Twiggy

Which system is better? I am trying to focus on these key points when choosing a system:

- Multiplayer
- Ease
- Value and Quality
- Reliability

msdz

Well, I am not positive about any of the info I have recieved about either system but I am buying a PS3 today, I plan on buying the 40Gb PS3 and some games. What I was told by a friend who owns a 360 sort of made my decision up for me. He said that he has to pay to play online with his 360. He can either buy a subscription for Xbox Live or buy cards that have a certain amount of time on it so he can play.
Another friend said he doesn't have to pay anything for his PS3 to play online except for hos own internet connection and then he had to set up a wireless network. I am not really interested in the online play right now. I am not ready to set up the wireless network at this time but at least I can have that option. As far as games I see there isn't to many games for PS3 that I care for but the same goes for the 360, but there are so many games that the PS3 can play from the PS1 and PS2. Not like there isn't a choice for either system.
I had heard about the issues with the red ring of death the 360 had, I am not sure if Microsoft has fixed it yet?? Sure somebody will know about it and post it. I also heard the PS3 had a firmware problem but did fix it with an update, so I had read?!?! One of the main reasons I wanted the PS3 was the fact of some games I use to play on the PS1 I had and I know the games are locked only to PS consoles and nothing else.

I will post again in a few days after I buy the PS3 later today and play it for a while to let you know how I really like it.

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Zoopy_T

360 has a better game library then the PS3 (if you don't count PS2 games) and has better online play. Although you do have to pay to play online with the 360.

Apophis

I have both a PS3 and a 360.

• The 360 has hardware issues and has either completely failed on me requiring me to send it back and/or locks up more frequently than the PS3.
  
  
• The 360 has a better online interface than the PS3 does and it's easier to get around and find friends. Although Sony is coming out with "Home" for the PS3 that will certainly rival what Microsoft offers. Some aspects of Home are very cool and are not available on Xbox Live while other aspects of Xbox Live seem easier to navigate.
  
  • TG article on Sony "Home".
  
  
• The 360 requires a monthly subscription to participate in online play while Sony's Playstation Network is free.
  
  
• The online play is online play. When you connect with the PS3 to another player to play games, there's no difference between the play on the PS3 vs. the 360.
  
  
• The PS3 has Blu-Ray, on-board HDMI, and wireless networking (802.11g).
  
  
• The Xbox 360 has a greater selection of titles at the moment, but it also had a year head start on the PS3. More and more titles are coming out for the PS3 with a ton more to come this year. If you are concerned about tons of crap titles you're never going to play on one console vs. tons of crap titles you're never going to play on another; this may be of importance.
  
  
• The Xbox 360 has far superior "profile" management with each profile being able to be password protected with button-combination passwords. This is great for creating profiles for your children. You can even set up time limits on a daily basis to restrict overall play time. The PS3 is supposed to add this, but I've not seen it yet. Sony also likes using numerical passwords that display ON SCREEN as each digit is entered which I dislike. I like Microsoft's method of using button combinations a lot better than what Sony has shown in the past.
  

At the end of the day, both consoles have good games and more games will be coming in the future. Personally, I feel the overall graphic quality of the games are better on the PS3 than the 360 and I have trouble purchasing new games for the 360 as I feel it is only a matter of time before my 360 is bricked and I need to either purchase a new one.

As far as "future-proofing" your investment, I would go towards Sony due to their history of providing long-term support and hardware placement. In another 8 years I believe you'll still be seeing the PS3 and getting support for it whereas Microsoft has already shown with the original Xbox that their commitment is not that great.

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Diplomacy is the art of saying "good doggie" while looking for a bigger stick.

Vinzalf

Lucky Apo got here quick to put a lid on that can of worms you opened.

I simply don't have the money to buy a 360, but I would if I did. I own a PS3 and I love it. I don't think there is a clear "Better" one of the two here. They all have their strong and weak points.

One thing for msdz to note is, if you buy the 40gb version of the PS3, you won't have the backwards compatibility for any PS2 games you have. You'll have PS3, Blu-Ray, and DLC.

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RAWGRLRLRLRRLGLRL!!!

Nations are like individuals: they achieve more when they plan to plant a tiny tree, and do it, than when they propose to raise an entire forest and then fall asleep in the furrows.

I AM socializing artard, I'm logged on to an MMORPG with people from all over the world and getting XP with my party using Teamspeak

Apophis

Another nifty thing on the PS3 is it can use Bluetooth headsets. I have the headset for my cell phone associated by both my cell and the PS3. So I can pop on my headset and I'm good to go for multiplayer voice comms.

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Diplomacy is the art of saying "good doggie" while looking for a bigger stick.

msdz

OK, before I went out and bought the PS3 I did some comparison with the 2 versions available at most Wal-Mart stores, the 80Gb and the 40Gb. I found out the 40Gb version is not backwards compatiable with PS2 games but is with PS1 games, along with some other minor hardware such as 4 USB ports for the 80Gb and only 2 USB ports for the 40Gb. So I had changed my mind about getting the 40Gb and bought the 80Gb PS3. So far I am happy with it. Of course I am still using an old TV set so can not get any HD use out of it. That I am hoping to remedy soon as well. Oh, I did the comparison right at Playstations web site.
I only have 2 games as of right now, Motorstorm that came with it and I bought Oblivion, that way my wife and I aren't fighting over who gets to play on the computer as much. She is addicted to Oblivion for the computer so I got it for her mainly while I get the computer to play PR, lol. Anyway, the PS3 s not like I expected, I expected some faster load times compared to the old PS1 games but that I guess is my fault for expecting so much from the system. I would like to see how the load times compare in a 360 but don't have that chance. Still the games play flawlessly after the load and on my old TV look great. I like the idea I can also access the internet and play online free. 360 I was told you need to pay for the time limit cards or a subscription to play on Xbox Live?!?! Somebody else can confirm that. So, to play online free was a major winner with me. I was thinking about getting a keyboard later on so I won't have to use the onscreen keyboard. Also, the reason I wanted the PS3 was due to the fact it has a few games that are locked to only PS3 which I really enjoyed the previous versions of them.

I will say thank you Vinzalf for the heads up but I had already checked on that right after I posted my last message. I always try to make comparisons on what I plan on buying first, that way I know what the difference is. A buddy told me the software can be changed so the 40Gb can play PS2 games and was easy to do? I thought he was full of it so i decided an extra $100 was worth getting the 80Gb plus Motorstorm instead of buying and then trying to get something to work that will most likely void the warranty right out of the box.

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GhostintheShell

You get a free "silver" account on LIVE, but if you want premium features you have to upgrade to a "gold" account. +It is not expensive to get a gold account.

You can buy a card for a month or a years worth of gold service, you can also buy cards that have "credits" that pay for download-able games and new release movies that can be downloaded to your HDD and watched or played from there.

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Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else thereafter.
Ernest Hemingway, "On the Blue Water," Esquire, April 1936

TheSkudDestroyer

PS3.

Now that Blu-Ray has the definite upper hand...

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machowner

I would go blu-ray. I'm a sony fan, so...

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Ferris Bueller

As far as the main things go, I agree completely with Apophis's evaluation. However, one thing to tack on is that the PS3 controls for some games are extremely complex and bunglesome. Anyone who has tried flying the dragons in Lair knows exactly what i'm talking about.

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|TG-6th|Ferris Bueller

Gambit7

I'd like to point out that you can also make your own games for the 360 as well as sync it up to your computer. If you so feel inclined.

By far, the 360 allows more "freedom of movement" then the PS3 does. It's more user friendly, it's more developer friendly, and it's cheaper. If you need extra bells and whistles the PS3 has (like wifi, or HDdvd) then u just add it... you're not "forced" into paying extra for something you dont need. It's a modular system.

Every "industry pro" out there covets the 360 over the PS3. This goes from retailers down to the guys who write the code. It's as simple as that. I've seen entire Gamestop staffs return their PS3s for 360's. Now, later on down the road perhaps PS3 will catch up. But, as for now, the 360 is where its at. And its online play (which happens to be the best in the world) is well worth the money paid. And there are exponentially more titles to be played on the 360 as well.

If you want a Blu-Ray player and arent really that much of a true hard-core console gamer. Then the PS3 is for you. If you're heavy into consoles, you cant beat the x-box.
Personally, I dont mess around when it comes to hardware... I'd rather have the best of it all. That means 360 for gaming and buy a standalone player for my HD need (yah yah, blu-ray is winning.. blah blah)

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machowner

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tHa_KhAn

As far as I'm aware you can media serve to the PS3 as well as the 360. I use my 360 as my media center in the living room. For that alone it is worth it. You may want to consider who has a 360 or PS3. Most of my friends have 360's so the choice was easy. I could play with more people I knew with the 360.

I dare say the 360 is superior at being part of your whole entertainment center with music, video, and pic streaming from the PC. Apophis is the only person I know of that uses a PS3 for things other than blu-ray and games so it is a difficult comparison. Taking this into consideration, hard drive space becomes much less important as most people have plenty of space on a PC somewhere in the house.

Most reviews I read the difference in game quality is minimal with PS3 having superior graphics and Xbox Live giving a better online experience. As mentioned before, any new buyers should look at past and future titles and compare which games really make or break it for you. Then compare what your friends have and go from there.

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Zoopy_T

I thought the most interesting fact about the PS3 is you can take out the hard drive and plop in your own. There is also option to do hard drive partitioning to allow other Operating Systems to be installed on the system.

What do you do with your PS3 Apophis?