On Black Friday this year, I was in the middle of the hustle and bustle that was target that night (it was a Thursday night sale), and as parents, kids, and others whisked away their early Christmas presents, I stood at a crossroad of two completely different products. Should I buy the ever-popular Xbox 360, or should I buy the less-popular Playstation 3. As a proud owner of a Wii for about 5 years and no intent in buying the Wii U at the time, I decided it was time for me to delve into one of these two consoles and stop being left out. A great deal of my friends own an Xbox 360, playing on it perhaps most of the day, but the free internet play and 4 included games in the PS3 bundle wooed me into Sony’s latest gaming venture.
Coming home that night, I did what anyone would do with such a console: EVERYTHING! I played the games that came with the bundle, bought games on the store, added the few number of friends I have that own a PS3, and so on. However, while I was enjoying myself, an old meme resurfaced into my mind: That the PS3 has no “gaems.”
After owning this PS3 for about two weeks, I feel like I can respond to this old saying. Many of the games that come out or will come out during this video game generation have been released for both the PS3 and the 360, so why would people make this statement? All of the most popular games, from Grand Theft Auto IV and Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, to the more recent Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Assassin’s Creed 3 have been released for the two consoles. Yet, 360 fanboys still say that the console lacks any true gaming potential.
If the PS3 does not have any games, than surely, all of the great games of today MUST be on the 360 (Not counting the Wii in this). Two of the biggest Xbox-exclusive titles are the Gears of War franchise and the Halo franchise. However, I do not believe that these two games hold up to make the 360 the more gamer-oriented console of today. The PS3 has many exclusive titles, all of different genres, that are enough to impress me compared to the overdone futuristic shooters that the 360 has.
So why do many people believe that the PS3 has no games for it? As I sifted through my friends list the other day, it hit me: It’s not the PS3 doesn’t have any games, but instead, it is that more people I know (and perhaps you know too) own an Xbox already. When the Xbox first came out, it was offered at a cheaper price than the PS3, even though they’re about the same price. Because of this, many people bought an Xbox. As more and more people over the years needed a gaming console, the Xbox was always the top choice, with the argument being that most of your friends own an Xbox. So what if you have to pay for online features? It’s much better than buying that other thing, right? People only buy an Xbox to meet up with all their friends. It has nothing to do with the games at all, but instead, the fan base that each console has.
The ultimate question in this argument, though, is if I am truly satisfied with my choice. To that, I say with a proud face, yes, I am. No, I can’t play with all my other friends, but then again, I would find myself buying games I wouldn’t like, like Black Ops 2 or UMvC3, simply to play with them. I love my friends, but not to the point where I’ll buy every new game just to play with them. It’s nice being able to buy the games I want without constantly thinking if they’ll play it with me. Additionally, with the money I save on not buying an Xbox Live Gold membership, I was able to purchase a Playstation Plus membership, giving me access to a whole slew of great titles for a low 3-month price.
So, to answer in a TL;DR manner, the PS3 does have games, just not most gamers.

Feel free to contribute your own opinion to this, I wrote this half asleep

 

At this point it's just a joke, ask anyone to be serious and they can probably list a bunch of games for it even without owning one.

 

I know, and yet it takes me forever to write a 1000 word essay...

 

It's just like plasma dragon007 said. If you don't own many games for the console, it doesn't mean there aren't any games for it. I've been pondering on buying a 360 for about a year or so, but so far I don't see any real reason for it since I own a PS3. Sure Halo and Gears of War are great games, but I'm not convinced that buying a console just for a few games is justified with the current prices (the Wii was an exception as I hadn't played any games on it, it was under 100€ new and I could borrow games from friends).

 

It's a joke now.
But it has moved on to the Vita now.
"the psvita has no gaems!"

 

Well the whole idea of PS3 having no games in my mind comes from owning and loving the PS1 and PS2, compared to the variety of games on those systems the PS3 really doesn't have many games.

I suppose that part of the issue is that I have always been a PC gamer as well as a console gamer, and the PS1 and PS2 both offered a metric ton of games you couldn't get on the PC and quite frankly even if you could they wouldn't play the same since the Dual Shock is so much better than a mouse for many types of games. Now with the PS3 the library has shifted to favor FPS type games almost to the point of being *insert non politically correct term here*.... If I want to play FPS the keyboard and mouse is the best way to play. Combined with the aspect that most of the good FPS's are released on the PC as well, it leaves me kind of wondering why I paid so much money for my launch PS3.

It also doesn't help that Gran Turismo 5 while being great seems to have lost something from 3 and 4. Can't quite put my finger on it but it just isn't as much fun to play. Maybe I was expecting too much from it? Katamari on the PS2 was brilliant and a blast to play Katamari on the PS3 just sucks *insert favored animal here* testicles. Tekken Tag 2 might have been worth getting on the PS3 but I want it on the Wii-U instead since mushroom mode just looks too fun.

If all you have is a PS3, no gaming PC, no Wii-U or 360... the PS3 is probably a fantastic machine. My problem with it is, I paid so much for it why is that the games either suck or are mostly better on other platforms? If this is what I get for having the most expensive console this gen... I got robbed.

So would I tell some one the PS3 sucks? if they are just getting a console from this gen and do not have access to a solid gaming PC, I would tell them to go for it. Would I tell some one to buy a PS3 if they owned a gaming PC or a 360? No there just isn't enough differentiation in the library to justify the cost unless you really have a bunch of extra money to spend than by all means have at it and enjoy it for what it does offer (I tend to own at least 2 consoles from each generation. Sometimes more.)

Edit: Before some one takes my post the wrong way, I am not anti PS3... I just feel like it didn't deliver what Sony promised and didn't deliver on the legacy that the PS1 and PS2 worked so hard to build. It hasn't really offered me what I imagined it would. So I take a lot of the blame in being disappointed as I was expecting a upgraded PS2 type of experience.

 

well ps3 is gonna get FF 13-Versus and the last of us. the end of the ps3 life is gonna be fun with these cool games, since next gen will come soon.