PS3 Slim Vs. Xbox 360 Elite Hardware: Pretty Cut And Dry?

@karmaghost: I keep it because every couple months there is a 360 exclusive that I'd like to be able to play. The last one was Mass Effect. That game was amazing, but the cruddy system it's forced to run on is awful, and MS needs to just admit the console hardware is bad, and replace it with a new console.

Kev50027

@Dr. Evil Genius: thats exactly the case with the PS3 as well. Developers were late to bite.

imTheKing

@rarukufan: Wow, that has not been my experience with either my original PS3 or my PS3Slim. Both required ports be manually opened on my router, and the Slim required the additional step of having a static IP address assigned to it. All things that I am proficient enough to take care of, but well outside the scope of the average Soccer Mom.
Glad your experience was so cut-and-dried, but that's not going to be the case with everyone. Actually several people I know describe similar experiences getting the PS3s online.
Compared to the 360 which *is* an out-of-the-box online experience...

@Cupajo: In regards to all three consoles, there is no additional setup for a network connection. As soon as I plugged an ethernet cable into my PS3 I could go online and browse for vidz from my PC. There's no additional setup. Sony doesn't expect the average user to be an IT guy.

@chefgon: This is true, I'll agree with the comment that Netflix does offer something different from Blu-Ray. But in my original post I was mainly commenting on the fact that XB fans like to make the claim that the quality of Netflix's download-able movies are comparable to Blu-Ray, which they are not. In addition, through apps like "Play On" it is possible to have both on the PS3 unlike the Xbox 360 that currently only offers Netflix.

Also if you read the last paragraph of my original post you'll see that I did not ignore the fact that XB has a better game selection than the PS3.

Regarding the controllers, my XB controllers weight twice as much as my dual shock 3s. Not to mention PS3 controllers do more than the XBox 360s controllers with Sixaxis motion-sensing functionality. After years of using both I've gotten the sense that my PS3 controllers also hold their charges a lot longer. And again, I already had to replace a rechargeable battery pack for one of my XB controllers along with the headset that shipped with my XB Elite. All my PS3 controllers continue to work just fine. BTW, the PS3 uses bluetooth as connectivity for all of its peripherals for gaming. Out of the box, you can actually connect up to 7 bluetooth devices at once, including 7 wireless controllers instead of just 4 radio controllers as with Xbox 360. With the PS3's support for standard bluetooth and USB devices I can use a plethora of third-party devices and vice versa. It's kinda cool actually coz I can use my PS3 controllers when gaming on my Windows based bluetooth enabled PC as well by simply loading the drivers for it like I would with any other controller. If I didn't have a PS3 controller and wanted to use my Xbox controllers with my Windows based PC I'd have to buy a special RF receiver, give up a USB port and install additional drivers. So bluetooth does relate to gaming on the PS3 quite a bit to the point that it can enhance the gaming experience.

Regarding quality, The statistics are out and I quote... "The latest issue of Game Informer contains a surprising statistic for anyone who's ever loved and lost their Microsoft-branded home console – according to their survey, in which over 5,000 console owners participated, the Xbox 360's current failure rate due to the Red Ring of Death, E74 or other hardware failure is 54.2 percent. They also calculated the relative death toll for PS3s due to the Yellow Light of Death (10.3 percent) and Wiis, due to ... well, we're not actually sure what color the Wii's light turns to upon its demise (6.8 percent)". It's actually not 50% as it has been reported here on Giz' but rather more than half of 360s experience a hardware failure. When confronted with this, Microsoft makes no attempt to deny it. Now, keep in mind, the PS3 is made by Sony. Sony generally does not make garbage. They may miss a mark here and there but they generally make cutting-edge superior quality products.

Let's not forget, the current generation of game consoles were conceptualized to be multimedia hubs actually that sat at the center of your home theater and tied everything together. Unlike Nintendo, this is what Microsoft and Sony promised they would deliver in addition to delivering the next generation of gaming.

@Skunky: Over the past two years, we have been seeing nothing but QUALITY exclusives coming from Sony as well as decent multiplatform games. I don't think that the 360 line up is any more beefy than the PS3s. Aside from Fable, Halo, and Gears, name 2-3 360 exclusives that would force me to buy a 360 instead of keeping my PS3 and get those "exclusive" games for my PC.

Jonesy555

@Cupajo: And also, the PS3 networking (wireless OR wired) is kind of a pain in the ass to set up. I got online with the XBox practically right out of the box, but the PS3 took close to 45 minutes of hoop-jumping to get it to work (even wired). Someone who is less technically savvy may want to avoid the PS3 if they want to play online.

If you choose to make use of the wireless adapter on the 360 you will lose the use of one of the USB ports (very very bad design).
Of course, the 360 has that exclusive Netflix too.

@Holy shirt! a talking squirrel! 「Tayler」:

He's taking the piss. Arstus and I have been having this same discussion/argument since the PS3 first released.

Also, "Asstus"? Seriously? Look - Arstus. Arse. He's already doing it. That's like him being named "Stupid Steve" and you trying to 'burn him' by saying "Or might I say DUMB Steve?"

Koztah

@mpar: MGS4 wasn't all that great and as cool as Little Big Planet is, it doesn't make a $300 console suddenly seem like a tremendous value. They need Gran Turismo, and not some stupid still-gotta-pay-for-it demo.

@Josh Craig: Beautiful Katamari is a must-have, the Lego Games (Star Wars, Batman, Indiana Jones) are also a must have, but they're console independant.

I think Katamari and Final Fantasy XI get the most playtime on my system out of all the games on disc I own. With XBLA though, there's a few more titles I love to play:

E4
Geometry Wars
Castle Crashers
Megaman 9 (SO hard...)
Street Fighter II HD Remix

@Rabid Penguin: The 4 controller limit on the 360 isn't so much due to a technological limitation, more like a practical limitation. I mean until Harmonix makes an Orchestra game are you really going to want to share your TV set with six other people? I have hard enough time sharing my TV with ONE other person.

MrEvil

@OCEntertainment: Up until recently Games for Windows live required a Gold subscription for certain features. Multiplayer would still work in the PC games, but other more XBL like functionality would not. Also, you can buy a wireless Dongle for your PC that'll let you connect Xbox 360 controllers. Also, the wired controllers that originally shipped with the base SKU on the first machines was standard USB and had a driver for Windows XP.

MrEvil

@Elranzer: PS3 actually has much higher than 0% fail rate, they were plagued with overheating issues at the beginning. That's why the slim is more like a fan with a motherboard and BR drive than it is a system with a fan.

@OCEntertainment: You could always buy a hackable router and set it up as a Wi-Fi to wired Ethernet bridge. At least that's what I did when I first got XBL on my original Xbox. Of course now I have my Cable modem relocated to a small cabinet in my Utility room and Cat5 running in the attic. The Xbox is just on the other side of the wall. Wasn't a huge ordeal to run a cable for it.

MrEvil

@Hatake_Sakumo: FFXI is on PS2 and Xbox 360, FFXIV comes out next year for the PS3.

@tok3ninja: I concur, the reason I never owned a PS1 or PS2 was the impossibly uncomfortable controller design. Especially for driving games. Analog triggers (which I first experienced with dreamcast) are much nicer for gas and brake than those shoulder buttons on Playstation controllers.

Don't get me wrong, MS isn't innocent either in controller design, I hate both the original Xbox controller and the Controller S. The only original Xbox controller I like is Logitech's wireless Xbox controller....which I liked so much I kept it even after I sold my Xbox :p. I use it with my PC for racing games. Of course it took Microsoft stealing Logitech's design to get the 360's controller right.

MrEvil

@BenedictFalooda: Not after the price drop.

@fuchikoma: However, you have to understand that while the XBox 360 may be a delicate flower that'll die on you with the least provocation, at the end of the day it's still just a toy. A really expensive toy, but a toy nonetheless. If your Xbox dies on you nobody will die, you won't lose money, you won't lose your job, you'll just have to think of something else to do with your time while the system is being replaced.

That being said, my 360 elite is running like a champ after almost 2 summers with it being upwards of 90 degrees IN MY FREAKING HOUSE.

MrEvil

@Fizzter:

probably 360 right now
Fable 2
Mass Effect
Lost oddessy
Star Ocean 4
Oblivion

racing:
Forza 2
PGR3 and 4
Race Pro
Test drive unlimited

strategy:
Halo wars
Command and Conquer 3
supreme commander

Josh Craig

@Elranzer:

but see thats a feature for the 360, curbs gaming addiction.

Josh Craig

@el bryanto: Actually it sounds right to me. The 360 has the better library for the moment. Wi-fi is not a feature at all to me, fine for the Wii where there is little to no actual online play, or the handhelds where it's not practical to put an ethernet port, but on a console that encourages devs and consumers to be online all the time, hard line is the only way to go.

Bluetooth and blu-ray are purely convenience features, Sony had really hoped the latter would carry the PS3 in the opening days, but HD-DVD put up enough of a fight that it floundered until they bought themselves a victory in the format war. Unfortunately, that's given MS and especially Nintendo to gain a much larger foothold in the GAMING market, which Sony seemed to have forgotten was important. Let us not forget this little tidbit from 2006:

[www.1up.com]

They seriously thought that they would still sell consoles without having any games. Well here we are over three years later and there's still very little exclusive to the PS3 that would make it a reasonable purchase, even with the price drop. MGS4, Gran Turismo 5 and Final Fantasy really needed to have come out about a year earlier than each did to have made a difference. Even the PSP has a much fuller library than the PS3 right now (of course between Monster Hunter, and FF: Dissidia taking up much of my time, I'm slightly biased there), so it's really time for Sony to stop working the PR and maybe start cranking on some new first party titles to sweeten the library.

This is the most biased pos I've read here in a while. Frucci should win an award or something. Fanboy of the Year maybe? Very awesomely appropriate for a "journalist".

Note: I have both and have played 360 a lot more but this article is just ridiculous.

AND the truth??
in the next 2-3 years you will ALL need new consoles.
AND you will PAY for them.
AND insted of having an OPEN environment so that ANYONE can program the console.
AND an CONFIGURABLE/UPGRADABLE hardware design.
We are going to create a HARDWARE software combo that is SO stupid, that on the CORP can put anything on it, and the hardware will be obsolete in 1 year.
And the PRICE??
Just UNDER what a new computer would cost.

ECAsh

@Confuzius: Yet is illegal ;)

I really fail to get the 360 has the best games argument, especially now. When SuperNintendo first came out, it had like 2 games and Genesis had been out for 2 years already so naturally it had a bunch of games. So, people(pro sega people) would say "SNES has no games" and even as the SNES built up a now legendary game library, people kept saying that it had no games. It was like people were just saying it out of habit.

TT

@Dr. Evil Genius: I have a feeling that if Sony decided that they didn't want to include a Blu-Ray drive in their console, in an effort to make it cheaper, they would've found a way around that little roadblock. Like....not putting games on BDs.

They forgot the fail rate. PS3: 0%, 360: 54%

Elranzer

@OCEntertainment: If they didn't include the Blu-ray drive, how would games be compatible - since they are on BDs?

@Doug Johnson:
"'Cause everybody needs 7 controllers at once. :)"

Not necessarily.

I normally have my BT Keyboard and wireless headset occupying 2 of those 7 ports.

I think the 7 is for multi-purpose connections that do not need to be dropped.

@Nekrik: but i have the same except for the zune HD don't se the point.

I have a PS3 as you can notice but I hope the natal thing and the ps3 wand both get a lot of support great things can come out of that... I hope

@brobot: oooooh you should go look over Kotaku its the same as with pc vs mac but lately people are starting to act kind of smart with a more open mind.

@imTheKing: It not Sega's fault though. They put the machine out there. Developers didn't bite. The games that were on there were freaking sweet.

@rarukufan: "You're guys are kidding yourself if you think Netflixt on XB can even compete with Blu-Ray. I always hear Xbox 360 fanboys throw up Netflix against Blu-Ray, disregarding common sense that BD media is superior to online downloads. I've tried both and I can tell you Blu-Ray is absolutely superior."

I won't disagree with you, but they're so radically different that I don't see how you can say that one is blatantly superior to the other. You can easily say that Blu-ray has better picture and sound quality, which it clearly does by a huge margin, and you can say that Blu-ray has a better movie selection, because that's really no contest, but at the end of the day Netflix is super cheap and you can start watching any movie in their collection in just a few seconds without getting off the couch.

It's totally subjective about what you're looking for. If you want a way to watch high-quality movies that you buy at the store, then you're looking for Blu-ray, if you just want a way to be able to kill some time watching some older movies without spending a lot of cash or leaving the house, then Blu-ray would be a pretty stupid choice because it doesn't offer any of that.

It's like saying that a nice sit-down restaurant is better than frozen pizza. Of course the food is going to be of higher quality, but it involves spending a lot of money and getting dressed up and going out for the evening. Sometimes you'd just rather have a frozen pizza even if the quality isn't as great.

chefgon

@cruzer555: No game worth playing ??? ok please comment when you get back from 2007 ok thank you.

both consoles have great great exclusive I tend to prefer the ones on PS3 but both have really good exclusives and the other great games are multy plataform... so please do not defend so blindly this kind of things, just enjoy what you have.

@karmaghost: PLEASE show me the lack of games.

@Nekrik: Good! you stay over there with your XB... I can't STAND campers!!! ;-p

@sgtteddybear: More like Dorks of New York.

@donlphi: yeah... too busy playing the PS3 to look at it.

@Marcelo Saldaña Ortega: Your an idiot, I have had several bluetooth headsets and I would never want to use any one of them for gaming, the xbox headset is better!

@karmaghost: +1 for "The Wire" reference.

@MBPsadly: I have to disagree. It is pretty even now when it comes to CoD4: MW. I have 60+ friends on my list and 50+ are MW people.

@rarukufan: Are you kidding!? The xbox is a much much better design with a better OS, better controllers, and much much nicer looks too! The ps3 is an overcurved ugly hunk of glossy junk. I also can't believe you favor a system that literally has almost no games worth playing. The xbox has the best exclusive games and they are just one of the reasons anyone who cares most about actual gameplay will pick and xbox. People like you fall for the ps3's bluray, bluetooth, and other things not even related to gaming, and you ignore the ps3's severe lack of good games and a good online service. Why anyone would choose junk like bluray over good gameplay is beyond me, don't get me wrong, bluray is nice, but that's what my htpc is for, not my game system.

@karmaghost: You can also use a USB cable to use the controller if all else fails.

In defense of the controller, I have slammed my PS3 controller many time on the floor and it still works like I took it out of the packaging.

@dalejrfanfreak: From what I hear, anything over 320GBs will have risk of corruption. Have you tried putting a TB in your PS3?

@Marcelo Saldaña Ortega: Wow... that was totally lacking in compassion. LMAO

@tlc1145: STFU you pathetic lying PS3 fanboy, the Xbox has better games, more games that are worth playing, better multiplayer, more ergonomic controllers, it is simply the best! Now go take your gaystation three and shove it up your ass!

@tlc1145: I have all three consoles and I have to admit that I end up using the Xbox 360 the most. I don't consider myself to be a fanboy of one or the other, if a great game comes out on PS3 I will enthusiastically buy it and play it (Little Big Planet is among the best games ever made, after all), but so far I would have to recommend the 360 if you can only afford one because it just has a better selection of games overall.

The hardware differences are largely irrelevant. I haven't played any games that felt like they were being held back because of the storage space on DVDs, nor have I felt that Xbox Live is being held back by Halo 2 compatibility. I do think that the 360 should have built-in WiFi, it's totally absurd that they're charging $100 for an adapter that doesn't even support Draft-N or WPA2, but nothing is really a dealbreaker.

Again, I'm not going to start an argument and say that one system rocks and one is stupid because it's different, they're both great choices if you want to play some games, but I feel like the Xbox 360 still edges out the competition as being the best value on the market because game library is just a hundred times more important than hardware specs or built-in movie players. Plus, if you're just interested in some casual gaming and you're not going to use the online features, the $200 Xbox Arcade system is a remarkably great value.

Of course, everything's open to interpretation, I would recommend a PS3 to someone if their alternative was to buy an Xbox 360 and a standalone Blu-ray player because they just happened to be one of those people who were in the market for both items at the same time. The PS3 is still a great system and I don't think anyone would regret buying one for gaming.

chefgon

I just bought my PS3, I prefer the fat one over the slim because of the fact that I can install Linux and the Ethernet port, and I've been very happy with my purchase. The PS3 is much advanced than the xbox, you can do much more stuff with it, only service is FREE..., it can play Blue-Ray, Supports HD DTS, media server access is a snap, I mean... is there any reason to even bother about the 360??

Library?? can you name some exclusive worthwhile games other than halo and GOW? Sincerely I bought the PS3 to play MGS4 and GT5 and God Of War.

to the writer: "Who gives a shit about Bluetooth", clearly a xbox360 fan boy.

HelloYouAll

Plays backed up disks with a firmware update to the dvd-drive saving you hundreds of dollars in games so that you can also afford a proper bluray player - Xbox 360

Confuzius

@ploopsy: umm no they dont...you can use any headset with the standard mic jack

PS3 Fanboy time: What are you XBOX people going to do when you are loading 5 different DVDs to play your games? XBOX is touting their game dls now....on a pathetic 120G hard drive. Meanwhile I can go out and pick up a 500G drive for under $75 now and slide it into the PS3 in less then 10 minutes. Microsoft has already admitted that it's online play is behind the times because all the Halo fanboys won't let them upgrade to newer engines.

The only reason that the XBOX is still relevant is because Microsoft is throwing money at the machine to try and keep it's edge [exclusives]. What are you all going to do when they finally realize that is a losing position?

Just wait until you are drooling over Uncharted II...

tlc1145

Why even bother with the article if you this biased against one of the products? Complete waste of time by a an XBOX fan boy.

tlc1145

@djsyndrome: Do some research next time. It comes with a headset when you buy it, and they sell a $20 wired one and a $60 wireless.

@Eavangel: I can think of one game where it's that long. Metal Gear Solid 4. Great game, but in between chapters or whatever they are, you have to stop for about 5 minutes to install the next portion.

@imTheKing: Well it was different till you decided to make a comment, as usual.

As someone that own neither console, I would have to say both sides have valid arguments.

The games I mostly play are on my PC. I absolutely do not like to play "shooters" on consoles, and it seems that is the majority of games for both systems these days.

What I would like to see is some more opinions around the game library. That's really the ultimate deciding factor I think, since the primary purpose is to play games!

If I were going to buy one, which would offer me a better selection of "non-shooters", and what would they be? That's what I want to know!

Fizzter

@ploopsy: Well extra ones yes, but it comes with one headset when you buy it.

@itchytooth: You mean like, Gangs Of New York? Cause that would be pretty epic.

I bought my PS3 before I bought an Xbox 360. I waited to buy a 360 coz I knew there would be problems with the first few batches. The batteries in my dual shocks never died. I traded them in for Dual Shock 2's when they first came out and they still work too like everything else on my PS3. My Xbox on the other hand, I had a headset die on me that still looks brand new, like the day I bought it. The only rechargeable battery pack (sold separately) I had for my 360 sticks died on me recently and I had to replace that, In spite of the fact that I've been using my PS3 twice as much over the years. The 360's loud. Cheap ass drive tray is as loud as the fan noise bellowing through the crap ass 360 case that's has to over compensate for the inferior design. Which explains that gi'huge'mongous ass power brick I have to hide behind my entertainment unit but still leaves the 360 just as big as the PS3. And to top it all off, I can't use my $300.00 G25 race wheel with my XB coz Microsoft can't seem to keep their damn hands out of my pocket every since I bought a 360. Coz of that, like many people, I refuse to buy any racing games and that lame ass MS hunk of plastic they call a racing wheel.

I love the fact that I can use whatever bluetooth headset I want with my PS3 and every piece of home electronics should have a bluetooth remote like this... It is awesome. You gotta love the PS3's bluetooth connectivity.

You're guys are kidding yourself if you think Netflixt on XB can even compete with Blu-Ray. I always hear Xbox 360 fanboys throw up Netflix against Blu-Ray, disregarding common sense that BD media is superior to online downloads. I've tried both and I can tell you Blu-Ray is absolutely superior. In all, the PS3 is superior hardware. I was online the other day and this guy was bagging on the PS3 and raving about how much he loved his Xbox. Turns out he loved it so much that he bought a second one after his first one booted up one day with the red ring of death. Fortunately for me, I'm still in the other 50%. For how long, I don't know.

With that said, I give credit where credit is due. XB Live is awesome. I'd pay for an online Sony network if it was as half as good as XB Live. Also XB's got Sony beat in the games department, hands down. My only complaint about the games for XB 360 is the same one I had for XB gen 1. Too many shooters, they need more variety. My main criticisms for Sony would be their serious failure to brand the PS3 better. They've had so much to work with too coz it's a beautiful piece of machinery. By branding I'm referring to their subpar online community, marginally satisfactory game library and their crappy updates for Crossbar (Sony's OS which is still better than the 360's). Other than that, the PS3's the better machine at a better value.

@OCEntertainment: PC Gaming?

mondomau

@Marcelo Saldaña Ortega: your comment is equally if not more of a waste of time.

Probably more... since even fewer people will read it.

Simmadownaa.. jus simmadown

ha, this xbox vs. ps3 flamewar is starting to sound worse than the whole mac vs. 'pc' thing... sheesh.

Why can't we all just play our dumb games in peace? OBVIOUSLY it's a matter of preference... since one person can likely find more use in one console than the other... and another person the opposite.

I have a 360 and I love it. My little brother has a ps3 and he loves it. Whenever I go home, I play his ps3 and think it's cool... and when he comes to my apartment he plays my 360 and thinks its cool.

Now.... personally, I find netflix on my 360 to be a much more practical and beneficial solution than a blu-ray player in a ps3 would be - ...(once again) for me.

let's just all calm down, e'rbody... or at least take out your anger on someone's ears over your bluetooth/xbox headset...

cuz I hear trash-talking other 13 year-olds over video games makes people cool...

oh yeah and i forgot... who gives s fk about being able to get a bigger hardrive on your ps3... right... NO ONE... lol... this post sucks... i will rant my way to hell... oh yeah i forgot... xbox dies just as easy as a chihuahua does...

Marcelo Saldaña Ortega

Man... what do you mean who gives a shit about bluetooth... a lot of people do... cmon dont tell me now that bluetooth headsets dont mean crap to u??? i mean do u prefer be attached to the console... man that sux... wifi dont mean crap as well??? cmooooon what is this??? is this an xbox forum quit whining... wifi rules... despite all ur bitching... blu ray sux too man... u suck... ur blind... of course u r going to sing the same crappo song every fan sings about xbox better games yada yada yada same ol crap... this post is a waste of time...

Marcelo Saldaña Ortega

@karmaghost: If you spend 10$-15$ more you get a bluetooth headset that works with the ps3 and any other bluetooth devices you have lying around.

ploopsy

@BigDaddyDLo: well I stream because its a hassle to move 320GB worth of movie/videos/musics from your computer to my console, being lazy you know ;)

diehippiedie

@karmaghost: only if you can't take some 6 screws off your controller and buy a new battery off ebay. The battery is not soldered on you know.

even if you can't handle a screwdriver and ebay, a new ps3 controller is still less hassle and much cheaper than RROD or xbox360 harddrive.

diehippiedie

@Kev50027: sounds like you need to back your statements up and sell that elite. if you're using it as a door stop, that's just plain stupid

or not, because i doubt you'd actually be this angry if you owned both consoles

when i got fed up with my wii, i sold that shit. sheeeeeeeit

@mettleh3d: if i were you i'd be more concerned with the fact that the PS3 uses blurays for games and consistently gets beaten by the 360 in visual quality and performance in shared titles

no joke, google it

@dan325013: The PS3 launched less than a year after the 360 in 2006. The PS3 is now almost 3 years old, so I don't think that's much of an excuse for a lack of games.

@ploopsy: Actually, that headset comes bundled with the 360. And if it breaks or you bought an arcade 360 (which i don't think comes with a headset), you can buy them for $10-$15. I'm not sure I'd want to use a bluetooth headset that cost that little to talk to people online.

@dalejrfanfreak: Yes, but when your PS3 controller's integrated battery dies, guess what you need to replace? The controller.

@Dr. Evil Genius: don't get me wrong, i own a Dreamcast as well. First system to incorporate sealed water cooling. Great hardware achievement. But the big picture is Dreamcast didnt even get to make a slight splash in the water in comparison to the PS2.

imTheKing

@roflwaffles is terribly unfunny: true :)

imTheKing

LoL. Should be more like "Which one breaks first"

Erran M Harris

AND you can add any 2.5 inch HDD to your PS3 so if you want 500GB or 1TB then that is an option to you.

dalejrfanfreak

It should be mentioned that the PS3's controllers do come with rechargeable lithium batteries as well as motion control. I'm 99% sure with the 360 you have to buy rechargeables or alkalines so that adds to the cost.

dalejrfanfreak

@Kev50027: I have had both and I prefer the 360, so that makes me biased as well? You want to be a gamer and have more oprotunities to find other gamers, get a PS3. I rarely run into someone that says "Hey wanna meet up on COD4? My PS3 name is..." it's 90 percent "My Xbox live name is..."

MBPsadly

@pantsonfireliarliar: Why stream? Hard Drives are about the price of a game now, you can get a 320gb for $60 on Amazon. It makes the Home Theater/Media experience a hell of a lot more awesome, especially once you organize your video content into Albums (Movies, Music Videos, Trailers, Etc) :D

BigDaddyDLo

Wow.. that was the most biased bullshit I've seen in quite a while. Adam, if you played games on the PS3, I have a feeling you would prefer it. I have both systems and haven't touched my 360 Elite in months. It makes a good door stop, or step so I can reach things, but other than that, it's an inferior machine.

Kev50027

"Aw, what the hell. Just buy both."
Or a computer.

@imTheKing:
Well, apparently you and i do.

@GrossGreg: No. I'm an IT person, it's just statistically possible for me to see a bunch of people's trays because THEY take poor care of them.

But nice try at adding something to the conversation. It's a shame all you have to offer is shallow and drags the conversation down to an idiot's level of intelligence.

Oh well, every conversation can't be at your low level of thinking, can it GROSS greg?

ReynaldoRiv

@ReynaldoRiv: Also something else to note:
Plastic's thermal expansion is 1260 micrometers per meter degree Celsius.

That means it WILL expand and change shape just from being under constant heat regardless of if you touch it or not.

ReynaldoRiv

@despisethesun: No no no. I'm not claiming that at all. It's not a HUGE issue, hell most people will go there whole lives never knowing it's possible, but it's still a concern.

If something made of thin plastic is near hot (poorly ventilated) components it will begin to warp the thin plastic (that's just the nature of plastic, it warps under constant heat).

Plastic melts at 225 degrees Celsius. As you approach that temp, the plastic becomes pliable.

If the thin plastic moves a lot during this pliable state (during very high heat situations, like oh... if a 360 was over heating a lot and a tray was opening a lot, perhaps violently because of a reasonably pissed off owner) the thin plastic WILL warp, that's just science.

There is no statistic - that's just the thermal property of plastic. Even a millimeter of warping may cause disc damage depending on the angle of the warp.

So to answer your question, no, it's not a case of "my experience trumps your experience", it's more a case of "Science has already proved this, so it applies to all situations no mater what shape the plastic is".

ReynaldoRiv

How many times are we going to use the word "serious" as though a serious gamer wouldn't dare look at a PS3. C'mon guys. :)

donlphi

@ReynaldoRiv: "I've had and seen several cases of damaged trays (mostly warping due to an intense overclock combined w/ poor ventilation or kids fucking w/ the tray's path)."

So, because you don't take care of your equipment, it makes it inferior? Nice, man.

Amazon.de has just started listing a 250GB Xbox 360 Elite bundled with two wireless controllers and Forza 3.

pointless

Ah, but what they're missing here is "Last-last generation support" where PS3 says "Yes" and Xbox 360 gets a shiny "N/A" -- that is, unless you want to consider Dreamcast the Xbox predecessor... because it kind of was in a loose way. Now excuse me while I fantasize about being able to play Dreamcast games w/o hooking up another console or buying them again.

lets also consider reliability on these units, 360's ring of death =$$ and your lack of play time.

Brought to you by a really bias PS3 supporter!

trailingedge

I would NEVER buy a console that breaks as much as the xbox360. Encourage the practice of selling such a shit box? No way.

holyspidoo

@fastm3driver: "bluetooth on the PS3 is mostly locked down useless"

What is locked down about it? The main benefit of Bluetooth on the PS3 is the ability to use any wireless headset, not just special ones like the XBOX360 requires, which tend to be more expensive. It's basically the same way hard disks work between the two consoles -- they both support replacing the disk, but it's much more expensive for one than the other.

Of course, hardware isn't the whole picture.

drumist

as a biased PS3 supporter; you are one sour biased 360 supporter.

pipichua

My PS3 has become a blu ray player strictly

@pantsonfireliarliar: What application do you use for streaming? I find that PS3 Media Server is a very solid application.

kidphat

In addition to Gizmodo Meetups, I think it would be helpful to have Beatups too. Commenters could come together to fight it out, street-gang style, and determine once and for all which console/operating system/etc is truly the best evar.

@seip719: Xbox360 can decode Divx without converting... With Windows7 you can do this both streaming content and inside the MCE shell as well.

SB22

@Reapman: I don't want to just "stream" music and videos; I want the full Media Center experience with a dedicated backend Media Center computer w/ HD Tuner cards and extenders branching all of that content/live tv/full interface to other aspects of the house. MCE offers a full fledged experience that PS3 does not have.

SB22

@ReynaldoRiv: So can you back up your claim with some statistics or are you just saying "my experience trumps your experience"? Because I've never seen a tray warp so bad that it wrecked a disc, and I have seen a lot of tray loading optical drives. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I'm saying unless you can back up what you're saying with more than "I saw this happen", the chances of either being that big of an issue are likely insignificant.

For me the win is with a fully integrated experience that will soon be had: Zune HD, XBox-360 with media center capabilities, Natal, Win7 and Win Home Server with my reciever and HD TV make me a far happier camper than with anything I've seen or expect to see from what Sony has to offer.

Nekrik

NOW..
can we add all the valid points that have been made and get a NEW vote on which is or MIGHT be better

ECAsh

@logicalnoise: Some people didn't want to wait to have their systems sent back to them and just bought replacements instead.

@imTheKing: The only problem I have with the PS3s BT is that when you use a cellphone's headset with it, it takes over the headset and causes wierd things to happen when it is pair with your phone afterwards. I have had to hard reset my cell phone's headset everytime I used it with the PS3 until I buckled and bought the PS3 BT Headset.

@vgrfx: as much as I want to buy an XB, I can't bring myself to buy something that is probably broken inside the box. I can't make that purchase in good faith.

@I heart cake farts: ....so I am going to go out on a thin limb and say you NEVER played PS1or2.....

@dgaf8: Yeah wtf, that's not mentioned anywhere in that chart, and that's a huge factor. Then again.. 360 has a lot more games because it launched earlier, which is not mentioned either.

"Who gives a shit about Bluetooth?"?!?!?!

That Bluetooth is really handy since you can use any headset you want, xbox owners have to buy the xboxlive headset.

ploopsy

haha....wow... $300 +$300 = how much I paid for the PS3 at launch.....

@350z-racer: Point well-taken. I stay telling people that I refuse to pay $250 for a "Wii" when I was equipped with one at birth. Plus, the multiplayer function is wayyy better. That's where the ladies are eager to be considered "gamers".

@imTheKing:

Can't agree with you here King. The Dreamcast was a better system than the PS2. The only reason Sega had to drop out of the console game is because they didn't get software support.

@imTheKing: It's the same here as in Kotaku, except the crowd is more tech savvy. People rail the 360 for good reason.

Adam (and a few others) think the 360 has a better games library when in truth, it's about 50/50 w/ a few spikes on both sides. However Sony's got a huge spike of first party games coming up and those don't have a chance of ever being on 360 unlike DMC 4.

ReynaldoRiv

@redman042: "USER EXPERIENCE" and "FUN FACTOR".

Do you REALLY think about PS3 vs. 360 when you're playing your game?

Do you even own a PS3?

How much fun is it to have to say a silent prayer when you power on your system after it freezes?

@Spoony Bard: Inarguably? Isn't that the main argument? C'mon. Speak with sense. As someone posted early, both systems have THE SAME games except for a few exclusives on either side.

Unless you love Halo THAT much, the argument remains a valid (and apparently heated) debate.

@logicalnoise: I find it hard to disagree with you. I just wasn't impressed with KZ2 and I was wow'd by Halo for about 20 minutes 5 years ago.

I'll take CoD4/MW2 and move on.

@redman042: The 360 far outsells the PS3 because most PS3 customers don't have to buy multiple systems due to epic failures. Let's not forget the year head start the 360 has.

@Grahmo: So, it's okay do/buy crappy things because your friends do?

That's the American spirit!!

@Spoony Bard: Oh please. Inarguably better. Says a 360 fanboy.

imTheKing

Not to mention the PS3 wont die on you..uses less power than the fat ps3 which used less power than the 360 to begin with.

@Spoony Bard: yeah and you think its any different here? This guys doing the same shit hes bitching about. So who gives a shit.

imTheKing

@skinned: I am inclined to believe that you read online opinions instead of owning a PS3 yourself. There are many, many games on this system. I hope it doesn't take bright colors on your online menu and a faulty piece of hardware to pique your interests.

lol same 300$ price and your getting about 250$ worth more hardware with the ps3. Theres already a soild base of quality games on the ps3..its a question of taking quality over quantity..xbox 360 doesnt offer much oppose to the PC or Ps3..as does the ps3 to other platforms.

@imTheKing: "shut up already"....wow, that's classy. The man had a good point, Kotaku comments do tend to get out of hand on posts like these. I would know.

Good grief.

@ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat: I must at least partially agree with you on this point. I think my plan to purchase at launch was partially brand loyalty but more importantly, it was for eventual capabilities. When researching a product, I look for the long-term as opposed to the short-term/impulse buy so that I don't have to buy high-end items too often due to obsolescence.

@ephdel: I'm completely the opposite. I use the Xbox 360 to stream any movies that I want to watch, plus the games library is inarguably better.

I love my PS3, but it's harder and harder to justify the price I paid for it DESPITE its clear hardware advantages, and you bet that will make a difference come next console cycle.

@imTheKing: I agree. XB is too new a product line to claim brand loyalty. The first iteration wasn't even respected by the current gen customers. People defend the XB because they don't want to do anything on their own ("all my friends bought one") or feel stupid for following everyone else.

People talk about the price of the PS3 but they have turned around and spent $400 - $1200 for the right to play THE SAME CONSOLE.

@[www.lensoftruth.com]

ephdel

i'd like to point out that when my friends and i show up to a LAN party with our PS3s, we just use our WIFI, no wires running around, and since its local there is no noticeable lag. the Xbox has good multiplayer games and its good to get for groups, but i still use my PS3 (Yes i have both because i love games that much) for just about everything. It's my media center, my music server, and its really become more integrated into my home since i installed a 500 GB HDD in it. the xbox has been relegated to Halo and Left 4 Dead, with the occasional netflix viewing. I think the PS3 is really holding my attention better and longer than any other console (i sold my Wii after a year) and i wouldn't give it up for anything. i wont even upgrade to the slim because all of my PS2 saves have been carried over...

I like both consoles, but if i had to give one up it would definitely be my 360. my PS3 is in my life to stay...

ephdel

@logicalnoise: I never claimed they were perfect, only that a tray has a higher chance of wrecking a disc (which it does, plain and simple.)

If a slot eats your disc just take it out. It's EXACTLY the same as a VCR repair (if you're too young to have needed to retrieve a tape from a VCR I guess you're lucky)

Although if the slot in question is on a PS3 or Wii and you're not going to fix it yourself, I guess you can tape the game's case to the console and leave a note w/ a simple explanation and picture. I mean it's not like the empty case does you any good anyway if they decide to trash the disc.

ReynaldoRiv

@lobuzz311: What about all the other things you have to come out of pocket for when purchasing a 360? This premise is flawed.

@Arstus: a person from a third person view (plays neither ps3 or 360) might find it biased, so don't just assume Arstus. Or might I say Asstus?

Holy shirt! a talking squirrel! 「Tayler」

@fastm3driver: I get this stuff from experience. I've personally never had a slot-loading issue but I've had and seen several cases of damaged trays (mostly warping due to an intense overclock combined w/ poor ventilation or kids fucking w/ the tray's path).

ReynaldoRiv

@Eavangel: Yeah I can't believe they left that off the chart. The only reason I bought a PS3 was to hold my texture art for my animation classes......

MichaelBrazell

Ridiculous fanboyism for the 360. Its loud, its hardwired, and plays games on dvds.

mettleh3d

I need to add 2 things that were even posted to this site.

1. The PS3 Hard drive can be changed to a larger HD. The Xbox 360 will not let you use another/any other drive.
2. Xbox 360 has a FAILURE rate over 50%. So that 1 of Every 2 of you will need to return your unit, and spend 2weeks -2months Waiting for its return.

Consider that the xbox original had 2 years head start on the PS2 for the internet, and Sony is still trying to catch up.
Before the PS3, sony made machines used by SINGLE players and those at home. its like they didnt SEE what had happened with the Xbox and took very little consideration of it.
IMHO,
Sony MAY learn from this error in the next generation. BOTH(Sony,MS) are still learning a few things.
BOTH want to control ALL Software and HARDware that are used on their machines as well as distribution.
MS is learning that going OUTSIDE the computer standards SUCKS.
Sony is learning that NOT KEEPING UP with what is already HAPPENING, is a bad thing. Expandability/flexibility is the KEY, reprogramming is ALWAYS needed.
BOTH are learning, that a BOX can only be so full until it over flows. And customers really dont want to buy MORE then 1 box. And it has to FIT Everything/DO everything.

This is LIKE the NETBOOKS and comparing them to computers.. then trying to FIX the problem after the fact. Netbooks will not be able to run as many games as the computer, they wont have the OPTIONS and resolutions AS the computer. Returns a\on Netbooks is forcing the prices DOWN, as many people THOUGHT they were portable computers and could do Almost anything the computer could.

The evaluation is about 1/2 right. it just doesnt go ALL the way.

ECAsh

Got my PS3 Slim last night. So far, my biggest disappointment has been the streaming quality. PS3 may have Bluray but 360 streaming is so much better than on the PS3.

PS3 had lower quality, more artifacts and slower to start/seek/scan.

But then my crappily built 360 has a disc tray that's about to die so the PS3 will be taking over disc based media duties. One of these days, somebody's gonna get it right. Right?

@imTheKing: I'm worried this will change with the new price point. Prepare for the onslaught of being called ghey this fall.

@OCEntertainment: Because the Xbox controllers work flawlessly on my PC, and the Live account was needed for Fallout 3 DLC (among other things).

@imTheKing: It's going to be a while before anything can beat the PC for FPS games :)

@kleptoman: How ever did you get enough money left over from a $300 game system to afford that? ;) I'm not really sure why anyone would cry about adding that to the the budget when XBL and PS3's online are compared side by side.

Sure XBL would be 100% better free but I don't think Sony's even come close. It seems rightfully free by comparison.

@redman042: You may prefer the 360 "USER EXPERIENCE and FUN FACTOR", but if you think it "spanks PS3 on those measures," you must be very hard to please. I'll be honest and say I've never used a 360, but I can't honestly believe that the 360 could be that much better than the PS3. Sure it could be a little better (from what people say, it is a little better imo), but saying it spanks the PS3 makes it seem like PS3 completely sucks in comparison which I think is way off.

dark_quota

@imTheKing: look what up there has been no qualified statement from anyone on the actual effectiveness of the new jasper design. just a few scant people saying i have a jasper and it done RRod'd.

logicalnoise

@ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat: shut up already. Reread the comments. More people are bitching about 360 JUST like they are on Kotaku. That just means the readers have some common sense in the least.

imTheKing

@SeraphX2: Redman sounds like someone who hasn't actually USED a PS3 to play online in the last few years. Whenever I hear an argument like his, I just laugh. Besides, the 360 doesn't "far outsell" the PS3. Isn't it only a few million ahead?

gerrylum

@(Zombie) Goldwings: fleshlight refills I bet.

logicalnoise

@ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat: your a complete moron. I mean really. Talk about fanboy.

imTheKing

@imTheKing: you can now rip entire games to the HDD so all the disc drive has to do is verify that you have the disc. it even improves some games in performance(reduces pop-in on GTA4).

logicalnoise

+1 to you, the gizmodo readers. these comments are a whole lot more mature and thought out than the shitfest that's happened in the kotaku thread with the sony defense force pretty much jumping on the opportunity to proclaim the 360's demise.

ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat

@ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat: Dreamcast was a competitor? HAHAHAHAHA Really? REALLY? Do us all a favor, take your shoe laces out, tie a noose and get it over with.

imTheKing

@(Zombie) Goldwings: Yeah, same here, but also I needed wifi and didn't feel like buying anything else. I just wanted something to play CoD 4 online with out of the box (obviously I also needed to buy the game also lol...) and the PS3 was the cheapest option at the time.

dark_quota

@redman042: yeah less 13 year olds screaming in high pitched voices. Thank christ.

imTheKing

@Reapman: same thing on the 360 dash. media playback is equal I find as far as streaming videos from another computer. Though MCE does have some great expanded uses through apps.

logicalnoise

@ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat: That's pretty much my take on it too.

The system still is lacking in the games dept in my personal opinion - though it has improved lately. I'm still not interested in it one iota after the price drop. Show me more.

@redman042: glad I live in such a wonderful country. I guess its true that things are going down hill quick.

imTheKing

@ReynaldoRiv: slot drives when they do fail can also fail at giving your disc back meaning you're trusting sony to return your disc when you send it back.

logicalnoise

@TheFaze: It's only biased if you disagree.

Arstus

@ReynaldoRiv: Also, there is a way to "back up" your 360 disc's. As far as I know there is no way to do this on the PS3. One can also store games on the 360 hard drive so the disc almost never spins. Disclaimer I have a 360 elite(I also had 3 RROD's on a launch system), wii and 2 PS3's.

fastm3driver

@redman042: and it's only 60 bucks!

logicalnoise

@TheFaze: This is faze he obviously disagrees...please agree with him.

logicalnoise

@fastm3driver: when my launch 360 died I bought a phillips upscaling DVD player for 99 bucks to tide me over while it was repaired. When I got my 360 back I was so friggin happy. Phillips makes the worst DVD players out there. Maybe even the walmart exploding ones.

logicalnoise

@ReynaldoRiv: Where do you get this stuff? I've had problems with my wii, PS3, and laptop slot load but never a tray issue. And I've had probably 100+ try devices and maybe 6 slot load ones.

fastm3driver

@TheFaze: more because its Adam Frucci. If it were someone else, it may have been a little bit more honest.

imTheKing

yea but bluetooth on the PS3 is mostly locked down useless and the DVD player on the 360 is total crap.

fastm3driver

@imTheKing: a wired headset sounds a lot more better than a wireless one fyi. try to spin that.

ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat

@redman042: Is there a game on both consoles where this is valid? Has anyone done a test to see which console can load the game faster? I own a PS3 and there is a wait sometimes but that wait is never long enough to go take a piss or something. Usually long enough to get up, turn up the volume and while mid adjustment the game starts... Besides, when you can get a 500gb hard drive for the PS3 for the same price as getting a 120gb for the XBOX... i really don't think it matters that a few games take up some hard drive space...

I had an old 80GB PS3 and replaced it with the one in my MAC (120GB) because i upgraded that to a WD Black 320... Now i use my PS3's old 80gb in a enclosure and use it to hold texture art for my animation classes... Can you do that with a 360 drive? i don't think so...

This is Giz, which is a Sony hating website, so yeah, your stupid biased opinion does not count.

TheFaze

@belyle: Agreed. I bought a wireless router for $50 and turned it into a wireless bridge with DD-WRT. Now I have room for 4 other network aware components that don't use WIFI.

@imTheKing: so you're letting the ps2 slide, because you thought there was no competition? dreamcast. your posts are classic sony defense force.

ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat

@redman042: Unmatched based on what? PS3, all I do is put my game in and get online. How can anything improve on that. That's all that any console needs to do. There's nothing hard or painful or unfun about that. What exactly are you talking about?

@Salamanderjuice: yes, the canada exclusive elite deal. that's a steal there

ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat

@coyote1284: P.E.T.U.: linux capability got removed from the slim, but nobody used that.

if anybody relied on a ps3 as your computer as well, get a life.

ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat

@dantemustdie:
Maybe Adam "Bong-smoking fratboy" Frucci reeeally likes Halo.

ReynaldoRiv

@lobuzz311: Get that new Logitech Harmony adapter for the PS3. I did, and it works perfectly.

redman042

@SeraphX2: Talk specs all you want, and sure many of it is true, but in the end, the 360 far outsells the PS3 because the 360 is more fun and less of a pain to play and use online. The Xbox Live experience is simply unmatched. Period.

redman042

@dantemustdie: Although a good majority of the games that came out for both platforms plays better on the 360... and god damn those long ass install times...

I have both systems but I prefer my 360 big time... since mine has been working just fine for 3 years since I got it...

MiltoxBeyond

@djsyndrome: Yes, except for some reason in-game chat on the PS3 sucks compared to the 360. There are less people chatting, the quality is poor, and it can slow down the game. So I don't even use the bluetooth earpiece on my PS3. But I use the headset on my 360 all the time.

redman042

@ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat: If you knew your Sony history, they always over deliver the first time and slowly reduce to the most wanted features. Most people don't even know what the original PS2 could do compared to the current slim.

Having a launch 60 gig sure feels good now though.

ReynaldoRiv

The bottom line - what wins it for me is USER EXPERIENCE and FUN FACTOR. Xbox360 spanks PS3 on those measures, hands down. I have both systems, BTW.

redman042

@imTheKing: If the thing that breaks is good enough, and with a 3 year warranty, YES, that's us!

redman042

@BrockBrockman:

If I didn't spend it on games, I would probably spend it on camera gear

/YMMV depending on income.

The fact that the 360 works with Logitech Harmony remotes out of the box is a big selling point (IR receiver, like someone mentioned). If you have a home theater setup, chances are you're going to have a universal remote of some kind, and then it's probably a Harmony. Yes, the PS3 has an adapter that you can buy, but again that's more money. I have both a 360 & a PS3, as I use the PS3 for Blu-ray, but it irritates me that I have to have the PS3 remote out as well as my universal. Just as a side note, I sold the only game that I had for the PS3...

lobuzz311

@fuchikoma: Yes I can press X and wait a few minutes, but why should I?? It's a friggin' console, and I switched from PC gaming to console gaming to get away from all that sit and wait crap. And let's not even begin to compare software update times. Whether I'm updating the firmware or a game, on the Xbox it's quick and painless. On the PS3... well let's just say I've done a clean install of Windows in less time than an OS update on the PS3.

redman042

@BrockBrockman: The way I see it is this: Every single second you're not online playing a game is money wasted.

I'm not online every day, Hell! There are MONTHS when I don't use an online function for any game!! So much money wasted on Live.

ReynaldoRiv

@CopyPaste:

Look at the price of a hard drive for the 360.

Or the price of a PS2 memory card, ouch.

@seip719: You're both ignoring the setup as mce allows for a very good tv interface that has facilitated, in at least my situation, turning off the cable. Better is that my whole family, including my technophobic wife, are comfortable with it.

XanderCrews

@coldconfession13: what does gigabit ethernet have to do with anything? maybe for huge file transfers (game console?) or video streaming (N/A for PS3...) because you definitely don't have internet anywhere near that fast. it's like a moot point. 10/100 ethernet = 10/100/1000 ethernet for all practical purposes

@GuidoCoeurl: Well put. Games i'm most interested in was MGS4, GoW3, FF13, and wanted Blu for my new 1080p TV. Therefore the PS3 made the most sense. Had I been a bigger fan of Halo and Gears of War, I'd have gotten a 360. Like you said too, Live is edging out PSN for features (I like free PSN, but if I HAD to have Live I'd be paying for it glady probably)

Reapman

@imTheKing: I wonder if he will reply. Owning both, and reading all the comments here, I have to agree that the PS3>360.

@SB22: Yea that isnt really an advantage since the ps3 and see and COPY from media center among other video streamers. Also the PS3 supports Divx without the need to convert.

seip719

@imTheKing: I like that noise. It's the "Get ready to game!" noise.

Besides, it's a good excuse to get a bigger surround system.

Joe Valasek

@Dillinger23: This. Or wants to use wifi with their overpriced wireless adapter or dd-wrt compatible router.

dark_quota

@Kung-Fu Kurtis: That might make a good selling point for parents with lethargic, obese children. The PS3 is slim, your kid isn't! Get the PS3 Fit!

I'm going to post my two comments on Kotaku here.

1
-----------
more ppl have game capable PCs than most people realize. A lot 360's exclusives are also on PC.

If you bought a computer recently (college students) you can play most games. Maybe not at max specs but you can still play.

Hell, even Macs coupled w/ bootcamp and Windows make admirable gaming PCs (I've played DMC4 and Left4Dead on my Mac laptop)

ReynaldoRiv

@SuramaAte: If all of your friends jumped off of a bridge, would you do it too?

Nah, I'm just kidding. If you like having to pay extra money to play Halo and DDR with your friends online, that's cool.

BrockBrockman

I'm going to post my two comments on Kotaku here.

2
------------
You forgot to mention that PS3's drive is Slot-loading while 360 uses a disc tray.

A tray can destroy discs if it becomes warped from heat or otherwise loses shape.

Trays have a significantly higher fail rate because of all the vulnerable bits that become exposed when it moves.

That was an important thing for me since I've seen computers do that tray warping before. When I read 360s were overheating the first thing I thought was "bye-bye games"

A serious, supposedly definitive, comparison chart should include this.

It's unfair to consumers that you have a "tale of the tape" chart and forget to add "the 360 has a higher chance of wrecking your discs".

ReynaldoRiv

@SB22: How so? Takes about 2 minutes to get streaming videos music and pics to your PS3. Actually not even since it instantly see's my Windows PC.

Reapman

@OMG_changed_my_name!:
Irrelevant? Hardly. I'll readily admit XBL looks great. Unlike the first XBox, the 360 has a ton of fun games I want, and it plays them very well...

However, $400 (I need Wifi) is way too much to pay for a system that will - more likely than not - drop dead within a couple years of use. I keep my consoles. My Intellivision works, my NES works, my 1994 PS1 works... I buy systems for keeps, and if there isn't a good 9 out of 10 chance that the system will last for at LEAST five years, then I'll take it at $100, and that's being charitable.

I don't care if they'll take it under warranty and send me a refurb that'll take a little longer before it fails. The reliability is the single deciding factor that keeps me from buying one of those things - the rest looks great, and I probably wouldn't even mind the shop-vac like noise they put out.

@Pessimipposaurus: Having native backwards compatibility is nice, as it requires one less box and set of controllers to be out in public view, not to mention the reduction in the number of wires to connnect and cost of cabling.

Doug Johnson

@dantemustdie: I think halo is ok, I also think killzone 2 sucks.

logicalnoise

@kleptoman: i've seen fanboys try to spin it with "$50 a month"

ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat

@Rabid Penguin: I hate the PS3 controller, aside from the D-Pad, which is better than the 360's. The layout of the analog sticks on the PS3's wears out my thumb quickly and is much less comfortable.

Doug Johnson

@mynameisjoe:
Right. Because pressing 'X' and waiting for a few minutes is beyond your technical ability?

@dantemustdie: I've been wondering about that. I mean, what are the 360 exclusives these days (except Halo)?

BrockBrockman

@imTheKing: well you seem to be pretty defensive for someone complaining about brand loyalty. people who buy ps3s are more likely to have bought it out of brand loyalty. case in point: people bought lunch ps3s for at least $600 when there were literally no games

ithyphallus, lazy beareaucrat

@mynameisjoe: yeah. It's better on the 360 where you get to listen to the drive spin up to 2 million RPMs.

imTheKing

@gadam07: F that. $300 bucks (plus extra for controller & games) is a lot of money.

BrockBrockman

@Rabid Penguin: 'Cause everybody needs 7 controllers at once. :)

One might add that even though PS3 uses Bluetooth, third party manufacturers aren't allowed to use it, so peripherals like the Guitar Hero / Rock Band guitars require a USB receiver, where as the 360's wireless technology has been licensed to these vendors, so no receiver is required at the console. Since the new PS3 slim only has 2 USB ports, a USB hub would be required to play RB or GH in order to accommodate the necessary controllers even though they are "wireless."

Doug Johnson

my only quams would be when natal comes out, would be worth such a long term investment?

Adrian Tromel

@SeraphX2: That's fine, ill take my xbox360 and go play with my friends who all have 360's, you take your ps3 and go play with yourself

Grahmo

@tok3ninja: I have a launchy PS3, so I'm still buying games. :P

coyote1284: P.E.T.U.

I need to point out that if you pay $99 for a network adapter, you are a moron. If you don't buy the Xbox brand wireless network adapter, you can EASILY find them new for $40.

Or $28 on Ebay!

@logicalnoise: FOR YOU! For most people, they want wireless. That's the market today.

imTheKing

@logicalnoise: Only difference is there wasn't a real competitor to the PS2 at the time. So people didn't really have much of a choice.

Now your comparing 3 potential products, but hey, lets cut it down to 2 since the Wii isn't considered next gen by most people here.

Either way, your talking massive failure rate. With Vista, granted most people didn't try it, but it wasn't just people bitching. It was the entire tech industry. There were complaints from every single tech blog out there about Vista. It's not like that came out of no where.

imTheKing

XBox360 has Media Center Extender...that give it the advantage in my book.

SB22

@nutbastard: yeah 54% failure of the 360 really should be a factor when comparing the 2

Really I am AMAZED the wifi adapter never dropped in price. I mean were talking something thats markup is at least 1000%.

I bought mine on ebay for 50 brand new and felt cheated.

CopyPaste

Software is a huge part of it. On the ps3 you have to install games which is utterly pathetic. They might as well have you type in some command line arguments so that you feel like your work was worth it when you actually get to play the game.

mynameisjoe

@aniteshj: Brand loyalty means nothing. It just proves that there are more idiots out there.

imTheKing

@Gun Metal Gray:

That's patently not true - while the Jaspers enjoy a LOWER failure rate, the RRoD is not yet an anachronism.

As for older models, you might want to check, oh i dont know, The Internet

Anything that doesn't have a 12.1A power supply is not a jasper. Poking around, pretty much every retailer that lists the PS amperage doesn't indicate 12.1A.

@aniteshj: Brand loyalty means nothing. It just proves that there are more idiots out there.

imTheKing

@Gun Metal Gray: Thats incorrect again. The jasper chips fail as well. Look it up.

imTheKing

@SuramaAte: so your the average sucker for buying things that break. Glad to hear.

imTheKing

For me it was the free online play that eventually pushed me to get a PS3 (as well as having my launch xbox 360 dying on me), but seriously I find it comfortable for someone like me who has some odd months that I don't go online/game therefore I would waste the 3 months of the $50 I would have spent if I had LIVE. And believe me I could think of many things that $50 can go to.

@nutbastard:

How about adding in brand loyalty? since yes they break but theres something good when they come back for more even though its a poorly built item. Fact is most people can't grasp the concept that Microsoft put a hit in our hands, and thats why despite the incredible failure rate we go back and back.

I'd much rather Have MW2 on 360 then on PS3, simply because Sony can only have wet dreams when it comes to the seamless and kickass online system on a Xbox. Yes it costs money, but to me thats one less shitty game a year and one good service instead.

aniteshj

@Woz: It is. If only they'd drop the price on that, and allow bring your own hard drive upgrades.

Again, the issue is moot. Buy Both. Done!

@tok3ninja: I like the feel of the ps3 controller better. I've done a long session on both with similar games and the 360 made my arms hurt in that carpal tunnelly way. The PS3 session wasn't too bad, but that's my preference. I tend to think I have smaller hands so maybe that's why it works better.

cearum

@Steeldrumhero: The disconintued 60GB and 20GB had BC chips and the MGS4 bundle 80GB along with the old 40 GB had software BC (chip was about 97% BC, software was about 92%BC)

all discontinued, but just thought I would correct your point.

@imTheKing: no because to me it resembles the same hate on vista. people who never owned the product deem it broken and a waste of money. The stuff the 360 has gone through is very akin to the stuff the ps2 went through. You think the defect rate on 360's in insane ask anyone who worked for a gaming store during ps2's hayday about DRE's and overheating slims.

logicalnoise

@nutbastard: Red ring or yellow button? The red ring issue was fixed with the new jasper chips. It would be very difficult to find an older model at this point.

@OMG_changed_my_name!: And based on that one article about failure rates, it seems to be a common feeling.

@walker2151: I never use the BC on mine, and I thought it was a big deal when I got my PS3. And yes there are MANY good games on the PS3, guess Adam doesn't like looking over the fence to see what the other team has. I won't list them off, but saying that one has "the best games library" is not the smartest thing to say since both have excellent libraries.

But then again, some just have to justify their purchases, even if it just to themselves.

@walker2151: Ask all the many current Halo 2 clans.

@nutbastard: Why? It's irrelevant. I replaced an RROD under warranty, which lasted 3 years. Hell when it died after the warranty period was over, I went and bought a Jasper 360, which has been solid. Hardware might be lacking, but the software experience is absolutely top notch!

@jetracer:

Both have a good number of games, though most games I prefer on the 360.
It is kinda of funny, really for the price, the 360 is crap. I wouldn't still be using it if it wasn't for the fact that I had an old router I could use for WiFi.

Poison_Shroom

@John_001: not likely to matter to first time buyers. Second if it fails you still have a library of games and like i said before, if you're friends play a 360, you will too. Thus you'd just rebuy a 360 or you'd be playing alone.

SuramaAte

@logicalnoise: And your not astounded is one of the worst reliability issues in product history? You let that one slide somehow?

imTheKing

@imTheKing: so I want to have to worry about battery life, it being comfortable, falling out of my ear etc. I don't use a headset on my cellphone so investing in a BT would be a huge waste.

logicalnoise

the only thing that matters is
1. price
2. good games
3. where my friends play

the other things don't matter at all to me. I don't even consider them. Right now xbox 360 wins at $250, great games, and my friends don't have playstation 3. someone mentioned the failure rate. Just replace my laser on mine but when it does break, i'm still getting another 360 because of 1, 2, & 3. Oh and you can get a year of live for $32 if you look on the internet. buydotcom has sales often.

SuramaAte

@Dillinger23: Whoa. I did not know that. Thanks, I guess it may have been stated at one point or another, but I guess I wasn't paying attention because I already had one that had full BC. Seriously, that makes Sony's decision to remove PS2 BC sound even more retarded to me.

coyote1284: P.E.T.U.

@imTheKing: Ultimately I'm just astounded by how sony has handled the ps3 as platform/console/product all together.

logicalnoise

@logicalnoise: what "better" wired headset are you talking about? Hell, most of the people I know with PS3's use their BT headsets from their cellphones. You keep restating this "wired" nonsense, but your forgetting that "wireless" is now.

imTheKing

@logicalnoise: because why would you even bother with wireless at all then. You don't see people saying "hey my cellphone is wireless so I'll just attach a wired headset". Wireless is wireless. It's what more and more consumers want and its now a standard. Simple as that.

imTheKing

@logicalnoise: The point is you get both items in one along with the ability to hold more HD content and game data on a single disc. If your such a hardcore gamer, then that should appeal to you more than even myself or others here. If your going to blindly post fanboy-ish BS about the 360, at least be prepared to acknowledge your end of things.

imTheKing

@Kung-Fu Kurtis: WTF are you talking about you seriously think 54% of xboxes are defective!? that's insane.

logicalnoise

@imTheKing: when you already have a wireless controller why spend 10-20 on a BT when you can buy a better wired headset for 5 and jack it into your wireless controller.

logicalnoise

@nutbastard: exactly.

imTheKing

@imTheKing: .... to your wireless controller what does it matter once you don't have to get up?

logicalnoise

Why is MS selling the wifi add on for $99? That seems way overpriced.

Woz

@imTheKing: I will reply to B) because I actually qualify as one of the people who would lose money on a ps3. Last month the situation was different. Ps3 was 400 dollars. Sony had just claimed that they be insane to drop teh price of the PS3 because there was no business sense to it.
I look online and see a nice future proof samsung blu-ray player for 150 bucks. I figured well sony had forever and a day to do it and they failed.
I hold nothing against Sony but now I have no incentive to invest in a ps3 except for a few games. The market is crazy and really both systems have done very well. Whenever someone tries to hold blu-ray over 360 though I just don't see the point.

logicalnoise

How about y'all add the average failure rate to that chart up there?

@met2art: LOL. Sorry, forgot the sarcasm tag. I just found it foolish for them to even use weight as a comparison between the two systems. The fact is, unless your strapping them to your arms when you play them.....weight shouldn't matter.

@logicalnoise: apparently me what? did you leave your helmet next to your 360 when you came on the computer?

imTheKing

To the OP:
I had a big huge post ready to go, but after rereading it, I didn't feel like saying it all so I deleted it all to say this:
Your article is full of BS. At least the PS3 is still cheaper if I want my XBox to have the same functionality. MS overcharges for cheap technology and it's ridiculous.

Arguably the best games library?
Except, you know, they pretty much have the same game library +/- a few exclusives.

A moot point, unless you reeeally like Halo.

dantemustdie

@OCEntertainment: Xbox uses RF. PS3 uses bluetooth.

I never said I cared ;c) You just asked what it was for. But also the Xbox can only have 4 controllers connected to it at a time. The PS3 can have 7.

@logicalnoise: Do some research before posting such an idiotic statement. Also, quit trolling.

@logicalnoise: I am running a 50% failure rate on the xbox360 right now. I had one, it died, I had to get a second one. That is a first for me and I have all 3 consoles in this generation. And the last generation of all 3 consoles still work just fine.

Turael

@OCEntertainment:
-Keyboard / Mouse
-Controller (Dualshock3)
-Headset/Microphone (any bluetooth headset that works on your cellphone should work with the PS3 in-game / chat)

I think that's pretty much it, but someone can correct me if I'm wrong..

aR-Tard

@350z-racer: I love you too..... you sexy... man? No homo.

imTheKing

@imTheKing: D) apparently you

logicalnoise

@imTheKing: I love you, no homo.

@logicalnoise: They turned a profit for about 2 months before they took out MORE money to fix MORE issues. Did you not read that article? Look it up. It took them almost 4 years to break a damn profit on a system because they didn't want to spend an extra $2 per console.

imTheKing

@Rabid Penguin: So, help me out here, then...the 360 controllers use some other method for wireless connection? And if so...um...who cares that the PS3 has Bluetooth but the 360 doesn't?

@logicalnoise: you again? Point is, NO ONE WANTS WIRED HEADSETS. When is the last time you went to the store and heard someone say "oh sorry, I'm not looking for the BT headset, I'm really in the market for a wired version".

imTheKing

@logicalnoise: yeah I can't wait to hook up my wired headset.....

imTheKing

@OCEntertainment: It uses bluetooth for its controllers...

@logicalnoise: Too funny. You sound like a 360 fanboy. Lets kick it off:

A) PS3s go bad in such a small percentage, it's basically non existent in comparison to the 360.

B) Blu-ray is a great feature on the PS3. Why would I go buy another box for a Blu-ray player other than if I wanted it in another room.

C) MS has you covered because they HAVE to. Not only that but lets face it, they STILL haven't fixed the problems. They only covered it up with the whole warranty plan. Failure rate is still massive to date so whats so great about MS covering you.

D) game wise, this is no longer an issue. Everyone likes to spout the game nonsense as if we're still back 3 years ago. Fact is, there are just as many good exclusives and games out now for both platforms so who gives a shit.

imTheKing

@SewerShark: Try $39 for 13 months on Amazon.

kleptoman

@walker2151: I do. I play PS2, Snes, Nes, Atari, whatever. If the game is good, generation does not matter, I'll play it.

SewerShark: LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!!

@John_001: Yeah, I don't think Frucci is getting tons of playtime on his 360 whilst it is on its annual trip back to the mothership for "repairs".

@rougheo: and FPS on consoles < FPS on PC's. I still firmly believe that the whole "Halo rules" crowd is simply misinformed new age rubbish.

imTheKing

@whiteflea: Yeah, its $50 a year.

SewerShark: LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!!

@John_001:

I still prefer the 360 even though I've had it fail on me multiple times....

I do use the PS3 for watching any videos and exclusive games.

@Dillinger23: hulu can be disabled on ps3(it's already blocked via the browser), and the netflix player on 360 is considerably better(VC-1 codec support, cross talk support and in console browsing).

logicalnoise

@OrbitalGun:

Netflix is a huge positive in the 360's corner.

I've owned both, having had a 360, and swapping it out for a PS3. 3 months later, I came running back to the 360. The online exeprience is flat out misrable for the PS3. I understand that it's free, versus 4 bucks a month, but on the 360, I get a ton of value for my 4 dollars a month.

@walker2151: I do! So many of my friends do. Granted, we play them for nostalgic value, but there's a huge market for reworking old games for newer consoles, so don't count it out.

@Steeldrumhero: All the PS3's can play PS1 games...It's PS2 games the others can't play

@Steeldrumhero: All the PS3's can play PS1 games...It's PS2 games the others can't play

@MarcusMaximus: Again, i hate sounding like a billboard but for 10 bucks less than the price of 1 year of Live, you can get playon and watch Netflix, Hulu, CBS, Espn, Adult Swim, HGTV, Porn, Comedy Central, the list goes on. Check out PlayOn by themediamall.com.

No i do not work for nor am i affiliated with these guys, but the software is so awesome i feel i need to foist it on people. DO IT NAO!

Dillinger23

@Dillinger23: it lacks redundant commication between devices. this is why music controllers require RF adapters on PS3. Early PS3 controllers suffered from this before they were updated via hardware and software fixes. the lag isn't consistent but it can occur.

logicalnoise

@Septhinox: FF7 wasn't last generation.

@n00dle: what games do you play on your console when its hardwired?

imTheKing

@coyote1284: P.E.T.U.: ANY PS3 can play ps1 games. ANY. Backwards compatibility is only talking about ps2

Dillinger23

@QueridaDanaus: you can't rate games that aren't out yet. Look at Lair it was supposed to be the second coming of Christ but it was justa terrible abortion of a game. As for teh current library 360 has a considerable amount games rated "good" by meta critic over PS3.

logicalnoise

@MarcusMaximus: Blu-ray isn't the biggest deal there? yet "1080p" compressed content is a plus for the 360? Really?

imTheKing

@pdditty: Look into PlayOn for your Netflix, Hulu, CBS, espn, adult swim, hgtv, porn, etc etc

Dillinger23

@pajime: ahhhhh... my eyes!!! Must perform emergency cable management surgery!!!

@logicalnoise: BT seems to work just perfectly without lag. Its easy to tell cause you would get utterly smashed in BLazBlue if you had lag in your controller.

Dillinger23

@walker2151: the sony reps have apparently gotten to you already....

@mullingitover: once we get official numbers from both sony and MS sure go for it.

logicalnoise

Is XBox Live really only $50 a year? I thought it was closer to $100.

@tok3ninja: The 360 controller is definitely more comfortable, but the D-Pad on the PS3 is soooo much better. The 360 D-pad sucks...

@n00dle: My only real reason for maybe wanting a PS3 would be God of War III and Killzone 2. Otherwise, I love my 360 (even though it wen RROD on me and it is out for repair).

Bigbadbikernerd

@John_001: Dont forget awesome girlfriend/wife point scoring games like Flower.

Dillinger23

@David Mascarenhas Watkins: 50% failure is an idiotic statement completely unverified. If the 360 had a 50% failure rate they would have replaced over 10 mil units by now. there's no way the xbox division would've turned a profit(which it did).

logicalnoise

@David Mascarenhas Watkins: 50% failure is an idiotic statement completely unverified. If the 360 had a 50% failure rate they would have replaced over 10 mil units by now. there's no way the xbox division would've turned a profit(which it did).

logicalnoise

@walker2151: Final Fantasy 7 is forever...

Septhinox

@walker2151: Good point. How many generations does one need to go back before something is considered retro? Because we all know retro gaming is always fun for a few minutes at least.

@The Lab: You sound a little bitter.

imTheKing

@Dafrety: you can use any ole wired headset with the 360 what's your point?

logicalnoise

@djsyndrome: This. Or wants to use their logitech Harmony one with their overpriced logitech bluetooth to IR converter.

Dillinger23

@pdditty: meanwhile crosstalk chat is beyond sony's grasp. and if you have any wired cellphone headset you can use it on 360 since the controller broadcasts for you.

logicalnoise

@jakster4u (3D to 2D projections equation help needed): wifi sucks for latency, BT is laggy(just ask the makers of guitar hero and rockband), BD can be had for 150 dollars now. PS3sz go bad too, MS has you covered. blah blah blah idiotic fanboys caring about which console is better, instead about what games are worth playing.

logicalnoise

@thegreatfratsby: I couldnt agree more. The layout of the xbox controller just feels more natural, like where your hands should be placed. but everytime i go to my buddies apartment to play PS3, my fingers feel cramped. also, IMO, the PS3 controller is shaped weird as hell.

@MarcusMaximus:

//There are only 3 areas where the PS3 comes on top//

4, Storage space, you can stick a 500 gb hard drive in a ps3 for cheaper than one of the proprietary x360 120gb drives

mikemil828

@Pessimipposaurus: ps3 has a very good line up of gaming titles for the coming year, more so then xbox. GoW3, GT5, Uncharted 2, MAG, Project Trico. More xbox? Halo, and more Halo, same ol' same ol'

rougheo

Who still plays last generation games?

walker2151

@Totalfixation: an ethernet bridge works just as good if not better,

logicalnoise

@september11th: the main dash is for when you're bored and don't know what you're looking for, the xbox guide is the fastest way to do everything you want on 360 and you can access it at anytime via your gude button.

logicalnoise

"And Bluetooth? Who gives a shit about Bluetooth?"

I don't know, anyone who wants to use their existing bluetooth headset and not have to buy Microsoft's proprietary $60 one? Just a guess.

djsyndrome

@Dafrety: Holy crap, someone took me seriously!

@Palmer74: I'm still rockin' the 20gb, no HDMI, composite only 360. I'm becoming envious of PS3's ever since I've grown out of being a "serious gamer" and want something more practical like Blu-Ray capabilities and free online play.

you left out IR receiver. If you're including BT you should include IR.

logicalnoise

honesty 360 has more games.. i have both don't bash. depends on what games you play, and do you want a blu ray player?

jetracer

I believe the PS3 has a better lan connection. The PS3 has the 1000 lan connection vs the 360 doesn't

coldconfession13

@tok3ninja: there's just something much more satisfying about the xbox controller for me. The PS3 controller feels... plasticky and toy-like.

thegreatfratsby

@Jonne Backhaus: Any PS3 model can play PS1 games? That's news to me... and sounds false, but I'll check that out on my fiancee's newer model. (I already had a launchy PS3 when I met her.)

coyote1284: P.E.T.U.

@dangj307: But then in your book the 360 may win. So it's all good get both, get one, enjoy it. That's just what I really wanted to say.

dangj307

@John_001: As am I sir. I was thinking about picking an elite up on friday till I seen my dead one in the corner. My 60 PS3 still kicking since launch, now rocking 320. I love my ps3

Palmer74

I have all 3 (don't even play the Wii). I play my ps3 more than the 360. I tried the 360 library all the heavy hitters and I liked a few. But the PS3 is still my bread and butter. Mass effect was good, Gears 1 and 2. But every other big game I tried I coulnd't get into (I have gamefly so I get to try them all). The PS3 exclusives win in my book.

dangj307

New PS3 just completely threw me in to a chaos. I was so ready to buy an Xbox Elite at the end of Christmas, then BAM!

$100 reduction in price and 30% cut in power consumption pretty much seals the deal.

As for backwards compatibility, I have a PS2 Slim, so no worries there.

@OCEntertainment: i had 3 controllers, a live account and a couple memory cards. it happens when you live with somebody who has a 360 and a sweet tv.

@Jonne Backhaus: only the 60GB (discontinued) has backwards compatibility

and you can get it from the PS store
OMG I can now buy the same game......AGAIN!!!!

Steeldrumhero

I hateee the new 360 dashboard. Having to scroll through such vague catagories, and so many pointless ones.. I dont use it much so it always takes me forever to find how to even launch a simple arcade game or a video. The new avatar system is so fucking terrible also, it makes everything feel so childish.
That said, despite it lacking a bluray, I really love the arcade games, the controller, and having a decent online service. If I had to recommend one system, its still the 360 by a little bit.

september11th

i was very fortunate to get the xbox wifi adapter for 35 bucks, but $100 retail for the wifi is straight up ridiculous!!!! They need to seriously drop the price on those. For the bluetooth factor, i dont think it should be a big deal at all. Consider bluetooth is mostly used for headsets. The xbox have something similar having a wireless headset. Though you cant use just any headset. The xbox still has a similar solution to counter the bluetooth situation.

Totalfixation

I don't know about you guys, but I buy a console for the GAMES I WANT TO PLAY, not because one company's logo is on it. I bought a PS3, but only because of the actual games I wanted to play, some were only on the PS3. The 360 had some awesome titles, and as a gamer I'm sure I'd be happy with either, but my bread and butter favorites are PS3 titles (i.e. Gran Turismo). Forza 'almost' sold me on the 360, but the bonus BR player was probably what tipped the scales. If COD4 was only on the 360, I probably would have gone with the 360.

It's the GAMES people, it's all about the games. I'll be the first to admit the 360 has a better online experience, so if I was a heavy online gamer, I'd tip my hat to the 360.

That, and admittedly, the 360 was a little confusing with all of its versions (circa 2 years ago). Wireless controllers standard, Wifi standard, HDMI standard, all from day one made the PS3 a little easier to figure out. But at the end of it, that was all secondary, based on my personal favorite titles, the PS3 was the winner.

GuidoCoeurl

@The Lab: the total number of retail games is not particularly relevant, since most of the library for either is crap. That said, according to metacritic, the xbox has 264 games that are "good" (75/100 or better) while the PS3 has 170.

Obviously that's more than enough games for either console to satisfy anyone, so it really comes down to the titles you like, and how many of those games are mini games rather than full retail, since I don't think there's any way of distinguishing that from metacritc.

@jnemesh: You can't pirate games on the PS3. The Xbox 360 is a better value, end of story.

What about intangibles, like failure rate?
(RRoD victim)

@pdditty: The Xbox comes with a headset right out of the box...

@jakster4u (3D to 2D projections equation help needed): Exactly , my 360 has RRoD'd about 4 times so far. Each time I had to open it up, move some washers around and bump up the fan speed. It sounds like a Twin Turbo Jet Engine on LSD :/ I suspect it will break again in a couple months... but oh well, I know how to fix it :)

My PS3 on the other hand, hasn't broke since I got it! But I love both; PS3 a little more cuz it hasn't broke and I like free online gameplay.

"Who gives a shit about Bluetooth?"Didn't they go with Bluetooth because it carries the extra axis info better than a standard RF controller?

Can you still install Linux on the Slim? Sure, it's a function that most people won't use, but even the original $600 release sounds like a bargain once you consider that it *can* be a desktop, and a BR-DVD player, and a media player, and a game console.

That said, I have 3x more 360 games than PS3 (12 v 4). (However, my entire PS library is easily 4x the XBox, thanks to my launchy PS3. XD)

coyote1284: P.E.T.U.

Recently saw in a walmart ad (in canada) of an xbox elite with the wifi adapter and halo 3 for $329

Salamanderjuice

@CrownSeven: I've already beat this to death in a thread earlier this morning... but I agree... this is just another article showing anti-MS bias. Quick to point out the $99 Wi-Fi add-on for the 360, but no mention of the $59 Infrared add-on for the PS3.

@Iowa11: www.monoprice.com

23qwerty

@met2art: Umm, met....why do you own two Xbox controllers, a Live game account, but no Xbox? :-P

Seriously no wifi, bluetooth, blu-ray and it will eventually die? Where does $300 go!?

Do what Frucci says and buy both.
It's what I did. Can't complain. I do like my free online gaming on the PS3 + blu-rays, but like the expanded library on the 360. To have the best of both worlds, one must own both.

And the Wii can burn in hell. F that console. :D

The only thing 360 has over PS3 is Netflix streaming and a better adoption rate. Other than that the PS3 offers much more.

Bluetooth works well if you like to talk during games. If you have a BT headset you don't have to buy an additional piece of equipment (unlike the 360) to get it in with voice chatting.

@tok3ninja: How is it living in 2007? I hear Bush is still president! That augment is weak now. PlayStation 3 gets all the same games multi-platform as the Xbox 360 does, minus the first party exclusives.

@MarcusMaximus: The PS3 has its own marketplace where you can rent/buy movies (in HD as well), along with games.... Don't forget that.

Other things I'd like to see in this list:
Installed user base
Number of retail games in library
Number of "arcade" games
Unbiased, accurate failure rates

One thing that doesn't fit on a list is how enjoyable a UI is. I find the PS3 to be a little too "professional" and it comes off as sterile. The xbox is more fun to use, although a bit less organized.

@OCEntertainment:
A regular USB adapter would not work, however any wireless bridge should.

Aside from the little differences you have listed there are a few more that I seem to notice amongst gamers between 360/Playstation. Mostly the controller feel. Some people prefer the triggers on a 360 controller over the Playstation's button feel. Left stick/D-Pad positioning and the D-Pad itself. Yeah games come out for both but the controller can make a hell of a difference for comfort and play experience. Me for example, I hate the Playstation's D-pad and stick configuration.

Buy a PS3 cuz you probably already have an XBOX 360.

vgrfx

Bluetooth is an advantage because you can use any old headset with the PlayStation.
I agree with you on buying both though, that's what I did and I couldn't be happier.

The decision has never been harder? You serious?
After a E-74 and over 50% failure rate I sure as hell know which one not to recommend.

David Mascarenhas Watkins

@jnemesh: jnemesh has spoken. End this thread. /sarcasm

@Iowa11: Then what's the big deal? Just buy the cheapest one you can find, or one that meets your criteria for quality vs. cost.

@jnemesh: Um yeah you can have one my 5 headsets I got for FREE when renewing my xbox live. And what happens when you want to use a universal remote with your PS3? Oh yeah, you need to guy buy a Bluetooth adapter.

CrownSeven

@8166UY: Why, did you have a problem?

@Kung-Fu Kurtis: Are you strapping them to your arms to play them? Why does the weight matter?

@OCEntertainment: Well, given that I don't own an HD television, and don't generally like console games, neither option is really appealing to me. However, the Xbox would be my choice. WiFi is not important to me, as I have ethernet outlets wired in to every room, and overall, the Xbox looks more appealing in terms of games and options. Also, I already own two Xbox controllers, and have a Live game account.

I own a Wii, and for livingroom gaming, it fills a niche and provides some occasional multiplayer casual gaming on the cheap.

@hcho3: True that. I suppose it would've been suicide for Sony to not include a Blu-Ray player, just like it would be suicide for them to *include* Netflix and other streaming capabilities. In all honesty, I've thought about buying Blu-Ray drives, mostly for their Netflix abilities.

In the end, I just hooked my computer up to the TV. :-P Blu-Ray can wait. A very....long...time.

@Iowa11: That's $50 if you want the 3' cable. $89 if yo want a 6'. I say go with the 6' foot. It's like getting $10 off!

The ps3 can also attach to mediashares so thats the same for both, ps3 has a video rental service which will also include europe later this year. Netflix is anyhow usa only. And the ps3 can play ps1 games so the fact that it hasn't any backwards compatibly is wrong. Also some ps1 are available as ps-store downloads.

Jonne Backhaus

already have a 360 and a wii so i probably will get the slim, mostly for the blu ray. also the ps3 has some really good exclusive games that i want to play.

rudyfrederic

@OCEntertainment: Well, in the case of PS3, I think the controllers use bluetooth... otherwise... er... I don't know?

Uh, you guys might want to factor in the 360's hideously awful failure (and repeated failure) rate in this comparison.

mullingitover

@jnemesh: That and all the money you'll save on not buying games?

@nonpareil: You may not need raw power to sell, but it seriously would be nice. Playing Guitar Hero World Tour on my Wii, I had no idea how slow it was until I later played the same game on a 360 in a store. There wasn't even a load between songs. *And* the graphics were a lot crisper, with more little doodads added.

Yes, the games are still just as fun, and yeah, it's not a huge deal. But the wait time does kill. It's very noticeable. A little extra processing, power, I'd be willing to bump up the price from $250 to $300.

This leaves out some major factors that weight heavily for the 360. One example would be Netflix streaming(including HD), since that's available on the 360 and not the PS3. Also, the Live movie marketplace(soon to become Zune) is a big boon, and will become much more so soon when it starts selling 1080p movies.

Besides all that, even with this chart it doesn't actually even seem that strongly in favor of the PS3. The 360 has 1 more USB port and "partial"(most of the xbox library works) backwards compatibility. There are only 3 areas where the PS3 comes on top: wifi(the biggest deal here in my opinion), blu-ray and bluetooth. But not having backwards compatibility is a fairly big deal that seems glossed over here.

MarcusMaximus

So does the PS3 ;)

8166UY

Please, can someone do a Software comparison. Maybe take like the top 100 games + new coming games from both libraries and compare ratings or something. I think Microsoft obviously had more software in the beginning (psst...it came out first) but sony games are completely caught up if not passing now...plus most of the best future games will be with sony (thx blu-ray!)

QueridaDanaus

Blu-ray is the only real advantage the system has, in my opinion. I wouldn't game online over wi-fi. As far as game selection goes, the Final Fantasy series is the only reason I would have bought one before, but that's not even a selling point since it is coming to the 360 now.

n00dle

@MacBandit: A lack of built-in wifi and bluray maybe but that's always up to personal opinion.

@MacBandit: Because it can play select Xbox titles?

The 360 can also be used as a Media Center extender and Netflix streamer.

@MacBandit:

You can only play select Xbox titles only, hence partial.

To be fair, the PS3 is partial as well as it plays PS1 games and skips over a whole generation.

@MacBandit: Last generation BACKWARD COMPATIBLE.

Need some lines on that chart...

buttnugget

I'm not really into console gaming like I used to be (evidence: I own a Wii), but the fact that the WiFi add-on is $100 shocked me. Please tell me that I can at least get a cheap dongle and plug it in? Ok, yeah, that's a bit too hopeful, but still.

That being said, I'm definitely more attracted to the Xbox for their software than I am their hardware. I could give a crap about Blu-Ray, and...umm...what does a console use Bluetooth for again?

So what makes the XBox360 partially last generation?

You can connect any stuff you like to PS3, like Logitech G25 wheel... And you have to buy stupid and overpriced Microsofts peripherals with xBox360.. but pirated games on X360 compensates that by 50*1000 times! :)

Why "unfortunately"? The bottom line is the user experience, and as the Wii has proven, you don't need raw power to move units.

The Xbox360 with Live remains the best bet for the gamer-cum-media whore. I own all three consoles, and love the PS3 for what it is and what it's capable of (and at $300, it's really a great deal), but I feel alone and limited when I'm on XMB - Xbox Live remains far and away the standard bearer for online gaming and - increasingly - an online, living-room based community.

nonpareil

As for games, it is not huge selling point. Sony is interested in selling more blu-ray movies as well. They are not just in for games. Most of decent blu-ray players costs just around 249-349 dollars as well. This is why sony ps3 looks appealing at 299 dollars. But, then again, ps3 has a lot of things to face against like netflix and others...

hcho3

The argument over the costs of Xbox Live are a debatable point. You can get game time cards cheaper online or during sales, so the cost can vary. And while I dislike paying for Live, I found it more stable than PSN. PSN games online seemed sort of hit or miss when I tried them. Then again, PSN is free, so...

I was on the fence for the last year about which console to get. I finally decided to get a PS3 Slim. The reason? The PS3 is .3 kg's lighter.

Who gives a shit about bluetooth? Well, I do, for one. Its VERY nice that I can use the same headset for my PS3 that I use for my phone! For my XBOX I had to spend an extra $50 for a wireless headset. Not to mention that I had to spend extra money for rechargable batteries for the controllers as well. The PS3 is a FAR better value, end of story.

jnemesh

Someone needs to tell sony/ms that hdmi cables don't cost $50 like the ones in bestbuy.

Iowa11