Comprehensive PS3 vs Xbox360 - I have no idea of the pros/cons and lots of questions

[Iskenator67]

I'm not even going to get into this.
360-Good online, good games, system fails, good price
PS3-bad online, bad price, good games, no system fails
That's the watered down version of it. I was never one for details.

Bad online?
Clearly you havnt played much of PSN have you?
OP, seriously you just had to make this fucking thread that has been done, TO FUCKING DEATH.

Let's see Valve does not even support there PS3 titles. Witch is why there is no updates for them. Microsoft has sold 28 million, Sony has sold 22 million as of November 2008. Most PS2 exclusives have jumped ship. But both Microsoft and Sony are fucking up by trying to milk the motion sensor cow. Leave that half dead beast to Nintendo and get back to work on the good games.

So becuase 1 online game doesnt get updates the online sucks? and because there are more players on XBL its automatically better?
XBL is full of racists, annoying little kids, and just plain arseholes. Most 360 exclusives are also on pc.
PSN is great, so is 360 with its party chat (which I really wished was on PSN). Its clear your opinion is biased.

I meant 2 but that's not the point
every online network has it's share of the above mentioned. Your not going to tell me that every one on PSN has a love for all of god's creatures are you? All you really have to do is avoid them. The only real difference in the systems is the PS3 is better equipped for the long run due to the hardware and will probably hits it's prime when the other ones die out. Where as the the 360 is already at it's prime. It depends if you want immediate or future potential. there both decent choices. ones a bit cheaper and ones more powerful. And even I'm willing to admit I'd kill for a chance to play Infamous and God of War 3. I still can't believe it doesn't have party chat. That's just retarded. If you can afford a PS3 and a PC with enough power to play those games more power to ya. But for people like me who are a bit pressed for cash at times, The 360 is cheaper. OT: If I had a doller for every one of these threads I've seen I could buy out Sony.

 

[TheBXRabbit]

I own a 360, and have played the PS3, but I couldn't give you a legitimate opinion to most of the questions you have. I will instead focus on the one subject I feel confident enough to answer: the controllers.

The Xbox 360 controller seems to be better tuned for shooters than the PS3, mostly due to the differing styles of shoulder buttons. The PS3's main shoulder buttons (L1 and R1) are kind of "poofy" if that makes sense, and don't seem to work well as triggers. Developers appear to know this, since I all the PS3 shooters I know of use the smaller L2 and R2 upper buttons for primary actions like shooting. The 360 on the other hand has slimmer primary shoulders which feel much more comfortable as triggers, and are used as such by all 360 shooters I know of. It might just be that I'm more accustomed to the 360's controller, but when I played games on the PS3 the shoulders felt odd and made the controls slightly counter-intuitive because of this difference (It got even weirder after I'd gotten somewhat accustomed to the PS3's inverted shoulders and then went back to the 360).

Other than that, they're pretty similar. Both have two analog sticks, a D-pad, four main buttons, four shoulder buttons, and two/three menu and guide buttons in the center. The PS3 controller is noticeably lighter than the 360 controller, mainly because of the lack of a battery pack. Another reason I personally prefer the 360 controller to the PS3's is that the 360's feels slightly bigger and heftier (I have big hands, and when I used the PS3 I couldn't shake the feeling that I might accidentally break the controller).

Oh, and the Plug-and-Play setup is great, but there are a few minor nitpicky drawbacks. Using the cable negates the wireless aspect of the controllers and only gives you about 6 feet of length, but you don't have to use it constantly. There are only two USB ports on the front of the 360 so you can only easily charge two controllers at a time, but I've never run into a situation that required more than one cable. I don't know how the PS3 controllers recharge so I can't make a comparison or judgement between them in this respect, but the 360 charging setup works fine for me, and the charge-time/play-time ratio leans heavily towards the play-time.

 

[dennyaaa]

I think both consoles are good, but I choose a PS3 system, becuase the games were more appealing. No doubt Xbox has the best online section, but It isen't free, like the Playstation Network. Also I wanted a blue-ray player for my new Flatscreen, and the possibility of playing Metal Gear Solid 4, God of War 3 and Uncharted, just woke my interest, since Halo never was my cup of tea.

But as I started saying, base your choice on which games you want to play, not the name of the consol

 

[The Cheezy One]

which ever you get, youd back it to the hilt on these threads
e.g. my 360 currently has RRoD (red ring of death) and xbox live is a load of hooting eejits, but i would never trade it for a PS3
however i got probably at leas 2 months worth of literal solid play, as if i sat and played for 2 months without pause, before it broke, so im not callling it on that one.
live? welll there are nice people there. im currently friends with the guy who did the monday musing a week or so ago. and there is always a mute player function
360 is more friendly, whereas PS3 is more hardcore
choose one, and you wont regret it

edit: you do have to pay to connect your 360 to the online servers, but its £50GBP one off, then £35 a year, which if youre a student, you will be making the most out of
and after all that, its still cheaper then a PS3 if you get the premium as opposed to the elite

 

[Wintermoot]

PS3 Pro: nice graphics and great system if you like serious games online service free has blue ray
PS3 Con: quite expensive not backwards compatible (WTF?)
PS3 summary: not bad for a system if you like serious games

360 Pro: lots of fun games with humor in them and fun if you have multy player games when your friends come over its also backwards compatible with Xbox
360 con: online service costs money and early models have an hardware error that can destroy your DVD/CD and the RROD (wich I assume are fixed in newer consoles)

 

[jamesworkshop]

Graphics wise they seem to be about equal its more dependant on whos making the game than hardware advantages since the PS3 can handle vector data much faster but at the same time has a slower rasterizer coupled with 256mb of video memory.

http://www.destructoid.com/rage-for-360-pc-twice-as-good-as-the-ps3-version-142003.phtml

its all about the games in the end whos exclusives do you want to play also I believe the xbox does not have a web browser but the PS3 one is actuall pretty nasty.

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/dor/articles/1014415/gc-2009-cry-engine-3-demo/videos/gcom09act_crytekdemo_p1_081709.html

a good comparison with the crysis 2 multiplatform, it isn't a high quality video but its enought to see that the PS3/360 are more or less equal.

 

[sirdanrhodes]

I'd say get a PS3, only because my XBOX 360s reliability has been, well, FUCKING SHIT!

Over an hour to get a party going on Live, 30 minutes ish to get the game going, then my XBOX goes and crashes!

Oh yeah, for those playing at home, I am on unit number 4.

 

[wolfskin]

I don't own a PS3 so I can't really say anything for or against it. I will say that I've enjoy my time with my Xbox 360 but it has died on me a number of times so it is something you should be ready for.

I think in the end it mostly comes down to which excluses you're interested in as there just isn't any major, deal breaking differences when it comes to the multi platform games.

However, I will say that the few times I have played a PS3 i've found the controller to be a bit uncomfortable, particularly the triggers. Then again I've heard the same complaint made about the Xbox so it's different for everyone. You'd probably be better off trying them both out and just getting a feel for how you personally find the controllers - you're going to use it a fair bit so you might as well get the one you find most comfortable.

 

[teisjm]

- Is BlueRay all it's cracked up to be? I've never seen a Blueray DVD (not owning anything that can play it), but the graphics on Halo3 seemed pretty damn good without blueray.

The PS3 has a blu-ray drive, which allow for great graphics, this is true for the 360's HDDVD drive as well, the big difference is that you can play blu-ray movies on the PS3, not the graphical quallity of the games.

I've heard the PS3 can't play PS2 games but the 360 plays Xbox games. Are both these statements true (I own more PS2 games but play the Xbox more...so this may help decide)?

How important is this if you already own both PS2 and XboX? I know i still play GC games on my GC even though i can play them on my Wii.

How good are the controllers? I like the wireless-ness of the 360 and that option for "plug-and-play" battery recharging seems excellent. What's on offer for the PS3, is that wireless too?

Wireless on the PS3 as well, with a chord you can plug in so it charges, you can play while it charges.

How do the online services rate? This is something I'm hoping to do when I get to uni, as I'll have free internet. I read the PS3 article and it states that PSN is free - is this still true? How does it compare (reliability/player-base/douche-baggery) to XboxLive?

PS3 is free to play online, dunno about the rest.

would finally like to add that cost isn't so much an issue when looking at a single platform. I wish to treat myself before I go to university (taking the console, insured to the gills, with me) as I've been scrimping and saving for a while, and am tired of the sluggish, noisy (but ultimately loyal) last-generation consoles I have. I would be looking at the 360 Elite, which seems to cost similar to a PS3, since I want a console that (should) last me as long as my older ones have.

Don't get either untill the PS3 slim has been released. When the slim comes, theres a chance that the fat (normal) PS3 drops in price, this (just my thoughts) may lead to microsoft cutting the price in the 360 as well, in order to keep the advantage of beeing a lot cheaper than the PS3.
So no matetr which console you want, you should wait and see whether it drops when the slim comes out.

 

[cordeos]

- Is BlueRay all it's cracked up to be? I've never seen a Blueray DVD (not owning anything that can play it), but the graphics on Halo3 seemed pretty damn good without blueray.

The PS3 has a blu-ray drive, which allow for great graphics, this is true for the 360's HDDVD drive as well, the big difference is that you can play blu-ray movies on the PS3, not the graphical quallity of the games.

I've heard the PS3 can't play PS2 games but the 360 plays Xbox games. Are both these statements true (I own more PS2 games but play the Xbox more...so this may help decide)?

How important is this if you already own both PS2 and XboX? I know i still play GC games on my GC even though i can play them on my Wii.

How good are the controllers? I like the wireless-ness of the 360 and that option for "plug-and-play" battery recharging seems excellent. What's on offer for the PS3, is that wireless too?

Wireless on the PS3 as well, with a chord you can plug in so it charges, you can play while it charges.

How do the online services rate? This is something I'm hoping to do when I get to uni, as I'll have free internet. I read the PS3 article and it states that PSN is free - is this still true? How does it compare (reliability/player-base/douche-baggery) to XboxLive?

PS3 is free to play online, dunno about the rest.

would finally like to add that cost isn't so much an issue when looking at a single platform. I wish to treat myself before I go to university (taking the console, insured to the gills, with me) as I've been scrimping and saving for a while, and am tired of the sluggish, noisy (but ultimately loyal) last-generation consoles I have. I would be looking at the 360 Elite, which seems to cost similar to a PS3, since I want a console that (should) last me as long as my older ones have.

Don't get either untill the PS3 slim has been released. When the slim comes, theres a chance that the fat (normal) PS3 drops in price, this (just my thoughts) may lead to microsoft cutting the price in the 360 as well, in order to keep the advantage of beeing a lot cheaper than the PS3.
So no matetr which console you want, you should wait and see whether it drops when the slim comes out.

I have searched around the forum for these threads - and the closest one I could find came up as a "404 error". I know this community frowns on "VS" threads but please bear with me, it's not one in the usual style.

I come from a background of moderate console use. I only played on friends' N64s and Dreamcasts (strangely I really, really liked the DC), but owned a PS1 (the block one), PS2 (large clunky one) and Xbox (An Eastern-Block one called Disco). All of these were "factory standard" and the cheapest available. I dislike gaming on PC (bar strategy games) so have never really looked into much modification etc (I got a pretty good gaming set-up when I bought the PC a couple of years ago, that's it).

There are a lot of threads that ask which platform is best, and it's full of jargon I don't understand (or referencing aspects of games I have never played), and rapidly descend into flame-wars. I'm hoping for something a little more...all-encompassing and less fanboy-ish with this thread.

So, can I ask the community for a comprehensive run-down on the differences between the PS3 and 360?

I'm not adding a poll, firstly to prevent fanboy "vote-and-run" issues, and also because I have a comprehensive list of issues/questions that cannot be answered with a single vote, as naturally some aspects one console will do better than the other.

I've checked out these threads, but they have only left me with more questions:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.81646?page=1
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/op-ed/794-Console-Wars-Failure-Rates-and-E3
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/88145-PS3-Is-Dying-On-The-Shelves


Ok, here goes, this is a big wall o'text, so consider yourselves warned:

- I've heard the PS3 can't play PS2 games but the 360 plays Xbox games. Are both these statements true (I own more PS2 games but play the Xbox more...so this may help decide)?

the 360 can play some xbox games there is a list somewhere. I have an older PS3 and can play every PS and PS2 game i own, not sure about the new PS3s

- Are there actually many "console exclusive" games? I've already mentioned I don't like playing non-Strategy games on the PC (I've heard before that PS3 and PC is the smartest combination, so that's a no-go for me) and I wonder if I'll be limiting myself by choosing either console. I enjoy FPS games, which is why my Xbox holds me, but at the same time Final Fantasy probably has the most play-hours of all my consoles (including Halo multi-player). How do the consoles perform in terms of FPS/RPG/Adventure exclusivity?

yeah most of the good 360 'exclusives' are on PC, only one I'm still waiting for is gears 2

- I've heard the 360 has some serious hardware issues, moreso than the PS3 does. Are these problems still so extreme with the newer models (like the Elite)? This is the biggest thing that's putting me off a "next-gen" console right now, that it may break all too soon for the amount of money shelled out for it (which console has the best/longest warranty?). My PS2 went down a flight of stairs and (aside from one disk getting stuck inside, later fished out) still functions, and my Xbox has been stood on and rattled around in numerous cars, buses and bikes (I'm not careless with the consoles, they've just been used and moved a lot over the years). Here's what definitely concerns me: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93943-Xbox-360s-Death-Rate-is-54-2

as far as i know the failure rate on 360s is totally unrelated to the version you buy, the main difference between the versions is hard drive size. The failure rate is almost 50% i think.

- How do the online services rate? This is something I'm hoping to do when I get to uni, as I'll have free internet. I read the PS3 article and it states that PSN is free - is this still true? How does it compare (reliability/player-base/douche-baggery) to XboxLive?

they both have douche bags, i found more on XBL, the main difference is on PSN you arn't paying for little children to yell racial slurs at you

- The PS3 review says the games/online weren't so hot but the future looked promising. The time of writing was Dec2008, have things improved since then (ie "public-opinion good titles") and what is there to come in the future? How does this compare with things up the pipeline for the 360?

MAG is probably the biggest thing for PS3 online, 256 player battles. In terms of games, there have been some great releases like Infamous and Killzone 2, God of War 3 will be released sometime this year

- Is BlueRay all it's cracked up to be? I've never seen a Blueray DVD (not owning anything that can play it), but the graphics on Halo3 seemed pretty damn good without blueray.

unless you have an HDTV and 7.1 surround sound, blue ray wont really be noticeable

- How good are the controllers? I like the wireless-ness of the 360 and that option for "plug-and-play" battery recharging seems excellent. What's on offer for the PS3, is that wireless too?

Both controllers are fine, 360 controllers use AA batteries, ps3 charge with a usb cable. the advantage is that even thought the system only comes with one cord and new controllers don't come with extra cords, its a pretty standard usb cord, i had 3 extra from other devices that i now can use to charge all 4 controllers at once.

- What's more fun to play with groups of people? I've had good times with split-screen Halo, and likewise with some ActuaTennis or something-or-other on a mates 360. Is the same level of multiplayer fun possible on the PS3, or is it still stuck to 2 controllers?

there arnt many games for the next gen that have 2 let alone 4 player capability, which is unfortunate, might have to stick with xbox, ps2 for that

 

[Sebenko]

Since recommending my favorite black monolith isn't going to work, I will say this:

I have a few ported Xbox to PC games, and they're rubbish. Fable, Overlord, and the worst offender, Deadspace (Although I know the console version is good, that being why I bought it.)

I'd say go for a PS3, but wait until the slim comes out. (Dunno when that is, haven't kept an eye on you peasants for a while now)

Although I do like the Xbox controllers (I think they have changed since my time with the old "classic" Xbox ones), they feel nicely meaty

 

[D_987]

Get with the console your friends are playing.

Simple really, forget the prices, the exclusives etc... at the end of the day the social aspect of gaming is more important.

 

[cordeos]

t until the slim comes out. (Dunno when that is, haven't kept an eye on you peasants for a while now)

slim comes out september 1st

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

The PS3 has a blu-ray drive, which allow for great graphics, this is true for the 360's HDDVD drive as well, the big difference is that you can play blu-ray movies on the PS3, not the graphical quallity of the games.

It's not really the drive that has anything to do with graphical power. That all comes from the processor. The only real up that the Blu Ray drive would have in terms of games is that it won't spread games across multiple discs, but so far it's pretty much been a case of filling the BD with pre-rendered cutscenes.

But either way, the PS3 is the more powerful console, but not by that much. The difference between KZ2 and GoW 2 is hardly massive.

Agreed. You'll feel like a mug when friends buy one console and you buy another.

 

[Pendragon9]

Get a Ps3 slim. Trust me, People said it sucked because of the price. But now that it is cheaper, it is superior to the 360 in every single way. Though when it comes to thegames, I'll leave that to your judgement. Also, be wary of the 50 % error rate of the 360. Apparently MS didn't want to fix it

 

[mattman106]

The two consoles are pretty much even as gaming machines imo. The PS3s main advantages are Bluray and free internet. The 360s advantages are price and games library (before anyone bashes me the 360 has been out longer so does have a few more games, namely NFS: Most Wanted which is awesome.)

I'd say get the one your mates have. If not get a 360 unless you fancy the PS3 exclusives as you'll save a ton of cash.

Oh and if you want an Elite wait a little while as the Premium is being dropped to be replaced by the Elite at that price point.

 

[Megacherv]

-quote to get OP's attention-

Okay, I'm just going to answer your questions straight out, in the order you asked them:-

-Only the original 20GB, 60GB and the first US 80GB models can play PS2 games, but all models still have PS1 backwards compatibility. Backwards compatibility may come in the future if Sony can emulate the Graphics Synthesizer on the PS3.

-There are going to be only 2 360 modifications, Arcade and Elite. The PS3, I'm not really sure what's being sold, but the standard in the UK is the 80GB model, I'm not sure what models are being sold in the US or wherever you are located. Wikipedia is the place to search for that.

-I'm not much of a multi-player person online, since I live just fine with single player, or the people online are tiresomely obsessive fanboys.

-There are loads of exclusives for each console, some brilliant, some absolute shite. Again, Wikipedia will probably have a list for each console.

-Yes, the 360s can still be riddled with the gremlins, but Microsoft have acknowledged this and they will repair replace RRoD'd consoles. I'm not sure about the laser issues, but I think they still remain (discs becoming dislodged and burnt by the lasers) I once accidentally kicked my friend's 360 (stupid idea putting it by MY feet), the disc came loose, span oddly like made, fell back into place, all the while the game wasn't affected.

-Each of the online services are full of douche-bags (as stated above). PSN is free, XBL is on an annual subscription, each have their own merits and downfalls. It all depends on what you want from the online services.

-Again, all depends on what you want. Multi-platform releases normally are identical.

-BluRay is used for the PS3 games, which do allow bigger games e.g. MGS4 and the upcoming Rage (the latter will be sightly reduced and put on 2 discs)

-360 rechargeable controller batteries have to be bought separately, whilst the PS3 ones are wireless and can be charged by connecting it to the PS3 using a regular USB cable (like the one used for a PSP, or for a small external HDD on a PC). Newer PS3 controllers have vibration, but that makes them literally 10 times heavier, which may not work well for controller shaking.

-360 maximum controllers are 4 (I think), whilst the PS3's maximum is 7, so that's alright. Some games are loads of fun to play together on both systems, AGAIN, depends on your preference.

-If cost isn't a problem, I'll leave that one out then.

Hope this helps in any way possible.

 

[InfectingTheCrypts]

- I've heard the PS3 can't play PS2 games but the 360 plays Xbox games. Are both these statements true (I own more PS2 games but play the Xbox more...so this may help decide)?

Both have their issues. The 360 does have some backwards-compatibility with popular titles like Halo/2 and whatnot, but it isn't even close to 100% (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Xbox_games_compatible_with_Xbox_360 for full list).

The PS3 has a similar situation: it emulates PS2 hardware and so the compatiblity (like most emulators) isn't 100%. Again, you can find a list online somewhere but it's worth keeping in mind that rumours would suggest that in an upcoming firmware update the PS3 will soon get almost 100% backwards compatibility (but that's not a confirmed fact yet, so just keep it in mind). Either ways, both have problems.

- What is with the various modifications available for consoles? There are various types of 360 that I can barely discern between (I'm thinking of an Elite, as it's the top-of-the-line so should have enough hard-drive space to last me forever) but if the PS3 is anything like the PS2 then it's got expansion ports, so what can be done with it?

You can add an EXTRA hard drive on top of the existing 80GB stored in the PS3 through expansion ports, so it's worth keeping in mind. The Elite has two major differences between itself and the Premium: it has a bigger hard drive and has an HDMI cable. Otherwise, they are almost identical (bar the colour ).

- I do not view myself as a "console fanboy" - I have pangs of loyalty on occasion, for the PS1 was my first console and I love the Final Fantasy games and Gran Turismo. But the Halo series really got me into playing regularly and has been much better multi-player than anything on the PS2 so far.

These days the Halo player-base (and similarly Gears of War) is so over-saturated with whiny, 24/7 playing pricks that playing isn't even fun anymore. It's just irritating. Unless you have a significant number of friends with an Xbox then it probably won't be that fun. Also, the Xbox Live system is also rather pricey over a long period of time (and unless you are an online FANATIC) is not really worth the price IMHO.

- Are there actually many "console exclusive" games? I've already mentioned I don't like playing non-Strategy games on the PC (I've heard before that PS3 and PC is the smartest combination, so that's a no-go for me) and I wonder if I'll be limiting myself by choosing either console. I enjoy FPS games, which is why my Xbox holds me, but at the same time Final Fantasy probably has the most play-hours of all my consoles (including Halo multi-player). How do the consoles perform in terms of FPS/RPG/Adventure exclusivity?

It's worth noting that in this generation, bar Halo and Gears, the PS3 and 360 FPS libraries are almost identical (both have the big-selling CoD games). While the 360 has Halo and Gears, the PS3 has Warhawk and Killzone 2, so it's a pretty even playing field. Also the PS3 is probably a bit more fun to play online because of the absence of morons on the player-base. Genuinely (IMHO) the only game that the 360 has that the PS3 doesn't have that is worth taking note of is Left4Dead, but probably quite soon it'll be ported over sicne Valve is working on a PS3 dev team anyway.

- I've heard the 360 has some serious hardware issues, moreso than the PS3 does. Are these problems still so extreme with the newer models (like the Elite)? This is the biggest thing that's putting me off a "next-gen" console right now, that it may break all too soon for the amount of money shelled out for it (which console has the best/longest warranty?). My PS2 went down a flight of stairs and (aside from one disk getting stuck inside, later fished out) still functions, and my Xbox has been stood on and rattled around in numerous cars, buses and bikes (I'm not careless with the consoles, they've just been used and moved a lot over the years). Here's what definitely concerns me: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93943-Xbox-360s-Death-Rate-is-54-2

The newer models are slightly better but you still need to do some things like not move it about with a disk in it (or else the disc gets scratched) or keep it in a well ventilated area. The PS3's death rate is virtually non-existant (of all the 25 people I know with PS3s, only 1 has ever died and it was bought on launch day 2 years ago, so ).

- How do the online services rate? This is something I'm hoping to do when I get to uni, as I'll have free internet. I read the PS3 article and it states that PSN is free - is this still true? How does it compare (reliability/player-base/douche-baggery) to XboxLive?

I think I've already covered this well enough above.

- The PS3 review says the games/online weren't so hot but the future looked promising. The time of writing was Dec2008, have things improved since then (ie "public-opinion good titles") and what is there to come in the future? How does this compare with things up the pipeline for the 360?

The PS3 definitely has more potential for the future: developers are only just beginning to crack the PS3's phenomenal processing power: shown in games like Killzone 2 and MGS4. It's got games like Heavy Rain, MAG and most importantly: GOD OF WAR 3 coming out for it. The 360's is also pretty good, notably Left4Dead 2 and Fable 3, as well as Forza 3. It's promising for both, and they well last for a while, but subjectively I think the PS3's is shaping up to be better.

- Is BlueRay all it's cracked up to be? I've never seen a Blueray DVD (not owning anything that can play it), but the graphics on Halo3 seemed pretty damn good without blueray.

BluRay movies are the future. End of. They do actually look quite a lot better than DVDs MO, you can notice the difference. THe biggest difference is probably the audio quality and whatnot, but either way, they will slowly replace DVDs, so if you are concerned then it's better to just jump on the bandwagon and get there early with a cheap, future-proof Blu-Ray player like the PS3. Also it seems that BluRay discs are a lot bigger than normal discs, so this means PS3 exclusive games will probably be bigger overall than 360 exclusives.

- How good are the controllers? I like the wireless-ness of the 360 and that option for "plug-and-play" battery recharging seems excellent. What's on offer for the PS3, is that wireless too?

The 360 wins outright in this section. The controller is just a million times betetr, especially for FPS games. The L2/R2 triggers on the PS3 are so flimsy and weak and mushy that they are almost useless for anything.

- What's more fun to play with groups of people? I've had good times with split-screen Halo, and likewise with some ActuaTennis or something-or-other on a mates 360. Is the same level of multiplayer fun possible on the PS3, or is it still stuck to 2 controllers?

Yes, it is possible. 4-player split-screen is frankly just as good on either console: again, the 360 has Halo and Gears, but significantly the PS3 has Warhawk, a monster of a game that 4 local players can play TOGETHER online.

- I would finally like to add that cost isn't so much an issue when looking at a single platform. I wish to treat myself before I go to university (taking the console, insured to the gills, with me) as I've been scrimping and saving for a while, and am tired of the sluggish, noisy (but ultimately loyal) last-generation consoles I have. I would be looking at the 360 Elite, which seems to cost similar to a PS3, since I want a console that (should) last me as long as my older ones have.

The PS3 actually works out cheaper since it has built-in WiFI (no need to fork out $100/£40 for the wireless adaptor for 360) and also the online is free. Also, since it is less prone to dying, you probably wont have to pay repair fees.

Overall, you can probably see which side of the crowd I'm on, but it is still your choice. If you genuinely love Halo and Gears, then it's a no brainer. Personally, I like the library of games on the PS3 far more than the ones on 360, so it's my choice. And also, I lvoe the BluRay playback and the non-existant maintanence and online costs. But it's totally up to you.

Hope I helped

 

[Lord_Jaroh]

IOk, here goes, this is a big wall o'text, so consider yourselves warned:

I will respond with my knowledge of the PS3, with some rudiments of the XBox 360 as my buddy has one.

- I've heard the PS3 can't play PS2 games but the 360 plays Xbox games. Are both these statements true (I own more PS2 games but play the Xbox more...so this may help decide)?

The original versions of the PS3 had a PS2 inside it (along with a PS1), so it could play the original games as it was a PS2 as well. This got changed up to an emulation via hardware, and then taken out altogether to keep costs down. As of now, if you purchase a new PS3, unless you find a time-travel device to obtain a launch one, you will not be getting backwards compatability with PS2 games. PS1 games still function.

However, there are rumblings of software emulation being added to the PS3's firmware to allow PS2 compatability, which will probably come out sometime in the future (most likely closer to when the PS2's stop being manufactured). Sony seems to be holding off adding it to sell more older systems. My guess is that by the time you have caught up on the new games you want for the PS3, compatability will be ready to go and you can play older games.

- What is with the various modifications available for consoles? There are various types of 360 that I can barely discern between (I'm thinking of an Elite, as it's the top-of-the-line so should have enough hard-drive space to last me forever) but if the PS3 is anything like the PS2 then it's got expansion ports, so what can be done with it?

Hard drive space always ends up being less than you want down the road. I currently have 30ish games for the PS3 and am running into hard drive issues with the data installs and the PSN games that I have downloaded. I also do not have any other media on the system, so if you are a lover of music/photos/movies, you want a large hard drive and you want to be able to enlarge it in the future as you will run out.

The PS3 can take any normal hard drive for PCs and use that. I will probably be upgrading to a terrabyte soon (from my original 60 gig model). This should give me ample space for the next 5 years is my assumption, if not more, plus give me the ability to put music and other things on the drive.

The XBox 360 can only upgrade with proprietory drives that cost much much more than PC drives and come in much smaller sizes. My buddy is doing this currently and is very unhappy at the size of drive he got (120 gigs for $140). Just to compare, my terrabyte will probably cost the same...

The largest PS3 is 160 gigs and is functionally no different that the 80 gig. They will be the last of the "fatboy" design. Next up is a 120 gig slim, and we don't know everything yet for sure, but can assume it will be the same as the last for upgrading. If it were me, I would probably go with an 80 gig if I didn't like any of the bundles that you can find with a 120 gig, otherwise, save some aggravation due to storage issues off the hop and get the larger model with a tie in game bundle.

- I do not view myself as a "console fanboy" - I have pangs of loyalty on occasion, for the PS1 was my first console and I love the Final Fantasy games and Gran Turismo. But the Halo series really got me into playing regularly and has been much better multi-player than anything on the PS2 so far.

- Are there actually many "console exclusive" games? I've already mentioned I don't like playing non-Strategy games on the PC (I've heard before that PS3 and PC is the smartest combination, so that's a no-go for me) and I wonder if I'll be limiting myself by choosing either console. I enjoy FPS games, which is why my Xbox holds me, but at the same time Final Fantasy probably has the most play-hours of all my consoles (including Halo multi-player). How do the consoles perform in terms of FPS/RPG/Adventure exclusivity?

Console exclusives are pretty varied on the the PS3. For FPS, Resistance, Resistance 2 and Killzone 2 are all excellent. Folklore is a neat collect-em-all kind of beat-em-up with a story. Disgaea 3 is a Strategy RPG that has a lot of replay value. Metal Gear Solid 4 is one of the larger notables for it. Warhawk is a great flight shooter. Heavenly Sword is a God of War style beat-em-up. LittleBigPlanet is a platformer where you can also create the levels. Uncharted is one of the better over-the-shoulder style shooter/platformer to come out in a while. Valkyria Chronicles is an excellent Strategy RPG that is very unique in style and gameplay. inFamous is a great super hero themed free-roaming beat-em-up.

The PS3 also has a strong lineup of games still to come (and soon for many): God of War III, Final Fantasy Versus XIII[/b], Gran Turismo 5, Uncharted 2, White Knight Story, Heavy Rain, Demon's Souls, The Last Guardian, MAG, Twisted Metal just to name a few...

And on top of that, there are the excellent Playstation Network exclusives PixelJunk: Monsters, PixelJunk: Eden, Savage Moon, Fat Princess, Crash Commando, Flower, The Last Guy, Super Stardust.

- I've heard the 360 has some serious hardware issues, moreso than the PS3 does. Are these problems still so extreme with the newer models (like the Elite)? This is the biggest thing that's putting me off a "next-gen" console right now, that it may break all too soon for the amount of money shelled out for it (which console has the best/longest warranty?). My PS2 went down a flight of stairs and (aside from one disk getting stuck inside, later fished out) still functions, and my Xbox has been stood on and rattled around in numerous cars, buses and bikes (I'm not careless with the consoles, they've just been used and moved a lot over the years). Here's what definitely concerns me: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93943-Xbox-360s-Death-Rate-is-54-2

The "YLoD" (Yellow Light of Death) is my concern, but as I've had my PS3 from launch for 3 years and counting I'm pretty happy with the life I've got from it. From what I hear, the newer models have even a less chance of failing than the original ones (which was around 10%). I will say that the RRoD scared me away from sinking money into the XBox 360 rather than sticking with the PS3, and I probably still wouldn't buy one because of that.

- How do the online services rate? This is something I'm hoping to do when I get to uni, as I'll have free internet. I read the PS3 article and it states that PSN is free - is this still true? How does it compare (reliability/player-base/douche-baggery) to XboxLive?

Yes, the PSN is free still, and I have had no issues with it. It was kind of laggy when playing games using the wireless, but once I hooked it up directly, I've had no such issues. My girlfriend enjoys LittleBigPlanet and I have fun with Rock Band. We are quite pleased with it so far, and the one thing I can say is that Sony has done an excellent job of adding to it.

- The PS3 review says the games/online weren't so hot but the future looked promising. The time of writing was Dec2008, have things improved since then (ie "public-opinion good titles") and what is there to come in the future? How does this compare with things up the pipeline for the 360?

I look at the up-and-coming list for the PS3 (see where I posted a good many of them above) and I think it is far stronger than what is coming for the XBox 360, in my opinion, and with Microsoft making you pay for your online service and still giving you advertisements on top of that...well, it makes me dislike the future for that system more.

The current online system I find to be pretty good, and it looks to get only stronger. I can't say the same for the XBox 360.

- Is BlueRay all it's cracked up to be? I've never seen a Blueray DVD (not owning anything that can play it), but the graphics on Halo3 seemed pretty damn good without blueray.

If you have a high-def TV, it makes a huge difference. Your regular movies look more blurry on the HD TV than BluRay, which is super-clear. With games, it is less of an issue right now, as few games have filled the BluRay yet. give it a couple of years and I think you will start seeing a noticable difference (look at launch PS2 titles compared with the ones that showed up towards the end...).

- How good are the controllers? I like the wireless-ness of the 360 and that option for "plug-and-play" battery recharging seems excellent. What's on offer for the PS3, is that wireless too?

PS3 controllers are entirely wireless and last for a very long time without being recharged, rumble or not.

- What's more fun to play with groups of people? I've had good times with split-screen Halo, and likewise with some ActuaTennis or something-or-other on a mates 360. Is the same level of multiplayer fun possible on the PS3, or is it still stuck to 2 controllers?

Rock Band is the best multiplayer game there is...in my opinion. Barring that, four player LittleBigPlanet is a riot. Split-screen is pretty common on multiplayer games, but I don't play too many of those to make a full comment on them, mainly playing over the network, or by myself...

ld finally like to add that cost isn't so much an issue when looking at a single platform. I wish to treat myself before I go to university (taking the console, insured to the gills, with me) as I've been scrimping and saving for a while, and am tired of the sluggish, noisy (but ultimately loyal) last-generation consoles I have. I would be looking at the 360 Elite, which seems to cost similar to a PS3, since I want a console that (should) last me as long as my older ones have.

Sorry for the massive wall of text, and the sheer number of questions (doubtless I will have more as time goes on as well). But I have come from some pretty old consoles and I'm looking to upgrade (and the PS3 has been out what, 3 years now? So I'm not exactly fast). I was fortunate enough to be able to coerce my parents into getting me both a PS2 and an Xbox, but those were (relatively) cheap consoles - my Xbox was a refurbished model that came with a controller and Halo2 for about £80 for example. Since I'm purchasing my own consoles (being significantly older) and off to university buying both simply isn't an option.

Serious props and cookies for anyone that made it through this post, hopefully there are people out there that can answer some (or all) my questions without a simple "use search" (since I couldn't find anything totally relevant or this comprehensive). Many thanks for all thoughts shared.

PS: And why isn't there a sticky for this kind of thread? Surely this is a dilemma that comes up regularly?

No problem. I hope you have fun with whichever system you choose.