PS3 vs 360

[Mimi Nakamura]

I know this has probably been done before, but now is the only time that the question has been relevant to me.

I own a PS3, but in previous "gaming generations" I chose the Sega Saturn and then the Sega Dreamcast. I feel like the PS3 wasn't the right choice for me, it seems like the 360 would've been the natural choice given my previous systems. The reasoning behind this is that there are a lot more shooters on the 360, and also Treasure are developing for the 360 too.

The PS3 is far more powerful than the 360 but from the games that have been released so far, we haven't seen much evidence of this! It's like the Dreamcast vs PS2 all over again! The reason I went for a PS3 was that I thought there would be far more exclusives for it (here in Japan anyway), but I really am beginning to wonder if I made the right choice. Of course, the blu-ray player is a huge plus for the PS3, but that was never the reason for buying one.

Did I make a mistake? Which one is the better system and why?

[Ed Oscuro]

The PS3 is far more powerful than the 360

I'm not so sure about this, and as you say, the evidence isn't there that it is. Its odd structure certainly doesn't seem very good for single-threaded applications (not that many games need be) but it's odder to work with than the 360 and the graphics subsystem isn't far ahead of the 360 - which is where almost all of that visual difference comes from.

Agreed on the shooters front; there's a joke at Shmups Forum about how people used to complain that the Xbox had nothing but shooters (meaning Halo-style) but now that has a different meaning (with ports of many arcade shooting games, Raiden Fighers Aces, and some "new" content from Capcom barely worth mentioning like Joint Strike).

On the other hand, there are some interesting games on PS3. The PS3 version of Ninja Gaiden seems to have better textures (not sure about the performance aspect though); there's Demon's Souls, the Uncharted games, Resistance 1 & 2 (these last two are less compelling to me than it would have been before; just more 20 hours-and-done games to me) and some other stuff. There's Nier Replicant with the, erm, different type of character (as opposed to 360 where it's just some random dude), and other stuff I can't think of at the moment.

There's plenty of cross-platform FPS / third person games but I dunno if those are your thing.

[monkeychemist]

Your PS3 isn't crapping out with the RROD every 6 months? Ok then, you made the right choice.

In all seriousness there really isn't much difference in the games. Almost all games are for both systems. It all comes down whether you like "Halo vs MGS" type of comparisons.

I like the free online gaming with my PS3. I know the Xbox Live is not that expensive, but $50/year makes your console kinda expensive on year 2-3. People just don't realize that...

[TheDomesticInstitution]

It's refreshing to see a thread destined to turn into a fruitless flame war, titled in no uncertain terms "PS3 vs 360." Hold on while I go title a thread in Off Topic, Republicans vs. Democrats. Apparently the arguments and name calling in all those other threads weren't good enough.

Seriously though, why? Oh wait, look who's posting.

Let's hope the time hasn't passed around here, where threads like this are locked before they really get going. Do I really need to go and dig up links to show where this has been discussed many times previously?

[neuropolitique]

I think the 360 looks much better than the PS3. Even the re-design PS3 doesn't look that great to me, though it does look better than the original.

[Breetai]

For shit sakes...

Like me, you're in Japan. I went for the PS3 and ignored the 360 and here are the two reasons why:

1. The PS3 games are ALL region-free (aside from downloadable content on some games). Your only worry is language. The X-Box 360 games are not all region-free, only some are. You'll be stuck ordering Asia-region games from Play-Asia (which are usually region-free and in English) or buying them at import prices from shops in Akiba, Den-Den town, or whatever.

2. The 360's failure rate is mind-shockingly high. To be honest, I really don't understand why anyone buy's such a poorly built system. EVERYONE I know with a 360 has had to send theirs in at least once. NOBODY I know has had to send their PS3 in. Sure, there's a three-year warranty on Microsoft's system IN AMERICA and some other countries, but what's the policy in Japan? Do you know? I don't. Why don't I know? Because it's a pain in the ass picking through kanji just to figure out what's covered under warranty, where to send your system when (not if) it breaks down, and sorting everything else out in Japanese. Even if there is some English support, I'm sure you know how fun it is dealing with Japanese bureaucracy. Why bother with it? If you stick with your PS3, you probably won't have to.

It's pretty sad when a decision about which game console to buy has nothing to do with the games at all. I actually wanted a 360. Thanks a lot of building crap, Microsoft. Hopefully the X-Box Mark III will still be backwards compatible so I can play Fable II and Mass Effect.

[scooterb23]

Yes, you made a mistake. It looks like you researched which system would have the games you wanted to play, and then you didn't pick that system. That, in my book, counts as a mistake.

It looks like you answered your own question. Not enough exclusives or shooters, no games by Treasure, don't care about Blu-Ray, yep...you screwed the pooch on that choice!

But hey, you have the more powerful system. That still means a whole hell of a lot when you're using it as a paperweight...doesn't it?

[kupomogli]

The 360 was the better system until about 2 years ago when just about every "supposedly" good 360 exclusive started to get ported over to the PS3.

If you're into shmups though then it seems that you chose the wrong system because the PS3 honestly gets none of those and it's weird that literally all of them come out for the 360, but I don't care as I'm not a fan.

Anyways. You own pretty much the exact same system as 360 owners do as nearly every game is multiconsole now aside from a few exclusives on both systems.

If you want a 360 then go buy one. Then you'll get all the exclusives on both sides.

[walrusmonger]

Yeah, the system prices have come down, just get an arcade and a used 20gb hard drive and be done with it.

[Oobgarm]

I think you should buy another PS3 so you feel twice as bad.

[Damaramu]

Is Idol Master on PS3? I really wanna play that....

[Raedon]

Until I hear about a new 360 that has been redesigned and has taken care of the RROD, the choice is clear IMHO.

There is no excuse for the RROD. This isn't some Jaguar CD system, this is a major player in the console market! Why are people feeding this beast when there is a PS3 on the market that has almost all of the same games?

[skaar]

I know this has probably been done before, but now is the only time that the question has been relevant to me.

So bump an old thread? Yeesh. This one HAS been done to death everywhere on the internet. EVERYWHERE. There's even a thread on FoodTV's forums I bet.

[YoshiM]

The age old question of which system is better. What does make this generation rather unique is because of the high failure rate of the 360.

It's a tough call. I have both systems and even after my first 360 crapped out (and could not be repaired under warranty because the original owner had the case painted and the warranty sticker was gone) I bought an Arcade unit with the latest chipset. Even with all the issues people have had, I still paid the $200. Why? XBLA. There are games on there, when time permits, I play on a regular basis that cannot be found on PSN. Shadow Complex, Geometry Wars 1 & 2, Castle Crashers (though that is coming to PSN soon), Time Pilot, Pac-Man Championship Edition (wife's personal favorite)...the list goes on. The amount of time spent with these games and others warrant the purchase.

I will admit I have been playing my PS3 more lately due to the fact that the online play is free. I have XBL Gold but the last 4+ months my time was devoted to practicing and then performing in a couple plays I was in along with other situations. With my future daughter being born in April, I can see my online gaming time (or any gaming time) getting reduced and thus wasting my subscription. While I had to send my PS3 in for warranty replacement (something crapped out on the hard drive I think), I still feel it's more trustworthy than the 360. The rechargeable batteries on the controllers last way longer than the 360's (even just sitting around doing nothing). For DLC I find PSN to be a lot better than XBL because I can buy what I need in regular currency than have to doink around with points I have to buy in set number blocks.

Personally, I can't answer which is "best". I like them both for the reasons above, though I slant more toward the Playstation side. No regrets for me.

[vivaeljason]

Ironically, I feel as though I made the wrong choice in getting a 360; the exclusives on the PS3 look a hell of a lot more interesting than the exclusives on the 360 have been.

But yeah...if you would have prefered the 360's style of games AND looked into it before the fact, you made a mistake.

[scooterb23]

Until I hear about a new 360 that has been redesigned and has taken care of the RROD, the choice is clear IMHO.

There is no excuse for the RROD. This isn't some Jaguar CD system, this is a major player in the console market! Why are people feeding this beast when there is a PS3 on the market that has almost all of the same games?

I like the 360, because I know I am free from having people that bitch constantly about the system on my friends list.

[dylan0228]

Can we be done with the RROD already? I have purchased 3 different 360`s & never saw a RROD. Not even my launch 360 red-ringed. How much will it cost you when your PS3 breaks in two??

[Richter Belmount]

I like the ps3 cause I like the free online , the bluray player comes in handy and I like the system exclusives.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Okay.

You own a PS3.

So, keep your PS3 and buy a 360.

Buy the system exclusives that interest you for each respective system, and buy the multiplatform titles for the system that has the greater benefit per title (exclusive content, planned exclusive DLC, better frame rates/textures, etc.)

History has proven time and time again, no matter how great exclusive titles are, no ONE system is ever going to do it all and/or please 100% of the gaming public 100% of the time. The mentality we need to make a choice to own one single console/handheld and expect it to meet all of our expectations in terms of exclusive content, graphical comparisons to other current gen hardware, etc. is pretty silly.

I can understand if this conversation was being had at the beginning of this console generation when the PS3 still had a very restrictive price point ... but prices have dropped and normalized on all current gen hardware, if you want in on the 360 exclusives, there's no need to abandon your choice in PS3 prior to the end of this console generation.

[maxlords]

*yawn* *snort* *huh? Oh...yeah.... system war.

I have both systems. They both work fine. They both play games. Neither one has ever died. I have an original Zephyr 360...in fact, I have two. I have an 80 GB PS3. They essentially have the same functionality, most of the same games library, etc. With hard drive loading built into the new 360 firmware, I'm MUCH less likely to ever get a red ring.

That being said, here's what I do:

360:
Stream media (the video decoder is a bit better and looks nicer on my LCD and I stream music on it too)
Play system exclusive games
Never play online, cause I'm too cheap to pay for Live Gold

PS3:
Play system exclusive games
Play multi-platform games (I like the PS3 a bit better for gaming...personal preference - controllers, HDMI, etc)
DL content (occasional DLable game, etc)
Log in to my friends' PSNetwork accounts and share all their DL content for free

I never buy DLable content for the 360 because I hate the MS points system. Same reason I don't ever DL anything for the Wii. I ONLY DL for the PS3 because they charge you the actual price per item in dollars...no more, no less. Most of the wallpapers and themes are free too, which is nice. I don't DL wallpapers or themes unless they're free, so I hardly have any for the 360.

Overall, I like my PS3 better for gaming and my 360 better for multimedia. They're both useful, both good systems for gaming. At this point the decision is almost academic, as 3/4 of their libraries are identical, and both systems have the same media functionality as well. You do get a Blu-Ray player with the PS3, but I bought a separate one anyway.

Short answer: Personal preference only, consider what exclusives you want