Best Gaming Console

[dpnaugle]

I'm thinking about buying a PS3 but really don't know much about the choices out there. I have never had a game console, only PC games.

If I go this direction I want the system that will offer the most, the best.

What do you all think?

DN

 

[mjhamre]

See the poll in this forum...

There are something like 250+ replies to this very question.

My 30 second summary:
Nintendo Wii - cheapest, most fun for casual gamers, in the past had most kid friendly titles, new form of input makes new kinds of games possible
Microsoft Xbox 360 - mid priced, best software support currently, HD-DVD add on is pretty much an afterthought (but still $100 cheaper than last year's models)
Sony PS3 - highest priced, best software support last gen (and maybe later this time around), Blu-Ray built in

You will probably be able to get 80-90% of the 360 titles on the PS3 and vis-versa. The Wii is pretty unique, and will have way more original titles. I've got a 360 and a Wii and would not trade them for a PS3 right now with the games that are out there. You can pick up a 360 and a Wii (or are the Wiis still hard to find) for about the price of a PS3.

Good luck,

--Matt

--Matt

 

[emorphien]

The Wii is a fun party console if you like playing with other people.

The PS3 vs XB360 comes down to the available games. The Xbox 360 has a year head start and obviously wins in this category. In terms of graphical power they're probably more similar than anything else, and it'll come down to coding optimization so if you're looking for the prettiest, well go with whatever. PS3 plays blu-rays out of the box, XB360 has an HDDVD attachment.

I prefer the Xbox controllers and the media center, the PS3 has a lot of nifty built in features (especially since they've discontinued the 20gb version).

Sony has left such a bad taste in my mouth in the past couple years though that I'd personally avoid the console based on that alone due to all their mistakes and the things they said prior to release but never came through on. Additionally their cocky attitude and idiocy in the media department (music and DVDs, DRM and other issues) have pretty much put me off from buying Sony personally.

Your mileage may vary, if you haven't been following all that news I guess you wouldn't care!

 

[darien87]

Sony has left such a bad taste in my mouth in the past couple years though that I'd personally avoid the console based on that alone due to all their mistakes and the things they said prior to release but never came through on. Additionally their cocky attitude and idiocy in the media department (music and DVDs, DRM and other issues) have pretty much put me off from buying Sony personally.

I agree with you on not liking Sony. I have had numerous Sony products that have broken in my life. About the only Sony products I haven't had problems with are my Playstations. I've kinda been locked into the Playstation since I bought the PS 1 all those years ago. I went with the PS 2 because I didn't feel like buying a whole new system (XBox) and starting all over again. So now it's the same story with the PS 3. The deciding factor for me was the built-in Blu-ray player on the PS 3. True $600 is pretty damn steep, and I probably wouldn't have bought one so soon if I didn't have a Best Buy card.

I will say that Xbox 360 definitely has the edge right now, just because of it's sheer number of games right now. However, that is about to change. There are a LOT of great games coming out for the PS 3 in the next few months. I expect once these games start coming out and developers get comfortable programming for the PS 3, things will shift to the Sony side.

They're both great machines. I think what it comes down to is this: Do you need immediate gratification, (360), or are you willing to wait a little while, (PS 3)?

 

[superstar]

Only you can tell what you like, so go to the nearest game store, play all the consoles, and see which controller you liked best since that is what you will be stuck with, choose one, check the games and see if there are titles that you will enjoy, most of the games are multiplatform (same title in different consoles) but some are just created for a specific console and go from there.

 

[j_garcia]

The 360 has the best controllers of any console. The PS3 controllers are OK. 360 definitely has better game selection right now, but that won't last long. The biggest titles are currently going to be focusing on PS3. I thought lack of games would be an issue, but so far it hasn't. Plenty of places to rent them and a ton of downloadable content has left me with plenty to use for the PS3...let alone the fact that it is an excellent Blu-Ray player - for HD-DVD, you have to buy the add-on for the 360 making it basically the same price as the PS3...

After seeing one game on the PS3 it was obvious which way to go. My brother has had his 360 for a while and while the games do look good (much better than PS2), even the best games aren't quite as good as the PS3 games so far and those are just the first games...they haven't even tapped into the potential of the PS3 yet. Graphics on the PS3 are stunning. The in game graphics are as good as the cutscenes; something the 360 is simply not capable of. I had to scrimp and save to get my PS3 but it was worth every penny.

 

[emorphien]

The biggest titles are currently going to be focusing on PS3.

From what I've seen they'll be on both.

 

[avaserfi]

I think in the long run it depends on what you want. If you want a great party system get the Wii its a blast with other people. But if you want a serious piece of hardware most likely the PS3 is what you will want. Right now the 360 has some great games but it also has the advantage of being a year older. The new consoles will catch up.

 

[j_garcia]

From what I've seen they'll be on both.

Some, not all. From what I've read, the biggest ones like MGS4 will be PS3 exclusive. A few will be exclusive, but a few of the more popular ones will go to both; however some will be on one or the other first for a while.

 

[emorphien]

Some, not all. From what I've read, the biggest ones like MGS4 will be PS3 exclusive. A few will be exclusive, but a few of the more popular ones will go to both; however some will be on one or the other first for a while.

Well if you are just talking about Sony's long running big titles, then sure but that's not a fair comparison unless you include the Xbox titles. From what I recall, other traditionally PS games are supposed to be going dual platform on release (GTA among them), and Halo 3 obviously will be Xbox 360. In terms of exclusives they seem pretty similar depending on what you're in to. I don't see either having the upper hand there in another 6 months, but in terms of number of good games right now, the Xbox wins no trouble.

I'm sure we can expect to see a Gears of War 2 and other popular games to continue their franchises on the Xbox.

 

[Pwner_2130]

Sony products--?

"I have had numerous Sony products that have broken in my life"
Can i ask you darien87, what Sony products you have had break? In my experience the Sony gear i have is pretty tough and lasts a long time

 

[zheepeez]

I'd say go for the Wii - it just seems like the others will be dying out eventually/pretty soon with the new control system on the Wii and thus you'll end up with the most titles available for the Wii. That, and it's just plain funky. Sure, you've got HD-DVD support and God knows what else on the others, but at the end of the day you want a dedicated gaming console, not something with HD-DVD support (and also plays games).

 

[Pwner_2130]

darien87 , what Sony products went bad on you?

 

[mikeyj92]

darien87 , what Sony products went bad on you?

In the late 90's (1997/98 or so) I bought a $400 Sony receiver, it lasted 5 years and stopped working.

I also, at the same time, bought a $300 DVD player and it stopped working after 2 years.

My 32" Wega I bought in 1999 got a color blotch on it about 4" in diameter in 2005.

3 out of 4 Sony items I've purchased have stopped working.

The other brands I've bought (Panasonic, phillips, RCA), though they weren't as "good" as Sony, all worked until I gave them away or they still work in my house...I've had no other brand "break".

It is a main reason why I shy'd away from the PS3 and went with my 360.

 

[j_garcia]

I had a cheap Sony CD changer that worked for 11 years before I gave it away to a friend (the cable for the tray did have to be replaced). None of my Sony TVs have had issues so far. I still have my Sony DVD player from ~2000 and it just started to fail after 7 years. My 222ES SACD player is now starting to have issues after about 4 years (the tray sticks sometimes...), but it still plays fine. I owned a few receivers and was never really impressed with them, so I don't plan on buying another one ever, but that does not reflect on their other products. Each product is made by essentially a different "company", if you want to look at it that way, as each division functions pretty much independent of the others.

The high failure rate of the 360 was a factor in me not buying one. My brother has had his for a little less than a year so far and hasn't had an issue yet.

 

[apatel25314]

I have all three but if you want the BEST console get the ps3, you already have an hddvd player and this would add blu-ray to your list,the graphics are awesome and im loving the fact that you can get 7.1 on many titles

the 360 is fun, but not stunning once owning a ps3.

the wii, may be fun at first, but personally i do not like it much at all the image quality is horrible, with the sound not all that far behind

 

[j_garcia]

A friend has the Wii and said the same thing. The novelty wears off and actually makes it less fun after a while.

 

[abboudc]

It is a main reason why I shy'd away from the PS3 and went with my 360.

Yikes. While sony hasn't exactly been good to you, if you think the 360 is going to be reliable, you're in for a disappointment. In fact it may be the least reliable console ever produced.

I wouldn't recommend a PS3 right now. People aren't buying them, and many dev houses are cancelling their projects for PS3 and redeploying those teams to work on Wii games (which is still selling ridiculously well). The ps3 has the best hardware no doubt, but IMO the best console is the one with the best games. And at least until the end of the year, that's not going to be ps3.

 

[j_garcia]

There are games that are out now are excellent for the PS3, there just aren't enough of them. This holiday season, I think the PS3 will do very well and grow their install base considerably.

The Wii is a fad basically and it will pass just like the Game Cube and the DS. It doesn't matter that they have good games, they don't have the staying power that the PS1 or PS2 did, or even the NES/SNES. The ONLY reason it is selling is because of a lot of press and the simple fact that it is the LEAST EXPENSIVE console available, making it an easy pill to swallow for parents compared to the likes of the PS3. To be honest, the games for the Wii just aren't all that impressive at this point either, so it isn't specific titles that people are buying it for.

 

[mikeyj92]

Yikes. While sony hasn't exactly been good to you, if you think the 360 is going to be reliable, you're in for a disappointment. In fact it may be the least reliable console ever produced.

I wouldn't recommend a PS3 right now. People aren't buying them, and many dev houses are cancelling their projects for PS3 and redeploying those teams to work on Wii games (which is still selling ridiculously well). The ps3 has the best hardware no doubt, but IMO the best console is the one with the best games. And at least until the end of the year, that's not going to be ps3.

I know full well of what you speak, i'm a regular on the 360 forums and have read hundreds of 360 three-red-lights-of-death horror stories.

so far mine has been...above average. it still locks up from time to time (did again today) but that has become more infrequent since i got it in January.

I am particulary interested in Rockstar games coming out and stating they are running into issue with the 360's lack of a HDD in all systems.

This is a big warning light for all 360 owners, imo.

Not only do 360 games have to be put on a DVD compared to PS3's Blu-Ray discs, but the developers have to design a game on the 360 that can't require use of a HDD.

I foresee that fact being the Achille's heel of the 360.

Particulary "sandbox" style games. Those games need to run seemlessly and have minimal load times, which on the PS3 they will be able to, but the 360's lack of storage is going to be a serious roadblock for the GTA series, which is a ton of fun.

I was leaning towards getting a PS3 for blu-ray playing anyway, and I think if this issue continues to plague rockstar games and cause a GTA 4 "lite" for 360 compared to PS3's version, I will buy a PS3.

And I doubt I'll be the only one.