PS3 vs X-Box -- which way should I go?

[Pain_Man]

My wife and I are considering whether to buy a Playstation 3 or an X-box 360.

 

 

 

My brother's got an Xbox 360 and it looks excellent on his plasma TV. (Natch, it's not in the same league as my dual 1/2 GB Radeon Crossfire X1950XTX with a Core Duo 7300 and 4Gb of RAM and a 23in 16x10 LCD flat panel monitor.)

 

I'm rather desperate for a Blu-Ray player*. If the PS3 is equivalent than the Xbox, the former seems the logical choice to me.

 

The PS3 comes in a 40GB and an 80GB models; why would one choose the 80 over the 40? Do the saved games take up that much space?

 

 

 

I've compared them at stores on top of the line TVs and the Blu-Ray format simply blows doors. It is light-years ahead of HD-DVD in nearly every way I can think of.

 

the difference in picture clarity between the two "Hi-Def" formats is like that between regular DVDs and VHS: no comparison.

 

Besides, Blu-Ray (discs and players) is out-selling HD-DVD by more than two to one.

 

This time, I think, Sony has already won the format war.

 

So if some of y'all would be so kind as to my what you think of the two consoles, pros/cons, etc, I'd really appreciate it.

 

I haven't had a console since my Atari 2600 (yeah, I know; but with computers having such incredible capabilities I haven't seen the reason for a dedicated console; but add-in a Blu-Ray player and that's a deal) so I do need some help in this area.

 

What better place to come than here?

 

 

 

[lfcrule1972]

Hi

 

Well I bought a PS3 on the UK launch weekend in March this year. Initially there were only a couple of decent launch games (Resistance Fall of Man and Motorstorm) and the wait has been a bit much for some console owners who have pointed to the far larger game catalogue of the 360 which has been out for longer.

 

So a couple of months or so ago I would have recommended a 360 on the purely gamer basis and the PS3 on the promise of what will come along with the inbuilt blu-ray player....if you believe the ad machine.

 

Now I think the choice is much closer, personally I am glad I have a PS3 as the blu-ray films are stunning and the additional space on the discs will be great for developers as the next gen of games develops. Don't get me wrong I am not slating the 360 despite it's reknowned hardware failure problems (several mates are on their 2 or 3 machines thanks to the Red Ring of Death) as given the money I would get one as well. As you point out blu-ray sales are supposedly double HD-DVD and the 360 doesn't have this built in anways.

 

In terms of online, I think Xbox live is the better option but you have to pay for it so that would be expected. The Playstation online service (for playing multiplayer online games) is free and that might swing your vote, it did for me as I am not that sold on the Live functions when they cost an additional monthly fee.

 

In summary the PS3 games released this month and next look superb, Call of Duty 4 ( a multi format release) looks even better on PS3 than 360 so hopefully this is a taste of things to come mate as up until now there have been some stop gap sloppy ports from the 360 as developers cut corners. Next year I will lose my time to Metal Gear Solid 4 for days at a time.... I think the PS3 will now close the gap on the great releases seen so far on the older 360 machine.

 

I am getting Assassins Creed next week, Ratchet & Clank for the kids and also COD4 for me, check out the gameplay on any of these and you will deffo be sold on a next gen console, difficult choice for you is which one....

 

If I was buying again now I would get the 80gb model as it has the memory card slots (handy for backing up game saves, backwards compatibility with a lot of PS2 (but not all) games and the larger HDD. I think you also get an additional controller included in the price. The space mostly goes on downloaded demos from the store and music collection should you choose to copy it across to the PS3. You can of course use the media server funtion to stream mp3's direct from your PC to save space.

 

Let me know if you want to know anything else......

[dontasciime]

first of play your PC games on a 42"" then play 360 on your 23"" xbox 360 will also look better on 23"" PC games graphics tear even on good hardware

 

secondly blu ray piccy and hd dvd piccy are the same, blu ray navigation is not as good as hd-dvd (cannot remember exactly the problem blu ray has but hd -dvd has a better system for extra features PIP etc than blu ray, blu ray cannot do stuff hd-dvd navvy can)

 

also the report of blu ray selling more depends where you read http://www.trustedreviews.com/tvs/news/200...p-On-Blu-Ray/p1

 

 

http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/119655/hd-dvd-...-in-europe.html

 

 

I have both so I am not bothered either way

 

get both 360 and ps3 then you can fight over who plays which

[lfcrule1972]

The sales figures of blu-ray/HD-DVD are hard to verify I agree, I did however read that Blockbuster in the US were the first rental company to stop stocking HD-DVD films......I admit I never verified this one either as I am not that bothered either way

[Pain_Man]

Thanks for the long write up. It'll help.

 

May be this is a stupid question, but are Microsoft Games, and I mean the Halo series chiefly, available for PS3? Champing at the bit to play Halo 2/3 but I don't want to convert my PC from XP to Vista until I absolutely have to. (My one attempt at a dual boot ended in a complete crash and I had to restore the entire C partition with Acronis True Image.)

 

I agree with you 100%, Blu-Ray is, without doubt in my opinion, light years ahead of HDDVD in terms of picture quality.

 

There's just no comparison.

 

Besides, to play HD-DVD movies with the Xbox360 you have to pay $179 bucks extra--which makes it more expensive than the PS3 80GB model.

 

 

 

Hi

 

Well I bought a PS3 on the UK launch weekend in March this year. Initially there were only a couple of decent launch games (Resistance Fall of Man and Motorstorm) and the wait has been a bit much for some console owners who have pointed to the far larger game catalogue of the 360 which has been out for longer.

[Pain_Man]

Thanks for taking the time for the advice. Appreciate it.

 

first of play your PC games on a 42"" then play 360 on your 23"" xbox 360 will also look better on 23"" PC games graphics tear even on good hardware

 

You've got me in one respect: I haven't done a direct comparison. But I'm the only one in the family with an LCD monitor. My parents and my brother both have plasmas.

 

My brother did hook up his Xbox 360 and run the Quake IV demo on the plasma. Imo, Q4 looks better on my PC. But maybe you've got better eyesight than I do? Who knows? It's a matter of personal preference.

 

secondly blu ray piccy and hd dvd piccy are the same, blu ray navigation is not as good as hd-dvd (cannot remember exactly the problem blu ray has but hd -dvd has a better system for extra features PIP etc than blu ray, blu ray cannot do stuff hd-dvd navvy can)

 

 

Take a look at a Blu-Ray disc on a $4000 60in Aquos and you'll see what I mean. It'll blow you away. The demo of Cars was jaw-dropping. Like seeing HDTV for the first time.

 

My main TV is a 34in Panasonic--the last flat-screen CRT they made (maybe the last model anyone made). Wife wants to upgrade to a 60incher (yeah, there's an, ah, pregnant line...) at some point. But we got a smallish living room, so the 34in looks good.

 

Fortunately, Panasonic was smart enough to include an HDMI port (and the Yamaha system below has two inputs and an output).

 

couple that with my new Yamaha Surround Sound System (which cost half a yard) and the experience is, er, theatrical.

 

also the report of blu ray selling more depends where you read http://www.trustedreviews.com/tvs/news/200...p-On-Blu-Ray/p1

 

 

http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/119655/hd-dvd-...-in-europe.html

 

It's true there is some dispute (by Toshiba!) as to how the numbers of players and discs are being counted. But the big retailers seem to agree that BR discs are moving much faster now than HDDVD which, for much of last year, were outselling the former.

 

I have both so I am not bothered either way

 

get both 360 and ps3 then you can fight over who plays which

 

I laid down $4K for my computer and various peripherals plus my new surround. While I'd love to have both of them, that's just not in the cards.

 

So I got to choose between Xbox and PS3.

 

Right now PS3 is looking like it'll be the one.

 

There's a question I'd love to ask but for XXXXXXXX XXXXXXX X XXXX XXXX XXXXX XXXX. Bummer.

[Pain_Man]

I was @ our friendly neighborhood Blockbuster about two weeks ago and they still had HD-DVDs on the shelf (not unexpectedly there were more HDDVD's sitting on the shelves than BR discs).

 

'Course they could have changed their policy in the interim.

 

Stand-alone Blu-Ray burners are also coming down in price finally. At the beginning of the year (wasn't that about ten minutes ago? How'd it get to be friggin' Nov?) they were going for $899 at BestBuy.

 

Three weeks ago they were $499. I figure by Xmas they might be sub-$200.

 

The console is more my daughter than me. I'm fine with my gaming PC.

 

But if I can kill two electronic birds with one virtual stone, then my kid's happy and I've got my BR player all for less than the comparable Xbox model.

 

Alright--off to play Half-Life 2: Episode 2. Most bad-ass. (Greedy bastards, charging 30 bills for 1/3rd of a game--if that! Still the graphics are off the chart as is everything else.)

 

The sales figures of blu-ray/HD-DVD are hard to verify I agree, I did however read that Blockbuster in the US were the first rental company to stop stocking HD-DVD films......I admit I never verified this one either as I am not that bothered either way

Edited November 10, 2007 by Pain_Man

[Pain_Man]

secondly blu ray piccy and hd dvd piccy are the same, blu ray navigation is not as good as hd-dvd (cannot remember exactly the problem blu ray has but hd -dvd has a better system for extra features PIP etc than blu ray, blu ray cannot do stuff hd-dvd navvy can)

 

Not a big fan of "bonus" features on regular DVDs. I rarely watch them. Hell, I've got all three super-mega-deluxe Lord of the Rings sets and I've probably watched half a dozen of the "extras."

 

If I have a choice, I will usually buy just the straight movie (as I did with Transformers) rather than spend $5 to $10 extra for a "Bonus Disc" I'll probably never use.

 

It does appear that HDDVD has more bells and whistles but as my old man always said about cars, "It's just more shit to break."

 

So what if you can download wallpapers and screensavers via an HDDVD disc?

 

I'd much rather have the overwhelming picture superiority of BR. (Again, imo.)

[dontasciime]

Well I got blu ray and HD-DVD player and the same disc to play on the same 42"" 1080p and there really is not much noticeable difference in quality of picture they are both stunning*[see below]

I can only go by what I see and I know what a good picture looks like as I have very good vision and sound & vision is something I know about.

 

Maybe the store demonstrating blu ray v HD-DVD have a hidden agenda or do not understand the equipment they are demonstrating or the comparative hardware where blu ray player was of better quality/spec than the HD-DVD player or maybe they had HD-DVD hooked up to TV set wrong so that the picture was downgraded/copy protection etc or an older player that did not support 1080p

 

Another reason maybe the blu ray demo is a 30 minutes long demonstration film put together explicitly to show off at FULL bitrate and the HD-DVD material was a full film, the bitrate [quality] on blu ray would also drop if the material was 1 hour + EG a released film.

 

Like I said I can only go by what I see when watching on my TV with the same movie on BLU and HD-DVD I would say they are close enough in quality.

 

*Actually If I am honest HD-DVD looks better to me but it's only minimal difference.

 

 

HALO series is only 360 (PC) you can hack XP to run them or use hacked HALO to run on non DX10

 

Get a 360 and you can play halo 1, 2 and 3 on it.

 

I still prefer gaming on consoles and orange box looks fantastic on 360 and on my PC at 1920x1080 with 2 X 1950XT overclocked but it still looks/plays better on 360 I have always hated the way PC graphics tear/block when moving.

 

Maybe more precise movement with mouse etc but I prefer game controllers to play games and keyboards to type on.

[Altercuno]

Bought the 60gb ps3 a few weeks ago for my 13 year old. Said he didn't want the x box. Seems the x box is for adults whereas the ps3's for kids. Ps3 games don't seem up to much.

[cathater]

now pain

you just had yourbirthday- didn't you get enough gifts

xmas right round the corner

you be a good boy and let santa claus decide which one

 

 

OR

make up your mind and buy it for her

[Grain]

Check out highdefdigest.com for BluRay and HD-DVD comparisons. They compare the same movie on both formats (when released that way) on the same equipment. 99% of the time there is zero picture quality difference. There often is an audio difference as both formats use some different codecs, but the winners there are split very evenly. In other words, audio/video quality wise both formats are equal. Some people talk about the higher bitrates of BluRay, but that's just because less efficent codecs are required with it's greater space (ie MPEG2 1080P). I personally am supporting both formats, but to be honest HD-DVD has a finished set of operating parameters, BluRay is still evolving(ie early players won't/can't play some of the more recent extras). In other words, if you are buying a PS3 'cause it has the BluRay player great, good move. If it's only going to be for games, then look at which console has the games you like and go that way. PS3 seems to have had very little hardware problems compared to the 360, but MS has upped the warranty on them to mitigate that. By the way, last Friday HD-DVD Toshiba players were commonly available for $99.99, and they sold a crap load of them, this format war unfortunately is far from over.

[lfcrule1972]

now pain

you just had yourbirthday- didn't you get enough gifts

xmas right round the corner

you be a good boy and let santa claus decide which one

 

 

OR

make up your mind and buy it for her

Really ? I think that is more to do with the time it's taken to get the AAA releases out on the PS3, I think both consoles have their kids type of games, in fact 360 would have more as it's been out longer

 

The game I want most, Metal Gear Solid 4 is definitely not a kids game and is only available on the PS3, most other top games are available on both systems.

 

I am currently looking at 360 bundles for my son for Christmas, when I add up the wireless adapter, sold seperately (wifi included on the PS3) to the price of the Premium Pack it's almost the same as a PS3 yet the PS3 has a 60gb HDD whilst the 360 has a 20gb. Xbox live is also an additional fee each year yet free with the Playstation 3, I know the PS3 has a way to go on this but give it time, the 360 service was poor to begin with, at least with the PS3 you get lag free online 40 player games for no extra cost

 

Anyway it's your choice and I would be better able to speak on this (like donta) when I have both, thing is that won't be until Xmas

[Altercuno]

Just read that there's going to be a firmware update for the ps3 to give it DivX support. Don't know if it will upscale to 1080p.

[dontasciime]

I know the latest v2 firmware has screwed up my mp4 playback which worked great b4 update now FA

[Altercuno]

Looks like the next few updates are gonna be bugfixes. Still on 1.9 so don't think I'll bother yet...thanks.

[lfcrule1972]

You don't play online then mate ? I always update so that I can and I haven't seen any issues with Fw2.0 in fact it's a very nice update for me with themes and the ability to create your own with icons etc for the XMB bar

[Altercuno]

Been banished from the living room by my son who won't let me near it. Thanks for the update info tho...I'll do it soon

[SerpentKing]

i heard some people say that the bluray player in the ps3 wasnt very good, and that a standalone bluray player would give better picture... everything you hear about bluray or hddvd could be made up by fanboys lol i have both hddvd and bluray players and i only checked out one movie to compare (on a 50 inch) and i couldnt tell the difference...so i think the picture quality is very very close if not equal

[lfcrule1972]

There is a whole load of fanboy drivel being spouted about both the 360 and the PS3, all I can comment on is the PS3.

[Snazz]

I'll add my two pence worth here. There are and is a lot of dirty tricks going on with BlueRay and HD DVD. If you read up on the web you'll see both camps are shitting in each others backyards by paying certain companies NOT to stock the others goods. Now that is just plain nasty. As a consumer, I'd buy neither just because of that. They need to sort their acts out before I start to make my DVD's redundant.

 

As for the consoles, I'll say for the PS3, a guy at work has one, and I have heard him moan his arse off at east six times now over games that he bought at weekend and finished in a matter of hours. If it was my choice, again I'd buy neither unless I intended to play on line with them. Otherwise, the value of those almost £50 games is way too high to warrant the purchase. I'd give ps3 the edge 'cos of the drive, but I'd still have to do some serious thinking about exactly what I want from any of the new gear. That goes for the consoles and the film formats.

 

I'm just hoping my Ps2 and my dvd players and my pc keep ticking over until this mess is sorted out.

[LOCOENG]

I hate to sound like an xbox fanboy, but my money would go for the 360 if I were in the market for one. After the first of the year I'm gonna breath new life into my old xbox with a shiney new HDD and put all my music on it as it's already hooked up to the stereo and use it as a jukebox...still being able to play the old reliable games and what not. As for the HD vs. BD war, I'm hoping HD takes the win as all the tricks that $sony tries seem to blow up in their faces.

 

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_jump.cfm/557450/3558187

[Altercuno]

You're right about the price of games Snazz - well overpriced, but isn't that the point of these next gen consuls to suck people into a system where you can charge what you like? The new iphones another example.

[spinningwheel]

No opinion of the two systems here for me since I have neither, however I just bought my son a Wii for his 16th birthday....we'll see how well that goes though since he's addicted to Final Fantasy online currently...

 

Snazz...good to see you posting again mate!

[lfcrule1972]

I always shop around for my games online as I totally agree that a RRP of £49.99 is stoopid given the amount of hours they usually take to complete offline. A lot of them are sold for their online play, which is great I admit but for that money I want a big single player game too.....

 

Most I have paid so far is £32.99