XBox 360 advice

[Manic Velocity]

So after tax rebates and some very nice medical reimbursments, I'm considering getting a 360.  I want an upgrade from my PS2, but I can't justify forking out the extra $100 for a PS3.  I'm sick to death of the Wii's paltry online capabilities, and I like what I've heard about Xbox Live.

I don't want to skim through a bunch of Xbox blogs because I don't just want to hear why someone thinks the Xbox is better than every other system.  I want to hear the nitty-gritty of both sides.

Plenty of people are telling me to stay the hell away, but again, all they're really doing is giving me reasons why the they think the Xbox sucks.  This is not an argument for why the PS3 is better.

For those that own one, what are your likes and dislikes?  If you own one along with a PS3, how do they stack up against each other?

[Adad]

I own both.

The beauty of XBox is that I have a ton of friends that play on XBL, so thats my choice for any online gaming. However, keep in mind you have to pay for XBL and not the PS Network and they work pretty much the same.  Also, I needed wireless to connect to the internet here and had to pa an extra $100 for the wireless adapter on XBox anyways, so already its more expensive than PS3.  Not too mention I was crushing batteries with the controller so shelled out another $20 for a chargeable battery pack and cable.

So, as you see the xbox is already more expensive and the only benefit in my eyes is that I have more friends playing on XBL, and currently sports games like Madden run with twice the frame rate on XBox, tho PS3 will catch up to that this year anyways.

Also, Playstation runs WAAAAAYYYYY more quiet and a bit smoother in my experience, and does not have a 20 lb brick connected to the power cable.  Finally, Playstation is a blu-ray player, the cheapest still on the market, which is VERY nice if you have a nice HDTV.  

So, that's my take. Sorry its all just rambled but those are my opinions. I truly feel the extra 100 for ps3 more than pays for itself, it just comes down to which your friends play more.  Ha.

[Jeyk]

With regard to how much I actually play games on each system, my PS3 rarely sees much action.  I use it to play exclusive titles (Uncharted, MGS 4, etc.), PS2 and PS1 games, and as a Blu-Ray player.

I've got a large base of friends established on XBL, because a) most of my friends own a 360 and b) most of the people I come across outside of my personal friends have a 360 as well, so I wind up buying cross-platform games on 360.

Both the PSN and XBL offer an enjoyable online experience.  As Adad stated, you will have to fork over the extra $$ for a wireless adapter and rechargeable batteries (which I would HIGHLY recommend) if you go with the 360.  The PS3 has wireless and rechargeable batteries built-in.

If you buy a 360, keep in mind the reality that it may very well brick on you - I've gone through two, and four of my friends have had to replace theirs over RROD's (which, thankfully, Microsoft will do for you at no cost - for now).

If you go with a PS3, note that the 80GB and 40GB models no longer have full backward-compatibility with PS2 and PS1 games - they have shifted to a software emulator (like the 360's BC) which will cut you off from playing certain titles.  However, on the PS3, you can upgrade your HDD at any time, which is not the case on the 360, where you will have two options:  the 20GB HDD ($100 if bought separately, but is included with the $349 model) or the 120GB HDD ($179, sold separately, or included with the $399 Elite model).

While the PS3 has had frame rate issues with games in comparison to their 360 counterparts, this gap is becoming very narrow.  The PS3 can offer you a majority of what the 360 can, minus a few exclusive titles (Halo 3, Gears of War, Mass Effect, etc.).

You can't go wrong either way.  My advice?  Go where your friends are.

[Manic Velocity]

This is exactly what I want to hear.  Why can't the rest of the gaming population be rational like this?

[Pirus]

This is exactly what I want to hear.  Why can't the rest of the gaming population be rational like this?

Oh, you mean stuff like this.... PS3 PWNS ALL!! ?? lol  love those comments they have such detailed explinations

[likwidtek]

I have a 360 a Wii and a PS2.  The PS2 only comes out when it's time to play guitar hero.  The Wii is sorta parked for a while but always gets turned on when friends come over but the 360 gets played every other day.  I don't have a PS3 and refused the thought of buying one before but now that Bluray is king, I'll prolly buy one down the road.  Not sure...

My gripes about my 360.  

It's loud and hot.
It hasn't Red Ringed on me but all of my friends have had to replace theirs.  I read that if you keep it on it's side standing up it won't fail.  I've done this since day one and so far knock on wood.
I love... LOVE....LOVE xbox live... but hate paying $50 a year for it.
I refused to get a 360 until I got a nice big TV.  Since I got an HD tv I'm really glad I got one.  My opinion is that you are wasting your money unless you have an HD TV.
I sorta regret not getting an Elite.  It comes with the charge kit, and it's black and a much bigger hard drive but not a lot more.
Don't get the version without the hard drive.  WASTE of MONEY!
I wish that the elite had come with HD DVD.  This could have done a lot to save the format.

Reasons you should get a 360.

Titles.  It just has so many DAMN good games dude.
Xbox live is amazing.  AMAZING!!!
Achievments add so much extended play.

My gripes about the PS3..

I don't really have any as I don't own one but I've played a few times.
Where are the good games?  There are a few exclusive titles that ppl have said are good but nothing must have.
Is it just me or does the PS3 just not believe in antialiasing?  Every game I play on it looks jaggy as hell.
No Rumble!?!??!
Expensive :/ but I can kinda understand why.
Sony was really shitty about forcing bluray on the market the way they did.  I'm really against bluray for corporate political reasons.  I think it's bad for the market.
Still waiting for developers to figure out how to develope properly for the cell processor??
I hear online play is pretty empty

Reasons to get a PS3

Coolest Bluray player on the market.  Internet upgradable too to ensure future proofing.
Wireless builtin
Chargable builtin
Free online play
Home is going to be neat!
Quiet

[Eroz]

^ ^^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ agreed.

[Manic Velocity]

This is exactly what I want to hear.  Why can't the rest of the gaming population be rational like this?

Oh, you mean stuff like this.... PS3 PWNS ALL!! ?? lol  love those comments they have such detailed explinations

Exactly.  "The PS3 is better because the graphics on the Wii suck balls."  That kind of shit drives me bat-shit insane.  It's comments like that that make me wish debate were a required course in school.

My big worry is the RRoD.  At first I thought it was just a few claims being blown out of proportion, but more and more I'm realizing that it is a serious problem.  My co-worker claimed that his buddy has gone through ten 360's since its release solely because of this problem.  And then I start to wonder how these things are selling at all.

[Pirus]

I also own a wii and dont own either the ps3 or 360 but seeing as how the multiplayer aspect really isn't a factor to me I would go with PS3.  Blueray alone is enough to make up my mind.  Graphics isn't too big of a factor either seeing as how they are so close its very hard to tell with the naked eye anyway.  The wii is a different story.  You can tell but its not all that bad besides the wii's fun comes in the innovation of the controls and motion sensors not the graphics of the game.

[likwidtek]

My big worry is the RRoD.  At first I thought it was just a few claims being blown out of proportion, but more and more I'm realizing that it is a serious problem.  My co-worker claimed that his buddy has gone through ten 360's since its release solely because of this problem.  And then I start to wonder how these things are selling at all.

10 is an unheard of extreme.  Something else must be in play: environmental / modding / tampering / poor circulation... I dunno

I think as long as you keep it ventilated, don't open it, don't stack it on other hot equipment you'll never run into that many problems.  Plus you have a 3 year warranty on it now... so mleh.  It sucks but leads me to my next point.

Why do people keep buying these things like hotcakes DESPITE the horrible hardware problems?  I think it's simply that good and worth the risk.  

[Anamodiel]

I know that I have had my Xbox 360 for a while now and I love playing on it with other people on XBL. I don't really play it for any other reason, other than a fun occasional game of Halo 3 with my friends or whatever. But, a lot of my friends have Xbox 360's as well and I always play with them online - it's a lot of fun to do that.  While I don't use it as much as other people I know, I have yet to have a single major problem with my system, and it's at least two years old now.

I personally see very little reason to get a PS3. There are very few titles on it that you can't get for an Xbox 360, and those very few games (which I've played) are not even close to coming to par with Gears of War or Halo 3. Those games alone make me love my Xbox 360. The multiplayer fun on those is very intense and a lot of fun.

[Tecknik]

To add on to what Adad and Likwid both said, the PS3 is the most advanced Blu-ray player on the market right now.  Like Likwid stated, the internet capabilities allow Sony to keep the player up-to-date with all the newest firmware upgrades, including an update from Blu-Ray 1.0 to 1.1, and then to the newest 2.0 firmware.  A good, non-biased writeup explaining all of this can be found here: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080118-new-nlu-ray-2-0-spec-makes-ps3-the-most-future-proof-player.html

Adding on to what Jeyk said about backwards compatibility... Due to cost-cutting measures, the 80GB model and the 40GB model no longer have the EE or "Emotion Engine" chip that was the driving force of the PS2.  Because of this, backwards compatibility is now a bit limited as it is done through software emulation.  The 80GB model is said to play somewhere around 80% of PS2 games, while the 40GB model does not play PS2 games at all.  Both models are 100% backwards compatible with PS1 games.  Since you currently own a PS2, some people would say buying the 40GB model would not be a problem for you, as you can always play your PS2 games on your PS2.  Others would argue that it is aggravating to have to switch between consoles.  Just as a note, I have the 80GB that uses the software emulation and have never had a problem playing any of my PS2 collection.

Again adding on to a point Jeyk made, the hard drive on the Playstation 3 is fully upgradeable.  Any SATA Laptop hard drive can be used, the largest of which right now is 320GB.  Sony makes it very simple for this to be done, and gives you full instructions on how to do it.  Also loaded into the Playstation 3 software are the means to back up anything you may already have on your original hard drive to an external drive, if you have one, and then place it on to your new hard drive once the drive is installed.

Referencing the controllers, they are wireless, they do have the built-in rechargeable battery, are tilt-sensing, and now with the release of the DualShock3 controllers at the beginning of this month, have the rumble function.  The reason for originally not having the rumble function on release stems back to a lawsuit Sony was involved in with a company who claimed they created the rumble technology used in the DualShock controllers.  It was not a money-making gimmick as most will have you believe.  If you do purchase a PS3, I strongly recommend making the DualShock3 controller your next purchase thereafter.  They do not come packaged with the currently available PS3 models.  If you can wait till June, Sony will be releasing the Special Edition Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle, which will include an 80GB PS3 unit, a DualShock3 controller, and the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots game all for the current 80GB model price of $500.

I can't make a comparison to the Xbox 360, as I do not own one.  I just figured I would give you some straight-forward, hopefully non-biased information on the PS3, and add on a little bit to what Adad, Jeyk, and Likwid had started on.

[Avzeke (Khr0n1k)]

I will tell you why I like the 360 more than the PS3

Achievments
   You may think this isn't a big deal now, but wait till you start unlocking some. I have a hard time going to games on older systems that I cant get any.

The Guide interface/Xbox Live
    What the PS3 does not have is cross game interface. Lets say I am playing Call of Duty 4 and someone else is playing Halo 3. Well I can have a conversation with them WITHOUT closing the game and not having to go to the main menu. All you have to do is press the guide button, the xbox button in the center. Also you can send cross game invites (invite the halo player to a game of call of duty). You can have custom soundtracks for ALL games and control your songs and playlists without closing the game. You can also check your friends list in game. The PS3 will eventually get some of these abilities but will be limited to the more newer and new games.

Xbox Live
  Over all i like xbox live because everything is central. All of the game servers are run by microsoft so if the devs decide to not support the game anymore the servers will still be running(except EA games). Another example, GTA IV servers for xbox are run by microsoft. The PS3 servers are ran by rockstar. PS3 players have been having issues with mulitplayer.

Game Exclusives
  I like the games exclusive to xbox.

Alot of FA already have an Xbox
  There is a thread in off topic that has all of our gamertags.


Also if you go buy a new xbox the odds are way lower for it to have the RROD since they have supposedly fixed the issues that were causing it. Also if it does happen it is free to fix and pretty quick.

I have a feeling i made this sound fanboyish but I am too tired to make it unbiased sounding.

[Manic Velocity]

Hehehe, I just realized you guys are making it harder for me to choose.    Both systems seem pretty robust in their own right, and both have the features that I expect and am looking for.

[Ash]

I have a PS3.

That should be all the evidence you need that Sony is the way to go.