PS3 vs. Xbox 360

[Guild McCommunist]

Okay, this is actually a question, not a debate. Here's the dilemma...

As many of you know, it's my birthday today and I'm getting cash rolling in from family and even from working (well, that's not birthday related). At the moment I have around $150, with two jobs coming up next week (which should pay roughly $30-$40 each) as well as more birthday money or whatever coming later today. And as many of you also may know, I want a fucking HD console. I'm torn between a PS3 and 360. Here's some of my pros and cons...

PS3

Pros...

- Exclusives I would like more. God of War III, MGS4, LittleBigPlanet, Uncharted, etc.
- No red ring like the Xbox 360! Although my friend has said he's had to do system restores on his PS3 at least twice in its full lifetime due to other issues, but he also has a launch model and not a slim.
- Equally sold multiplatform games. Not too keen on CoD or Battlefield Bad Company, but I do love Rainbow Six Vegas games (when I played them a little on the 360) and there's also other ones.

Cons...

- Slim model costs $300, plus the price of games. I can get a standard Xbox model for $200.
- No Perfect Dark! This may sound like nitpicking but I would seriously buy a Xbox purely for Perfect Dark XBLA. It's the best FPS game ever (fuck Goldeneye!)

Xbox 360

Pros...

- Cheaper! I can get the super-uber edition Xbox (the Elite) for the same price as the toned down, weaker version of the PS3 (Slim). Standard Xbox models go for $200 too!
- Perfect Dark! Read my above thing in the cons
- All my friends have one, almost none have a PS3. My brother also has one.
- Some good exclusives. Mass Effect, a better version of The Orange Box (compared to the PS3), Gears of War, Left 4 Dead, etc.
- Still has good multiplatform titles. Assassin's Creed, Arkham Asylum, Rainbow Six, etc
- Better downloadable games? I still haven't looked thoroughly into the PS3's selection, but this has Perfect Dark (already mentioned), Puzzle Quest, Castle Crashers, etc.

Cons...

- Red Ring of Death! Not sure if this affects Elite models. I don't want it to break down and be forced to send it in for repairs.
- Not nearly as good exclusives as the PS3. Halo is good but just not for me, etc.
- My brother already has one. It seems kinda redundant to keep two in one house, although it is HIS system and what not.
- Pay for Live! I don't want to pay $60 or so a year for online play.

 

[rockstar99]

You forgot the Xbox is hackable

 

[prowler]

You forgot the Xbox is hackable

Does it even matter?
I don't see IGN and other reviewers putting that as one of the pros

 

[rockstar99]

You forgot the Xbox is hackable

Does it even matter?
I don't see IGN and other reviewers putting that as one of the pros

Yah but on a forum like GBATemp I think Guild would like the fact if its hackable or not

 

[Guild McCommunist]

You forgot the Xbox is hackable

Does it even matter?
I don't see IGN and other reviewers putting that as one of the pros

Yah but on a forum like GBATemp I think Guild would like the fact if its hackable or not

Still, the problem is that with the huge ban wave thing going around, I'd rather just buy my games.

EDIT: Also added the whole "pay for Xbox Live" thing as a con. It's a big con too.

 

[EyeZ]

I totally agree with you about Xbox live being a con, i play online games on PC and my PS3, so why the hell should i want to pay to play on Xbox live?

You pay for your console, pay for your games, and then they want you to pay to play online, sod em.

 

[spotanjo3]

You forgot about PS3:

Con...

Yellow Light of Death. It's existing.
Unhackable for now.

Xbox 360

Pro...

Modded is easy

 

[prowler]

PS3 has blu-ray burn outs
Which from what I hear, costs a load.

 

[Forstride]

I don't know much about the PS3, but I'll list off stuff for the 360.

Pros-

- Good community support (I don't know what PSN's status on this is)
- Good exclusives (You listed most of the ones I was going to put, except for Trials HD, which is an addictive XBLA game)
- Most people have one (Like you said, most of your friends have 360s, and trust me, it's more fun with friends than random people)
- MW2 map pack 30 days before PSN and Steam (I don't know if you like MW2 or not, but I know a lot of people see this as a big advantage over PS3/PC)

Cons-

- Paying for online - $50/year, $20/3 months, $8/month...You can choose whatever option you like. Also, with the year, it comes with a month free, I think.
- People constantly using hacks online. I'm not sure what the PS3 is like with this, but I don't even think it's possible on there since you can't mod a PS3.
- Discs can get ring scratches on them if you bump you're Xbox even slightly while the disc is spinning. Just don't keep it standing vertically, and you should be fine.

 

[prowler]

Oh and I forgot another one.
All games have install to hard drive option for the Xbox 360.

If your impatient at loading screens (like me) that's a big plus.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

At the moment I'm leaning towards a PS3, mainly because of the free online gaming thing. I can get a PS3 and two games for about $310 (not counting tax or S&H). A refurbished PS3 is about $250, and I can get new, awesome games like MGS4 and something else (maybe the Orange Box, even if it is a little glitchy). I would love to play online with my friends, but that online fee is REALLY offsetting.

As for MW2, I suck at CoD, so I won't really bother. Unfortunately that's like the only thing my friends play. They're FPS fanatics.

EDIT: @dean: I don't really care about loading times. It takes a few minutes for Dante's Inferno to start on my PSP. EVERY TIME. I'm rather patient and as long as the loading times aren't like constantly minutes long, I can live.

 

[Forstride]

Oh and I forgot another one.
All games have install to hard drive option for the Xbox 360.

If your impatient at loading screens (like me) that's a big plus.

Yeah...This is definitely a good thing. It also makes the Xbox more quiet, since it loads from the hard drive. You still need the disc in though, other wise you could just buy a game, install to hard drive, and take it back for a refund. Another thing...1 vs 100. Best community-based game on XBL. It's fun with friends, but you can have fun with random people as well.

 

[BiscuitBee]

I would probably go with a PS3 in your case. It's got the exclusives you want with free online play. Also, depending on your relationship with your brother, you could trade systems every one-in-a-while and get your Perfect Dark fix.

 

[Dragoon709]

At the moment I'm leaning towards a PS3, mainly because of the free online gaming thing.

Yeah free play online is great but for all the xbox360 owners out there: how many times have you seen live go down?? In the almost 4 years that i have had my 360 I have seen only 1 time live was down and that was planned for maintenance, I have heard of at least 10 instances of PSN dying in one form or another from friends that have a ps3 and 360. all use XBL over PSN for that reason.

 

[kobykaan]

To fight the PS3 corner ...

PS3 has BLU-RAY so 1 disk = 1 game not several aka FFXIII

and not forgetting BLU-RAY movies ..


that is all!


No wait seriously.... BOTH consoles have good games and some exclusive titles

I suggest try borrow a PS3 if you are already familiar with the 360

PS3 has FREE online play atm ...although SONY have confirmed they are planning a PREMIUM pay service but WILL keep the free online play as well but offer more things with the PREMIUM content and will be a few different packs at different prices!


My biggest gripe with PS3 is the damn stupidly LARGE game updates that take ages to download and install

HD size isn't a real big issue as you can self fit your own BIGGER drive later on pretty cheaply

sure PS3 aint really hacked atm either (slims there is pretty much no chance) but games are not that badly priced you can always get them pre owned cheaper anyway!

PS3 also comes with WIFI built in so no buying extra hardware to use wireless connectivity!

You can use almost ANY webcam with PS3... unlike 360 you have to buy theirs or one that has that stupid chip in it for it to work

at the end of the day try both and make a decision from that

edit: re post above this one .....Sure we get downtime occasionally but remember WE ARE NOT PAYING FOR DOWNTIME like 360 owners!

 

[Maz7006]

Cons...
- Red Ring of Death! Not sure if this affects Elite models. I don't want it to break down and be forced to send it in for repairs.

Common misconception. All models get it. However recent models, or Jaspers, seem to be somewhat rid of the problem, for now. Basically if you bought your console at around 2009 then your pretty much good to go. This is considering it wasn't just an old model sitting on the shelf.

Other than that everything else you said couldn't have been said much better than myself. As an owner of both consoles, i actually enjoy using both, and i dn't see no reason not to have the other if you have the first (considering you have the cash to afford both of them)

QUOTE(Dragoon709 @ Mar 19 2010, 04:57 PM) I have heard of at least 10 instances of PSN dying in one form or another from friends that have a ps3 and 360. all use XBL over PSN for that reason.

Well it is for free... so what do you expect? Not to mention that Microsoft is just greater as a company than sony, they have the capacity to bring good online gaming experiance, and they already have enough money to do it, but still they rake out money from people

Either way, PSN works just as well as XBL... many people claim that its slower coz its for free, but from my experiance its just as good. back when i could play on Live, i would get max 2 bars on MW2, no matter how many times the host changes, now on PSN im constant on 3 bars.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

My calculations for each system and prices are about on-par. A standard Xbox 360 model with a yearly Live subscription is equal to a refurbished PS3 80GB model. I can also get around two games for each of them (PS3: MGS4 and probably God of War I/II, 360: The Orange Box and Rainbow Six Vegas 2). I can always borrow some of my brother's 360 games (he doesn't really like the original L4D, which I got him for his birthday last year, and I do like it). Still, I think I'd stick with a PS3, since it does also have Bluray (as pointed out by kobykaan) and all that other cool stuffs.

 

[Hachibei]

I don't know why people always complain about having to pay for XBL. It's only $60/year. That comes out to $5 a month. Anyone with half a brain working at McDonald's could make that money in less than a week.

Plus, it's not just for gaming online; with a gold membership you get weekly marketplace deals (which usually means half off XBLA games, map packs, etc.), early access to demos, and TrueSkill matchmaking.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I don't know why people always complain about having to pay for XBL. It's only $60/year. That comes out to $5 a month. Anyone with half a brain working at McDonald's could make that money in less than a week.

Plus, it's not just for gaming online; with a gold membership you get weekly marketplace deals (which usually means half off XBLA games, map packs, etc.), early access to demos, and TrueSkill matchmaking.

Well, people complain because the PS3 and Wii have free online play. Even handhelds have free online. I mean, I wouldn't care that much and odds are my parents would pay for it as a birthday gift every year, but if money gets tighter I don't want that burden to be on them. My work is also irregular and not consistent (I work as a cameraman/video guy for the school, and I only get jobs when there's school board meetings or school events like sports and concerts).

I think Microsoft should just update Silver status so that it can do multiplayer gaming. Sure, it can cause a loss of revenue, but just keep Gold members hooked by offering more bonuses.

 

[Forstride]

PS3 also comes with WIFI built in so no buying extra hardware to use wireless connectivity!

edit: re post above this one .....Sure we get downtime occasionally but remember WE ARE NOT PAYING FOR DOWNTIME like 360 owners!

The first one, I agree is stupid about the 360. It's either wired, or ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS for a network adapter, which is ridiculous (Wired is better, but some people might not have an Ethernet cable long enough).

Second though...Xbox Live has barely had any downtime, except for a few instances due to Marketplace traffic (IIRC).


EDIT: Back to the XBL paying thing. 1 year of Live = 1 new Xbox 360 game (Well, the year is $10 cheaper). Just don't buy a new Xbox game, and get the Live if it really bugs you.