Probably the billionth Xbox or PS3 thread...

Beren

Beren

Beren

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The boy has a birthday coming up and it has been decreed that we can afford to buy a games console :D:cool:

Being the bloke of the house the choice of which to actually get is mine - and I am actually a bit :confused:

I've had a Wii before and it got sold after 9 months having either gathered dust because I wasn't interested or becuase I was too interested in a particular game and not spending any quality time... :o

Now that I have inherited an 8 year old who is deeply in love with his PS2 - ratchett and crank / Spy Vs Spy / Lego Star Wars etc. In the process I gained an other half who loves games as well - as long as they involve a really good story line or lots of blood...

Me I'm an old time PC gamer - 1st person shooter, RTS and Space Sim mostly

Do I go with the Xbox + Kinect on the basis that there are going to be some awesome games for it eventually and there is some cool stuff that can occupy the boy already... Or do I go with the PS3 with it's slightly better graphics (Dons flame proof suit) and bluray player... and possibly get a Move later if something good comes out for it?

Since games are also bloody expensive what are the online offerings like in terms of being able to download demos for the boy to play with or buy cheaper games with points etc?
 
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Well for online I personally think PSN+ is better then Live Gold, since you get atleast £200 a year worth of stuff (games, discounts and such)

PS3 as a Blu-Ray player, its also a very good media center

family games are about even on both consoles, maybe the PS3 as 1 or 2 more

I don't really think Move/Kinect is gonna go anywhere soon TBH

Ofcourse there just my own opinion, and I know some people will probably disagree on certain parts :)
 
What does PSN+ really give you by way of benefits? Being stuck out in Kiwiland I am also a little bit limited on bandwidth... does it chew up gigs and gigs of interwebs?
 
Based on the fact he likes ratchet and clank, I'd go with the ps3. There are three on it already (tools of destruction, quest for booty and crack in time) , with a fourth that has a focus on co-op coming out later this year. Two of the three that are out are platinum and can be got for £14.99 each (crack in time and tools of destruction) and according to a certain retailer there is a double pack coming soon with them both in for £25. Quest for booty is around £10 anyway as it aint very long (3 hours or so).

So already have a nice cheap starting point on games to keep him busy :)

Online offerings in terms of demos, are similar, most of the time both consoles get the same demos, but sometimes there are exclusive ones.
 
Beren said:
The boy has a birthday coming up and it has been decreed that we can afford to buy a games console :D:cool:

Being the bloke of the house the choice of which to actually get is mine - and I am actually a bit :confused:

I've had a Wii before and it got sold after 9 months having either gathered dust because I wasn't interested or becuase I was too interested in a particular game and not spending any quality time... :o

Now that I have inherited an 8 year old who is deeply in love with his PS2 - ratchett and crank / Spy Vs Spy / Lego Star Wars etc. In the process I gained an other half who loves games as well - as long as they involve a really good story line or lots of blood...

Me I'm an old time PC gamer - 1st person shooter, RTS and Space Sim mostly

Do I go with the Xbox + Kinect on the basis that there are going to be some awesome games for it eventually and there is some cool stuff that can occupy the boy already... Or do I go with the PS3 with it's slightly better graphics (Dons flame proof suit) and bluray player... and possibly get a Move later if something good comes out for it?

Since games are also bloody expensive what are the online offerings like in terms of being able to download demos for the boy to play with or buy cheaper games with points etc?
Click to expand...

Does he have any friends with consoles? If so, what do they have, 360 or PS3? I'm guessing most will have 360's, if he's 8 then he'll want to be playing online with them (if you're going to allow him to do that - parental control stuff is pretty good on the 360), THIS will be your main decision. He can have all the amazing games in the world, but if he can't play and chat to his mates then it's not a lot of good. Bear in mind xbox live gold is £40ish a year, he wont be able to play online without it. PS3 online is free, PSN+ is good but it's only extra benefits (like automatic downloading of updates, free content from the PS-store etc) - both systems have lots of free demos to download.

Re: PSN+ downloads - depends what you download ;) :D After the PSN outage sony gave away some free games and stuff, I had about 18gb worth of downloads running at one point. Full games (like burnout paradise which is currently free through PSN+) can be anywhere from 3-8gb in size.
 
I know what you mean - I have mates back in the UK on Xbox and would go that way - but the chances of getting together for a blat are a bit limited with the time difference. His Uncle has a PS3 - I don't know about his school mates... Depending on the games I don't have an issue with him playing online on a console, far less risk there than on a PC!

Bearing in mind he is still very hapilly occupied for hours with Flash games and has a PSP I am thinking that the content on PSN+ could be good. On the flip side I don't know what freeish stuff you get on an xbox gold account.
 
Ps3

Ratchet and clank and all the lego games for the young un , I imagine he would love little big planet 1+2

Killzone 3 , mag , resostance fall of man series an all the cross platform hits too for your fps needs

Full uncharted Series , infamous series , heavy rain , mgs4 and more all for great storylines/action

God of war series for blood and gore

Probably missed loads as I've only just switched back to ps3 from xbox , don't think I will be ever going back after seeing how much psn has improved , paying for 'live' has always been a total con

I never understood how on my xbox I paid per month and had to play fps where someone is hosting on their home connection and be limited in player numbers whereas on my ps3 I could play 60 player lag free fps on dedicated servers and not pay a penny
 
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Sounds like PS3 for you.

Blu-ray is good to have and it's nice to just watch normal DVDs for the upscale.

Ratchet and Clank are great games, you can also get The Sly Collection and they are bringing out new ones soon I think. Also like mentioned LBP 1/2 and Lego (even if that's not an exclusive), and all the games that will come out in the future.

For you there are always a lot of games to choose from as andy already said the exclusives :) Only thing you miss are the Xbox ones (stating the obvious..) which personally for me would not be a great loss now that ME3 is coming on the PS3 too.

All in all the PS3 is absolutely the best console for a kid because of the games, especially if he already likes the characters. PSN has a lot of mini games and stuff that would be cool for him too.
 
the kinnect is good imo. but it would probably go the same way as the wii imo. it is good for the first few months but then you will probably get board and it will gather dust.

I like the ps3 more, the media features make it better
 
I'd go the other way,

A 360 + Kinect, as Kinect has some great casual stuff that even you might get into, and unlike the wii, when/if you get a bit bored, you have a next gen console with hardcore games to boot.. like the PS3, you won't be short of things to play for all the family..

My lad just downloads tons of demo's off Xbox Live, and despite having a DS/PSP and a PS3 to choose from, he spends way more time on the 360.. Getting access to the demo's is a bit slicker then on PSN (Just quick point/click) and things are made prominent at the top level, as soon as you switch the box on, you can see new content being advertised etc.. It's just the small things on the PS3 that annoy, like spending hours downloading something, then when you go to play it, bam.. you have to wait 10 minutes whilst it 'installs'..

I bought a PS3 + Move for the family, in the lounge, my reasoning was BR and free online, but it didn't pan out that way.. so in went the 360/Kinect and it's used daily..
 
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i would also get him a ps3, purely for little big planet. its the best game ive ever seen for kids and they seem to absolutely love it too! plus you can play with up to 4 people on the same screen so playing together should be quite fun.
then there is modnation racers, if he likes a mariokart type game & ratchet and clank as mentioned above.

a few years ago i would have said xbox but the PS3 has got some decent young games on it now.
 
Demon said:
Getting access to the demo's is a bit slicker then on PSN (Just quick point/click) and things are made prominent at the top level, as soon as you switch the box on, you can see new content being advertised etc.. It's just the small things on the PS3 that annoy, like spending hours downloading something, then when you go to play it, bam.. you have to wait 10 minutes whilst it 'installs'..
Click to expand...

While your right about the install, i don't really see how its easier to get a new demo on xbox live over PSN, you gotta find the demo on both, click download on both but least PSN doesn't ask you too confirm the download like Live, so really its faster on PSN
 
He'll love either, so the question is. Which do you want most? :)

I chop and change my favourite depending on what week it is. At the moment I'm loving my 360. The integration with Live is a lot better than what the PS3 has with PSN, and I find the pad to be far superior.
 
will13 said:
While your right about the install, i don't really see how its easier to get a new demo on xbox live over PSN, you gotta find the demo on both, click download on both but least PSN doesn't ask you too confirm the download like Live, so really its faster on PSN
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C'mon. First off not all PSN games have a demo. Then the process, opening the marketplace, pretending the controller is a mouse, finding the right category, scrolling through multiple lists, and then the unintuitive palava that is setting it up as a background dl. With PSN you have to then install the thing and more often than not if theres a patch we're talking another big download and install.

It's taken a while for XBL to get it's act together but it's all quite intuitive now. All XBLA games have a demo, there's no seperate installs and MS have some pixies doing patches so they're only ever 2 or 3MB and never more than a couple of seconds. Also you can do all this on the web and the content will automatically add itself to your 360's download queue. .. MS are also adding voice search end of the year so it'll be even easier.

..

Back to the OP. You won't go wrong either way. Both will cover the 3rd party lego and racing games. PS3 has the excellent LBP which my mates lads and my eldest daughter loves, and Mod Nation Racers. 360 has Kinect with Kinect Sports, Joyride, Kinectimals, and for my daughters (and me if I'm honest) Dance Central. Despite the hate I'm thinking Kinect Star Wars out this Christmas will be Huge, Power Up heroes looks promising and I'm really looking forward to Double Fines Sesame Street game.

edit:

Once last thing, what does the lad want?
 
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TallPaul_S said:
Bear in mind xbox live gold is £40ish a year, he wont be able to play online without it.
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Its actully nearer £25 if you buy a pre paid card online and not from xbox direct - although sometuime you can get great deals like 1 month for a £1.

will13 said:
While your right about the install, i don't really see how its easier to get a new demo on xbox live over PSN, you gotta find the demo on both, click download on both but least PSN doesn't ask you too confirm the download like Live, so really its faster on PSN
Click to expand...

you honestly think an extra click or two is a mentionable thing when considering wether to buy an xbox or PS3?!
 
will13 said:
While your right about the install, i don't really see how its easier to get a new demo on xbox live over PSN, you gotta find the demo on both, click download on both but least PSN doesn't ask you too confirm the download like Live, so really its faster on PSN
Click to expand...

LOL :D
 
Still cant understand this install problem if you dont background install you dont have to install it, its done automatically. Likewise with PSN+ any thing you dont install straight away gets done when the system switches on to check for updates. I use this feature a lot TBH, even leaving downloads to when it updates so it carries on downloading and seems to install it all while youre tucked up in bed.

To the OP TBH get either sure he'll be happy with which ever one you chose, perhaps side slighty with the PS3 if he likes Ratchet games, and games of that genre.
 
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