Video Games (2009-2011)

[JMW IV]

wait...Playstation plus is 50 dollars A MONTH?  that doesn't sound right...

[Nathan]

wait...Playstation plus is 50 dollars A MONTH?  that doesn't sound right...

A year, my bad.

[JMW IV]

another option, for me, is to buy a PC for me too to replace my Netbook, and just stick with the MMOs on PC.

not quite sure I want to do that though. especially since I am definitely getting my wife a computer. if I get a console, then my Netbook can function as my main computer, without worry.

[JMW IV]

so basically PS Plus = XBL.

you PS3 folks, have you tried PS Home?

[UMDNats]

so basically PS Plus = XBL.

you PS3 folks, have you tried PS Home?

yea, i find it pretty worthless. messed around with it once and never touched it again.

i have no use for ps+. i pretty much just use PSN to play games online, maybe DLC and demos and stuff. but thats it.

[Nathan]

another option, for me, is to buy a PC for me too to replace my Netbook, and just stick with the MMOs on PC.

not quite sure I want to do that though. especially since I am definitely getting my wife a computer. if I get a console, then my Netbook can function as my main computer, without worry.

Also you get all those MMOs for free.  Buying games on for the Xbox or PS3 will cost you $60 a pop for new titles.

The new Xbox 360 slim seems like a good deal, they have a $199 model that has built in wifi, wireless controller, headset, and 4GB of storage.  Not a bad deal if you don't buy movies or a lot of arcade games and demos.

[cmdterps44]

XBL just has more features, like the ability to voice-chat out of game in a big party. Connection-wise, they're both equal. PS3 has the built-in wifi, 360s don't unless you're getting the brand new ones.

360s come with built in wifi now except for the arcade version.

I'd like to get a PS3 but I really wouldn't get much for it except The Show and Socom, when it comes out. I enjoy xbox to much. Plus all of my friends have a 360... and Gears has the better "sole" (whats that word when its only on your system) games, IMO (since I play them). I do want to try Killzone though.

[cmdterps44]

another option, for me, is to buy a PC for me too to replace my Netbook, and just stick with the MMOs on PC.

not quite sure I want to do that though. especially since I am definitely getting my wife a computer. if I get a console, then my Netbook can function as my main computer, without worry.

Well if you're thinking about MMO's and are interested in the new star wars one, I think that is going to be serious requirements. I cant wait for that game.

[JMW IV]

Also you get all those MMOs for free.  Buying games on for the Xbox or PS3 will cost you $60 a pop for new titles.

Gamefly.....

[UMDNats]

yea i know the new ones have built-in wifi. about time. those routers were expensive. my brother was trying to get a slim when it came out but they never had any in stock. sold out so fast.

for me, i didnt like gears and got sick of halo. i love socom and the show and enjoyed killzone when i had it.

[The Chief]

360s don't unless you're getting the brand new ones.

Which is what I would assume he's looking at, so that's not even worth mentioning unless he's buying used.

[JMW IV]

I am really interested in MAG, and have been interested in Home for a while.

PS3 has a few MMORPGs coming down the pipe too.

i need to look at what the 360 has going on these days.

[The Chief]

Personally, I feel the PS3 is the better media center, but the Xbox360 is superior for games.  I actually own 2 PS3s, one is in the "game room" with the 360 and Wii.  The other is in the living room and is primarily used as a media center, ie Blu Ray, Netflix, Hulu Plus.

What makes you say that?  My impression has been the opposite.  PS3 has Blu Ray but that's not a slam dunk for most people.  Other than that I don't see any real advantages.  Hulu Plus website says it's available for 360, but you have to be invited to get Plus at this time anyway, so that doesn't seem like an advantage for the PS3 if we're comparing freebies.

[The Chief]

Seems like it mostly comes down to the games for you, JMad.  If that's the case, your decision is probably made.

[Nathan]

What makes you say that?  My impression has been the opposite.  PS3 has Blu Ray but that's not a slam dunk for most people.  Other than that I don't see any real advantages.  Hulu Plus website says it's available for 360, but you have to be invited to get Plus at this time anyway, so that doesn't seem like an advantage for the PS3 if we're comparing freebies.

  PS3 also upconverts regular DVDs so they look nicer on HDTVs, 360 doesn't.  Plus, with the old model anyway, the PS3 was much quieter than the 360, which sounded like a jet taking off half the time.  I don't know what it's like now though, with the slim model that is supposed to be quieter.

You think the PS3 is better for games and the 360 is better as a media center?

[JMW IV]

yeah i am pretty sure I am not gonna stick with PC gaming.

very tired of "system requirements".

say, is there anything like League of Legends/DOTA on the consoles?

[Lintyfresh85]

  PS3 also upconverts regular DVDs so they look nicer on HDTVs, 360 doesn't.  Plus, with the old model anyway, the PS3 was much quieter than the 360, which sounded like a jet taking off half the time.  I don't know what it's like now though, with the slim model that is supposed to be quieter.

You think the PS3 is better for games and the 360 is better as a media center?

I had seven RROD with my 360 before I finally took a hammer to it. One time after they shipped me a 'new' one, I opened it up and it gave me a RROD the second I turned it on.

I've only had to replace my PS3 one time.

I like PS3 because the downloads/roster updates are free of charge. I don't play a lot of online, so I don't need Live.

If I was big into FPS/Sports Leagues, I'd go with a 360 though as that's where the bigger base is, and gaming is smoother on XBL.

I also disagree about the noise... whily my 360 got loud (when it worked) my PS3 sounds like a jet engine after 30 mintues of use, every single time.

[Nathan]

I got lucky.  I've had a 360 since a few months after launch, and have never had a RRoD.  The slim model supposedly fixes whatever issues there were that caused the RRoD at any rate.

All this talk kinda makes me want to get rid of one of my PS3s and get a slim 360

[The Chief]

  PS3 also upconverts regular DVDs so they look nicer on HDTVs, 360 doesn't.  Plus, with the old model anyway, the PS3 was much quieter than the 360, which sounded like a jet taking off half the time.  I don't know what it's like now though, with the slim model that is supposed to be quieter.

You think the PS3 is better for games and the 360 is better as a media center?

I had heard that about upconverting.  Supposedly the PS3 does a pretty bangup job.  It seems odd that the 360 doesn't upconvert - surely the processing power is there for it.  Agreed on the noise though.  I borrowed an old school 360 once and it was annoyingly noisy even compared to my PC (which was much noisier at the time than the one I've got now).  The slims are supposed to be better, but I have no idea how much.

I don't personally have an opinion about which is better for what, I just have a collection of hearsay and observations.  If I were buying a console, it'd prob be a 360 just because it seems to be more popular.  Stands to reason that means more people to play with and more games, apps, cool custom programs/uses, etc.  Better used games market too, I would guess (though if you have Gamefly I suppose that's irrelevant).

I guess for me it boils down to not playing online that much.  PC's are catching up in that regard, and some games (like StarCraft 2) have a really fantastic online experience, but by and large I think consoles are the clear leaders in that department.  I'm more about the single-player experience, in which case it's usually cheaper and easier (M&KB) to play on a desktop.

I'm weird though.  Hell, I was playing X-COM this morning.  Do you know how f***ing old that game is?

[Lintyfresh85]

Although... does 360 have MLB.TV? Or is that only PS3?

If that's a big deal to you... it might be another thing you want to consider.

[The Chief]

@ RROD

A friend of mine just inherited a RROD 360 and fixed it within an hour by simply removing the heatsink, re-applying the thermal interface and screwing the heatsink back on instead of using the stock tension springs.

Dunno if it's always that easy, but it certainly does speak poorly of QC.  Of course for every person with 7 dead xboxes, you'll invariably have 10 who say they've never had a problem.  It's hard to be sure just how widespread or common of an issue it really is, but it definitely makes me leery, especially when I've had the good fortune not to experience PC component failure in almost 10 years.

[Lintyfresh85]

AFAIK, RROD is no longer an issue with the new 360's... apparently they fixed whatever problem that caused it.

My luck, though, was that they kept sending me 'refurbished' 360's and not a new one... so all the ones I got from Microsoft already had suffered a RROD before and it happened again once I got them.

Had they just manned up and sent me a new one, I probably would have never had the problems I did.

[The Chief]

yeah i am pretty sure I am not gonna stick with PC gaming.

very tired of "system requirements".

say, is there anything like League of Legends/DOTA on the consoles?

I have to say, this is definitely the achilles heel of PC gaming.  There are a lot of great games for the PC that can run on very minimal specs, but finding those games in the sea of 360 ports and Crysis wannabes is definitely a challenge for those who don't speak fluent computerese.

Even installation woes are largely a thing of the past with great services like Steam (which also has a pretty strong online community for just about any game you want to play) - but knowing what and how well your computer can run something is a big stumbling block.  Microsoft had the right idea with the Windows Experience Index score, but publishers and devs didn't get onboard.

[Nathan]

Although... does 360 have MLB.TV? Or is that only PS3?

If that's a big deal to you... it might be another thing you want to consider.

PS3 only I believe.  I've bought it the past 2 years, but I don't know if I'll subscribe again.  I really only use the gameday audio, and due to work filters, I can only use it on my iPhone, and I get that included when I buy the MLB At Bat app each year for $15.  I might as well save the $100.

@ RROD

A friend of mine just inherited a RROD 360 and fixed it within an hour by simply removing the heatsink, re-applying the thermal interface and screwing the heatsink back on instead of using the stock tension springs.

Dunno if it's always that easy, but it certainly does speak poorly of QC.  Of course for every person with 7 dead xboxes, you'll invariably have 10 who say they've never had a problem.  It's hard to be sure just how widespread or common of an issue it really is, but it definitely makes me leery, especially when I've had the good fortune not to experience PC component failure in almost 10 years.

That's usually what it is, I believe.  It's the damn PowerPC processors.  I had a PPC iMac G5 that was a single core at 2.0 GHz and it was like a space heater in my room.  It would heat my room up faster than my new i7 rig.  The 360 is using a triple core PPC at 3.2 GHz (I think), so it is even worse in regards to thermal considerations.  That's why Apple switched to Intel, they couldn't get the kind of performance they wanted with decent battery life and thermal envelope for the notebooks.

[The Chief]

I thought about getting MLB.tv next season and canceling my cable sub, but MLB.tv is so expensive it's not even worth it