PS3 or XBox

I have always loved video games. I never ponied up the cash for a PS2 back when they were coming out and then one thing led to another and I eventually was into the relationship with my now wife and she never has been a fan of games and consoles so I never got one. Had a few games to play on the PC here and there and had an old PS1.
Last year I had enough and really had the itch to play some football and some FPS games so I got a PS2 on the cheap. Big upgrade to the PS1

I really wanted to get a PS3 or something up to date, but seeing as how tight money is I knew I had no arguement I could realistically take to the wife.
I still want one of course and now that I don't play in a band any more I could probably free up some cash by selling gear I don't use.

I have a 4 and almost 6 year old. They have been exposed to some games and love them, but we really limit how much they do it. Really only the 6 year old can somewhat control Lego Batman on PS2. That said, it would help my case if I had a legit use for the kids on a system. I know both now have some motion type games. Are any of them kid friendly and workable and would they give them some exercise while having fun?

Even that aside, which do people prefer and why?

 

XBOX!!! Xbox live DESTROYS PSN! Also the exclusives are MUCH better on 360. You get 3 Gears of War games and if you like Halo you get that too. Also on Xbox live you can chat with 8 of your buddies at the same time. Plus if you have HBO you can get it on your 360. It's called HBOGO. It's awesome. Also when games have new downloadable content you usually get it at least a month earlier on 360. But if you want something your kids will enjoy to the max then your best bet would be to get a wii. The interface of 360 is MUCH better than the interface of ps3. Basically the interface of 360 is supposed to mimic the interface of a tablet. I don't have an ipad or anything but that's what I've heard. Also ps3 games generally tend to release with more "bugs" than 360 games. This is all totally opinion but I've been a die hard gamer all my life and I have a 360, ps3, wii, and 3ds. So it's not like I'm just some fair weather bum.

 

I just poked around for some comparison reviews and it does seem like the XBox with Kinect would be better for the kids. I think I have always been partial to the Sony platforms, but for no real good reason. I do like the idea of the Blu-Ray on the PS3 as I do not have one at this point. I also don't have blu-ray discs...so maybe not necessary or a reason to go that way.

So I see all these systems come with various amounts of onboard memory. What do you really need or use that for that would make me pony up more cash for the bigger system? If I am just throwing a game in and playing...whats it do. Sorry I am in the stone age on this stuff.

 

If you are not planning on downloading a lot of stuff then you don't have to have a lot of memory. If you have a 120 gig harddrive you would never have to worry about filling it up. The Blu ray component was nice when the ps3 first launched but the thing about that now is that you can get a blu ray player cheaper than you can get a ps3. The kids will like Kinect but in reality it's a pretty crappy piece of hardware. If you like old school games the Xbox Live Arcade catalog is fantastic and what makes it even greater is you can play all the multiplayer games you liked as a kid with people from all over the world. You can go on wikipedia or something and look at the live arcade list and probably see a lot of games that you would like to play again. The one thing Sony fanboys complain about xbox live is because it's $50 a year. But TRUST ME you get your money's worth because they have to maintain a level of quality that Sony doesn't. Also Sony's database got hacked and it was down for months and MILLIONS of people had their personal info compromised. I've never had ANY issue with that on xbox live and I've been a member since 07 and have made countless transactions. Also some of the great games you missed during the original xbox era can be downloaded on demand and you can have them on your harddrive and that might be something you would wanna look at. It's totally up to you but for me as someone who follows games very very closely it's an easy choice.

 

Ok, so correct me if I am wrong here.

If I had say a 4G XBox, I am mainly playing games off the disc and using the 4G HD to store game info (like the memory cards of PS2)?

If I have a 250G XBox I can actually download games onto the HD and have no need for the physical disc?

Looking on Craigslist it does seem used XBox systems tend to list a bit cheaper than PS3s. Many variables of what system and extras to make a direct comparison, but thats the impression I am getting so far.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

No you still have to have the disc. I think most xbox's now have a 120 hd. I'm not sure because it's been a long time since I've had to buy one. The systems also have internal memory. But if you wanna download games online you can put them on the HD and you DON'T have to have the disc. New release games you DO have to have the disc and that's what I'm referring to. But even if you get an xbox with a small HD it's ok because the HD's are external and just pop right in and you can get some really good HD's for very cheap. A lot of my friends install the games on to their HD's and that way if something goes wrong with the disc they still have it. Also when you install games it keeps the system from freezing and running so loud. If you've never been around a 360 they can run pretty loud if you don't install your games. It's kinda funny really. My guess is if you get a 250G HD you will NEVER fill that thing up. If you have Netflix or HBO both of them stream. Also you can stream HULU if you have that too. If you download the Arcade games they are really small. A big arcade game would only be MAYBE 2 gigs at the most. Another good thing about the HD on a 360 is if you wanna go to a friends house that has a 360 you can take your HD with you and pop it in their 360 and it's like it's your 360. One of my friends does that a lot actually.

 

Cool man. I have been prepping the wife a bit lately. I have mentioned getting an up to date console here and there over the years, but like I said its been hard to justify the cost. She has a point in that I really don't have much time for it, but I could play here and there and would really enjoy it. Something the kids could play is a bonus for sure.

 

Yeah the kids will find plenty to enjoy. Also if you have the Netflix goodies I guarantee your wife will like it too. I keep my 360 downstairs because I do all my gaming on it and my ps3 upstairs because I stream my Netflix upstairs with it. My wife was like "you have a whole room of this house devoted to video games so why do you need that up here?!" Then I said "let's watch Netflix". Now she wants to get her own wii for another room to have Netflix in MORE rooms! So if you can get your wife to see some of the beneficial bells and whistles it has she might be more open to it from that aspect as well. I've learned in my 8 years of marriage it's all about approach and salesmanship. LOL.

 

I'm going to go the complete opposite direction and highly recommend a PS3 over an Xbox. I know blount mentioned some of the Xbox exclusives, but I bought a PS3 over an Xbox for a couple of reasons, one being the exclusives. My favorites are the Uncharted series (all 3 are some of the best video gaming experiences I've had in my life, and I've been gaming since the Atari 2600), Heavy Rain (an amazing cinematic adventure game with probably the best video game story I've ever experienced), Ico and Shadow of the Colossus HD, the Killzone games, and quite a few others. Plus, there are a lot of games that are on both platforms that are excellent, and no matter what anyone says, the games that are on both systems are virtually identical between the PS3 and Xbox versions.

Also, PSN is just fine, and it is free to boot. Other than the "anonymous" problem last year, it's always been stable and fast, and my multiplayer games have always been excellent with great connectivity. There are tons of kid friendly games on PSN, like Costume Quest, and my kids love the Move games like Start the Party.

I have a separate Blu-ray player, so that was never really a factor for me, but if you don't already have one, you can't beat getting one with your gaming system. The PS3 had a firmware update about a year and a half ago that also made it a 3D blu-ray player, so there's that benefit, too.

Really, you just have to look at both systems and see what appeals to you most, but for me that is PS3 and PSN all the way. If you plan on doing any multiplayer gaming and have friends with a certain system, that should play into your decision.

 

A. Do you have both systems?
B. SHADOW AND ICO RULE!!!!!!!!!!! I've not played the HD collections of them though. I got both of them on their original release date. Ico was really the first game to show what the ps2 could do. The great thing about Shadow was that every time a new colossi popped up I would automatically think "how in the crap can I POSSIBLY beat that thing!!??" What sucks is the studio that made both of them was making a game called the Last Guardian that was gonna be a part of the series but evidently they have since cancelled it and that sucks. I'm glad you gave Nitrous another side though. But from my experience with most Sony fanboys they generally have never played on Xbox live. One Sony exclusive you left out is little big planet.

 

I don't have both systems, but a friend of mine has both. I've played on his Xbox and still prefer PS3. He does, too, but they're both great systems.

I had the original ICO and Shadow games on the PS2, but loved them enough to buy them again when the PS3 HD versions came out.

And yes, LBP is a popular exclusive, but I'm not crazy about it. My kids love it, though.

 

I have Gamefly and just replayed Silent Hill in HD and also Metal Gear. I was one of the biggest Metal Gear fans in the world and actually in 2002 I got my name published in a magazine for tieing for 10th place in a world wide speed run tournament for Sons of Liberty. The point was to beat the game as fast as possible and I beat it in 1:36 minutes. That's the highlight of my gaming life! The HD collections are well done. Snake Eater actually was the best of all the HD remakes because it ditched the fixed angles and gave you complete 3d control ya know. Also Silent Hill 2 is still just as disturbing as it's always been. I love Silent Hill and I think part 2 is the pinnacle of the series. It's worth replaying in HD too. I'm also glad they're remaking Sly Cooper for HD. If you've never played them you should check them out. They are pretty fun.

 

I'm that way with Resident Evil. I've been a huge fan since playing the first on the Sega Saturn. Just picked up 6 and even though it didn't get great reviews, I'm still looking forward to it.

I have a couple of the Silent Hill games, but I haven't played them yet.

 

Yeah I love Resident Evil too. 4 is the greatest of course. I loved 5 also but apparently 6 is not too great. They tried to do too many things with it and it suffered a sever identity crisis. As far as Silent Hill goes, 2 is the best of all but 1 has so much charm but with the ps1 visuals it would be really hard to play now. I think part 4 is pretty crapp because it was such a huge departure for the series. As far as continutity 1&3 are connected and 2 is stand alone. Then some of the other ones will reference things that happened in those games but really they have no connection. 2 is BY FAR the most messed up and has the best characters and story. Part 1 will just make you think "what the crap is going on?" LOL. The thing that took a lot of the greatness out of the recent Silent Hills is the fact that they started developing them here instead of in Japan. Americans just can't do horror like the Japanese can.

 

Well I grabbed a used XBox for what I thought was a good price. Just picked it up and I stopped at a GameStop on the way home and got a few games I was interested in.
To test it all I fired it up with Assassin's Creed II. Seems like a lot to learn and know how to use w/out a ton of info in the booklet.
At any rate, 2 or 3 times I got the message "Please reconnect controller" The controller was dark and I had to hit the power button. I thought maybe the batteries in it were toast so I replaced them. Both with the original and new batteries what looks like 1/4 of the LED around the Xbox button lights up (upper left). Is that normal?

 

LOL. Yeah I can see why you would think that means battery life but what it actually is is that it represents that it's the first player controller. That button has four quadrants to it. The top left means the first player. The top right means the 2nd player. The bottom left means 3rd and the bottom right is 4th. If you get really physical with the controller it can cause it to "unplug". There's actually a thing you can get called a "plug and play" and with that your controller is constantly being recharged. I use it and love it. You'll get the hang of things and before long you'll be playing like a pro.

 

I wasn't being physical with it all. I'll have to keep an eye on it. I was thinking I would just get a wired controller anyway so I don't have to keep up with batteries or chargers, etc. Pluggin the controller in is no big whoop to me.
Can you save the game at whatever point you are at or is it Auto save at predetermined spots?

Not sure what I missed by not having played AC1. None of the onscreen stuff is really explained in the booklet. I was kinda lost. Maybe I'll search for an online walkthrough or tutorial thing to help me get aquainted. I also got COD:MW2 and Batman:Arkham Asylum. Ordered COD:Black Ops on ebay and have a local guy selling Madden13 I am trying to hook up with. One good FPS and Football will keep me going for a long time with the limited time I'll have to play.

 

So I played COD:MW2 for a while last night. What a great game! Not that anyone needed me to confirm such, but I have never had a chance to play any of these modern FPS games on one of these consoles. I love games like this and the controls and action and everything are really cool. Worth the price of admission just for these games for sure.

The controller worked fine the whole time and I had no issues of it dropping out. I did have a cell phone in my pocket earlier in the day so perhaps it was running some interference?

Next step is to figure out how to get a new TV for the basement play room Wife wanted to fall asleep on the couch watching TV last night and I was like "eh, mind if I play this on the 52" LCD?" Luckily she was too tired to care, but going forward I am going to be pushed to the basement on an old boob tube from like 1996...blah

 

Yeah and if you like 3rd person shooters you should check out Gears of War. If you like to play 1st person shooters from start to finish you should also check out Borderlands. Basically you just go around killing everything in sight and collecting "loot" which you use to buy and upgrade really awesome weapons that do awesome things. You can get guns that shoot corrosive grenades that eat the flesh of enemies or shields that you can wear which will explode when enemies do too much damage to you. It's really fun to play. It plays like a modern shooter but it doesn't go for realism it just goes for pure stylized violence to the millionth degree.

 

I probably will go through the single player campaigns of a few of them. MW3 is still a bit expensive (for my blood when it comes to games) so I will def look for CoD4:MW1
Some of the Battlefield titles look pretty good too.