360 or PS3??

[pordey2]

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

:chew

 

[kain4521]

I've seen a lot of you use the XBox Live as a pro for the 360. If I'm not really into first-person shooters am I going to get as much out of it?

About any game can be played over live. It really comes down to what games you like and how much money you are willing to spend on a game system. PS3 has the bc game library but you have to ask yourself how many times are you going to go back and play those games and if you have those games you more than likely have a PS2 to play them on. Xbox has the arcade downloads but I have found the nostalgia wears off pretty quick after a few days play which is why I have decided to pass on the Wii for now. Both systems will be great and if you are willing to wait untill sometime next year to get a PS3 I would get a 360 for Christmas and get a PS3 next Christmas I dont think you will go wrong with either one.

 

[Rugby1970]

Another factor might be Live Anywhere. If you are a PC Gamer, the idea of one identity for all your on-line play between PC, Cell Phone, and Xbox might be appealing.

One aspect of Xbox Live that I don't like is that in addition to paying for your subscription you still have to pay for certain add ons, skins, etc. Sure there are a bunch of free ones but I'm not a fan of these kind of market places.

PS3 seems like it is going to take advantage of existing on-line networks, including the one used for Warcraft. This will let them get up to speed very quickly.

Do you subscribe to any of the 1Up.com podcasts? I enjoy "1upYours" a lot. All their writers are really passionate about games you will hear them fight a lot about which system is the one to beat.

Again, I come down slightly to the Ps3 side but it is all a matter of taste.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

i also have to say is: Media Center!!! the fact that you can stream music and movies from your PC rules. remember the PS2 fanboy motto: "graphics dont make a system better!" now that their PS3 is technically better they seem to have forgotten it. also, quit complaining about why the 360 games cost the same as PS3 even though they are still regular dvds. you aren't paying for just the disc... you are paying for the lengthy process of game development. because the 360 is about a year old developers are learning how to program for the system and the prices should start to drop a little on the games.

 

[tomandshell]

If Blu-ray dies, you will be stuck with the BR drive in your PS3. If Blu-ray wins, they can easily manufacture an upgrade drive for the 360, just as they did with the HD-DVD drive that comes out next week. So in that regard, the 360 is "future proof" and the PS3 isn't.

But if you aren't watching movies on a 60"+ HDTV, you are not as likely to notice the difference with these new formats. People with giant sized screens think they died and went to heaven from the drastic jump in picture quality, but the average person's TV won't showcase it as dramatically.

One important note is that the 360 does not offer an HDMI digital connection, so you will not be able to output the next generation HD audio and 7.1 surround sound. More importantly, if the studios ever implement the HDCP/ICT flag, the copy protection won't allow you to play HD content through analog connections like composite or S-video. That means if you can't output through an HDMI connection (which the 360 doesn't have), then the player will automatically "down-convert" your HD movie back down to standard definition, rendering your upgrade drive useless. Microsoft has stated that they don't expect the copy protection flag to be implemented by the studios during the lifetime of the console--that is, by the time the studios start taking advantage of the copy protection, we will be watching movies on the Xbox 720, which will have an HDMI connection. So this is or isn't an issue, depending upon what the studios do or don't decide to do with the ICT flag in the near or distant future. Clear as mud? If you aren't already confused, let me add that a pending update will allow the 360 to output a 1080p HD signal, as does the PS3.

Now there have been some hints that Microsoft will produce an HDMI cable when there is enough market demand, and then other hints that the 360 just isn't able to do it. Microsoft has not given us the definitive answer yet, but if they do get around to releasing an HDMI connector cable for your 360, then the slight advantage the PS3 has in the movie department will vanish. Until there is a clear winner in the hi def format war, I much prefer the Xbox method of an attached drive (which can be the existing HD-DVD or a potential future Blu-ray upgrade) over Sony's forcing the Blu-ray player on you whether you want it or not, and whether it wins the war or not. If sales don't pick up (HD-DVDs are outselling Blu-ray discs on Amazon by a wide margin) then your PS3 may have its very own Betamax player built right in. Blu-ray's rollout has been plagued with problems, setbacks and delays, and their best hope right now is the PS3--and even the eight people per Game Stop might not even be getting theirs by Christmas. My sister is an assistant manager at Best Buy and she was told to be prepared to get one or two PS3s in stock this holiday season.

It's been a long time since Sony won a media format war. Sony just gets greedy and tries to go it alone with competing technology--remember Beta VS. VHS, the Mini-Disc VS. CD, SDDS VS. Dolby Digital 5.1, HiFD VS. the Zip Drive, ATRAC VS. MP3, SACD VS. DVD-Audio, and UMD movies for your PSP? The last Sony development that became the true industry standard was the 3.5" floppy disc, and that was a while ago. Memory Stick and DV didn't die in the camera industry, but didn't become the universal standard either. Based on their track record, I predict that Blu-ray will either go the way of Beta and die, or the way of the Memory Stick and be used by Sony customers but not by everyone. SACD and DVD-Audio coexisted, but the lack of a united format kept either one from really taking off. That's what I see happening with HD movies. No clear winner, and it remains a niche market. (Unless the PS3s are prone to fiery explosions like the Sony laptops whose recall cost the company $433 million this year.)

Now, as for putting your money where your mouth is--I heavily considered picking up the upgrade drive for my 360, but the lack of HDMI support swayed me in the other direction. I recently picked up a stand alone Toshiba HD-DVD player--and I tested both HDMI (digital) and composite (red/blue/green analog) video outputs, and the HDMI looked better. So even if we throw the copy protection issue out the window, the HDMI gave me better picture quality. Also, it has a built in HD audio decoder, so I am able to hear the Dolby TrueHD audio tracks when present. (Batman Begins sounds fruitastically chewriffic.) Neither of these options would be available on the 360 upgrade drive. I have a 51" screen, and I can absolutely tell the difference in picture quality--I have had this set for two years and I am only now realizing what it is capable of. I popped in M:I:III last night and couldn't believe how crisp and pure and beautiful the image was. (The only problem is that now that I have seen movies in HD, the regular ones look all soft and fuzzy like an Elizabeth Taylor closeup.)

 

[The Josh]

If Blu-ray dies, you will be stuck with the BR drive in your PS3. If Blu-ray wins, they can easily manufacture an upgrade drive for the 360, just as they did with the HD-DVD drive that comes out next week. So in that regard, the 360 is "future proof" and the PS3 isn't.

But if you aren't watching movies on a 60"+ HDTV, you are not as likely to notice the difference with these new formats. People with giant sized screens think they died and went to heaven from the drastic jump in picture quality, but the average person's TV won't showcase it as dramatically.

One important note is that the 360 does not offer an HDMI digital connection, so you will not be able to output the next generation HD audio and 7.1 surround sound. More importantly, if the studios ever implement the HDCP/ICT flag, the copy protection won't allow you to play HD content through analog connections like composite or S-video. That means if you can't output through an HDMI connection (which the 360 doesn't have), then the player will automatically "down-convert" your HD movie back down to standard definition, rendering your upgrade drive useless. Microsoft has stated that they don't expect the copy protection flag to be implemented by the studios during the lifetime of the console--that is, by the time the studios start taking advantage of the copy protection, we will be watching movies on the Xbox 720, which will have an HDMI connection. So this is or isn't an issue, depending upon what the studios do or don't decide to do with the ICT flag in the near or distant future. Clear as mud? If you aren't already confused, let me add that a pending update will allow the 360 to output a 1080p HD signal, as does the PS3.

Now there have been some hints that Microsoft will produce an HDMI cable when there is enough market demand, and then other hints that the 360 just isn't able to do it. Microsoft has not given us the definitive answer yet, but if they do get around to releasing an HDMI connector cable for your 360, then the slight advantage the PS3 has in the movie department will vanish. Until there is a clear winner in the hi def format war, I much prefer the Xbox method of an attached drive (which can be the existing HD-DVD or a potential future Blu-ray upgrade) over Sony's forcing the Blu-ray player on you whether you want it or not, and whether it wins the war or not. If sales don't pick up (HD-DVDs are outselling Blu-ray discs on Amazon by a wide margin) then your PS3 may have its very own Betamax player built right in. Blu-ray's rollout has been plagued with problems, setbacks and delays, and their best hope right now is the PS3--and even the eight people per Game Stop might not even be getting theirs by Christmas. My sister is an assistant manager at Best Buy and she was told to be prepared to get one or two PS3s in stock this holiday season.

It's been a long time since Sony won a media format war. Sony just gets greedy and tries to go it alone with competing technology--remember Beta VS. VHS, the Mini-Disc VS. CD, SDDS VS. Dolby Digital 5.1, HiFD VS. the Zip Drive, ATRAC VS. MP3, SACD VS. DVD-Audio, and UMD movies for your PSP? The last Sony development that became the true industry standard was the 3.5" floppy disc, and that was a while ago. Memory Stick and DV didn't die in the camera industry, but didn't become the universal standard either. Based on their track record, I predict that Blu-ray will either go the way of Beta and die, or the way of the Memory Stick and be used by Sony customers but not by everyone. SACD and DVD-Audio coexisted, but the lack of a united format kept either one from really taking off. That's what I see happening with HD movies. No clear winner, and it remains a niche market. (Unless the PS3s are prone to fiery explosions like the Sony laptops whose recall cost the company $433 million this year.)

Now, as for putting your money where your mouth is--I heavily considered picking up the upgrade drive for my 360, but the lack of HDMI support swayed me in the other direction. I recently picked up a stand alone Toshiba HD-DVD player--and I tested both HDMI (digital) and composite (red/blue/green analog) video outputs, and the HDMI looked better. So even if we throw the copy protection issue out the window, the HDMI gave me better picture quality. Also, it has a built in HD audio decoder, so I am able to hear the Dolby TrueHD audio tracks when present. (Batman Begins sounds fruitastically chewriffic.) Neither of these options would be available on the 360 upgrade drive. I have a 51" screen, and I can absolutely tell the difference in picture quality--I have had this set for two years and I am only now realizing what it is capable of. I popped in M:I:III last night and couldn't believe how crisp and pure and beautiful the image was. (The only problem is that now that I have seen movies in HD, the regular ones look all soft and fuzzy like an Elizabeth Taylor closeup.)

Damn Tom! I feel much more educated about this stuff now. Thanks!!!:chew

The sad thing is I don't know how many folks can afford 50+" screen TV's to get the full effect which is kind of a bummer.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

i plan on using my tax return to buy a westinghouse 42" 1080p lcd. its only $1600 and has full 1080p support. MS just released 1080p support through firmware upgrades so i see them coming out with a HDMI cable soon after the HDDVD upgrade comes out.

 

[mfoga]

It's been a long time since Sony won a media format war. Sony just gets greedy and tries to go it alone with competing technology--remember Beta VS. VHS, the Mini-Disc VS. CD, SDDS VS. Dolby Digital 5.1, HiFD VS. the Zip Drive, ATRAC VS. MP3, SACD VS. DVD-Audio, and UMD movies for your PSP? The last Sony development that became the true industry standard was the 3.5" floppy disc, and that was a while ago. Memory Stick and DV didn't die in the camera industry, but didn't become the universal standard either. Based on their track record, I predict that Blu-ray will either go the way of Beta and die, or the way of the Memory Stick and be used by Sony customers but not by everyone. SACD and DVD-Audio coexisted, but the lack of a united format kept either one from really taking off. That's what I see happening with HD movies. No clear winner, and it remains a niche market. (Unless the PS3s are prone to fiery explosions like the Sony laptops whose recall cost the company $433 million this year.)

I can say that this time they did it right, they are not going it alone. In the past Sony tried to do it on there own or charge huge anoumts of money to get in on the deal. If you look at it right now almost every Major Makers has backed Blu Ray. One scary thing I can see about HD-DVD is the fact the Hitachi helped Develop the format, but is now a Blu Ray Partner and are not going to make HD-DVD players at this time.

All that however makes no difference to me as far as a console I by them based on the games not the movies thay can play, that is just a bonus in my eyes.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

the thing that gets me the most are the PS3 die hards..i dont care about the blu ray. WE DONT NEED BLU RAY FOR GAMING RIGHT NOW. high storage capacity does not mean better graphics. and for the amount of time it would cost to develop a game that uses the entire 22gigs on a disc the PS4 will come out before the game is released. look at grand theft auto or oblivion. those games are on regular dvd and they are really freaking long. now look at the game Crysis and tell me thats not the best looking game out there right now. thats still in dvd format. for blu ray being the next best thing on the market the computers out there right now are blowing away everything that the PS3 and 360 can put out.

 

[Darth Loki]

If Blu-ray dies, you will be stuck with the BR drive in your PS3. If Blu-ray wins, they can easily manufacture an upgrade drive for the 360, just as they did with the HD-DVD drive that comes out next week. So in that regard, the 360 is "future proof" and the PS3 isn't.

But if you aren't watching movies on a 60"+ HDTV, you are not as likely to notice the difference with these new formats. People with giant sized screens think they died and went to heaven from the drastic jump in picture quality, but the average person's TV won't showcase it as dramatically.

One important note is that the 360 does not offer an HDMI digital connection, so you will not be able to output the next generation HD audio and 7.1 surround sound. More importantly, if the studios ever implement the HDCP/ICT flag, the copy protection won't allow you to play HD content through analog connections like composite or S-video. That means if you can't output through an HDMI connection (which the 360 doesn't have), then the player will automatically "down-convert" your HD movie back down to standard definition, rendering your upgrade drive useless. Microsoft has stated that they don't expect the copy protection flag to be implemented by the studios during the lifetime of the console--that is, by the time the studios start taking advantage of the copy protection, we will be watching movies on the Xbox 720, which will have an HDMI connection. So this is or isn't an issue, depending upon what the studios do or don't decide to do with the ICT flag in the near or distant future. Clear as mud? If you aren't already confused, let me add that a pending update will allow the 360 to output a 1080p HD signal, as does the PS3.

Now there have been some hints that Microsoft will produce an HDMI cable when there is enough market demand, and then other hints that the 360 just isn't able to do it. Microsoft has not given us the definitive answer yet, but if they do get around to releasing an HDMI connector cable for your 360, then the slight advantage the PS3 has in the movie department will vanish. Until there is a clear winner in the hi def format war, I much prefer the Xbox method of an attached drive (which can be the existing HD-DVD or a potential future Blu-ray upgrade) over Sony's forcing the Blu-ray player on you whether you want it or not, and whether it wins the war or not. If sales don't pick up (HD-DVDs are outselling Blu-ray discs on Amazon by a wide margin) then your PS3 may have its very own Betamax player built right in. Blu-ray's rollout has been plagued with problems, setbacks and delays, and their best hope right now is the PS3--and even the eight people per Game Stop might not even be getting theirs by Christmas. My sister is an assistant manager at Best Buy and she was told to be prepared to get one or two PS3s in stock this holiday season.

It's been a long time since Sony won a media format war. Sony just gets greedy and tries to go it alone with competing technology--remember Beta VS. VHS, the Mini-Disc VS. CD, SDDS VS. Dolby Digital 5.1, HiFD VS. the Zip Drive, ATRAC VS. MP3, SACD VS. DVD-Audio, and UMD movies for your PSP? The last Sony development that became the true industry standard was the 3.5" floppy disc, and that was a while ago. Memory Stick and DV didn't die in the camera industry, but didn't become the universal standard either. Based on their track record, I predict that Blu-ray will either go the way of Beta and die, or the way of the Memory Stick and be used by Sony customers but not by everyone. SACD and DVD-Audio coexisted, but the lack of a united format kept either one from really taking off. That's what I see happening with HD movies. No clear winner, and it remains a niche market. (Unless the PS3s are prone to fiery explosions like the Sony laptops whose recall cost the company $433 million this year.)

Now, as for putting your money where your mouth is--I heavily considered picking up the upgrade drive for my 360, but the lack of HDMI support swayed me in the other direction. I recently picked up a stand alone Toshiba HD-DVD player--and I tested both HDMI (digital) and composite (red/blue/green analog) video outputs, and the HDMI looked better. So even if we throw the copy protection issue out the window, the HDMI gave me better picture quality. Also, it has a built in HD audio decoder, so I am able to hear the Dolby TrueHD audio tracks when present. (Batman Begins sounds fruitastically chewriffic.) Neither of these options would be available on the 360 upgrade drive. I have a 51" screen, and I can absolutely tell the difference in picture quality--I have had this set for two years and I am only now realizing what it is capable of. I popped in M:I:III last night and couldn't believe how crisp and pure and beautiful the image was. (The only problem is that now that I have seen movies in HD, the regular ones look all soft and fuzzy like an Elizabeth Taylor closeup.)

I like to play video games on my video game console

 

[tomandshell]

Yes, it's kind of hard to compare the two consoles as movie viewing devices right now. We know that every single person who buys the HD-DVD upgrade for the Xbox is doing it to watch movies, but it's hard to say how many people buying a PS3 will use it to watch BR discs. It's also hard to say exactly how many people will actually be getting one at all in the next few months! And if multiple manufactureres actually start getting Blu-ray players on the market at a price that competes with HD-DVD, things will get interesting. Right now, the BR players cost 2-3 times as much as the low end HD-DVD players, and the upcoming players keep getting delayed. It's too early to build a case on current sales. Too many things will be changing over the next year.

 

[tomandshell]

I like to play video games on my video game console

Huh? They play games, too?!?



This is why I'm not sure that PS3 will be the shot in Blu-ray's arm that some expect. Most people buy a video game console to play games, first and foremost. Movie watching is just a nice alternative.

 

[mfoga]

I do plan to get the HD-DVD upgrade for my 360. The only reason I will use the 360 and/or PS3 for movies to help with the number of connection to the TV for now. I have I HDMI spot and on componet. I have to swap out my DVD and 360 right now. I dont have a HDMI or Componet switch at this time so that makes things worse. At least if I use the PS3 and 360 I will only have to switch those to and leave the HD DTV DVR on the other connection.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

one thing that people cant deny is that sony is marketing it the right way. come the end of this month there will be over what 500,000 blu ray players in people's homes just from the release of the PS3 alone. wow!! that has got to hurt the HD DVD a lot. regardless of what system is your favorite you have to admit thats one heck of an impact against your competitor. IMO ms should've either waited to release the 360 with the HD drive in it or released the external back in the summer.

 

[Darth Loki]

Yes, it's kind of hard to compare the two consoles as movie viewing devices right now. We know that every single person who buys the HD-DVD upgrade for the Xbox is doing it to watch movies, but it's hard to say how many people buying a PS3 will use it to watch BR discs. It's also hard to say exactly how many people will actually be getting one at all in the next few months! And if multiple manufactureres actually start getting Blu-ray players on the market at a price that competes with HD-DVD, things will get interesting. Right now, the BR players cost 2-3 times as much as the low end HD-DVD players, and the upcoming players keep getting delayed. It's too early to build a case on current sales. Too many things will be changing over the next year.

Way too early to tell as far as DVD players go. PS3 isn't even out yet and neither is the HD-DVD drive. Patience is your friend if this is a deciding factor.

I'd say screw both MS and Sony, get a Wii

I'm going to play with my Wii til I go blind.

 

[occulum]

Nothings free. There will be a catch guaranteed.

you never know.
they never charged a dime for the PS2's online gaming so I wouldnt be surprised if that stays the same.


I REALLY want a new console, but I just cant decide which to get between the 3. I'll probably just wait awhile and see what happens after all players are officially in the game.
Being a Mac guy, I usually avoid MS at all costs, but the 360 is what Im leaning towards now.

 

[El Roranous]

one thing that people cant deny is that sony is marketing it the right way. come the end of this month there will be over what 500,000 blu ray players in people's homes just from the release of the PS3 alone. wow!! that has got to hurt the HD DVD a lot. regardless of what system is your favorite you have to admit thats one heck of an impact against your competitor. IMO ms should've either waited to release the 360 with the HD drive in it or released the external back in the summer.

I think you are kind of right about Sony and their plan for Blu-ray world domination however, MS releasing the 360 earlier gave them an edge. People got tired of waiting for the PS3 and broke down and got a 360. Then those people realized, hey this system is pretty neat. And now with all the games coming across platforms and the Hd drive becoming available for the 360... will people really justify owning both?

 

[tomandshell]

Amazon has now completely sold out of their initial allocation of the HD-DVD drive for the 360.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

you never know.
they never charged a dime for the PS2's online gaming so I wouldnt be surprised if that stays the same.

lol.. online for the PS2 was a joke. i hope that sony redesigns their online plan if thats what they intend on using.

 

[occulum]

lol.. online for the PS2 was a joke. i hope that sony redesigns their online plan if thats what they intend on using.

shows how big of a "gamer" I am. maybe thats why it was free. I never had any problems with it and it worked fine for me, but I only used it for a couple of games.
.. and since Ive never had an XBox, I guess since I dont know what Im missing, it doesnt look that bad to me.