Console decision time

[Monte Carlo]

I am buying MC Junior a console for Xmas. Obviously, this is a thinly-disguised ruse for me to buy myself a console. Therefore the sky is the limit with regards to accessories, games and peripherals.

 

What is the considered opinion of the forum as I am utterly unsighted on PS3 versus Xbox 360 (etc). Am also buying a new flat-screen TV to replace the Victorian telly in my sitting room - any particularly good suggestions vis-a-vis console / gaming compatibility also welcomed.

 

Many thanks in advance for any advice, warnings or recommendations.

 

Cheers

MC

[Purkake]

Edited September 4, 2009 by Purkake

[Deadly_Nightshade]

PC

 

EDIT: But really I'd say a Wii for MC Jr.

Edited September 4, 2009 by Deadly_Nightshade

[Hurlshort]

How old is Junior? I'd recommend a Wii if he is under 12, it's family fun system and there are a lot of great titles for that younger age range. But I'm guessing you are looking for a more beefy system, so...

 

I've owned both the 360 and the PS3. I loved them both. But I would steer you towards the PS3 at this time for a few reasons.

 

1. Do you own a decent gaming PC? If you do, most 360 titles are also available on the PC.

2. Hardware failures are terribly common for the 360. I went through 3 systems. Everyone here seems to have lost at least one 360 to failure.

3. Blu-Ray player is on the PS3. You are getting a new TV, and it will be nice to have the option to play Blu-Ray discs. It really looks fantastic.

4. PS3 is slightly better hardware, so the lifespan of the system will probably be longer. If you want to go with one console this is a big plus. Heck, the PS2 still has games coming out on it.

5. The PS3 game catalogue is just starting to hit its stride, whereas the 360 doesn't have too many exclusives in the pipeline that aren't on the PC as well.

6. I think they just cut the price, so it is not really much more that than the 360.

 

The weakest link on the PS3 is the multiplayer support/community. It's not terrible, but the 360 is fantastic and has a lot of built in neat stuff like Netflix (which is actually available on the PS3 but requires some software.) So if you want to play online with friends, it really comes down to what your friends have.

 

There isn't a bad decision here though, all three consoles are very solid products. Enjoy!

[Morgoth]

PS3, since it's affordable now, and has the better exclusives.

[Wrath of Dagon]

Unless you want PS3 exclusives or Blu-ray or included Wi-Fi, most multiplatform games are currently developed for 360 as the lead platform and thus run better on it. Wii is the spawn of the devil.

 

Edit: You should find out which consoles your son's friends have, kids tend to mostly play on-line with their friends.

Edited September 4, 2009 by Wrath of Dagon

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Wii is the spawn of the devil.

 

Lulz.

[H]

Since the price is the same now, it all comes down to exclusives. 360 has Halo, Fable, Gears of War, Crackdown and Lost Odyssey. PS3 has Folklore, Disgaea, Ratchet & Clank, God of War, Uncharted and Valkyria Chronicles. Google the ones you're unfamiliar with and get the console that has more games you're interested in.

[RPGmasterBoo]

If you have a good PC I suggest you buy the PS3, since you've pretty much covered the XBOX360.

 

Wii is junk. Give someone a motion sensing d!ldo and you can suddenly sell games that look 10 years behind the times. And make a fortune. How Nintendo pulls a size 7 rabbit out of a size 3 hat every time is beyond me.

Edited September 4, 2009 by RPGmasterBoo

[Purkake]

[quote name='H

[mrmud]

Wii is only a good console if you your self doesn't like to play actual games.

[Morgoth]

Wii is only a good console if you your self doesn't like to play actual games.

The Metroid games are pretty good though.

[Mamoulian War]

I will be buying new console aswell (either on Xmas or somewhere around Eastern) and my choice is definately PS3... And my reasons are same as Hurlshot's...

 

 

And some of my oppinions here aswell

 

If you want big family fun and your son is around 10 years or younger, buy Wii... I have one, i play like once a year on it alone, but all my friends who never played games before love the Wii, my girlfriend loves Wii aswell, the only game she ever played on PS2 (which i have aswell) is Gran Turismo 4, because Wii was at my sisters house at that time

 

But because you do not live in USA, many of the Xbox360 advantages does not apply to you... I do not believe Netflix or similar service is available outside USA... And I would say PS3 is the better selling system in EU, so there is bigger chance your sons friends have more likely PS3 than Xbox 360...

 

And many of the gaming studios are starting to make games for PS3 first and then port it to other systems, because many programmers (and at least one from Obsidian unfortunately it was in Aliens RPG forums, so i can't link it to you anymore ) mentioned it is much easier to port from PS3 to Xbox360 than vice versa...

 

And if you love exclusive titles... Much better list is for PS3, because as many people here said, PS3 exclusives stay exclusives, Xbox 360 exclusives get ported to PC in few months...

 

And one more very very big advice... never ever ever listen to the guys who call themselves hardcore that Wii sucks, it's complete bull****... Wii was never meant to be made for them in the first place... And most of them have hardocore gamer friends aswell, so they do not have absolutely clue how Wii can be awesome machine (I know that, because I used to be hardcore gamer, before i met my current girlfriend)... It was made for people with max 1 hour a day free time for gaming or for people with many non-gamers friends or family where you are the only gamer... As I said before I play on the Wii alone once in a year, but the fun I have with it when my friends are around is worth it... If you are gaming a lot now, and ever end up with buying Wii you will see the same, you will almost never play on it alone, but you will spend much of the time on it with your family...

Edited September 4, 2009 by Mamoulian War

[Purkake]

And many of the gaming studios are starting to make games for PS3 first and then port it to other systems, because many programmers (and at least one from Obsidian ) mentioned it is much easier to port from PS3 to Xbox360 than vice versa...

 

I'm going to call this bull unless you have some links to back it up.

 

If the developers say anything at all, it's that programming for the PS3 is different and more difficult than the other platforms. Porting between the 360 and PC is pretty doable, which is why we're seeing a lot of 360 games on the PC as well.

 

Also, for most of the cross-platform games the PS3 version is inferior, the only exception that I know of is Red Alert 3 and that was released 6 months after the 360 one.

Edited September 4, 2009 by Purkake

[H]

You really managed to list some bad exclusives there.

Huh? God of War is the only bad series on my list. I still felt compelled to mention it because GoW recently became of Sony's most iconic franchises.

Here's a pretty complete list of PS3 exclusives including Metal Gear Solid 4, Infamous, Heavy Rain, The Last Guardian, Motorstorm and Little Big Planet plus a bunch of good stuff on the PSN like Flower, Pixeljunk: Eden and Warhawk.

Amusingly enough, The Last Guardian is the only game on your list that I am interested in. I guess PS3 has something for everyone.

[Monte Carlo]

This is all good stuff, thanks. I'd got myself into a place where it was going to be the 360, but seeing as my PC is a pretty good gaming machine I'm now thinking PS3.

 

I agree that Wii is genius for people who don't normally play games and a bit of a laugh. If I were to get one it would be a quick browse for a used one on ebay and I'd only hook it up now and then. This console is for games, the sprog is only little but he already loves them.

 

Please keep the advice / debate going as I'm still open to suggestions.

 

Cheers

MC

[mrmud]

Wii is only a good console if you your self doesn't like to play actual games.

The Metroid games are pretty good though.

Its not that there arent good games on the wii. Its just that there are so few of them.

[GreasyDogMeat]

They all have their merits. The wii seems best if you are buying for a younger gamer. I chose an X-Box because the exclusives interested me more on the 360.

 

Halo, Gears of War, GTA IV exclusive add ons (Lost and the Damned is awesome and upcoming Ballad of Gay Tony looks amazing http://www.gametrailers.com/video/debut-trailer-gta-iv/55294 ), Shadow Complex & Alan Wake (May come to PC).

 

The only game that REALLY has me drooling on the PS3 is Heavy Rain. Uncharted looks like fun too though.

 

PS3 Exclusives = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS3_exclusives

360 Exclusives = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360_exclusives

[mrmud]

And many of the gaming studios are starting to make games for PS3 first and then port it to other systems, because many programmers (and at least one from Obsidian ) mentioned it is much easier to port from PS3 to Xbox360 than vice versa...

 

I'm going to call this bull unless you have some links to back it up.

 

If the developers say anything at all, it's that programming for the PS3 is different and more difficult than the other platforms. Porting between the 360 and PC is pretty doable, which is why we're seeing a lot of 360 games on the PC as well.

 

Also, for most of the cross-platform games the PS3 version is inferior, the only exception that I know of is Red Alert 3 and that was released 6 months after the 360 one.

Yea, the PS3 version is hurting in many of the games compared to the 360. In particular in the area of Anti Aliasing where 360 often do 4x and ps3 hardly manages 2x

 

That said, I like my PS3 and there are plenty of good games on it.

 

Of course that doesnt change the fact that I always pick the PC version of a game if I can.

Edited September 4, 2009 by mrmud

[Mamoulian War]

And many of the gaming studios are starting to make games for PS3 first and then port it to other systems, because many programmers (and at least one from Obsidian ) mentioned it is much easier to port from PS3 to Xbox360 than vice versa...

 

I'm going to call this bull unless you have some links to back it up.

 

 

Read the edited post... the Obsidian guy said it in Alien RPG forums, which does not exist anymore... unfortunately i dont remember his name...

 

as a few links which backs it up...

 

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=27404

 

http://www.psu.com/Midway-to-make-PS3-lead...a0001726-p0.php

 

http://www.n4g.com/News-114628.aspx (not saying it directly, but they would not do the move if they would not think it is true...)

 

And this one i liked most it says that PS3 is the easiest console to program for :D

 

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/kil...iz=1&page=1

 

hope it is enough for you

[Purkake]

Read the edited post... the Obsidian guy said it in Alien RPG forums, which does not exist anymore... unfortunately i dont remember his name...

 

as a few links which backs it up...

 

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=27404

 

http://www.psu.com/Midway-to-make-PS3-lead...a0001726-p0.php

 

http://www.n4g.com/News-114628.aspx (not saying it directly, but they would not do the move if they would not think it is true...)

 

And this one i liked most it says that PS3 is the easiest console to program for :D

 

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/kil...iz=1&page=1

 

hope it is enough for you

 

It's somewhat ironic that Midway is now bankrupt, the Ghostbusters PS3 version is still not full 720p after a patch. Also, Killzone 2 was a PS3 exclusive, the developers of exclusive titles are known to hype their preferred platform to the high heavens.

 

Here's a quote from someone actually working at Sony:

 

"We don't provide the 'easy to program for' console that [developers] want, because 'easy to program for' means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do, so then the question is what do you do for the rest of the nine-and-a-half years?"

[Wrath of Dagon]

Killzone 2 developer is owned by Sony. There's no question 360 is easier to develop for, and with a larger installed base (yes, even in Europe) it's still the lead platform most of the time. It's true that it's easier to port from PS3 to 360, since the PS3 can't handle 360 ports without a lot of optimization for its screwy architecture, but for practical reasons most ports are still from 360 to PS3.

[Mamoulian War]

Killzone 2 developer is owned by Sony. There's no question 360 is easier to develop for, and with a larger installed base (yes, even in Europe) it's still the lead platform most of the time. It's true that it's easier to port from PS3 to 360, since the PS3 can't handle 360 ports without a lot of optimization for its screwy architecture, but for practical reasons most ports are still from 360 to PS3.

 

The instalment base is just number thrown to us by MS, because no one knows how many people who voided their warranty by modding Xbox 360 or by trying to make it cooler by themselves jsut to not get the goddamn RRoD had to repurchase another console after it failed to work

[entrerix]

buy em all.

 

if you got the skril

 

like me

 

i'm rich!

 

 

ok im mostly joking, but really just look at which exclusive games look most appealing, and definitely find out what your kids friends are using, the systems should match if they want to play games online together. which is a TON of fun. left 4 dead with 4 friends = best online game ever.

 

(no my friends dont have gaming pc's)

[kirottu]

Buy a log. Kids love it.