[Archived] Xbox 360 V Ps3

[DaveyB]

Ok guys, the wife has finally given in and is prepared to let me buy one of the new gen consoles, but which one do I go for?

Price isn't really an issue, as if it's worth it I'd rather pay a bit more, but I won't be allowed to buy both

I've never had much experience with Xbox's, I have owned a PS2, although I was round at a friends the other night and had a go on his 360 and it seemed fine.

I know there are some of you on here who own both consoles and I am really interested in hearing your opinions, I don't want to waste my money!!

[Biddy]

Oh this could open a can of worms of mines better than yours, yet again.

Anyway, my opinion is that they are both much of a muchness. If you want Hi-Def films and prefer that it is all in one unit then go for the PS3 for BluRay. If you want an equally good games machine and are not bothered about films at half the price then go for the 360.

Games are nearly identical (those that are on both console).

[Guest Kamy100]

Biddy is right this is going to open a whole can of worms.

I am firmly in the PS3 camp. I had a 360 and it was an amazing machine, but the fact is that up until now the 360 have been plagued with hardware failure issues, this seems to be widespread, this alone is a major reason not to buy one.

If you want a device which plays High Def Movies etc. then PS3 is the machine for you, at the moment as Biddy says the games are identical, but it has been speculated in the future the PS3 games will look better because of the power of the cell processor, but then again that is probably 12-18 months away so who know by then Microsoft may have announced Xbox 3.

Also if you want a PS3 do shop around as you can pick them up for a lot less than the RRP £425, the cheapest are below:

Console Only:

http://www.play.com/Product.aspx?pa=4&...Click+(Blu-Ray)

Bundle with 3 games:

http://www.play.com/Product.aspx?pa=6&...Click+(Blu-Ray)

[Shevchenko]

Also, if you want to play online, right now the 360 with XBOX Live is a better deal. Even though you have to pay to use the service (it's not that expensive). The 360 has a larger catalogue of games to choose from at the moment too but this will even itself out after a while.

[Guest Kamy100]

Also, if you want to play online, right now the 360 with XBOX Live is a better deal. Even though you have to pay to use the service (it's not that expensive). The 360 has a larger catalogue of games to choose from at the moment too but this will even itself out after a while.

While there is no doubt that the overall Xbox Live experience is better, if you want online purely to play against other people then Playstation Network is excellent and most of all free, if however you want a vast collection of downloadable games and demos then Xbox Live is better at the moment, but then you also have to consider that Sony are going to launch "home" in September/October which is going to be awesome and again free!!

[Biddy]

I am firmly in the PS3 camp. I had a 360 and it was an amazing machine, but the fact is that up until now the 360 have been plagued with hardware failure issues, this seems to be widespread, this alone is a major reason not to buy one.

Although it is looking like MS are finally doing something about this by adding a new heatsink to the Graphics processor. I know the 3 lights of death is widespread but I know 11 people who have had a 360 with no problems at all.

If you want a device which plays High Def Movies etc. then PS3 is the machine for you.

That's a bit mis-leading. I said if you wanted integrated HI-Def (BluRay) then the PS3 is the one to go for. You can however still get the HD-DVD add-on for the 360 and you can stream Hi-Def content from the PC (or burn to disk). I have many, many HD-DVD and BluRay films that have been converted to WMV-HD and then burnt to Dual Layer DVD's. They look stunning at a fraction of the cost.

but it has been speculated in the future the PS3 games will look better because of the power of the cell processor

There's has always been this speculation however developers have always said that cell was too hard to program for and costs vs revenue dictate that they see no value in R&D costs to get the best out of it. Plus it's horses for courses. The 360 has a superior GPU and memory handling.

[Guest Kamy100]

Although it is looking like MS are finally doing something about this by adding a new heatsink to the Graphics processor. I know the 3 lights of death is widespread but I know 11 people who have had a 360 with no problems at all.

That's a bit mis-leading. I said if you wanted integrated HI-Def (BluRay) then the PS3 is the one to go for. You can however still get the HD-DVD add-on for the 360 and you can stream Hi-Def content from the PC (or burn to disk). I have many, many HD-DVD and BluRay films that have been converted to WMV-HD and then burnt to Dual Layer DVD's. They look stunning at a fraction of the cost.

There's has always been this speculation however developers have always said that cell was too hard to program for and costs vs revenue dictate that they see no value in R&D costs to get the best out of it. Plus it's horses for courses. The 360 has a superior GPU and memory handling.

Yup heard about the new heatsink, which if true is good, but it still doesn't change the fact that they made a "shoddy" machine.

HD-DVD is out there, but Blue-ray is outselling it 3:1, in fact Blockbuster in the US announced that they will now be stocking Blue Ray only in 90% of their stores.

I have read on numerous occassions from leading developers that people will start to see the difference in graphical power in the next 18 months, but agree that all of this purely dependent on PS3 getting a large install base.

[Shevchenko]

While there is no doubt that the overall Xbox Live experience is better, if you want online purely to play against other people then Playstation Network is excellent and most of all free, if however you want a vast collection of downloadable games and demos then Xbox Live is better at the moment, but then you also have to consider that Sony are going to launch "home" in September/October which is going to be awesome and again free!!

Yes...but that's not right now though is it?

[roversyoyo]

I've had both consoles from launch and never had an issue with the 360 (or the ps3) since i've had it. Currently the only game in the PS3 is Tomb Raider Anniverssary a ps2 game. Waiting for a half decent game to come out for the PS3 yet that I didn't already have on the 360.

However, in your case you're starting from a clean slate so game exclusivity doesn't mean anything to you, only thing I would say is that for this year at least you'll be able to get most decent game on both the 360 and PS3. At this time though, the number of 360 exclusive titles is far greater than on the PS3 (Bioshock, Forza 2 for example)

Comparing Online capability. The playstation network is poor compared to the 360, however if you are not looking for downloadable content then this is fine if you just want to hook up to play games. Having said that I just think the whole experience is better on xbox live, but then again you do have to pay to get the best out of it (£40 a year I think).

If you are a movie nut and want HD movies integrated then it has to be PS3 as it has integrated blu ray and HDMI, otherwise you can buy an addon for the 360 to play HD DVD movies, but bear in mind that they'll only run at full 1080p if you have either the elite version (see below) or a vga cable. My take on this is that Blu ray is going to win out on this one, especially after blockbusters announcement that its only going to stock blu-ray and not hd-dvd discs. But whats to stop microsoft bringing out a blu ray drive if HD-DVD dies on its arse? Hmmm, thinking about it Sony will be srewed if Blu-ray goes tits up!

The 360 also has issues with there being 3 models out there.

360 Core. Ignore not worth it as it doesn't have wireless controllers or a hd drive! Cheap though and not sure that many places stock it.

360 premium. 20gig drive, wireless controllers Best value for money. (£280)

360 Elite. HDMI port and 120gig hd are only additions to the premium pack. Oh and its black! If you're into your HD then this is the beast to get. But not sure when its due for launch in the UK.

However, in making a decision you have to have in the back of your mind that this time next year might see a significant difference in the quality of games between the ps3 and 360 which kick starts the sales of PS3 and distiguishes it more than the 360. Trouble is we just dont know at this moment in time.

Its a tough one, but right now for the next year at least i'd buy a 360 (preferrably an Elite if you can get one).

[Biddy]

My take on this is that Blu ray is going to win out on this one, especially after blockbusters announcement that its only going to stock blu-ray and not hd-dvd discs. But whats to stop microsoft bringing out a blu ray drive if HD-DVD dies on its arse? Hmmm, thinking about it Sony will be srewed if Blu-ray goes tits up!

Hmm, I think there are many people who now think that neither format is going to "win". Both are selling in tiny quantities which is making a incredibly small niche market. Blu-Ray disks are outselling in the US and have started to here (due to the PS3) but some retailers are saying they see varying trends. The reason I think no format will win will be because 1 of 2 things will happen. :-

1 ) Dual format players will come out cheap enough that no one cares which format they get - Like DVD writables, who cares about + and - now?

2 ) Neither will take off and downloading to hard disk will become the norm. This is already happening with the 360 in the US where they have a video marketplace to download films and TV in HD.

I personally prefer the idea of HD-DVD as it's region free. I could buy any disk from anywhere and it will play. Blu-Ray have kept with "coding" so new region A (US) disks will not play in our UK players.

Its a tough one, but right now for the next year at least i'd buy a 360 (preferrably an Elite if you can get one).

Nah, for that price you might as well get the PS3.

[roversyoyo]

Nah, for that price you might as well get the PS3.

I tried to take price out of the equation as DaveyB says its not an issue.

My whole post goes into my reasoning behind it, but if it was taken into account then i'd recomend the 360 premium, in my view CURRENTLY the best value for money next gen package you can get.

Anyway its a moot point as the elite isn't available in this country for a while anyway and we have no idea how much its going to cost.

[Eddie]

If you're into online play then there is only one way to go. I'm sorry but the PS3 has yet to get anywhere near xbox live. The ps3 probably has more power, but by the time you might be able to notice any difference I would imagine that the next generation of consoles will be coming out. As for the advantage of being able to watch movies, well you can buy the hd movie player for the 360 (or get the new model) and it should still be slightly cheaper than the ps3. Personally, I don't like the ps3 as much as the xbox 360. I liked the ps2 a lot, but the ps3 has yet to really impress me.

[roversyoyo]

If you're into online play then there is only one way to go. I'm sorry but the PS3 has yet to get anywhere near xbox live. The ps3 probably has more power, but by the time you might be able to notice any difference I would imagine that the next generation of consoles will be coming out. As for the advantage of being able to watch movies, well you can buy the hd movie player for the 360 (or get the new model) and it should still be slightly cheaper than the ps3. Personally, I don't like the ps3 as much as the xbox 360. I liked the ps2 a lot, but the ps3 has yet to really impress me.

As you know I own both machines so dont take this the wrong way, BUT.......

lets face it the ps2 won the last generations console war. In fact its still one of the biggest selling concoles today as its now dirt cheap and has a back catalogue thats as big as you're going to get. Microsoft realised this and released the 360 before Sony could come out with their offering. It could have gone the way of the dreamcast, but it smply hasn't, in fact its gone from strength to strength. Meanwhile in Sonys la la land they assumed that they'd kicked Mcrosoft into touch and the public would wait for their offering since it was the great Sony, the triumphant maker of the ps and ps2 and the public would buy it come what may. Sony were wrong, initial strong sales have slowed down significantly. Sony have a mountain to climb now simply because they assumed people would want their console the most. Meanwhile in microsoft land - the games keep on rolling and the console keeps on selling.

Sony have mismanaged this launch big time and in my opinion have to work their arse off to pull it out of the fire. What they need are exclusives and an xbox live beater, badly. I simply cant see them turning it around until this time next year. I think they will pull a lot back once they drop the price but they will never dominate the 360 like they did the original xbox, because it will be too late.

Verdict: Microsoft to win by a nose.

[Hughesy]

I have PS3. In terms of games at the moment i would probably say xbox 360. However there are many games coming out on PS3 starting soon, so that issue will still go.

If it was me then id pick the PS3. It also looks class with the black HD LCD screens!!

[Hasta]

Three questions.

1) If I want to get an Xbox 360 online is there anything you need to specify in the package that you buy and also would I just use my standard Tiscali broadband connection. How much does it cost and is it simple?

(The only experience I've ever had was getting my Dreamcast online to play Ju Ju flippin Rocket! )

2) Is there a price drop rumoured in the next few months for the 360?

3) If I do get it online who's officially the BRFC daddy at Pro Evo? I don't want to waste my time beating the also-rans!

[Eddie]

1) A decent broadband connection is good enough

2) I wouldn't bother waiting, if you shop around you can get some great deals.

3) We have an unfinished pro evo league, you'll just have to get in on that and then we can figure out who is really the best on the board.

[Biddy]

Three questions.

1) If I want to get an Xbox 360 online is there anything you need to specify in the package that you buy and also would I just use my standard Tiscali broadband connection. How much does it cost and is it simple?

(The only experience I've ever had was getting my Dreamcast online to play Ju Ju flippin Rocket! )

2) Is there a price drop rumoured in the next few months for the 360?

3) If I do get it online who's officially the BRFC daddy at Pro Evo? I don't want to waste my time beating the also-rans!

1) If the xbox is close to your router then you just need to plug the ethernet cable (supplied) into that. If you are a distance away and you have wireless, you will need to buy the wireless adapter which is about £60. Ethernet is very easy as it's plug and go. Wireless you would have to configure to your settings. The only other cost is £40 per year for Xbox live although you can play at weekends for free.

2) no rumour but as Eddie says, they are fairly cheap anyway.

3) I'm rubbish so I'm not playing!

[robborover]

i have a 360 and am gutted because i suffered the 3 lights of death. but i recommend gears of war on xbox live. it's very addictive and not on the ps3. there is also exclusive gta4 content and halo 3 in the summer.

i don't really listen to the blu-ray/hd stuff. i agree that downloadable content will be the winner. apple have already proved it with itunes.

obviously it's your decision and £300-600 is a lot of money. so i'd try and play the best games on each and use that to make your mind up. also, see how many of your mates have each console. the main reason i got a 360 was because none of my mates got a ps3 and i wanted to play them online.

[Damage]

The thing that hasnt been mentioned here is that the 360 is totally compatible with windows!!!

If you have XP MCE just download and install media centre extender to enable streaming of all your media files direct from your pc to av equipment via your xbox (with wireless it really does become the dogs B gaming/av system). With Vista I don't think you have to even download the extender?? You can also stream media files with basic XP OS but its a bit more complicated.

I have a couple of hundred downloaded films (converted to wma format) on my pc plus thousands mp3 files (all copyright kosher ) that I can directly access from my 360. In my view it is this integrated PC/gaming console/av eqpt that will mean that microsoft eventually crushes sony. Whether that is a good or bad thing im not sure.

Of course you may not be interested in the media content / pc integration and just want gaming ............. so why pay for the integrated blu-ray??

At this point in time I know where my dosh would go - buy a 360 and spend the difference on a wii for some party game fun!!

Death to sony! Still cant believe they put spyware on audio cds!

[DaveyB]

Thanks for all the comments. I think I'll probably go with a 360 - I only know 1 person with either console (the 360) and so I was going to buy one in order to play against him online. I didn't want to regret my decision 3 months down the line, however, so I thought I would check on here first as, obviously, this place is the font of all knowledge!!

[roversyoyo]

The thing that hasnt been mentioned here is that the 360 is totally compatible with windows!!!

If you have XP MCE just download and install media centre extender to enable streaming of all your media files direct from your pc to av equipment via your xbox (with wireless it really does become the dogs B gaming/av system). With Vista I don't think you have to even download the extender?? You can also stream media files with basic XP OS but its a bit more complicated.

I have a couple of hundred downloaded films (converted to wma format) on my pc plus thousands mp3 files (all copyright kosher ) that I can directly access from my 360. In my view it is this integrated PC/gaming console/av eqpt that will mean that microsoft eventually crushes sony. Whether that is a good or bad thing im not sure.

Of course you may not be interested in the media content / pc integration and just want gaming ............. so why pay for the integrated blu-ray??

At this point in time I know where my dosh would go - buy a 360 and spend the difference on a wii for some party game fun!!

Death to sony! Still cant believe they put spyware on audio cds!

Cant you also do that now with the PS3 thanks to the latest firmware update?

Yes you can, just read this

ps3 firmware update 1.8

Firmware 1.8 will also allow PS3 owners to create a home network over which users can play content stored on connected computers compatible with the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA).

Windows Vista and Xp media edition both make the pc a DLNA compatible device and so does windows media player 11 if you enable the right options. So I dont think that this ability particularly differentiates the 360 against ps3.

[Damage]

oh well shows what I know!

Down with sony anyway. For arguments sake.

[thebigguy]

I think its down the line off Sony crushed Nintendo and seems to me that they are doing the same at the moment.

Also just found out playstation lost another exclusive but they wont get the game either its totally a xbox 360 exclusive. Tenchu Z is the game. Good game if you like sneaking about a slicing and dicing someone before they can realise.

Also postal is going to be on xbox 360 now (the first postal was banned in 10 continents so that’s why you probably never heard off it) all i will say on this game but do a search for running with scissors for the game and they are fetching a movie out hope it doesnt get banned aswell.

[Rover Down Under]

I'd go for the 360. I've had mine for over a year now and had no problems, as have 3 of my mates. PS3 just doesn't have the games or exclusives anymore and in my opinion HD DVD will win over Blu-Ray because you can backup HD DVD. Blu-Ray has extra protection called BD+ that has not been implemented yet but will soon. The format that is more user friendly and portable will win.

Also the 360 has Halo 3, Gears of War, GTAIV, Mass Effect, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and a whole host of other games scheduled that will be better than the PS3 versions - the PS3 is much harder to code for, 360 is a doddle (I'm a programmer so I know!) and despite the fact PS3 may look more powerful on paper it actually isn't. On top of that Xbox Live is vastly superior, Sony's may be free but when they start getting serious numbers playing online I can guarantee they will start charging. All round the 360 is much more of an entertainment hub as well as games console, being able to download HD TV programs is sweet.

I once owned a PS1 but Sony have sadly blown it and I think the PS4 will be the last console we see from them.

[thebigguy]

Playstation have lost there cheif guy nopw asell.

Also why xbox online is better because off two things.

1. they got the market on pcs which helps them no formats needed, coding for download and so on.

2. there online play is tried and tested unlike the playstation one that failed on the ps2.

Sony will start to charge once they gotta buy better servers, server storage and better internet speed to cope with all the extra people using the service.