360 vs PS3. The Official Debate.

I've had a 360 for about two years now and have been lucky enough to not have it crap out on me. So far its exclusives, like Bioshock, Halo 3 and (parts of) Mass Effect have been stellar.

On the other hand, the PS3 is a solid piece of hardware, runs dead quiet and probably the best blu-ray player out there. And it's no longer offensively expensive.

I think they'll both be great in the long run, but 360 has so many damn good exclusives, and if you're a big FPS fan, there's no question in my eyes. Too bad the thing is a ticking time bomb.

As for right now... how important is Blu Ray to you?

360 wins the "Best Library" award hands down.

That said, 1080p upconversion is really great, and Unreal Tournament 3 looks fantastic (although this will appear on the 360 soon). Resistance 2 also looks intriguing.

I like both consoles.

If you like the arcade games, the 360 is where its at. Overall, 360 wins because it has games worth giving a shit about.

I'm one of the lucky few who has not yet had my 360 crap out on me. I love it, though the potential meltdown is worrisome. It's just that the PS3 does not have the games, and that's why I'd still choose that even today.

But there's no question that the PS3 is gaining some ground, and for good reason. If you are buying it as a video player alone, there's no contest. I have been tempted a few times myself, and had I the cash and/or absolutely no regard for my financial future, I would have snagged one by now. I personally would wait on the PS3 until the games are there and they sleek the model down even further along with its price. Nothing would be worse than buying a PS3 now to find out a cheaper, better model comes out next fall. And by then, the games might be there.

That's my way of thinking, anyway.

It pretty much does boil down to whether you'll be using it as a game system or a DVD player first and foremost. As I still have no interest in Blu-Ray or HD DVD, it comes down to the games for me, and in that area, the PS3's miles behind the curve. Sure, the PS3 will get the job done far as ports go, but it's getting hammered in the area of killer app exclusives, and every once in a while, you'll get shit like the Orange Box debacle, the bullshit regarding the PS2 Guitar Hero guitars, or that ridiculous 20 minute install time I'm hearing about for Devil May Cry 4. Not to mention, Sony's going to have to pull something truly incredible out of its ass to compete with XBOx Live for best online service. And no, being free's not enough.

But, if high def DVD's a bigger priority, the PS3's definitely the way to go.

Looking at the PS3 port of Lost Planet, this isn't always the case.

Looking at the PS3 port of Lost Planet, this isn't always the case.

Better exclusives/exclusive content, better on-line service, better downloadable games service, better controller, better graphics when considering the library as a whole.

Victory to the 360. Though I'll be picking up a PS3 as my Blu-Ray player, and for the exclusives it does have, when GoW3 hits.

I wouldn't say that 360 has better downloadable games than the PS3. The PixelJunk Monsters, Super Stardust HD, Everyday Shooter, Flow, Calling All Cars, and Pain games are all enjoyable and some of them are really great.

I think that PS3 has taken a more artistic approach to getting interesting and unique games onto its network and will probably stick with that approach going forward.

The fact that Bioware is now owned by EA means that we'll probably be seeing most of their future titles for PS3 and 360. There is some stupid stuff like the guitars in GH and some other stuff but that's more thanks to Activision and Sony's loss of console domination than intentional efforts on their part.

As far as going forward, in Japan it already has outsold the 360 a ton and in Europe the PS3 will probably surpass the 360 install base this year. So the quality and number of titles for the system will continue to increase.

I agree that right now, the online system isn't as good (the lack of in game messaging is really the huge deal) but not having to pay for it is definitely nice. Plus, the ability to use more standard peripherals (like any Bluetooth headset, mouse, or keyboard or replace the hard drive with a larger off the shelf notebook drive) makes it a less expensive system than the 360 in a lot of ways.

I own both and I prefer the PS3. I think the online system of the 360 is better but the quieter hardware and the lack of nickel and diming/bombardment of advertisements on the PS3 makes it more enjoyable to game on (or watch movies).

or you could buy the hardware from Costco, with their ridiculously attractive return policy.

I have a 360 and PS3 and I don't own a single game for the PS3, but it's a helluva Blu-Ray player like others have mentioned.

I was going to get the 360 for HALO, but since I am a long time playstation person, and my brothers have a 360, I got the PS3. I think that it will get more use as a Blu-Ray player though, as I spend more time watching films than playing games.

I would've liked to try some of the games that are exclusive to the 360, but so far I like what I have.

Is Ratchet and Clank and Dak and Jaxter huge sellers? I don't know a single person who owns any of those games. I'm sure they're great and all, but I've just never had interest.

The local CostCo, and I assume this is the case nationally, has revised their 360 return policy because the hardware is such a steaming pile. The return window is only a few months now.

IMO, the 360 is better in terms of library, online service (outside of the hiccups the past month), and controller form. The PS3 is a better piece of hardware and a nice Blu-Ray player but that's about all it has right now.

I used to be so very anti-ps3, but after spending a half hour on the phone tonight with Xbox customer support trying to get a coffin, only to end up with the barely english-literate rep who I had to repeat all my information to in excess of 3 times telling me the 'system is updating, can you call back tomorrow and go through all this again?'.. I'm starting to look at it in a new light.

For absolutely no reason today, I was gifted Zodiac directors cut and a Blu-ray Pan's Labyrinth. They look oh-so-beautiful on my brother's PS3 that there is no question in my book. When the time comes, I'll be purchasing my own PS3.

The only drawback for me is the inability to use a Guitar Hero Guitar as a bass in Rock Band. And thats big drawback for some.

I don't have a 360 so I may not know what I'm missing as far as exclusive games (I've only played on my friend's 360), but I'd say the 360 exclusives that have been announced and are still to come aren't any stronger than what the PS3 has announced. I'd say they are about even if we just look at upcoming games (I'm assuming you probably played some if not most of the previous exclusive 360 games).

The PS3 online service isn't as robust as Xbox LIVE, but it's not half bad for a free service. Home (and in game XMB) may improve it dramatically. You mentioned liking Rainbow Six over Halo, I played Rainbow Six Vegas for a while online last summer and it played well online. I'm sure the new one will have at least as good, if not better online support on the PS3 as the previous one. There aren't as many games available on the PS Store right now like on LIVE, but it does have some quality games. So I'd say LIVE is better probably from all I hear about it, but the PS3 has decent online right now.

I'd say the PS3 is a good buy right now (definitely better than when I bought it, not that I regret it). As long as my PS3 keeps playing Call of Duty 4, Rock Band, and Uncharted until Metal Gear Solid 4 (and God of War 3, Resistance 2, and maybe GTA IV) comes out, I'll be happy.

Oh, and Blu-Ray playback is gorgeous as others have stated, and it hasn't broken down on me yet.

Is the PS3 Home service that Bruce mentions still going to be a free thing, anyone know? I don't think I'm hardcore enough to be able to justify paying a regular subscription fee for online gaming, even if it is improved.

I know that in the last few years they've started clamping down on the students using laptops for college and then returning them for full refund upon graduation, and the major sports event bigscreen "borrowers". Didn't know about the consoles though. Shame, that.

hehe snickers...bassists...hehe...that's funny...

I have both. I have a lot more games for the 360, and if it crapped out on me, I wouldn't think twice about replacing it.

On the other hand, I love the PS3 as a player. I only have a few games, but the upscaling on all my regular dvds, along with blu-ray makes me very happy I picked one up when I did. Plus, all my old PS2 titles look fantastic when they're upscaled.

If you're big into the HD movies, I'd say get the PS3. But I think you'll want to have both at some point.

Last I heard, Home is still supposed to be a free service.

Fuck yeah, that's the way to go. I got my 360 at Best Buy and bought the replacement plan. When mine broke down after a power surge, I just boxed it up and switched it for a new one. Easy as pie.

When the Halo SE came out, I wanted the HDMI, so I just lied about my second one breaking down (it didn't). I had to pay a prorated amount of 18 bucks for a new replacement plan (it was a different skew), which incidentally restarted my two year replacement plan at day one. But that was it. New 360.

But yeah, fuck that mail in bullshit.

So, Nordling, which did you decide on?

Whoever wins, we lose.

I dislike these threads.

I was honestly just curious.

I thought the thread had been civil and honest, unlike a lot of console war debates.

That's only because you apparently missed the seething cauldron of hatred, invective, and barely concealed repulsion masked by semi-courteous message board discourse.

I don't have a problem with you chasing it up, or people discussing it - we're pretty well behaved on these forums regarding the rival formats now anyway.

But they're counterproductive - people consistantly state the 360 has the better games, and that the PS3 is a fantastic movie player. Some poor schmuck will read this and assume it's gospel.

When in fact the 360 does a perfectly competant job of playing back both regular and hi-def content and the PS3 has some fantastic gaming titles. They're completely different experiences and it has always come down to buying the console you'll be able to play against your friends with.

If you're not going online with it, Live immediately becomes redundant - the 360's true killer feature - and that library, whilst still awesome - becomes a single-player library, which the PS3 competes with very well.

Then again, if you're going to watch hi-definition content - Microsoft say it's all in the downloads - so why invest in a blu-ray player and expensive disc movies?

Nobody ever seems to address these points, because they like to pigeonhole the formats. Hence, counterproductive.

As an owner of both consoles it still feels, to me, like the PS3 is getting the 360's scraps. There are some gems to be found, Drake's Fortune, but really everything on the system is still expectation. When Home, LBP, Final Fantasy XIII, Gran Turismo 5 and whatever else comes out then I'll say that it can compete with the 360, as it stands the 360 has Gears of War, Halo 3, Bioshock, DLC for GTA, Mass Effect, Viva Pinata, and Project Gotham as some truly great titles.

Then again I think this generation is going to be pretty close in terms of what system gets what games, I honestly don't think developers can afford to not be multiformat nowadays.

So, basically, you don't understand that as a gaming machine the 360 wins, hands down. Now I understand your ire.

OH SNAP!

Yes. Buy a 360.

Wow. Upon reflection, maybe I should have just PMed him.

The wonders of being able to afford two consoles. I'm still waiting to upgrade to a full 1080p set - that's going to be a kick in the teeth financially.

Multiplatform though - i'm still pretty sure the 360 versions are better if the PS3 version is ported, if it's built from the ground up like CoD was, it's fine.

Although devs should have a pretty solid handle on pretty much the only engine this generation so far - the UT one, so we should be at least seeing like-for-like ports now.

Call of Duty 4 is everrr so slightly better on the 360. In the PS3 version I find myself snagged on walls and random objects more often(not very often, but still). I also notice more (minor)framerate hiccups on the PS3. I've played both versions in multi around 10-20 hours a piece, so I think I have a good feel for it.

Add the fact that LIVE is way better then PSN, and it's an easy choice for that game if you ask me. Granted... LIVE isn't free.


That said, soon enough the PS3 games are going to start out-gunning the 360 versions(of the same game), it's just a matter of time. The PS3 is an untapped beast, and I feel the 3rd parties are just now finding their footing.

I've always conceded Live is the better service, but i've had no framerate hiccups or snags in CoD?

According to gamespot - CoD4's texturing is better on the 360, but the shadows and antialiasing are better on the PS3. This is consistant with what most games at the moment are showing anyway, the 360 seems to texture better, whilst the PS3 outperforms with antialiasing and shadows.

Unfortunately, the PS3 usually suffers from some serious problems. Rainbow 6 and Orange box are some good examples of sloppy coding - R6V2 especially didn't learn anything from the original.

As you say, the gap is closing - but there's still definitely a gap.

Excellent. Why I asked is, that's pretty much my plan of attack once my PS3 arrives.

Why?

I've heard this talk about the PS3 being 'way more powerful' than the 360 a few times and I've never seen any articles actually saying that. In my view it seems that aside from Blu-Ray and the Hard Drive the PS3 and 360 have the same capabilities.

I'm not big into multiplayer, I don't have HDMI on my 360, and while it sounds like I'm ganging up on a dead horse, the noise from the 360 is just really, really irritating me. I just started Mass Effect the other night, and I was almost convinced it was going to die right then and there, the whirring was so loud.

Technically, the processor in the PS3 is more powerful than the 360s, and the 360 has a better graphics card.

The PS3 also persistantly has a large chunk of RAM being used for the XMB system, whilst the 360 only uses it on-demand - freeing up more memory for the 360 to spend on games.

To us, the hardware's on par - it's all down to how the games are coded.

The only exception at the moment is storage - MGS4 wouldn't fit on a single DVD9.

In fairness, my only ever argument for a format has been to pick one you'd be able to play against your friends on - so your first sentence is explaination enough.

I haven't ever had a 360 on long enough for the noise to annoy me.

At least an immature flame war hasn't started.

The thing I find funny though, last gen everyone whines about Xbox getting ps3 scraps, but now its in reverse. Just makes you wonder how 360 came out at the right time and just had the right specs to provide a great gaming experience, but to screw over Sony after they tried to outpower the Xbox.

Fact is, Sony and Microsoft switched places this gen. Like the Xbox last gen, the PS3 may be more powerful and it'll eventually hit some sort of stride, but they've already lost way too much ground to the 360 to truly find the foothold it will eventually deserve in the market...at least on these shores.

I'm skeptical, but sooner or later, the quality titles will flood that system and I will be waiting.

I'm having fun with my Wii.

I do refuse to buy a console known to break regularly, I don't care about the warranty, just unacceptable to me. And the PS3 doesn't have enough games yet, so I'm still waiting.