which console do you think is better, Xbox360 or PS3

[monroeski]

360 is a better online system and there are more people playing multiplayer games on it.

Despite that, I find myself playing my PS3 MUCH more. Outside of a few hours of Bastion one day in August and playing through Alan Wake in a week in February, I haven't even turned my 360 on all year. So, 8 days total in 2011.

By contrast, I've played 3 or 4 disc games on PS3 plus a fair number of PSN ones, and we use the thing several times weekly for blu-ray or netflix (though of course you can do Netflix on 360 as well).

PS3 exclusives are just more appealing to me nowadays. 360 got off to a much better start, but the PS3 has more than made up the ground IMO.

[ant19]

I think it depends on if you use your PC for games. If you do then the PS3 is the only choice. If you don't then it just depends on the games. PS3 has more and better exclusives but 360 generally does the multiplatform games better and has some pretty good exclusives as well. The wii has some pretty great games as well and the new Zelda is supposed to be the best one since OOT. So yeah..just go with what games you are most interested in.

[kpxgq]

its $10 a month if you pay it monthly instead of buying a whole year. i think thats what he meant. but thats not a very smart way to do it lol. just buy the year subscription for 50 bucks and be done with it.

im sure im not the only person who does this, but i go through gaming phases.. ie i didnt touch my 360 for about 5 months while i was working and then i played hardcore for a month when Reach came out, etc... i paid $50 for my year sub to Live but i honestly only played during a 2-3 month period in which case i should have just gotten 3 months at $30 each...

thats what i like about a free service like PSN, i dont have to worry about "getting my moneys" worth

same thing when i had netflix, i would feel obligated to watch more movies during my subscription so i watched much more crappy movies than i should have...

[Timman_24]

I did. It's $60/year through MS, too. Again, not sure where you're pulling $120, but when reputable, major retailers are offering it for less than $50 everyday, it just seems a little disingenuous to warn against $120/year sub fee when everywhere on earth is listing $60 as the standard.

What I said is exactly what MS offers. I was not being disingenuous, I even said you can get a 12 month sub for 40 dollars if you look, but it is a hassle to find at that price.

There's no need to take it personally. Not everyone can come up with 40-60 dollars at once to pay for online especially after buying a 60 buck game like Gears 3 or something. 10 bucks a month is a bad way to pay, but so is renting furniture and people do it. And like kpxgq said, if you are a casual player, it can really be a hassle. I don't play online much so a 12 month card won't be used, so I am forced to shell out 10 dollars on top of my purchase to enjoy the few MP games I play on the system every year. For a hardcore gamer, Live is a good deal. It's something to consider when he goes to make the purchase.

It is a concerning point for people when deciding to buy a system, so it is definitely worth stating.

As for PSN, it really depends on the game. A game like Dark Souls is entirely the same experience on PSN or 360. On PSN it just works, on 360 you must pay (which pretty much breaks the game if you don't pay for online.) That made me buy the PS3 version of the game, so it is worth mentioning. I reupped for Forza using the 2 dollars for 2 months deal and will cancel after that.

Live is nice, but I simply don't like having a pay-for service hanging over my head. Its not even really about the money. I like to put in my 60 dollar game and it just work without me having to source a cheap card or enter my credit card number to get full functionality.

He asked for opinions and that is something that constantly comes up with me and rubs me the wrong way.

If you are big into FPS games then Xbox Live is where the MP is. If you are a casual MP player then PSN is probably more than enough to satisfy you without having to worry about your subscription.

[Timman_24]

I would also like to note that the 360 has much better indie support. Xbox Live Arcade (can purchase the Arcade games with a gold sub) has some great games every year. However, Sony is really pushing their "arcade" store as well and is building some momentum, so that may be moot in the next year or so.

[Snakespy]

I have no issue paying for XBOX live. It is worth it.

[Squirrel Meat]

im sure im not the only person who does this, but i go through gaming phases.. ie i didnt touch my 360 for about 5 months while i was working and then i played hardcore for a month when Reach came out, etc... i paid $50 for my year sub to Live but i honestly only played during a 2-3 month period in which case i should have just gotten 3 months at $30 each...

thats what i like about a free service like PSN, i dont have to worry about "getting my moneys" worth

same thing when i had netflix, i would feel obligated to watch more movies during my subscription so i watched much more crappy movies than i should have...

yeah i guess i didnt think about that. the 50/60 a month is overall the better deal by far but if your not playing except for a few months out of the year.....that would drive me crazy though, how do you know wich console you are going to be on? I would hate being like, "okay time to play some xbox.....ohhhh i dont have live on it again, i havent played the xbox in months, time to bust out the credit card before i can play with me friends." i know you said you have both systems but still haha. just sayin

[kpxgq]

yeah i guess i didnt think about that. the 50/60 a month is overall the better deal by far but if your not playing except for a few months out of the year.....that would drive me crazy though, how do you know wich console you are going to be on? I would hate being like, "okay time to play some xbox.....ohhhh i dont have live on it again, i havent played the xbox in months, time to bust out the credit card before i can play with me friends." i know you said you have both systems but still haha. just sayin

well since my 3rd xbox360 RRoDed and I havent bothered to replace it, im only on PS3 now. before when i had both systems running, i would just shell out the $50/yr for live and not worry about it (i would get multi platform games on whichever system my friends were on). my first RRoD, it took about 2 months for microsoft to replace my console so i felt that was kind of sucky too since i was technically paying for live and unable to use it during those times

i think that most "gamers" would have all 3 consoles like me... there are too many exclusives to each that you would miss out on by having only one system... its not about $$$ either because the typical PC gamer will drop $200-300 for a single video card upgrade every year (and i do that too )

[Boneycat]

I've had both for quite some time now. I seem to only play my 360 while the ps3 has been primarily used as a blu-ray player. To each their own.

[Johnmcl7]

I have a couple of 360s and a couple of PS3's (120GB Elite, 250GB Slim, Original 60GB and Slim 250GB to cover different rooms) and my choice is the 360. I think Sony were too keen to make an all in one media device rather than games console with the PS3 so while it's got some good points (user replaceable 2.5in HDD, can use FAT32 storage devices without modification, iplayer support, blu-ray, mini-USB rechargeable controllers) I think they didn't focus enough on the games console side of it.

I prefer the Xbox 360 as I find the controller much better (the PS3 controller feels cheap and insubstantial, the triggers are poor), you can copy any game to the hard drive to improve loading times and keep the 360 quiet, Live is a great integrated multiplayer service (I see the free PSN as a negative for the PS3 rather than a positive as it's just not very good hence I don't use it), the interface is much better thought out and updates for both games and the console itself are small, quick and usually infrequent. One of my main annoyances with the PS3 is that its own patches are large as are game patches so there's been plenty of times when I've sat down to play a new game only to find the PS3 needs patched then the game needs a massive patch and I'm out of time.

John

[Snakespy]

well since my 3rd xbox360 RRoDed and I havent bothered to replace it, im only on PS3 now. before when i had both systems running, i would just shell out the $50/yr for live and not worry about it (i would get multi platform games on whichever system my friends were on). my first RRoD, it took about 2 months for microsoft to replace my console so i felt that was kind of sucky too since i was technically paying for live and unable to use it during those times

When I had issues with my two 360's they gave me a subscription card for the time lost, plus a month. And Jesus i haven't even heard the term RROD in a couple years minimum. All those problems are gone.

[dimmy32]

i think it depends on what you want it for.
I hardly game much on my PS3. I use it to make slideshows from vacations, all my music is stored on the PS3, which is linked to my receiver.
I love the blu-ray feature.
Also would like to mention the PS3 can up-scale a regular dvd, making it look better. It also does a great job at playing mp3s.

My PS3 is also hooked up to my PC wirelessly. It sorta does everything !

I would also look into the failure rates of both...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6216691...0-wii-27-study

[Kamakazie]

I would also look into the failure rates of both...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6216691...0-wii-27-study

That's from over 2 years ago when the RROD epidemic was still happening. Both systems have had serious overhauls since then.

[dimmy32]

ahh...have there been anymore recent stats on this ? I cant seem to find much.

[Astros Fan]

I love the 360.

http://www.gamestop.com/xbox-360/con...y-bundle/98010

pretty good deal. Reach is awesome, $60 giftcard is awesome, and I'm sure Fable is ok at least. Regardless, <$250 is a good system. Big harddrive, wifi, controller, newest system, quiet, and 3 months live to get you started!