PS3 a worthwhile purchase?

[babomb]

If you have neither a 360 nor a PS3, either of them is worth the money.

If you already have one system, I personally find it hard to justify buying a second one. Unlike previous generations where the game libraries were practically disjoint, this console generation has relatively few games exclusive to one console.

I already own a 360. Of the PS3 exclusives, there are perhaps a handful that I'm interested in. But for the price of a PS3 and those 5 games, I could buy 10 games for a system I already own. Granted that games aren't interchangeable, but to me, it's clear that the latter is a better value (and I imagine the same is true from the perspective of a PS3 owner considering adding a 360). Perhaps if I were in the market for a Blu-ray player, it would be different.

 

[Orius]

If one is getting their first current gen console, the PS3 is starting to look like a better deal. The new slims have made it more affordable, the hardware isn't as badly unreliable as the 360, and like I said above, online gaming is free and the PS3 includes things that cost extra on the 360.

Though the best thing to do really is to do the research on both systems and see which one offers more of what you want .

 

[Veander]

I have two PS3's, an XBox Elite and a Wii. Clearly, without a shadow of a doubt, the PS3 is a better Media Server. File types, Transcoding options, ease of use as far as menus... I suppose I could go on. I put all my movies on my a PC harddrive, then hook the PC up via cat6 to the PS3s and the 360's Media Center just doesn't compare. You have to have the files in a specific format for the 360 or it won't play them. Games, however, aside from a few Xbox exclusives (like Halo) I haven't missed anything by playing on the PS3.

 

[The Serge]

Hmmm... I own a PS3 (and recently traded in my 40G for the 120G) and I love it. The Blu-ray is awesome and alone makes the system worth it. I did own a Wii and, although I don't regret buying it (strictly for the Legend of Zelda), I recently traded it in with all of my PS2 games. Now, I'm going to apply that credit to the XBox 360. There are at least three games, with two more on the horizon, that are exclusives for the latter: Mass Effect (and the sequel), Fable II (and the sequel), and Lost Odyssey. However, other than the exclusives, I will continue to support the PS3 for cross-console stuff (like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Tekken 6, and Dragon Age: Origins to name three coming out this fall). Frankly, I think the PS3's sixaxis controller blows XBox's away.

Now I just have to figure out how I'm going play all of these games between a 40+ hour work week and two grad classes!

To the OP, I say you buy what you want. If you think there are enough games that you'd experience better on the PS3, buy it. If not, don't buy it.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Mass Effect (and the sequel)

I agree with your overall sentiment, but I have to comment on this. There are several titles on both systems that I would not consider exclusive, since they are also released on the PC. I picked out ME because that's the one I own, and it seems as if ME2 is coming out for PC and 360 at the same time (unlike ME1, which had a delayed PC release). If you have a gaming PC, you should also consider true PS3/360 exclusives versus delayed exclusives or games also released on PC.

 

[The Serge]

I agree with your overall sentiment, but I have to comment on this. There are several titles on both systems that I would not consider exclusive, since they are also released on the PC. I picked out ME because that's the one I own, and it seems as if ME2 is coming out for PC and 360 at the same time (unlike ME1, which had a delayed PC release). If you have a gaming PC, you should also consider true PS3/360 exclusives versus delayed exclusives or games also released on PC.

Yes, you're right: Mass Effect is not exclusive since it's also available for PC; however, when think about exclusivity I always think about the platforms.

As far as ME1 on the X-Box versus the PC, I have a hard time moving around and shooting on the latter version.

 

[The Serge]

Double post.

 

[LightPhoenix]

As far as ME1 on the X-Box versus the PC, I have a hard time moving around and shooting on the latter version.

The control scheme for ME in general sucks. However, I agree it's worse on the PC, mainly for the fact that I don't think Bioware optimized it at all for the PC versus a controller.

 

[drothgery]

The control scheme for ME in general sucks. However, I agree it's worse on the PC, mainly for the fact that I don't think Bioware optimized it at all for the PC versus a controller.

I've read the Mako and inventory management are better on the PC. For me, it doesn't matter; I'm not spending money on a video card as long as I've got a perfectly good 360 where I can play from the couch on the 42" 1080p TV instead of at my desk on a 20" 1680x1050 monitor.

 

[Banshee16]

I have two PS3's, an XBox Elite and a Wii. Clearly, without a shadow of a doubt, the PS3 is a better Media Server. File types, Transcoding options, ease of use as far as menus... I suppose I could go on. I put all my movies on my a PC harddrive, then hook the PC up via cat6 to the PS3s and the 360's Media Center just doesn't compare. You have to have the files in a specific format for the 360 or it won't play them. Games, however, aside from a few Xbox exclusives (like Halo) I haven't missed anything by playing on the PS3.

It's funny to hear you say that..I've got both a 360 and a PS3, and I've found the 360 easier to set up as a media server, and it actually works. I've got a library of music I like to play on my home theatre, and with the 360 I can play them. The PS3 can't even *find* them....I think it finds about 3% of the songs, even when pointed at the directory that they're sitting in. I've given up on trying, as I've spent enough time trying to get it to work.

Banshee