xbox 360 or ps3

[innate]

Which is better xbox 360 or ps3?

[TheTomG]

Go by the software - choose what exclusive titles you must have, and get the one that matches best. Must have Halo, or Gears of War? Then XBox for you. Must have Uncharted and Gran Turismo? Then you're a PS3 guy.

[Cayal]

Since my 360 died, PS3.

[biodroid]

Originally Posted by Cayal

Since my 360 died, PS3.

Exactly the same happened to me. PS3 all the way for me. Plus PSN is free but Xbox Live you have to pay to play online.

[Nerds_feather]

i think the first observation to make is that this isn't a choice like it was a couple generations back, where what you choose determines 50+% of your experience. these two consoles--in terms of what they can do and what games you can play on them--are about 80% the same. so you'll probably be happy with either.

that said, there are some differences. ps3 has slightly better graphics, but 360 runs a bit smoother. ps3 can play blu-ray DVDs, but 360 has generally better online and media options. ps3 has problems keeping its online service running, while 360 (at least the old ones) has problems keeping the hardware running. ps3 is more expensive but you have to pay for XBL.

and there are still a few exclusives.

so i'd say, just ask yourself what you primarily do on your console: single or multiplayer games? DVDs or streaming movies? how much cash do you want to spend? which exclusives are the most enticing to you?

[Shane Enochs]

Here's the real question: where are the nextgen systems? PS2 came out six years after PS1, and PS3 came out six years after PS2. It's been six years since PS3 came out, so where is my PS4?

Xbox360 came out after only 4 years in relation to the Xbox, and it's been seven years since they've released a new one.

[Nerds_feather]

the feeling is that xbox 720 will be released in spring 2014, and ps4 the following holiday season.

as to why it hasn't come sooner, there's a simple explanation for that: consoles are "loss-leaders" that only make profits once they become cheaper to manufacture. until then, sony and microsoft make their money through game licenses and their makers get licensing fees for third-party. because consoles grow cheaper to manufacture over their lifetimes, that loss contracts over time, while licensing fees increase due to larger and larger game libraries and user bases. in other words, consoles are much more profitable towards the end of their cycles than at the beginning.

so if there's stability in the market, in terms of who is making consoles and how many they're selling, you'll see little reason for manufacturers to churn out new ones every 5 years.

really, the only reason it moved so quickly before is that virtually every generation had an up-and-coming competitor in the console space, who forced the existing leading manufacturer's hand. This time, there's some parity in the market, and both Sony and Microsoft are making money, so neither has any interest in taking big risks and going back to big losses.

[Cayal]

Originally Posted by Nerds_feather

i think the first observation to make is that this isn't a choice like it was a couple generations back, where what you choose determines 50+% of your experience. these two consoles--in terms of what they can do and what games you can play on them--are about 80% the same. so you'll probably be happy with either.

that said, there are some differences. ps3 has slightly better graphics, but 360 runs a bit smoother. ps3 can play blu-ray DVDs, but 360 has generally better online and media options. ps3 has problems keeping its online service running, while 360 (at least the old ones) has problems keeping the hardware running. ps3 is more expensive but you have to pay for XBL.

and there are still a few exclusives.

so i'd say, just ask yourself what you primarily do on your console: single or multiplayer games? DVDs or streaming movies? how much cash do you want to spend? which exclusives are the most enticing to you?

It's had one problem.

[Nerds_feather]

a very big problem.

[Cayal]

Originally Posted by Nerds_feather

a very big problem.

3 weeks out of 6 years isn't a big problem. Regardless that doesn't mean it has problems keeping it running.

[Python]

PS3 has better exclusives and it's free.

It's an easy decision.

Although I hate the PS3's download service, it's so slow.

[Miggy]

PS3 online has been more than fine. People automatically assume that because you have to pay for xbox live that makes it better...

I had both consoles, my 360 obviously died but generally there a very few "next-gen" games that I like. The PSN games however are really ******* good. Flower/Journey, Fat Princess, Super Powered Rocket Powered Acrobatic Mega Ultra Super Mega Monster Rocket Powered Battle Cars are a joy to play.

[I, Brian]

I bought a PS1, then PS2, then PS3.

Frankly, I think I should have bought an Xbox 360 instead of a PS3.

The failure of the PS3 to be backwards compatible with previous games was an intentional insult, and frankly I find more exclusive titles available on the Xbox. Additionally, once exclusive PS titles (such as Namco titles) are now available on the Xbox.

When the nextgen consoles come out, I doubt I'll have much reason to buy Sony.

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Not to mention the security hack on PSN, Brian. For my brother and I, the lack of backwards compatibility for PS3 was reason enough not to buy it.

The PSN fiasco just confirmed our wise decision to get Xbox 360.

[Kylara]

PS3 (if you get the right model) is backwards compatible, all the way to original PS games...to be fair, they were hacked successfully once in six years, then they shut down the PSN and fixed all security issues, beefed it all up and then let people back on, rather than doing all that whilst still keeping the PSN up, which I think was the right thing to do, and told people what to do if you had had details stolen, many people I know weren't bothered because they always used those top ups you can buy rather than putting card details on there.
XBox graphics are no where near as good, and they have numerous hardware issues and you have to pay for XBox Live. PSN is free, and my PS3 has never suffered any issues, I can watch DVDs, Blurays, listen to CDs, whack a tonne of videos and photos on it...the UI is incredible with direct access on the Home Screen to internet, BBC Iplayer, LoveFilm, C4 player, and many more. You get much more than a gaming console with the PS3...I could go on but I won't...I've already written quite a lot!