Help for a console newb

[RyQ_TMC]

OK, here goes:

I come from a country where the majority of gamers are PC. So I wasn't really exposed to console gaming up until 4 years ago, when I moved to the UK, then the US, and saw how console-oriented the game market is. On top of it, for the past year I've been living with a guy who owns a 360 and I warmed to it.

In August, I'm moving and I'll be living on my own. I'm thinking of getting a console. Now, since I've been a PC gamer all my life, I turn to you more knowledgeable guys for a few answers:

1) Is it a good moment to buy a console, or should I rather wait? I've found articles claiming that we're overdue for a next generation, that it's gonna happen any minute now, and others stating that with the current-gen's video quality, the companies will rather concentrate on peripherals for at least another 2-3 years.

2) Which one to get? I crossed the Wii right out, doesn't seem to have any titles for me. I play RPGs almost exclusively. Sometimes I enjoy a strategy game, very rarely a third-person shooter. I understand PS3 games look and sound better, but X360 has more exclusives. The 360 is cheaper, but the price difference isn't too dramatic...

So yup, I'd be obliged if any of you guys could help me with that.

 

[LeonLethality]

1) I don't think this generation is close to ending any time soon. I see this will be one of our longest console generations.

2) I'd say you can't go wrong with either the PS3 or 360 (though I have a preference of the PS3) so it's really all up to the exclusives you like better (PS3 has ratchet and clank so it is a win in my book)

 

[Marter]

1) It's hard to say. In terms of years, a new generation should happen any time now. However, with the current market, it will probably take a few more years, or at least I hope it will.

2) I have both a 360 and a PS3, and I play the PS3 way more often. I like the controller better, and the exclusives are more fun in my book.

I would actually recommend you get a PS2 now, play the older games you've missed, and then get the next generation console of your choice.

 

[omega 616]

snip

I only have a PS3, so I might be a little biased.

From what I have seen some 360 are also on PC, something to keep in mind.

If your going to be playing online the 360 is infinitively more expensive.

360 and PS3 both have things that turn them into bricks, 360 is far more prone to it though (it's better than it used to be though).

PS3 has better hardware, so I think it will have more longevity. I don't think any game has come close to using all of the PS3's power. Look at early PS2 games compared to late PS2 games to see what I am talking about, although thats just my guess.

Not as many obnoxious people screaming down your ear on PS3, due to it not coming with a headset.

That looks quite biased but there the reasons I got a PS3.

 

[Hazy]

1) I don't think this generation is close to ending any time soon. I see this will be one of our longest console generations.

2) I'd say you can't go wrong with either the PS3 or 360 (though I have a preference of the PS3) so it's really all up to the exclusives you like better (PS3 has ratchet and clank/Demon's Souls so it is a win in my book)

Having made that tiny addition, I can safely say that you have ninja'd me.

Now is far from a bad time to get involved with this generation's consoles, and a PS3 might be the best place for you to start. Take a look at some of the exclusives (the aforementioned Ratchet and Clank/Demon's Souls especially) and see which suits you best.

 

[PopeJewish]

Now is as good a time as any to buy a console.

Both systems are coming out with motion hardware at the end of this year, so it's unlikely we'll start a new console cycle in the next 2 or even 3 years.

That said, the differences between ps3 and 360 are, at this stage, pretty negligible aside from exclusive games.

The ps3 has a slightly better processor though it's a total pain to program for, it's mostly not multi-threaded, and doesn't have specific anti-aliasing allocated. So only companies that really try to take advantage of the main core and 7 SPEs get anything out of it. The 360 has a slightly better GPU, more RAM, and it's much easier to program for as it's strikingly similar to a windows PC (surprise surprise). 360 has the better online, but it costs $50 a year instead of being free. PS3 has a blue-ray player. Both can act as a media center

Most games are multi-platform and the differences between the versions are pretty negligible. I would've given the advantage to 360 in this category as, formerly, games tended to perform better on the 360 (again going back to ps3's cpu being a pain to program for) but recently the BRDs have shown themselves to be useful and you avoid disc switching on ps3. Then again you have games like FF13 which, while running at a higher definition (1080 on ps3, 720 on x360) suffer from a a slower framerate. So I'd count them as pretty even. So it quite literally comes down to exclusive games. Do you prefer Mass Effect or 3d Dot Heroes? Halo/Gears of War or Resistance/MAG? Etc etc.

Do some research, but you won't be screwing yourself over if you buy one now

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

Go with a 360. It's a more all-around type system, except for the whole RROD thing. If you seek online play then a 360 again is a way to go you have to pay for it a bit but in the end it's worth it however i do recommend you use a mute button for the first few weeks of online play because you will experience asswipes who show absolutely no mercy because all they care about is hitting that kill streak.

 

[Souplex]

1: Of course! Abandon the sinking SS PC for the sunny shores of Consoleland!
2: There's some sort of exclusivity deal between Bighard and some major RPG developers. You can't get some of the good exclusives with Pony.

 

[neilsaccount]

OK, here goes:

I come from a country where the majority of gamers are PC. So I wasn't really exposed to console gaming up until 4 years ago, when I moved to the UK, then the US, and saw how console-oriented the game market is. On top of it, for the past year I've been living with a guy who owns a 360 and I warmed to it.

In August, I'm moving and I'll be living on my own. I'm thinking of getting a console. Now, since I've been a PC gamer all my life, I turn to you more knowledgeable guys for a few answers:

1) Is it a good moment to buy a console, or should I rather wait? I've found articles claiming that we're overdue for a next generation, that it's gonna happen any minute now, and others stating that with the current-gen's video quality, the companies will rather concentrate on peripherals for at least another 2-3 years.

2) Which one to get? I crossed the Wii right out, doesn't seem to have any titles for me. I play RPGs almost exclusively. Sometimes I enjoy a strategy game, very rarely a third-person shooter. I understand PS3 games look and sound better, but X360 has more exclusives. The 360 is cheaper, but the price difference isn't too dramatic...

So yup, I'd be obliged if any of you guys could help me with that.

get an xbox man, its worth it

 

[Ziggy109]

2) Which one to get? I crossed the Wii right out, doesn't seem to have any titles for me. I play RPGs almost exclusively. Sometimes I enjoy a strategy game, very rarely a third-person shooter. I understand PS3 games look and sound better, but X360 has more exclusives. The 360 is cheaper, but the price difference isn't too dramatic...

Most RPGs on the 360 tend to also be on the PC (Mass Effect 1 & 2, Oblivion, Dragon Age, etc...), but the PS3 has a really great one you won't see anywhere else: Demon's Souls. I can't think of any 360-exclusive RPG as awesome as that game. I don't know if one game would be a deciding factor for you, though -- I was just throwing that out there since you said you play RPGs a lot.

 

[phar]

Id go with PC myself. Dont listen to the people saying PC is dying, its actually the other way around. The consoles are vastly underperforming (except for Wii) compared to previous generations where as PC is flourishing.

Basically the consoles (360 & PS3) are the same, but if you have a PC there is no need for a 360. Theres only a handful of games at most that are exclusive to the 360 that arnt on the PC.

Whatever your friends are using is the best option.

 

[PopeJewish]

Id go with PC myself. Dont listen to the people saying PC is dying, its actually the other way around. The consoles are vastly underperforming (except for Wii) compared to previous generations where as PC is flourishing.

This is simply not true. The original xbox sold 24 million units, the xbox 360 has sold well over 40 million. The gamecube has sold 22 million units, the wii has over 70 million. The only exception to this is the Playstation series with the ps2 having sold nearly 140 million units and the ps3 clocking in around 35 with the major caveat that the ps2 is still supported while the other previous gen systems are not. (these sales figures come from wikipedia)

Whatever your friends are using is the best option.

this I agree with

 

[DustyDrB]

The price difference is negligible at this point. You can argue that the Wii is the most expensive console because of the cost of its controllers and peripherals (I'm not a Wii hater, I love and use mine often), but it's definitely the most durable console of the three. The Xbox is easy to find second-hand for cheap, but these are often refurbished and possibly on the verge of a hardware failure. Hardware failure (the "Red Ring of Death", error E74) are risks on Xboxes. The PS3 experiences less hardware failure (though it does have it's "Yellow Light of Death")and comes with free online capability.

I only have a (currently E74'd) Xbox and a Wii so I can't speak much to the PS3's library, but I know it has its fair share of great exclusive titles (MGS4, Demons' Souls, Uncharted 2). The 360 does have a larger number of exclusives, but many of these are shooters (Gears of War, Halo, Lost Planet).

Xbox games, sortable so you can see which are exlusives [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Xbox_360_games]

And the same for the PS3 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_3_games]

 

[goldenheart323]

Both systems are coming out with motion hardware at the end of this year, so it's unlikely we'll start a new console cycle in the next 2 or even 3 years.

That said, the differences between ps3 and 360 are, at this stage, pretty negligible aside from exclusive games.

The ps3 has a slightly better processor though it's a total pain to program for, it's mostly not multi-threaded, and doesn't have specific anti-aliasing allocated. So only companies that really try to take advantage of the main core and 7 SPEs get anything out of it. The 360 has a slightly better GPU, more RAM, and it's much easier to program for as it's strikingly similar to a windows PC (surprise surprise). 360 has the better online, but it costs $50 a year instead of being free. PS3 has a blue-ray player. Both can act as a media center

Most games are multi-platform and the differences between the versions are pretty negligible. I would've given the advantage to 360 in this category as, formerly, games tended to perform better on the 360 (again going back to ps3's cpu being a pain to program for)...

Pretty much this. E3 is in June. That's when most big video game news comes out. MS might come out with a slim version for its 360. They both might do another price drop some time. Pay attention to E3 & you'll have a much better idea of what to expect. Worst case scenario, (for you,) is motion controls don't catch on, and this causes Sony & MS to release their new consoles in 1 or 2yrs instead of 3-5.

It just occurred to me that next gen consoles don't get released until after the current gen ones have been at $200 for some time. I wonder if that's a valid metric for predicting when the next gen will be released.

 

[phar]

Id go with PC myself. Dont listen to the people saying PC is dying, its actually the other way around. The consoles are vastly underperforming (except for Wii) compared to previous generations where as PC is flourishing.

This is simply not true. The original xbox sold 24 million units, the xbox 360 has sold well over 40 million. The gamecube has sold 22 million units, the wii has over 70 million. The only exception to this is the Playstation series with the ps2 having sold nearly 140 million units and the ps3 clocking in around 35 with the major caveat that the ps2 is still supported while the other previous gen systems are not. (these sales figures come from wikipedia)

Whatever your friends are using is the best option.

this I agree with

Well its hard to get accurate figures but a lot of the 360s are from people having to buy a second. Something that the previous generation had very little of. Ok the 360s sold 40 million in 5 years (1 generation) thats not close to the amount of sales of the NES, SNES, Genesis, PS1 etc..etc.. and dont blame the competition of the PS3 because every generation except for the last has had a very strong competitor in the market. Theres plenty of articles around the web that explain it better than me. Just because its the most popular method of gaming it mean its growing.

 

[Signa]

very rarely a third-person shooter

This right here pretty much disqualifies you for a console. There are some good non-shooter games this generation, but the best games are all shooters. At the very least it probably disqualifies you from a Xbox, and you said you don't want a Wii, so PS3 it is!

Save your money though. IMO, none of the systems are really worth owning, and I've had both the Wii and 360. I might not be able to speak for the PS3, but nothing about it looks superior to the gaming experience the 360 offers. It probably is on par, so if I didn't like the 360 for the reasons you won't like a 360, you probably won't want a PS3 either.

 

[TheSteeleStrap]

I don't think the PS3 is so superior to the 360 that you need to spend the extra money on it, nor do I think you should make your decision based on exclusive titles, as they mostly look like nothing special. I can't help too much apparently...

 

[PopeJewish]

Id go with PC myself. Dont listen to the people saying PC is dying, its actually the other way around. The consoles are vastly underperforming (except for Wii) compared to previous generations where as PC is flourishing.

This is simply not true. The original xbox sold 24 million units, the xbox 360 has sold well over 40 million. The gamecube has sold 22 million units, the wii has over 70 million. The only exception to this is the Playstation series with the ps2 having sold nearly 140 million units and the ps3 clocking in around 35 with the major caveat that the ps2 is still supported while the other previous gen systems are not. (these sales figures come from wikipedia)

Whatever your friends are using is the best option.

this I agree with

Well its hard to get accurate figures but a lot of the 360s are from people having to buy a second. Something that the previous generation had very little of. Ok the 360s sold 40 million in 5 years (1 generation) thats not close to the amount of sales of the NES, SNES, Genesis, PS1 etc..etc.. and dont blame the competition of the PS3 because every generation except for the last has had a very strong competitor in the market. Theres plenty of articles around the web that explain it better than me. Just because its the most popular method of gaming it mean its growing.

again that' simply not true. Just look at the sales figures. The current gen is xbxo 360 (40 million) ps3 (35 million) and wii (70 million) so a total of 140 million units sold. Sure there's redundancy but that's a) hard to calculate in and b) irrelevant for our current point

In the 8 bit era the NES sold 61 million units according to Wiki, the Wii has already beaten it. But for that gen as a whole it's been clobbered by this gen's sales (74 million units).

In the 16 bit era we had the SNES (49 million) Genesis (40 million) and the TG16 (10 million) for a total of 99 million units.

The 32 bit era was the PSOne (102.5) N64 (32) and Saturn (9.5) for 144 so it was beaten out there but barely, and it's easily conceivable to see that number being surpassed this year as several million consoles are still being sold worldwide per month even after the economic slowdown hit the game industry

So really last gen, with the ps2, dreamcast, xbox, and gamecube, was the only one that could be said to have solidly outsold this gen. Add to that the fact that game sales figures have been on the steady rise generation over generation, and that the game industry itself is valued higher and higher, and any argument that the console industry is even stagnating (in economic terms, creative stagnation is a whole other can of worms) is simply false

 

[Simalacrum]

I'd wait for a liiittle bit mate.

Although my personal preference is to the PS3, there are rumours circulating that a 'Slim' 360 will be coming soon, along with some extra features and a price drop...

Once that happens, the price difference might be more significant to change your mind, so I'd wait till E3 is over - if Microsoft are going to announce a new 360 model, that will be where they will do it.

 

[Baron_Rouge]

Well, I would personally go with a PS3 over a 360. The difference is fairly minimal, graphics-wise, although the PS3 is better most of the time. However, where the PS3 really stands out for me is the fantastic exclusives, such as Uncharted 2, LittleBigPlanet, Valkyria Chronicles, and InFamous. Not that the 360's exclusives are bad, but some of the best, like Mass Effect 1 and 2, are also available on PC.

I may be a bit biased, as I have a PS3, but the only time I've ever regretted not choosing a 360 was when Bayonetta came out, and that regret was easily counteracted by the brilliance that is Valkyria Chronicles and InFamous.