[Xbox 360] Sell or unsell me on getting one!

[drothgery]

I'm enjoying mine so far, though that's mostly been playing through Lost Odyessey (I picked up an Elite, Mass Effect, and Lost Odyessey a couple of months ago; I'm not quite done with Lost Odyessey yet). I've got an HDTV, though, so I can't give you a good frame of reference on the experience without one.

 

[Lockridge]

My two cents:
If you don't have an HDTV then stick to your PC.
Also, if you like FPS you may find aiming with a console controller to be far more frustrating than aiming with a PC mouse. Speaking for myself I just can't get any accuracy aiming with a console controller.

The next bit of opinion really only matters if you have an HDTV:
With the format war over I thought I'd get a Blu-ray player. I found that they started at the same price as a PS3.
So I picked up a PS3 and me and my wife have been addicted to Rockband ever since.
The selection of games is smaller than with the 360 but for me as a "maturing" player who doesn't have nearly as much time as he used to, thats just fine.
Also, my wife has made the PS3 her personal Youtube player. The internet capability is great.
The PS3 has better graphics and of course there is the red ring of death problem on the 360 that as far as I'd heard was still an issue. But I could be wrong on that so I won't argue with the 360 poster above.

Seriously though, without HDTV, either stick with your PC or pick up a PS2 or a used ordinary X-box.

 

[Arnwyn]

(and the 360 platform for RockBand is the best one as far as updates are concerned).

Not sure what you mean here. If you're comparing to the PS3, the PS3 version is better unless you have a 360 Elite (as the PS3 has a larger HDD and has the wireless guitar).

And, as the Penny Arcade guys pointed out (before the price drops), you can practically get a Wii and a 360 for the price of a PS3.

Wow... how many months ago did you cut and paste this? (Quick FYI - if you like online gaming, the PS3 is cheaper than the 360 - and has been for quite some time).



In the end, though, the consoles are much the same. If you like online gaming, the 360 will come in as the more expensive system overall (pay for online gaming, controller batteries, other odds & ends), but both get the multi-platform games, and exclusives are few and far between (Halo, DoA, Ninja Gaiden for the 360; Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted, Warhawk, MGS, FF, etc for the PS3. [Gears of War, Mass Effect, and Bioshock are not exclusive and all have, or will have, superior versions on the PC]). Both play media just fine (though the PS3 is wireless out of the box) and both look best on an HDTV. The 360, though, has had a few games with serious problems if you don't own an HDTV, but later game updates have supposedly fixed these issues. The PS3 is more reliable, but if you get a newly manufactured Premium, you should be all right.

Based on your preferences, you probably wouldn't be disappointed with a 360 - XBLA has a bunch of downloadable games that you will probably like.

 

[Goobermunch]

Wow... how many months ago did you cut and paste this? (Quick FYI - if you like online gaming, the PS3 is cheaper than the 360 - and has been for quite some time).

1) I didn't cut and paste it. It was a reference to comments made before the PS3 price drop.

2) It was meant to be tongue in cheek. See, it was funny (especially in light of Sony's "this is a product people will be happy to work overtime for" comment).

3) Depends on how you define cheaper. If you're looking at TCO, perhaps, but if you're looking at buy-in prices, the Xbox 360 is still cheaper than the PS3.

--G

 

[Aus_Snow]

The PS3 has better graphics

According to what criteria, and to whom? Not trying to start up that old flamewar - please, no! - I'm just curious.

and of course there is the red ring of death problem on the 360 that as far as I'd heard was still an issue. But I could be wrong on that so I won't argue with the 360 poster above.

AFAIK, the 'Falcon' hardware (that of the most recent one?) - which is what I'm looking at getting - doesn't suffer from that problem, but I also seem to recall that MS has increased the warranty for that issue to 3 years or so. (?)


Regarding online play, that's something I haven't really explored much. Not sure I want to, either. So, TCO or whatever is still likely to be lower (for me) if I choose a 360 (Pro/Premium?) over a PS3.

Wavering, at the moment. But I'm likely to get one now. Thanks again for everyone's points of view. It all helps.

 

[ki11erDM]

I really like my 360. I would buy it again.
I play sports games and western RPGs so it works well for me. My wife has a Zune and that software works seamlessly over the network. I use the Xbox extender to play movies from my PC on my TV, again seamlessly and I am really looking forward to Netflix being integrated into that. I love the fact I can buy independent games very easy and that the XNA lets people make games for the system very easily.
I play all FPSs on my PC because I can’t stand using a joystick for that and MMOs of course.

I am not sure if I did not have a HD tv if I would buy a 360. I KNOW I would not buy a PS3, that would just be silly.

I hope that helps any : )

 

[Mallus]

Wavering, at the moment. But I'm likely to get one now.

I'd hold off and get an HDTV first. So far, the only thing the new systems bring to the table are better graphics and more bodies in online multiplayer. There haven't really been any revolutions in gameplay, except for the Wii and its amusing new interface.

 

[ki11erDM]

According to what criteria, and to whom? Not trying to start up that old flamewar - please, no! - I'm just curious.


AFAIK, the 'Falcon' hardware (that of the most recent one?) - which is what I'm looking at getting - doesn't suffer from that problem, but I also seem to recall that MS has increased the warranty for that issue to 3 years or so. (?)


Regarding online play, that's something I haven't really explored much. Not sure I want to, either. So, TCO or whatever is still likely to be lower (for me) if I choose a 360 (Pro/Premium?) over a PS3.

Wavering, at the moment. But I'm likely to get one now. Thanks again for everyone's points of view. It all helps.

Both systems look great. It is all about who made the game and how much time they put in on it.

The 'new' Xboxes don’t have the Red Ring of Death issue. So you don't have to worry about that.

The online play is nice on the 360. I ONLY play with people I know in RL or people they know. In fact it is my D&D group for the most part. Also I would not recommend the "Elite" version as you only get a bigger hard drive and they are most likely coming out with much larger ones in a few months.

My only concern would be is MS going to push out a Blue Ray player version of the Xbox, which they say they are not... but that does not mean they won’t release something else that happens to have the capabilities of an Xbox with a player in it under a different name like “Home Media Server” or something. But it sounds like that would not matter much to you.

 

[Arnwyn]

1) I didn't cut and paste it. It was a reference to comments made before the PS3 price drop.

2) It was meant to be tongue in cheek. See, it was funny (especially in light of Sony's "this is a product people will be happy to work overtime for" comment).

Ah, old joke. No wonder I didn't get it.

3) Depends on how you define cheaper. If you're looking at TCO, perhaps, but if you're looking at buy-in prices, the Xbox 360 is still cheaper than the PS3.

The first, using NPV analysis - which, of course, is the proper method of determining the cost of an object with a longer useful life.

The second "method" would be inappropriate.

 

[Felon]

On my 360 radar:

GTA IV (mere weeks away)
Alone in the Dark 5 (June)
Saint's Row 2 (?)
Fallout 3 (?)
Too Human (?)