shopping again! So, which do you all recommend? Xbox or PS3?

I have experience with the Xbox and I grew up with the PS2. I could go with either one but definitely not both for economic reasons.

 

[Chaos Raiden]

If you want to play exclusive current-generation games for PS3 such as Uncharted games, Infamous games, God of War games and etc, get a PS3. Plus, it can play Blu-Ray movies as well as regular DVDs.

If you want to stick in playing oldie games for Xbox console, get Xbox. The choice is yours. Personally, I would recommend you getting PS3 because of the reasons I mentioned above.

 

[ZeroLove]

Playstation 3 all the way, baby.

 

[DeamonslayeR]

i have both and enjoy them both equally and even love them both equally but i advise you to get a ps3 its cheap than xbox and it has blue ray meaning huge detailed games on one disk than xbox 3 disks for a very detailed game

 

[Autumn]

Wow, Xbox is about £100 cheaper where I am. If I had the time and money I would have both, but I don't, so I had Xbox which was cheaper ^^ Even though the PS2 is still treasured. I'm glad I picked Xbox because I've fallen in love with Gears of War, which is weird since I don't like shoot 'em ups but I just really got into them.

Then again, If I had a PS3 I would have probably fallen in love with Uncharted. Well, that’s as far as exclusives go. As for specs, well, they guys have already mentioned and I'm not too good on the technical aspects, I just play!

 

[Angel]

It can depend on what you want from your gaming experience. Might be worth doing a little (unbiased) research on both consoles to see which one suits your needs best. Alternatively, save up and build the perfect PC rig

 

[CoolDemon]

wait for PS4 in 2012----

 

[Teimurazor]

Lol, PS4 wont show up until 2014
And I would recommend PS3 cuz of exclusive games and free online play

 

[lorddemolatron]

PS3. Definitetly, but in Poland buying games to it is Damn hard as they not cheap so much.

 

[V]

Buy both 2nd hand from a discount computer exchange store Our XBox is 2nd hand (after my bf had the bright idea of selling it when he bought a PS3 because he thought that would be better, and I sent him right back out to get it back from CEX) and has never had a bad day in 4 years.

I'd say the XBox graphics look better on my HD TV for some reason, although that could just be me. I compared DMC4 on both XBox and PS3 copies and the anti-aliasing on the PS3 was awful (practically nonexistent) and got on my nerves.

 

[Laurence Barnes]

i've had an argument about this so i say it doesn't matter

 

[Vergil'sBitch]

depends on what sort of experience you want. I prefer the 360 because the graphics are better, you can listen to music while you play games, plus it has Fable

But if you want more mainstream titles (and you're not bothered about graphics) go for the PS3.

 

[Dark Drakan]

Depends what game series you are into, online play and party chat etc works better on 360 and much easier to get 'parties' going on games, multi-format games have generally run better on 360 too. However unless you purchase a Xbox 360 Slim you will need a wireless adapter to get wireless internet on 360 (otherwise have to have a cable) and PS3 has wireless out of the box and currently has more TV on demand services on it (though most are coming to 360 soon). Can also have bigger hard drives on PS3 if you plan to store lots of content on them however some can cause issues with games (Skyrims lag issue). Both have pros and cons but depends on which you prefer.

 

[Ember To Inferno]

The 360 has way better multiplayer support and a few good exclusives that really make the network and console shine. Where as the PS3 has many exclusives, with a fair online network. However Xbox Live costs money whilst PSN is free, however Xbox Live is a better service.

Personally, unless you want to play some of the exclusives or you have a problem with the pay to play online, go with what your friends have. It's always fun playing with friends.

If you won't be playing online, I'm going to have to recommend the PS3 after some long hard thought. Multi-platforms games look closer today then they did a few years ago (and in a few cases, looks better), and there's a bigger abundance of exclusives on Sony's console.

I hope you're happy with whichever you purchase though.

 

[Angelo Credo]

Ultimately it's more to do with what you want out of your gaming experience.

The 360 is a general good all rounder and it's where the vast majority of FPS/TPS games, as well as their player base dwells, see Halo, Gears, CoD etc. (Aware that the latter is an all platform game, but the numbers are highest on 360)
The multiplayer support on 360 can be considered to be of better quality given the fact that it's a paid service, but it's only really reflected in the general stability of the system. Don't think that because it's paid, you'll be getting away from all the obnoxious kiddies.

The PS3 on the other hand is good for some of the larger triple A exclusive releases and generally caters towards gamers who prefer single player experiences more. Sure, the online works fine but some of the best games out there on PS3 are much more geared towards single player.
I will say one thing though, PS3 games tend to have some more...Technical issues compared to 360 games given that most PS3/360 multiplat games tend to be direct ports from the 360, again, bigger player base = hello largest portion of your market = let's make sure the game works for them and bugger anybody else.

I personally own a Ps3 for the decent exclusives that actually matter, see; Dark Souls, and use my PC for everything else.
Go for what your friends have, or what you'd prefer out of your system.

Though I'd recommend holding onto your money and building yourself a high spec gaming PC. They're not as terribly expensive to build as people make out, the components for a high end machine can set you back somewhere in the region of £600, a bit more if we're talking monitor, keyboard, mouse etc and it's basically pricier lego. The whole "I'll have to upgrade in a year to keep up with modern games!" argument is complete bull as well as with the right components and a minor bit of technical know how, you can keep your rig relevant for quite some time. Friend of mine built his about 6 years back on the cheap and could still pull medium/high settings on games out today. It's only BF3 that's made him upgrade.

Ultimately though, it's your money, just a suggestion that may be worth considering.

 

[V]

... To be perfectly honest the console I play the most out of what we have, (Ps3, 360, Wii and PS2)... is the PS2. But I'm in two minds as to which console to get the HD releases of my fave classic series' on when they come out. 360 handles the graphics better, but boy do I hate that 360 controller. MUCH prefer the PS style controllers.

 

[Viewtiful-Dave]

I'd say Ps3 just because their are more and IMO better exclusives and the exclusives are much better looking graphically than Xbox games. Free Online, and even though most say XBL is more stable I've never noticed it to be and what's funny is a lot of Ps3 exclusives actually run on dedicated servers instead of Player-2-Player like a lot of xbox exclusives. Blu-ray player and if you one day happen to buy a 3DTV it can play 3D movies and I believe has more games that support 3D. In the past though a majority of multiplatform games have performed better on 360 but it's usually not that noticeable and now-a-days it seems like they're even or sometimes better on Ps3. On Xbox you also have to be a Gold member to use Netflix/Hulu+ and on Ps3 you just have to have an account for said services.

Upgrading Hard-drives is also cheaper than Xbox as you can use most laptop hard drives and you can get like 500gb ones for the same price or less if you look around than a 250gb xbox HDD...I think you can put up to 1TB in a Ps3 but I'm not sure.

You can use just about any Blue-tooth headset on them too and if you have a 7.1 surround sound set-up the ps3 supports it as I believe the 360 only supports 5.1.

Then there's Ps+ which is a great discount service (sales all the time on games/dlc) you also get free games monthly and get to keep them as long as your a Ps+ member, you also get 1 hour game trials for the PSN releases of Retail Disc games like God of War/Assassins Creed...pretty much anything that was released on Disc first then put on the Ps Store.

Don't forget also that Final Fantasy Versus 13 is exclusive to the Ps3 if you're into FF games (at least they're still saying it is but I kinda think SE will force Tetsuya Nomura to make it multiplatform as SE doesn't seem to really sell games as well as they use to).

Ps Home is also becoming a better service all the time with free little games to play and Home spaces for certain games which support game launching. Ps Home also has a Crackle theater, if you don't know what Crackle is it's pretty much a free version of Netflix but with a lot less content (usually older movies and TV shows usually ones that Sony owns the rights too although they're are some more recent movies on their) you can see the content from Crackle.com I believe.

If you're a hand-held gamer too and plan on getting a Ps Vita I'd get a Ps3 as you will see some games that will work on both and you can play on your Ps3 then if you have to leave just load up the game on your Vita and continue while you're out.

IMO you shouldn't miss out on the Ps3 exclusives like Uncharted (best single player experience I've had all generation) or Infamous1/2 and the recently announced "The Last of Us", and honestly I don't see too many exclusives coming out for the 360 as MS doesn't have that many studio's and I have a feeling they're gonna start shifting focus on development for their next consoles as I believe they're gonna try to get to the market before Sony because it's the only way they can give the illusion that it sells better. I'd also say the Ps3 has a more diverse line-up of games.

There is also the Ps Move, while it's basically a more accurate Wii it seems to get some decent support...even though not many games are made just for it a lot of games do support it.

If you're into retro gaming (older games) there's a pretty good amount of Ps1 games on the store (final fantasy games, Metal Gear Solid, Soul Reaver, etc).

In the end though if I was you I'd buy which ever one my friends seem to play the most, or at least the ones that would play the same games as you do online if you're really into online gaming.

 

[cheezMcNASTY]

I posted a basic pros/cons breakdown on the Fable forums a while back if you would like to see. The prices are a bit outdated but the bullet points are still relevant.
Linky

I own a 360 and a Wii
I worked at GameStop for a time and after I explained the ups and downs of each system people usually went for the 360 it has the best all around game selection and a very reliable online service. The system life span isn't great but Microsoft has a very forgiving customer service. I've never had to pay for an RROD repair even when my console was past warranty and I was given a free month of XBL for the trouble to boot. The game marketplace is also very extensive, featuring original XBOX titles, arcade classics, and community-made games.

PS3 has a few good exclusives, the best hardware capabilities, and blu-ray support. The superior hardware rarely shows though because most games are designed to play in lower resolution. Many titles are also designed to operate on the 360 and are inferior products when they've been ported over to the PS3. Sony also has HORRIBLE customer service. Thankfully PS3s are very reliable and are not known to break. The online is free. This system excels for people who want a media center and fewer game titles with superior graphics. Don't expect to play Fallout 3 on this one and like it. The PS3 can be jailbreaked/hacked for additional features.

Wii has the worst graphics and lowest hardware performance of them all. It even lacks DVD support. HOWEVER
Jailbreaking a Wii with hacks is relatively easy to do. I did it to mine and now it plays DVDs, can run emulators, and has tons of useful community-made apps. I would not trade my Wii for either console, it is simply incredible what this thing can do now. Games from the SNES, N64, PlayStation, and others are at my finger tips and I can play videos from an external hard drive. The only bottleneck is that it's highest resolution is 420p while the other two can go to 720 or even 1080p.

 

[Dark Drakan]

Don't think that because it's paid, you'll be getting away from all the obnoxious kiddies.

Thats why I enjoy the party chat and cross gaming chat features. Saves time on muting everyone on your squad like I used to besides friends.

I personally own a Ps3 for the decent exclusives that actually matter, see; Dark Souls, and use my PC for everything else.
Go for what your friends have, or what you'd prefer out of your system.

The exclusives for PS3 are looking really stable which is the main thing, seem to come in waves for 360 and 2012 is looking pretty bad for 360 exclusives.

Though I'd recommend holding onto your money and building yourself a high spec gaming PC. They're not as terribly expensive to build as people make out, the components for a high end machine can set you back somewhere in the region of £600, a bit more if we're talking monitor, keyboard, mouse etc and it's basically pricier lego. The whole "I'll have to upgrade in a year to keep up with modern games!" argument is complete bull as well as with the right components and a minor bit of technical know how, you can keep your rig relevant for quite some time. Friend of mine built his about 6 years back on the cheap and could still pull medium/high settings on games out today. It's only BF3 that's made him upgrade.

Ultimately though, it's your money, just a suggestion that may be worth considering.

Id love a new gaming PC as it used to be my main platform but cant fit one in the house currently. When I move I will make sure I have a spare room for one. lol

but boy do I hate that 360 controller. MUCH prefer the PS style controllers.

I love the 360 controller and its probably my favourite out of every console ive ever played and ive played a lot. It seems the perfect fusion of multiple older controller designs. I cant even use the Playstation controllers after using it, they feel much to light and small. I tried to use my PS2 controller a couple of months ago and it felt like a childrens toy.

 

[V]

I love the 360 controller and its probably my favourite out of every console ive ever played and ive played a lot. It seems the perfect fusion of multiple older controller designs. I cant even use the Playstation controllers after using it, they feel much to light and small. I tried to use my PS2 controller a couple of months ago and it felt like a childrens toy.

The 360 pad feels weighty, the PS2 controller feels like a piece of empty plastic in comparison. But I have small hands, and I grew up with those PSX/PS2 controllers. I love them. The first X Box controller was a shade too large and heavy to be fully comfortable for me. I've never liked them as much since.