Thread: PS3 or Xbox360

Buy a PC. They are better than any console.

Originally Posted by sloth

Buy a PC. They are better than any console.

Because they have to be replaced in 2 years after spending 2k opposed to 5 years at the fraction of the price?

Originally Posted by Auron

Because they have to be replaced in 2 years after spending 2k opposed to 5 years at the fraction of the price?

A 2k computer would last you 6-7 years probably, assuming you don't break it. I've had my current computer, which I got at $1200 (insane prices in Denmark compared to the US) a little less than 4 years ago. I think it could easily last me another year, unless I really want to play the new games on high settings.

Originally Posted by Marvo

A 2k computer would last you 6-7 years probably, assuming you don't break it. I've had my current computer, which I got at $1200 (insane prices in Denmark compared to the US) a little less than 4 years ago. I think it could easily last me another year, unless I really want to play the new games on high settings.

Still a fraction of the price. If i bought a PS3 on day one, it would have lasted me until now, and I would have only spent 500 bucks. Xbox 360.....400 bucks. That means I have 700 to 800 bucks left to spend on games if we spent the same amount of money.

Years ago, people made games with the PC in mind first, but that's changing. PC's are now getting the crappy ports instead.

Originally Posted by Auron

Still a fraction of the price. If i bought a PS3 on day one, it would have lasted me until now, and I would have only spent 500 bucks. Xbox 360.....400 bucks. That means I have 700 to 800 bucks left to spend on games if we spent the same amount of money.

Years ago, people made games with the PC in mind first, but that's changing. PC's are now getting the crappy ports instead.

Doesn't change the fact that gaming on a PC is better in every single way. If all you want is console level graphics at 30 FPS and 480p/720p resolution, then you can probably get a PC at a price similar to the consoles at launch.

And there are still tons of great games on PC. Most ports turn out better on PC, and on PC you can also play RTS and MMORPG. On top of that you have the modding community, indie games, open source and I guess everything else the PC does that consoles do not.

Doesn't change the fact that gaming on a PC is better in every single way. If all you want is console level graphics at 30 FPS and 480p/720p resolution, then you can probably get a PC at a price similar to the consoles at launch.

In some ways, sure. Being able to mod games, and the generally far greater levels of customisation you get on the PC are great. Certain games also work far better with a mouse+keyboard. And the games themselves can look superb with the right hardware.

On the downside, there's the upkeep of the hardware, and a much greater chance of conflicts and errors, both hardware and software. And PC gaming isn't something you can invite a friend or two over to play a few games, which happen to be some of my fondest memories of gaming. There also does seem to be an increasing trend of sloppily porting games to the PC, though this goes both ways of course.

And for the record, I have both a very powerful gaming laptop and a 360. Given the sheer amount of use I have for such a powerful machine, whether that be my own work, video encoding, audio editing, emulating older console games, and gaming, I definitely don't regret the purchase.



As for consoles, I prefer the 360 over the PS3, but that's mostly a personal preference. The reliability of early 360 models was pretty poor, but that's more or less been eliminated by now.

Xbox Live doesn't offer much over the Playstation Network now, as Sony have caught up a lot on the features list, and having to pay to use my own bandwidth instead of playing on dedicated servers is something I resent. Though it didn't get taken down for a month and the databases stolen because the company running it is incompetent at security either.

Originally Posted by Saturos

I would go with PS3, I just find the controller to be way easier to handle, and I generally like the game selection better.

You're joking right?
360 controller is at least 100 times better.
PS3 controller is too small and uncomfortable. Your thumbs also slip off the joysticks all the time coz they're shit.

360 if you're going console, but don't go console.


PC is the ONLY way to go if you have even the slightest bit of care about how you play the game.

Controls are much MUCH better

Graphics are better, how much depends on how good your computer is.

Gameplay is smoother, 30FPS vs (insertwhatever Hz your screen is here) FPS

In game communitites exist

And online gaming is completely free.

Modding and tweaking games exist

Much wider library of games


Not to mention that games are much much cheaper most of the time. Steam sales, for example, have made my collection of games about 600 dollars worth, only cost me about 80 dollars.



If you don't feel like buying a new PC, you could simply get a cheap 200 dollar GPU now and install it in your PC, and instantly beat any console to the ground a million times. You could still technically do that with a 100 dollar GPU but 200 dollar ones are more like it.

I've had the same xbox 360 for 4 years and have had 2 fatal errors with it ("fatal" meaning I had to send it back to M$). They come with 3 year warranties on RRoD's and 1 year on everything else, though, and to be fair, the online isn't bad. Games are expensive, though. Same for all consoles I guess.

One upside of PCs. When they get broke, which is much less often than consoles if you keep proper care of them, you can fix them instead of waiting 3 months while M$ fixes the issue, or being forced to buy a new one.

Originally Posted by JussiKala

One upside of PCs. When they get broke, which is much less often than consoles if you keep proper care of them, you can fix them instead of waiting 3 months while M$ fixes the issue, or being forced to buy a new one.

It took Microsoft a week total to collect my 360 from the UK, ship it off to Germany for repair, and get it back to me. There's no need to lie or make stuff up to make your case for PC gaming.

And so what if you have to buy a brand new console if it's out of warranty? It's no different to having to buy new graphics cards if they break, and the cost would be similar. It's not like I lose anything by buying a new console either, because I can continue to use the old hard drive, and transfer my content (and the licenses) to the new one.

Originally Posted by Photolysis

It took Microsoft a week total to collect my 360 from the UK, ship it off to Germany for repair, and get it back to me. There's no need to lie or make stuff up to make your case for PC gaming.

And so what if you have to buy a brand new console if it's out of warranty? It's no different to having to buy new graphics cards if they break, and the cost would be similar. It's not like I lose anything by buying a new console either, because I can continue to use the old hard drive, and transfer my content (and the licenses) to the new one.

Sure.

The flipside of my earlier post is that if you do not care for your PC, it will be much more prone to breaking than any console.

I know several total non-gamers who picked up PS3s as the hub of their small home-theater systems and couldn't be happier, despite using them maybe 3 hours per month for their supposed primary function. If you see any use for the Blu-Ray/DVD functionality, and especially if you have a bunch of PS2 games, it's a no brainer. Unlike the PS2, which was a terrible DVD player, the PS3 is one of the best Blu-Ray players on the market.

Originally Posted by Taosaur

I know several total non-gamers who picked up PS3s as the hub of their small home-theater systems and couldn't be happier, despite using them maybe 3 hours per month for their supposed primary function. If you see any use for the Blu-Ray/DVD functionality, and especially if you have a bunch of PS2 games, it's a no brainer. Unlike the PS2, which was a terrible DVD player, the PS3 is one of the best Blu-Ray players on the market.

Hmm this is very true.

I've got a dedicated blu ray player and a PS3. The PS3 is much better. Less loading times, mainly. The dedicated player takes ages to load up the movie.

One other point about PC gaming, is the scourge that is modern DRM. At least when I buy a physical game disc for my console of choice, I own a copy of the game. It's mine. I can resell it, and I can play it without having to get a publisher's permission. And I don't have to worry about rootkits wrecking my OS, or having the publisher ban me from my own game because I said something to piss them off.

Sure, you could just download cracked copies, but anyone with any knowledge of computers would tell you why that's a bad idea.

Originally Posted by Photolysis

One other point about PC gaming, is the scourge that is modern DRM. At least when I buy a physical game disc for my console of choice, I own a copy of the game. It's mine. I can resell it, and I can play it without having to get a publisher's permission. And I don't have to worry about rootkits wrecking my OS, or having the publisher ban me from my own game because I said something to piss them off.

Sure, you could just download cracked copies, but anyone with any knowledge of computers would tell you why that's a bad idea.

Yet, all these downsides are overshadowed by the glorious experience that gaming on the PC is compared to the consoles.


I mean, really. Say how the small annoyance of a simple DRM can be worth giving up the superior immersion and control of the game that PC provides?

Big whoop, I have to login to GFWL after starting up dirt 3. That takes roughly 3 seconds. And for the whole 3 hours I play the game, I get to experience graphics unlike any console could produce in the modern world, and am free to use any controller I desire.

Originally Posted by Photolysis

One other point about PC gaming, is the scourge that is modern DRM. At least when I buy a physical game disc for my console of choice, I own a copy of the game. It's mine. I can resell it, and I can play it without having to get a publisher's permission. And I don't have to worry about rootkits wrecking my OS, or having the publisher ban me from my own game because I said something to piss them off.

Sure, you could just download cracked copies, but anyone with any knowledge of computers would tell you why that's a bad idea.

I've only had DRM issues with a single game, and that was actually just some DLC. Games For Windows Live basically ruins all games it touches, so it's being phased out anyway.

Originally Posted by Marvo

I've only had DRM issues with a single game, and that was actually just some DLC. Games For Windows Live basically ruins all games it touches, so it's being phased out anyway.

I disagree with it ruining games. It doesn't bother me in dirt games.

However, it's still a very minor nuisance which should be gotten rid of. And the PC community always complains about DRM, so it shouldn't last long.

Big whoop, I have to login to GFWL after starting up dirt 3.

You should never have to login for an offline game. Not everyone has an always-on connection, or reliable internet. If I go away and take my laptop with me, I shouldn't be locked out of software I've purchased because I can't get online (with the obvious exception of MMORPGs, which don't need DRM because they can constantly validate things anyway). I shouldn't have to worry about how many times I can reinstall my software before running afoul of product activations.

Even if you personally don't mind it, or it doesn't affect you, you should still object to it on principle because it's needlessly invasive and limiting. And it doesn't stop piracy anyway.

Originally Posted by JussiKala

I disagree with it ruining games. It doesn't bother me in dirt games.

However, it's still a very minor nuisance which should be gotten rid of. And the PC community always complains about DRM, so it shouldn't last long.

I doubt very much it'll be removed, no matter how pointless it is. It's the entertainment industry's "War on Drugs".

I've only had DRM issues with a single game, and that was actually just some DLC

I've generally been fortunate in that regard, but when I buy PC games I'll always investigate the kinds of DRM on there. But there are major releases out there that are/were seriously bad for one's machine and/or extremely restricting. Spore's a good example.

I'm definitely more of a PC gamer, but some games do work better on consoles, particularly any game that more than one person in the room will be playing. I particularly like martial arts fight games on consoles. Some adventure/RPG games work better on consoles, too--often because of having been ported badly to the PC, but still. A PC is something that, most likely, you're going to have anyway, and games won't be the only consideration in what kind of system you want. IMO, the decision to buy a console is a separate matter entirely.

Originally Posted by Photolysis

One other point about PC gaming, is the scourge that is modern DRM. At least when I buy a physical game disc for my console of choice, I own a copy of the game. It's mine. I can resell it, and I can play it without having to get a publisher's permission. And I don't have to worry about rootkits wrecking my OS, or having the publisher ban me from my own game because I said something to piss them off.

Sure, you could just download cracked copies, but anyone with any knowledge of computers would tell you why that's a bad idea.

I think Sony is the one pushing DRM the most. Unless you buy Windows Live games or something.

With downloaded games, I think you should be able to sell the serial code to someone else at a lower price. But they aren't going to let you do that because they make more money if you can't.

Oh yeah, also the bluray player is good in the PS3. The separate bluray players you buy are horrible. We got one that you HAVE to connect to the internet otherwise you can't play any movies. Seriously WTF?
It streams 1080p trailers and shit like that every time you watch it, which can take a long time if the internet isn't going so well.

It's just ridiculous. So yeah, if you want a good bluray player you should get the PS3 anyway. Although the drive is supposed to fail after 200 hours (mine still hasn't though).

Ps3 has a lot more games (for me) that are good rather than Xbox, which has like 3 or 4 games i want to play, and i dont even want to play them that much. I have a lot of games (mostly by doing that 'hack your friend tech and download it off of them' they allow me tho) and there are still a BUNCH of games i want to play that i havent

Infamous 2
Uncharted 3 (not released)
SoTC and Ico collection (not released)
Last Gaurdian (not released)
Dark Souls (not released)
Mass Effect 2 (on Xbox as well)

and some other games i cant seem to remember, and these are just the games i dont have, i have a lot more, again, mostly by doing the hacking thing with my friends permission

but of course, if you want shooters only im not the guy to listen to

Originally Posted by GavinGill

Buy a Gamecube. They come in purple and black.

I have a gamecube XD

and 26 games on it, but i sold about half of em to get this sadly unpopular game called Valkyria Chronicles. Its sick

Originally Posted by stormcrow

This is what I needed to know. The 360 sounds appealing because its so cheap but if it breaks easily then forget it.

Any 360 you buy nowadays will be fine. The first generation 360s had the RROD problem but that was basically gone when the elite console came out and is completely eradicated in the new slimline version.

All the scaremongering about RRODs that goes on is just that. It's like someone in three years going "You shouldn't buy a PS3, remember the time Sony messed up, gave away all their subscriber details and turned the PSN off for three months?"

EDIT: Also, regardless of which console you get, spend the $10 or so on Castle Crashers from XBL Arcade or... Playstation... Live Arcade(?) and play through the campaign in local coop with three friends.
Honestly that was the most fun I've ever had with a game.