Xbox -v- PSP3... Worth it?...

hopper1

We have a Wii system at home, and it is used lightly at best, as we don't encourage heavy use and my son (5 years old) doesn't bother too much.
An Xbox has been brought up as another 'entertainment' option, but what is the difference between them and a PSP3?
Obviously PSP3 can do BluRay, but what are there individual strengths/weaknesses?

EDIT: I may consider the Kinect as a form of off bike exercise, less gadgety than Wii fit ( I don't use!).
What about Xbox scratching discs?...

cougie

X box live is where its at. Online gaming so you can play with your mates.
I'm too old/rubbish to play computer games now.


ZX Spectrum - now that was a system.

alfablue

The x-box scratches discs for a passtime. Beware if you have wooden floors. I truly believe that if it wasn't the fact that kids are the major consumers, Microsoft would have been forced to pay out big time (billions worldwide). What is so annoying is that despite it being a well known problem, subsequent models have still incorporated this feature!

You can get a £7 accessorry that inserts pads inside the drive to stop this happening (you blow through a straw). It shouldn't be necessary.

Microsoft seem to be intent on causing customers to hate them.

bristolpete

I bought a ps3 solely really for blue ray as it's a very good br player. Muuuccchhh better than £99 - £299 br players due to the superior processor. I had an x-box from 2005 til the other day and personally given that I own just 2 games I think they both look better on ps3.

The only issue now is blue ray is to expensive but I usually buy second hand bargains in the local crack exchange. Ive managed to get all the tarantino films ltd etd for no more than £10 per film and at 1080p they look stunning.

So ps3 all the way - it's a great media hub.

Pross

PS3 you can play online free, I believe XBox you have to pay extra for XBox live (may have changed but used to be the case). I've had XBox users try to explain what the XBox offers that the PS3 doesn't and I have never had an answer that would make me consider going for the XBox. I think in most cases the XBox users bought them before the PS3 came out and are not prepared to admit they should have waited! PS3 has direct links to BBC iPlayer and Love Film amongst others too.

Pross

Forgot to add, PS3 does the PS3 Move which is their equivalent of the Kinect but requires a motion controller rather than sensing body movement so possibly one advantage of the XBox.

DubaiNeil

I have both PS3 (had for a couple of years) and an Xbox 360 Kinect (Christmas present from the wife to "me"). I have not owned a Wii, but I have used one a fair bit.

All below IMO, and based on how I use the systems. I don't play on-line as the latency from here sucks, and I am not 12y.o so I'm not good enough...

PS3 - I tend to play 1st person shooting (Medal of Honour etc) or car racing (Gran Turismo) - and these (at the time of platform purchase at least) were better supported on the PS3. Thoroughly enjoy them and don't really care if all titles are on all platforms, I would still buy the PS3 version. I have not tried the Move controller, and probably won't.

Xbox - Kinect is very good - if you have the space to play effectively, and you need quite a lot. Recognises registered players very well. Games are pretty limited at the moment (that use Kinect) and seem to be a bit "Wii generation 1" level. It wasn't my choice to get one, as this was a surprise gift, and I'm hoping that the games rapidly improve. You have to be "actually active" during the games, far more than with the Wii - so you can (easily!) get a sweat on! The kinect takes a fair bit of time from initial start up, through recognising the player, to scanning the room etc before you can start play. Not normally a problem, but if you had 10 minutes to play you would notice it.

Wii - With young kids (I have a 7 y.o and a 3 y.o) I still think that this is the best platform. The games (while "childish" looking) do actually play quite well and seem to retain quite a lot of interest with the kids.

I've not noticed the scratched disks, red ring of death etc, but the Xbox is still new...

It does run ridiculously hot though, even when compared with the PS3...

Neil

iainf72

Depends what you want to do really.

Both are good systems. Testing tends to show the cross platform titles are generally superior in the Xbox, but unless you're an A/V nerd you probably will not notice.

PS3 can be painful due to it's constant updating. Last year I felt like every time I switched it on it wanted to update. And it's not a trivial matter, taking at least 15 minutes most of the time.

The new Xbox is nice because it's quiet - The previous version was ridiculously loud but that has been resolved with the new unit.

Kinect is cool technology but I think it'll take 12 months until the developers really know what to do with it. The latency (150ms'ish) really does limit how "real time" it can be. But it's clever stuff. Move is good - Imagine a precise Wii-mote.

Neither MS or Sony are real innovators in the games space. That's still very much a Nintendo thing.
Both Move and Kinect are just trying something Nintendo already did.

Also, neither system offers much for "younger" players.

rick_chasey

I'm under the impression the sex-box has a better online community.

Rouge Penguin

Better on line community? You mean more 13 year olds calling each other Homo's?

I fail to understand how either could be better, but then i just use it for the game, not the community and dont use a headset.

Im on PS3 and nothing Xbox has done has tempted me and they dont have GT5. MW2 was great on both consoles, Halo didnt do it for me as i hated the controller.

Rouge Penguin

Oh an the OP is right, Iplayer, 4OD and 5tv are a nice touch. Bluray and built in large memory are great, plus i recall the old Xbox needed an additional wifi adaptor (at cost to you).

Ginjafro

I have the latest SexBox and I love it. Its WiFi ready and so much better and easier to use than my old PC gamer. Online forums of Xbox vs PS3 may (or may not) help you decide which to get !

Monkeypump

I chose the PS3 over Xbox for it's BluRay capability, and in preparation for the release of GT5. Have been very happy with it, but I've always had the Sony console so am used to the controller etc. As others have said, after using friends Xboxes, I'm not tempted to change.

The iPlayer accessability is very good, and the BluRay quality superb. Connectivity is also great for TV, surround-sound etc. I do have a separate remote for using it as a DVD/BR player as the standard controller is a bit awkward.

It is quite slow to load up stages of games, but then I assume that's the same for all disc-based consoles.

Annoyingly Sony now have the slimmer version with more memory, but other than that I can't fault it.

And it doesn't scratch discs, which I didn't realise was a problem with Xbox!

neiltb

Can't comment on the 360 as I haven't been exposed enough.

I have a PS# and as a media hub it's great, plays games (with online component), plays the blue ray movies, can browse the net (flash is better on wii though) best for me though is streaming content from PC and up resing to 1080P,

If you have a wii though and don't play games too much or need a BR player, I wouldn't bother going any further.

If it's entertainment you want, the old ones are still arguably better, deck of cards, monopoly, trivial pursuit, snakes and ladders etc, heck of a lot cheaper to boot!

MattC59

Now you've opened a can of worms !!!

Personally, I prefer the PS3.
The bluray player is recognised to be one of the best on the market (it ought to be, as Bluray is a Sony technology).
The PS3 has BBC iPlayer, 4 On Demand and ITV player in the menu which is a nice feature. It will play dvds, cds and blurays, it will store and play music, photos and movies. You can stream movies directly from your laptop to the PS3, so that you can watch them on your tv.
There's a web browser, which is OK and I've found that Sony's customer dupport is fantastic.

the ocntentious point seems to be on line gaming. You get it for free with the PS3, but have to pay for it with the Xbox. I've heard that the Xbox online connectivity is better than that of the PS3, but to be honest, I never have any issues.

I've got an original 60gb PS3 which has performed faultlessly since the day I got it (The Christmas after launch). My mate has one of a similar age, which has just died (YLOD) but he called Sony and they offered a replacement unit for £160. He took them up on the offer and sold his broked one for £60 on e-bay.

Personally, I think that the PS3 is light years ahead of the Xbox (I'll get shot down for that probably !!) and I can't stand the controller.

Herbie The Dog

As an avid gamer in my yoof (Sega Master System, Megadrive, Saturn, Nintendo Gamecube) I sort of lost interest after my original XBox and PS2 died a few years ago. We have a Wii but that's more for her indoors.

Mrs Herbie wanted to buy me a new console for Crimbo and asked me to decide which one.

After much reading, asking mates, forums and the like I just felt like the PS3 was the better machine as it's not just a games console (which the 360 and Wii are). My nephews have 360s so I got a chance to try those out.

What also helped was Sainsbury's having 20% off PS3s just before Crimbo. With that and some vouchers I managed to get a 160gb machine and COD Black Ops for £180.

My nephews now wished they'd got PS3s as they reckon the gameplay, graphics et al are better.

Me...I can't tell the difference.

MattC59

Pross wrote:

Forgot to add, PS3 does the PS3 Move which is their equivalent of the Kinect but requires a motion controller rather than sensing body movement so possibly one advantage of the XBox.

Apparently the Xbox Kinect is fantastic, it seems to be preferred over the PS3 Move system, but that plus point depends on whether you want to play those type of games. I like to sit on my ass with a beer and mates when I'm gaming, so it's not a plus point for me.

I mentioned earlier that the online connectivity is better with the Xbox (but paid for as a subscription service). You can improve your connectivity by setting the NAT type to type 2 rather than type 3 (strict). YOu do this by assigning it a fixed port and IP address in your router and PS3. This greatly improves things.

hopper1

Plenty of info guys, thank you all very much.
Not sure I'll buy anything now, but if/when I do, I'll probably opt for the PS3.

Zombie_donkey

I have both consoles and only use the Xbox for gaming. The PS3 hasn't been switched on for 6 months.

Nuggs

cougie wrote:

ZX Spectrum - now that was a system.

Hell yeah! I refer you to my avatar...

JSW FTW!

ozzzyosborn206

i think most people are biased as to which ever console they bought, but i have a few friends who had ps3s but wanted to play forza which is only on x box and so bought x boxes but that was the only game they used it for and have since sold the x box and kept the ps3, it seems like a better machine and i know of loads of people who have burnt out their x boxes but have not heard of anyone doing this on the ps3

iainf72

It's interesting the love the PS3 is getting here. I'd say generally the Xbox is considered the better platform at the moment by the industry. Certainly the cross platform titles are pretty much always better on the Xbox.

I've got both - Ain't switched on the PS3 for a while now. Actually, that's a lie. I played GT5 for a bit when it came out. But typical of a Sony title, wants to install, which takes 45 minutes, 3 weeks after it's out a 600mb patch emerges. And the PSN keeled over whenever you tried to play online at first.

Also, the PS3 has been properly hacked in the last couple of weeks so shortly there will be dodgy games galore and looking at how the hack work, Sony are screwed in terms of stopping people using pirated software.

Both are good consoles though.

wicked

I had a eggs box for 3 years during which time it had to be sent off to germany for repair 4 times! Piece of crap. Once the 3 year warranty was up I changed it for PS3. Have not got blu-ray, free online and its much smaller/quieter.
Did prefer the 360 controller though.

Gooner69

Here's tuppence worth of info: partner working at high level in the industry means we have ALL consoles, every add on and usually most games/titles as or even long before they come onto the retail market.

I dont play much (hardly at all) but in her opinion the new x box (black slim one) addresses all the issues that have been mentioned. Wifi, ring of death etc etc, and is currently the most useable/fun system.

The single advantage of ps3 is the blue ray player.
Depending on your preferences for gaming, the kinect is better than move, and x box online is streets ahead of the sony version.

My son (17) with the choice of 13(last count) consoles still chooses the x box most times.

Personally they look like plastic ornaments to me

ozzzyosborn206

just out of interest as i have heard it said but what part of x box online is better than ps3? i fail to see where or how the x box could be better and justify you having to pay for it

Gooner69

ozzzyosborn206 wrote:

just out of interest as i have heard it said but what part of x box online is better than ps3? i fail to see where or how the x box could be better and justify you having to pay for it

The online community is way way bigger meaning gaming is far more hardcore on microsoft, even tho you have to pay for it most people (in the oracle's experience) who have tried both consoles prefer it., Also dlc is much more widely available for 360 as opposed to Sony.

Edit: having BBC iplayer on the Sony dashboard is pretty cool tho 8)

Ben6899

The PS3 Bluray player is phenomenal.

Jez mon

I have an x box (well two of them infact)

The new one I got because my four year old one got red ring of death. I'd have been miffed if it wasn't for the fact that it's clocked up way more hours than I would like to think over the last few years. It's replacement, the new "slim" version, is MUCH quieter, tbh, I'm almost glad I was forced to make the upgrade...

Why the 360 over the PS3...

Well firstly the controllers are superior IMO, secondly (for me) the initial outlay was far cheaper.

To be honest though, if you have a large HD TV, and you like your films, get the PS3 and enjoy the blu ray experience.

Anonymous

Going to have a try of Gran Turismo 5 on me knew 3dermension telly later. Bought the game Tuesday and not had chance to try it yet...

Had a good go on kinect on 360 and found it wasn't sensitive or fast enough. Good laugh though and certainly got a sweat on...

Gooner69

Had a good go on kinect on 360 and found it wasn't sensitive or fast enough. Good laugh though and certainly got a sweat on...[/quote]

The kinect is much smoother on Microsoft titles than other brands currently. The technology is gonna take a while until software catches it up. For instance in a direct comparison between two dance games the microsoft version was much quicker and smoother(not me playing i should add )

rick_chasey

I'd imagine the Xbox will be replaced with the next gen sooner rather than later.

Anyone got any ideas?