I know I said I do not tend to venture into fanboy pissing matches in a thread the other day I managed to get 3 pages in before it got tedious.
So again the first reply (and those reinforcing it) was probably the most accurate but what the hey.
"HD" video. I did a test earlier today/yesterday to see if HD was all that:
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=73993
My results are free for all to see, replicate and discuss. My personal opinion based on those results and general messing around says placebo effect at best.
As for HD-DVD vs Blu ray I will keep it short as it could get off topic.
"Spec wise it is superior".
Numerically bandwidth and scrap of space are superior for blu ray no question. If you like though we can have a discussion on whether they really matter, in short they do not and I can demonstrate that.
HD-DVD is pretty much on the ropes in the commercial arena it seems or getting that way in a few places but there are some things in its favour like region free (technically it is optional but companies seem to be intelligent enough to see that it would be shooting themselves in the foot or they locked up/shot their marketing idiots), decent features (sorry people but java to activate some glorified subtitles: no thanks you can keep it).
HD-DVD is able to be copied marginally easier though (neither are quite at DVD level but hard still means possible).
If you really want a Blu ray player go a PS3 as standards/profiles seem to come and go there and the PS3 seems to be just about the only thing that will keep up right now.
Despite my considering it a waste of time I say give "HD" optical formats until Easter/traditional summer lull before even thinking about declaring a winner. If a decent dual format player appears (seen as they could not do it in the first place despite ample opportunity) then that would likely be the better if you feel the need to do it at all.
If going the moral standing of the companies route both Sony and Microsoft rate barely above pond scum, both are guilty of perverting standards, heavy handed tactics, disinformation, shear stupidity, anti competitive behaviour, anti consumer behaviour and just about everything else under the sun.
Hardware: Sony have a long history of fairly shoddy hardware and software but have bucked their ideas up a bit (ignoring design decisions like disabled cores and some first run diodes perhaps not being up to scratch), the 360 has a bunch of well documented faults but at least MS have realised they are there to service you.
Backup games: MS only I am afraid. Flashing the drive is the most popular way and is fairly simple.
Internet gaming: Xbox live is paid for full functionality and Sony has a free one. Both are populated with people likely to discredit the theory of evolution (I am shocked almost every time I appear online that some of the people survived long enough to get this far, especially if you look at the state of social services). As far as I can see (and I avoid consoles online generally) neither have a clear cut superiority.
Both have demos, video, updates (probably better than v1.1 versions of cartridges and pressed discs but it amuses me none the less when people take up consoles to avoid the rigmarole of PC gaming only to have the exact same experience) and games.
Paid versus unpaid, paid only applies to those wishing to game and not indulging in updates, demos and the like. I have not seen how much "worse" silver is though. As for the actual act of paying it does seem counter intuitive to me but I guess there is a reason I pay for usenet each month.
Features: video playback. Both technically have pretty much the same features with any differences being fixable if you know enough to know what they are.
Browser: I tried the PS3 one and for a low rent browser it was not bad, I would not use it for more than looking up a guide for a difficult section. Admittedly I did not put it through its paces on some of the more badly made sites but if a site is badly made I tend not to view it. Personally I would rate some mobile phone browsers ahead of the PS3 one.
Power: we could argue numbers and toss tailored screenshots back and forth but in the end it does not matter. Word has it the 360 is marginally easier to cater for from the developer angle but designing a monster game using the kind of hardware shown here (which by and large is the same) is hard either way. At the end of the day when the next iteration starts being more than a thought at the back of the mind of people both consoles will have fantastic looking and playing games which look about the same. This being said if we do not start to see some decent AI and design choices rather than bump mapped, anti aliased, physics influenced 5 o'clock shadow it will all be for nought in my opinion.
Games: Backwards compatibility while one of my most desired features can probably be ignored owing to the cheapness of predecessors and absolute ease backups can be played on them (as well as better homebrew and video features for the most part: xbmc is still superior to anything the current consoles have shown me).
As for games the 360 has the best right now but as far as I have seen there is nothing a moderately powered PC could not play better for about the same money.
Future titles, I am biased here as I do not really care. See a release list and previews but basing a purchase on what might be seems like a moronic move to me much less buying on the promise of two or three games. Amount of shovelware I saw bandied about, I say this is why there are review sites and we hand around places like this.
Controllers, neither rate highly on my scale but I must say I prefer the 360 one.
Addons: a basic scam tactic perhaps but the 360 has had some decent ones.
Update potential:
It is tit for tat now and I wager it will be that way for as long as it takes to get to the toaster controlling level.
My suggestion: buy a/upgrade your PC, enjoy it all and much much more there and grab a nice second hand console in a year or two (my plan that seems to have worked thus far for several years now).
If you really need a console follow the backup trail.
