Playstation 3 or XBOX360

[mousiness]

Hey guys I'm just looking for a bit of advice on which console to buy. My 'needs' are really simple, I'm looking for a system which is as reliable and as user-friendly as my PS2 which my dad bought for me 9 years ago.

In terms of online gaming, I can do that on my PC, I dont care for talking with others online as much as the actual feeling of not playing with AI. One thing I would like though is to play with my friends, who have 360s, but other factors are making me doubt buying one.

I keep hearing about how unreliable 360s are, constantly overheating and being hard to keep cool.
Another thing I keep thinking about is the ridiculous amount of money I have to spend buying the ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR wireless adapter for the 360. Then comes the SIXTY DOLLAR subscription to XBOX LIVE which is necessary for an XBOX because that is the only thing that I consider about buying one. Then ofcourse the headset which is needed that costs 20 bucks.
The total cost of a 360 here in Canada for me would be the console (299) plus the accesories (180 bucks). That comes to 480 bucks before any games have even been purchased, let alone extra controllers. HDMI cables arent a problem since my friend works at Best Buy and gets me them at a hugely reduced price of 2 dollars.

Then I consider the PS3, which in Canada, comes at a price of 399. The PS3 comes with an internal wireless adapter (woohoo no 100 bucks spent on accesories right there let alone more heat added to the console) and not only that, but the PS3 is more technically advanced than the 360, not to mention it comes with a blu-ray player. The PS3 also comes with a HDD three times the capacity of the XBOX PRO.

When I look at it, I see immediately that the PS3 is the better deal, but I am asking you guys to tell me about the 360 and its online gaming capabilities. Is LIVE really that great that my friends tell me it is? Is the XBOX worth the extra 100 bucks for online experience?

One thing is for sure, if I choose the 360, theres gonna be a hell of a lot of haggling going on at Best Buy for that ridiculous wireless adapter.

[Goliath182]

A few things on 360. I have had a 360 for a long time, and ive only had to RMA it once. Try to find one with a manufacture date of late 2008 if you can, that would be a Falcon, which runs cooler. The wireless adapter is a scam, other companies sell a adapter that works. All you need is one of the ethernet to wireless thingy ma jigs (sorry for the name lol). I have seen a really good one for 60$, so i imagine they come cheaper. If you want to play games with your friends - 60$, if you just want to talk to them - free. (called XBL Silver) Also take note that the PS3 does not have a global friends list, so you have to add your friends in each individual game.

PS3 being more "technologically advanced" is really crap. Sure its packing a octocore CPU. I am sure you are familiar with the Geforce 7 series and earlier? How they had different shaders for pixel and vertex? Yes this is the ancient technology thats so "advanced" (360 uses unified shaders like newer cards). Basicaly with all that CPU, its like running a i7 with a 7950 GT. Sure you have a beast CPU, but its not going to help out your games.

[srpeters18]

I own both and TBH I never use the PS3. I like the gameplay on the 360 better. The free network gaming is nice on the PS3, but the only time I've attempted to use it (Kane and Lynch) it kept having network errors. I much prefer paying for XBOX Live, though I don't currently have it.

Want a tip? Buy the accessories online for the 360. Or get yourself an elite on Ebay that includes all the gear you need. Check the pro, don't think it even has an HDMI out, they didn't used to at least. That's the whole reason we have an Elite, it was the only one (at the time) that had the HDMI out.

Also, I bought my original 360 at Best Buy and bought the extended warranty on it. When it crapped out after a year and a half they didn't just replace it, they sent me a Best Buy gift card for the ORIGINAL purchase price and the tax. I upgraded to an Elite for like $50. Definitely worth the protection plan.

[Goliath182]

Want a tip? Buy the accessories online for the 360. Or get yourself an elite on Ebay that includes all the gear you need. Check the pro, don't think it even has an HDMI out, they didn't used to at least. That's the whole reason we have an Elite, it was the only one (at the time) that had the HDMI out.

New Pro's have HDMI.

[mousiness]

Thanks for your input guys- about the wireless adapter, I'm sure I can find an alternative as suggested, if not get one for free by haggling. From the feedback I've been getting, the XBOX seems the better choice because in the end, its about the gameplay, aka online gaming with my friends, and 5 bucks a month is reasonable. I just dont want to throw money away which is why I'm doing a little research.

[swmeek]

Also pay for your subscriptions and stuff online vs the cards in the stores as you don't have to pay sales tax. (at least here in the States I didn't )

[mousiness]

Exactly, especially here in Canada, we pay Provincial and Government sales taxes of 14 percent combined...

[Cyphe762]

Okay so you want a good, reliable, fast, fun gaming system?

Get a new PC.

Although out of those two I would say niether wait 'til the next xbox, the 360 is outdated and the PS3 is just silly.

[slugbug]

Microsoft has announced it will be phasing out the 60GB XBox 360 Pro this September and replacing it with the Elite. The Elite's price will be reduced to $299 Canadian. Sony has also announced a new slim PS3 for October and they will be liquidating the current 80GB and 160GB versions at that time. No word by how much yet though.

[coxmaster]

I bought a 360 about a 10 days ago.. Cheapest way is this.. Get and Arcade, buy a HD.

The arcade has HDMI, and HD's are cheap on ebay

[CDsDontBurn]

I bought a 360 about a 10 days ago.. Cheapest way is this.. Get and Arcade, buy a HD.

The arcade has HDMI, and HD's are cheap on ebay

This is exactly what i did on my 360. I ended up purchasing the 120GB HDD for my 360 Arcade. the only other accessory that i purchased was the chat-pad which comes with the headset as well. other than that, the only thing i've purchased for my 360 was an additional controller. I now have 3 though because i was given one for x-mas .

I purchased my 360 about a year and a half ago and it had the HDMI and i've never really had any problems with it. the only "real" problem i had with it was that the signal kept going in and out during the middle of game play, it ended up being the HDMI cable i had was bad. replacing that cable resolved that problem. other than that, i haven't had any problems with my 360.

As for the subscription, you will be given a 1 month free XBL subscription when you make your XBL profile. Also, once you start purchasing the subscriptions you want to do the 1yr. subscription as it is the cheapest to purchase in the long run.

The wireless adapter, if you can, pass on that and go with wired. A 10ft. cat5e cable is at most $10 which is still cheaper than your $60 or $100 wireless adapter. I have my 360 hooked up via cat5e cable that i made myself from that 1000ft spool of cable i bought several years ago. but, i know that not everybody has a 1000ft. box of cat5e cable in their closet ready to make their desired length of cable, so purchasing the desired length is the next best option .

anyways....enough of my ramblings, lol.

[slugbug]

You can set up some brands of wireless routers as receivers: http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2007/10/...your-xbox-360/

[coxmaster]

You can also hook it up wirelessly through a laptop.

[CDsDontBurn]

You can also hook it up wirelessly through a laptop.

lol, really? how so?

[pokute]

I actually want a ps3 for metal gear/killzone and as a bluray player. But the price keeps putting me off and I keep looking at the 360..