Xbox360, PS3, Decisions, decisions.

Countcussy

Countcussy

Countcussy

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As per title..

My parents have offered to buy me and the missus an XBOX 360 elite for christmas. Initially, I scoffed at the idea. We have a decent PC (In sig), A Wii and a DS.

However, after giving it some thought, I am coming round to the idea. Despite it being great fun, the Wii only gets used as an iPlayer these days, or when friends come round. So on many occasions, I end up on the PC in the bedroom, whilst the missus sits downstairs and watches TV and plays on her DS. In our PS1/PS2 days, we would sit for hours together gaming and having a laugh. I miss that.

Of course, as soon as you start considering the 360, you cannot ignore the PS3. We currently own a Toshiba 28" widescreen crt, so HD is not an issue/option at the moment. Our living room is quite small, so for the forseeable future, 32" is probably as big as we would need/go. This obviously negates one of the big advantages of the PS3, the Blu-Ray drive.

I would need the wireless adaptor for the 360, so that is another cost to consider. We don`t have many gaming friends, so its not like I can choose based on friends machines. The missus says she is not bothered about online gaming, but I am pretty sure once she has tried it, it will become essential. Of course, online is free with PS3, not with XBOX.

Games wise, as far as I can tell, there seems very little in it. My gaming tastes are quite diverse, but driving and sports games dominate my PC collection, she likes puzzle and 3d adventure/action (Think Spyro/Crash/Croc etc). We also enjoy games like Broken Sword, Monkey Island which we can play together. And co-op games like Lego Star Wars etc where we can have a laugh.

So, thats where I am at the moment. If I get the 360, will I wish I had a PS3, and vice versa. Controllers are not a problem, I have used both without issue, but I do like the 360 pad.

It just seems there are some cracking Xbox deals at the moment.

FWIW, we are both in our late 30`s.

Please do not turn this into a fanboi/flaming thread. I would just like some costructive opinions from console owners.
 
Sounds like you really want an Xbox but if you've not got an HD TV then personally I wouldn't bother with either.
 
I have several relatives who play their ps3 on an old crt with no issues at all. As said, it's not the be all and end all, you'll still enjoy the actual gaming just as much!
 
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Friend of mine is in this dilemma. You already have a PC, xbox exclusives are normally released on PC as well. Based on that and taking into account you dont have online friends generally on either go for the PS3. Has what you need out of the box and you get to play the PS3 exclusives with the option to play Blu-Rays if ever needed/wanted.
 
Red and White said:
what? why does that matter. i only recently got a hd but enjoyed games just as much before hand. yes it looks awesome in hd but its not everything.
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Just my opinion as he's already got a Wii and won't be able to use either the PS3 or Xbox at it's full potential without an HD TV. He's already said in his original post that the non-HDness of his TV negates the advantages of having a bluray player and I feel that this is also the case with games designed to play at 720p.

As Danula said he can play most Xbox games on his PC anyway.

If I were him I'd just look for some good two player games that him and the missus both like on the Wii instead.
 
There are some good deals going around for both consoles ATM, but as you are a PC gamer I would think the PS3 would make a better choice just for its exclusives being only on the PS3. Where as many 360 games will appear on the PC at the same time or a few months down the road. Either console will be a good purchase and you will enjoy what they have to offer, both are different enough to own both of them which is the ideal situation. One question about bluray, are you never going to get an HD TV? Im pretty sure most people if they can soon get an HD TV after purchasing one of the HD consoles, I have a 32 toshiba HD TV and its fine even though its only 720P BD still look great on it.
 
Red and White said:
sorry but you are talking absolute rubbish now. unless you think that graphics are the only thing that makes a good game?
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I had my console 12 months before i moved to a HD screen. I encountered problems twice. Dead Rising text is illegible and the Lost Odyssey memories that you collect can be hard on the eyes after a while. Other than that, Perfectly perfect gaming. You don't need a HD screen to enjoy Next gen consoles, Although it does improve things 10x
 
Get the new Mario on Wii...

Pointless using X360/PS3 on a non-HDTV IME - I tried it for a few days on a PS3 when I didnt realise my monitor worked with HDCP and my mate who got a X360 sold his CRT when he realised how poor it really was when displaying games...

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
Red and White said:
sorry but you are talking absolute rubbish now. unless you think that graphics are the only thing that makes a good game?
Click to expand...

You're taking what I'm saying out of context.

The OP said that the fact that he doesn't have an HD TV negates the bluray capabilities of the PS3 but that doesn't mean that you can't watch a bluray on a non-HD TV through the PS3. Similarly, you can play a 720p game on a non-720p capable TV through the PS3 but the picture won't be as good as it would be on an HD capable TV.

I don't see how that is rubbish?
 
Thanks for the responses so far.

No doubt, I will get a HD tv eventually. I am just not a big fan of the current LCD tv`s. I have yet to find anything to match the SD picture of my current TV. Ideally, I would like a 32" plasma, but there are limited options on that front. I refuse to compromise on picture quality just because its "new" tech. It was the same thing with monitors. My 24" LCD is fine, but it has its limitations, and, If I am honest, Is not as good as my previous CRT monitor.

Interesting that some people have had problems on standard def TV`s. These are the kind of responses that really help. As it turns out, I may be able to borrow a 360 for a couple of evenings. Then I can see for myself.

Thats the other thing. I could plug either console into my monitor, but that kind of defeats the object.

I am really, really glad I asked on here now. I had completely overlooked the SD/HD issue.

Keep your opinions coming. Appreciated.
:)
 
To qualify my comment a SD TV is fine to connect these consoles to, but as soon as you see the difference to how they look on HD it's hard not to appreciate such a visible difference

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
Coming from somone that owns both...

Firstly: You don't *need* an HDTV to enjoy either console, it obviously makes a good difference as ps3ud0 states but it's not essential. You will obviously get a lot less from the BluRay drive on the PS3 but that doesn't mean you wouldn't be in that state forever and you'll eventually get an HDTV. But on the flipside what's the chances on you re-watching the movies again for the sake of quality? Probably low.

It's a bit of a toss-up really, especially for what you want. If you get one there is going to be games that you can't get and might/would have wanted. Such as if you go for the 360 you get Forza, but you miss out on Gran Turismo. Another thing to consider is that if you plan on taking advantage of most of the online features with the 360 it probably will on the whole bring the consoles around about equal in terms of prices when you consider that you'd also need a wireless adapter.

To be honest there's not really much else that can be said other than giving some pro's and con's. Both consoles are excellent in what they do and provide, and really it's just a case of you weighing up the benefits/advantages of both and making a decision on which you prefer based on what you are going to be doing with it. Here's some benefits/drawbacks though:

+ = pro
- = con

360
+ Easy to use OS, way more user friendly than the PS3
+ More games than the PS3, including exclusives
+ "Proper" vertical usage without the need for a stand
+ Better warranty for hardware failures
+ It can work out cheaper if you don't use online services
+ Allows games to be installed to the hard drive, and by user choice
+ Front plate can be altered for custom looks
+ Contollers rock for the PC, with proper Microsoft support, if you needed it
- Wireless is not built into the console
- Wireless controllers are battery powered and consoles (afaik) don't come with the play & charge kit, PS3 however does
- Some online services (including gaming) costs a subscription fee
- No BluRay addon device

PS3
+ Generally more quiet, cooler and lighter than the 360
+ Online is free for the most part, including gaming
+ Built in Wireless, BluRay and Bluetooth features
+ Much lower failure rate compared to the 360
+ Hard drives upgrades are massively cheaper since they are standard 2.5" drives
+ Bluetooth battery-free contoller, has a charging wire included
+ Some wires are standard leads and are easily replaceable. 360's are custom design and cost a lot more.
+ Paying for items over the PSN is easier than the 360 since you can use your credit card as well as buy points cards from stores, 360 only has the latter.
- No official controller support for PC (but has 3rd party) if you needed it
- Most/all games have to install to the hard drive. It's not much of a down-point since you only do it once, but it's annoying when some games takes > 10 mins before you can play.
- No PS2 backwards compatability on most models
- Smaller playerbase/less games compared to the 360

There are going to be more advantages and disadvantages for sure, but I've tried to be fair in my assessment. I guess there are some other points to mention:

* Xbox 360 only games (in terms of console to console) tend to appear on the PC, and vice versa, because of the ease at which the games are converted between one and another compared to the PS3. I get this could be seen as a pro point for the PS3 since you already own a PC capable of high end gaming. Dancula pointed this out above, I just elaborated a bit more, as it's a very valid point.

* Both consoles packages mostly only contain one controller, which means you'll need to pick up a second if you want to play with the missus unless you can find a package that includes two controllers.

* Purely cosmetic - but the Xbox 360 by default are white, and the PS3 by standard is black. Xbox 360 is available in black for the Elite models, but to get a white PS3 you need to get a custom paint job or buy a special model such as the Final Fantasy 13 console.

* From what I'm aware the PS3 has no official VGA support for video ouput, whereas the 360 does. You can however get a 3rd party adapter to hook up to a VGA port I think for the PS3. This is not really a major issue, but using an example scenario: Your HDTV (if you got one) has 1 HDMI port and 1 VGA port. You have Sky/VM plugged into one HDMI meaning just the VGA port left, which forces you to either go 3rd party adapter for the PS3 or use component cables.

Hope this helps, I tried to remain neutral as I am neutral when it comes to these consoles and don't really favour one over the other.
 
Flibby's post should be put as a sticky to answer this debate of consoles for the foresable current climate as this question is coming up daily and its a decent/fair comparison.
 
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