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View Full Version : Have not owned a game console in a while and have some questions about this gen.



matthekc
May 15th, 2011, 12:42 AM
I have not had a game console in a few years and I'm thinking about getting one. I've played the wii, xbox360 and ps3 at other peoples houses and really like the 360 and ps3. I do have some questions though.

Are there games that require online connectivity to really be enjoyed? Does the xbox slim still sound like it has a jet engine? What might make me pick one console over another?

Thanks as always for your input!

PhantmKllr
May 15th, 2011, 01:46 AM
Nintendo is supposed to release a new game console in August, which is supposed to leave the Xbox and PS3 in the dust (performance wise).

Plus, I've also been thinking about getting a PS3, but after this whole PSN security breach incident, I'm thinking Xbox.

Anyways, I guess I'll just live with my Wii for now (if only it was HD...).

matthekc
May 15th, 2011, 02:09 AM
I'm not sure if I was going to get online service which was why I was asking if any games really needed online service.

I would probably enjoy the metroid and mario kart series.

But I'm pretty sure I want Vice City, La Noir, and Mortal Combat.

Dustin2128
May 15th, 2011, 02:28 AM
My friend's xbox slim was fairly quiet, but more importantly it ate game discs when bumped. We had to pry fallout 3 out of the case with tweezers, and when we got it, it had a nice pretty 1/2 inch thick spiral scratch around the whole disc.

christoph411
May 15th, 2011, 02:31 AM
Nintendo is supposed to release a new game console in August, which is supposed to leave the Xbox and PS3 in the dust (performance wise).

Plus, I've also been thinking about getting a PS3, but after this whole PSN security breach incident, I'm thinking Xbox.

Anyways, I guess I'll just live with my Wii for now (if only it was HD...).

I wouldn't make a decision until after PSN comes back online, I'm hoping that it comes back better than ever! :P

krapp
May 15th, 2011, 02:40 AM
it ate game discs when bumped

Ah yes I'd recognize the MS business model anywhere . . .:-k

matthekc
May 15th, 2011, 02:40 AM
Yeah I've been reading reviews and heard the xbox thinks games are a tasty treat!

matthekc
May 15th, 2011, 02:43 AM
Since I posted this I've been looking at console reviews and game reviews... unless someone can give me a compelling reason otherwise the PS3 slim looks like a good choice.

matthekc
May 15th, 2011, 02:44 AM
Although it sounds like the PS3 slims disc drive is significantly slower than the Xbox's disc drive.

Dustin2128
May 15th, 2011, 02:46 AM
Since I posted this I've been looking at console reviews and game reviews... unless someone can give me a compelling reason otherwise the PS3 slim looks like a good choice.
It's made by sony. But if that doesn't bother you, go for it. From a pure game play perspective, I hear they're quite good.
by the way, here's one of the worst disc scratches I've seen on the internet. He left the scratched disc at my house so I could fix it with my resurfacer so I'll try and post the pic.
http://www.toptenreviews.com/i/rev/misc/articles/old_blog/blog_490_1.jpg
EDIT: Pic posted, sorry for quality (webcam).

PhantmKllr
May 15th, 2011, 03:45 AM
Ah yes I'd recognize the MS business model anywhere . . .:-k

+5 points.

handy
May 15th, 2011, 03:56 AM
When the PS3 price dropped by a good $200- I bought one. It plays really well through my 2nd 24" monitor (Samsung 2443) which has both digital & analogue inputs. The PS3 goes digital the old Athlon64 3500+ goes through the analogue. The audio plugs into an old Sony amplifier & way we go.

I'm not concerned about the PS3 security breach. Sony will sort it out & would be making it a far more difficult thing to be repeated.

ctrlmd
May 15th, 2011, 04:17 AM
im not welling to trust ps3 network again
you may chose between xbox and wii
beside microsoft going to triple kinect based games at the end of 2011

i don't know about you but i would chose xbox with kinect

christoph411
May 15th, 2011, 05:27 AM
It's made by sony. But if that doesn't bother you, go for it. From a pure game play perspective, I hear they're quite good.
by the way, here's one of the worst disc scratches I've seen on the internet. He left the scratched disc at my house so I could fix it with my resurfacer so I'll try and post the pic.
http://www.toptenreviews.com/i/rev/misc/articles/old_blog/blog_490_1.jpg
EDIT: Pic posted, sorry for quality (webcam).

So... pretty! :razz:

tmette
May 15th, 2011, 06:34 AM
I would definitely go with the PS3. I've had it for about 3 years now and love it, plus you don't have to pay to play online like the 360! Well I guess you have to pay for Playstation Plus, but I don't use it and neither do any of my friends.

Oh and btw...The PSN is being restored slowly by regions and it started this evening. Here's a link to the blog. (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/14/play-on-%E2%80%93-psn-restoration-begins-now/)

Linye
May 15th, 2011, 06:52 AM
but more importantly it ate game discs when bumped.

Maybe that's why it has a warning that says to not move the console with a disc inside.

Dustin2128
May 15th, 2011, 07:07 AM
Maybe that's why it has a warning that says to not move the console with a disc inside.
It's not like I was trying to move the console. I just lightly bumped it when walking by, heard a grinding sound, pulled the plug, and got the disc out with tweezers. And it was not an isolated incident- it'd destroyed one disc earlier that day and another a few months before. For a console that's probably going to be moved a lot more than, say, a desktop computer and generally used by people that are not that careful with electronics, it really should be better designed. I can move my computer while it's running and it won't mulch my discs, same with- oh, my playstation 2 (I actually moved it while my brother was playing a game from a vertical to horizontal position once), playstation 1, game cube, wii, and every dvd player ever. I just wonder how they even managed to design it in order to give it the ability to literally suck the disc into the case.

themarker0
May 15th, 2011, 07:55 AM
Xbox's: More pay after a year, less fun shooting games.
PS3'S: Less pay after a year, violent games, bad company PR.

3rdalbum
May 15th, 2011, 11:14 AM
I have a PS3 and a Wii.

The Kinect system seems a lot more like a gimmick - I mean, the thing can't recognise anything other than a person, so games using Kinect are going to be limited with what you can really do with them. This is reflected in what titles are available for Kinect.

The Playstation Move looks better. It's more similar to what the Wii uses, and there are some interesting PSM games out now, and a lot of FPS games coming out now support the Move as a lightgun. That's how I like my FPS games played.

The Wii is a nice system, but it's not really this-generation in terms of graphics. The successor to the Wii is reported to be coming out later this year, with an improvement in graphics over the PS3. I'm undecided about whether to get one; it all depends on whether Nintendo is going to ditch motion controls like has been rumoured, and the actual tech specs of the thing, and also the third-party titles.

I love my Wii and I wouldn't sell it unless a 100% compatible system came out that I was going to buy anyway. I'm seriously considering selling the PS3 though; I only have two games for it. The PS3 games range from expensive to "freakin' hell I'm not paying that!", and I'd need to buy a full Move set. Currently I'm using the PS3 as a Blu-ray player, but it REALLY leaves a lot to be desired as a Blu-ray player; in fact I've had a lot of trouble with its blu-ray playback, and I'd rather like to get a proper remote for it.

If you trust Sony with your data online when they get PSN back up, then I think you should definitely go for the Playstation 3 or wait for the new Nintendo console. I bet there will be a few second-hand PS3s going cheap soon, or maybe right now. Nintendo has the wildcard though as there's not much chance of a new more-powerful PS3 or 360 soon.

mips
May 15th, 2011, 11:46 AM
What might make me pick one console over another?


Exclusive games for the individual platforms. If I was in the market for a console now I would buy a PS3 purely based on the fact that the Uncharted (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncharted) games are only available on PS3.

Throne777
May 15th, 2011, 12:27 PM
PS3 is the way to go. Xbox doesn't have any really good exclusives.

Uncharted 2 is worth getting a PS3 for purely on its own. Best game that has ever been made. Absolutely awesome. It's the closest you'll come to playing an actual movie (until Uncharted 3 comes out, presumably).

Also, PS3 gets free online. PSN may have gotten hacked, but that could just have easily have been Xbox Online. To be honest, I think Sony have handled the whole issue pretty well.

Plus, free blu ray player too ^ ^

The Wii is gimmicky nonsense for 10 years olds. Plus the motion control for it (the whole point of the console) is godawful. The PS3 & 360 motion technology runs rings around it. Plus the Wii has literally no games worth playing on it, unless you have a party and want to play drunken Wii Sports, which is hardly worth buying a console for.

del_diablo
May 15th, 2011, 02:26 PM
The Wii is **** YEAH, if you are running it from an emulator, which means all you need to aquire is just a bluetooth dongle and some led lights and wiimote with its 2 extensions.
Beyond that I would recommend the PS3 due some of the exclusive japanese ports it gets.

3rdalbum
May 15th, 2011, 02:55 PM
The Wii is gimmicky nonsense for 10 years olds. Plus the motion control for it (the whole point of the console) is godawful. The PS3 & 360 motion technology runs rings around it. Plus the Wii has literally no games worth playing on it, unless you have a party and want to play drunken Wii Sports, which is hardly worth buying a console for.

I think your assessment of the Wii is a bit unfair. Firstly, the PS3 and 360's motion sensors are three years more up-to-date, and I don't have any problems with the Wii's controls.

Also, the Wii does have a lot of games worth playing. Most recent CoDs are available for the Wii. Almost any "first party" games (made by or commissioned by Nintendo with Nintendo IP) are worth playing, and there's a fair few of those. It's true that there's a lot of "shovelware" for the Wii, but any serious gamer can see past those anyway and find something that they're looking for. NFS Nitro, Sonic Colours, De Blob, Bully (the Wii version is the best), PES (and FIFA)... the list does go on.

Considering how cheaply you can buy a Wii now, it could well be worth buying one for Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort (which you typically get with the bundle too). A few of the classic Wii games are about to be re-released with a price-tag of $20, so it could well be a good time to buy a Wii.

Whereas, I have a PS3 and the thing sits unused. Uncharted 2 is pretty good, but in the end it's the same old "try to aim a gun with your right thumb", which is not accurate and not especially immersive. The only time the PS3 gets any use is when I want to play a Blu-ray disc, and it's an extremely poor Blu-ray player at that.

handy
May 15th, 2011, 03:05 PM
I buy my PS3 games 2nd hand. There are heaps of them available in games stores & elsewhere.

Spr0k3t
May 15th, 2011, 04:18 PM
I'm on a Linux forum... I won't buy Microsoft products. The wii was a has been when it came out... my PS3 still supports OtherOS. You do the math.

Lucradia
May 15th, 2011, 04:34 PM
This gen will definitely be ending soon.

SONY said last year that the PS4 will be much easier to develop for than the PS3, so who knows. May be best to wait.

The NGP, coming this fall, runs on Android, or a heavily modified one.

doorknob60
May 15th, 2011, 06:04 PM
I wouldn't make a decision until after PSN comes back online, I'm hoping that it comes back better than ever! :P
PSN is back online now :D At least in the US, and it should come back in the rest of the world later today I've heard. I like my PS3, it has great graphics, great games (Uncharted 2, holy crap it's good!), and good free online capability, except for the past 4 weeks.....but that's beside the point :P Xboxes are pretty good too though, I think you'd probably be satisfied with either, but I'm glad I chose PS3.

Lucradia
May 15th, 2011, 06:08 PM
New PSN Security features are as follows:

1. Users can no longer change their password without email confirmation of the change OR

2. The password can only be changed on the PS3 you first activated.

christoph411
May 15th, 2011, 06:10 PM
PSN is back online now :D At least in the US, and it should come back in the rest of the world later today I've heard. I like my PS3, it has great graphics, great games (Uncharted 2, holy crap it's good!), and good free online capability, except for the past 4 weeks.....but that's beside the point :P Xboxes are pretty good too though, I think you'd probably be satisfied with either, but I'm glad I chose PS3.

Thanks for the heads up! I heard that it was possible to download the update last night, but that online services wouldn't be on until about 1:00am. :popcorn:

jrozo17
May 15th, 2011, 06:17 PM
Well an advantage of the PS3 is that online play is free.(despite the recent outage) And yes, online play makes the game you're playing much more fun and challenging.

I have a PS3 and my dad has a 360, and I can honestly say I don't care much for xbox. But thats my personal opinion, everyone is different.

I say go with the system you enjoy the most. :)

jrozo17
May 15th, 2011, 06:25 PM
I'm on a Linux forum... I won't buy Microsoft products. The wii was a has been when it came out... my PS3 still supports OtherOS. You do the math.

How do you have the OtherOS option? Did you not upgrade?

Lucradia
May 15th, 2011, 06:40 PM
How do you have the OtherOS option? Did you not upgrade?

That's probably what happened. Because old 80s and earlier received an upgrade that does remove the OtherOS from them.

Dustin2128
May 15th, 2011, 06:54 PM
How do you have the OtherOS option? Did you not upgrade?
Or he jailbroke it.

forrestcupp
May 15th, 2011, 09:21 PM
I'm really liking our 360 with Kinect. Kinect is better than PS Move, which is nothing but an enhanced Wiimote.

The thing I'm going to miss about our Wii that we sold is that now I can't play the new Zelda games. Say all you want about Wii's graphics, but I have yet to find a game that is as fun as the Zelda games.


Nintendo is supposed to release a new game console in August, which is supposed to leave the Xbox and PS3 in the dust (performance wise).Wrong. Nintendo is finally going to reveal their new console at E3 this year. It's not going to be released until at least 2012. We don't even know hardly any of the details yet. Anything you've heard is speculation.


PS3 is the way to go. Xbox doesn't have any really good exclusives.The whole line of Halo games? Kameo was pretty fun, too.

NCLI
May 16th, 2011, 11:21 AM
I'd definitely say get a PS3. In my opinion, it has the most interesting games, and is less focused on online and shooters than Xbox. It simply has more variation in its titles(Again, according to me) Also, while Kinect is definitely more innovative than Move, Move is way more useful and fun, IMHO.

The new Wii won't be out for at least a year, and by that time, the new PS4 and Xbox 720 will no doubt have been announced as well.

Throne777
May 16th, 2011, 02:12 PM
I think your assessment of the Wii is a bit unfair. Firstly, the PS3 and 360's motion sensors are three years more up-to-date, and I don't have any problems with the Wii's controls.

Also, the Wii does have a lot of games worth playing. Most recent CoDs are available for the Wii. Almost any "first party" games (made by or commissioned by Nintendo with Nintendo IP) are worth playing, and there's a fair few of those. It's true that there's a lot of "shovelware" for the Wii, but any serious gamer can see past those anyway and find something that they're looking for. NFS Nitro, Sonic Colours, De Blob, Bully (the Wii version is the best), PES (and FIFA)... the list does go on.

Considering how cheaply you can buy a Wii now, it could well be worth buying one for Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort (which you typically get with the bundle too). A few of the classic Wii games are about to be re-released with a price-tag of $20, so it could well be a good time to buy a Wii.

Every time I played a Wii sports game (with several different Wii setups -i.e. different rooms, positioning, etc), it never correctly picked up anyone's movements. House of the Dead was terrible because it didn't pick up where we were aiming despite calibrating several times. The Tennis never correctly tracked swings, nor did golf, bowling or boxing (the boxing was ludicrously bad). At best it was adequate. Sure you don't mind too much in a party situation where no-one's paying that much attention, but if you want to actually play in your own time and get good at it, it's a complete waste of time.

Sure the PS3 & Xbox motion sensor technology is newer; but that's irrelevant. You don't make hardware choices out of pity for older generation technology.

Not to mention the graphics are a generation behind Sony & Microsoft because the Wii simply isn't powerful enough to make anything look remotely decent.



Whereas, I have a PS3 and the thing sits unused. Uncharted 2 is pretty good, but in the end it's the same old "try to aim a gun with your right thumb", which is not accurate and not especially immersive. The only time the PS3 gets any use is when I want to play a Blu-ray disc, and it's an extremely poor Blu-ray player at that.

Well half the game is a platformer with puzzle elements. I fail to see how waving a stick in the air would be any more immersive for that aspect.

Throne777
May 16th, 2011, 02:16 PM
The whole line of Halo games? Kameo was pretty fun, too.

Halo 1 & 2 were both XBox games (i.e. not 360, though to be fair they're backwards compatible). Halo 3 was pretty good, but I didn't think it lived up to the first two. Haven't played Reach, but I've heard it's really short? Still, that's only one franchise.
PS3 has Gran Turismo, God of War, Killzone, Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid, Infamous, Ratchet & Clank, Little Big Planet, Wipeout, and so on. All of which are awesome.

Johnsie
May 16th, 2011, 02:30 PM
I have an X-Box. I thought it would quickly end up being an expensive ornament because I would get bored of it and not be able to afford the sames. I was so wrong, I abolustely love it. It's really good to be able to play with friends and it's not that noisy. I mostly buy pre-owned games because they are pretty cheap. I also have a wii which is an ornament. The novelty wore off pretty quickly and there is less room for playing online with my friends. It's the online playing that makes consoles interesting for me again.

Oh, halo reach is pretty short, but it's still alot of fun, especially the multiplayer games.

Grenage
May 16th, 2011, 02:38 PM
I had a Wii, and it was good fun. I'd only really rate it for 'family and friends' entertainment, so in the end I gave it to my family; I'm a PC gamer.

My wife has an 360 and it's pretty solid, but if I were to convert to console games (I won't), then I'd get a Playstation.

aaaantoine
May 16th, 2011, 07:43 PM
I have both a Wii and an Xbox 360, and at this point I rarely use either one for games.

The Wii, at present, is our living room Netflix hub. That's the majority of its use, right there. My games library consists of a bunch of Nintendo 1st Party games, a few Guitar Hero titles (which I got before getting the 360), and Monster Hunter Tri. I also have a bunch of classic console titles downloaded from Virtual Console, and a few WiiWare games as well.

The Xbox 360 has a few good games on it as well. On it I've played GTA 4, Left 4 Dead 2, some of Fable 2, Forza 2 (sequels sequels everywhere!), and a bunch of others. I also finally had my first run through Castlevania: Symphony of the Night via Xbox Arcade. I dislike that the online gaming is pay-to-play, but at the same time I've been fortunate enough to not have to pay for it thus far. But would I do so if I didn't get subscription cards as gifts? Probably not. Also, the battery pack on my controller died out, which means I have to have the sucker plugged in all the time. -_-

tmette
May 16th, 2011, 09:48 PM
My PS3 serves me well as an all-around media center. I have it for games, blu-ray, Netflix and the upgraded HDD allows me plenty of space to copy other videos to it. I think it's awesome.

forrestcupp
May 17th, 2011, 09:43 PM
Halo 1 & 2 were both XBox games (i.e. not 360, though to be fair they're backwards compatible). Halo 3 was pretty good, but I didn't think it lived up to the first two. Haven't played Reach, but I've heard it's really short? Still, that's only one franchise.
Well, you're the one who said Xbox. You didn't say 360. ;)

Also, you said there weren't any good exclusive games. That's not true. The Fable games are another example. I don't have a lot of Xbox experience, but I'm sure there are others.

You can say none of them are any good just because you don't like Xbox if you want. :)

Throne777
May 17th, 2011, 10:05 PM
Well, you're the one who said Xbox. You didn't say 360. ;)

Also, you said there weren't any good exclusive games. That's not true. The Fable games are another example. I don't have a lot of Xbox experience, but I'm sure there are others.

You can say none of them are any good just because you don't like Xbox if you want. :)

I did have an XBox (original), I just chose the PS3 over the 360 in the next gen because it was an all round better deal.

The original Fable was absolutely awesome. Sure, it wasn't anything like Peter Molyneux advertised it as (I have no idea why he's allowed to make statements; he just makes **** up), but it was a great game. I never bothered with the other two. My brother was as much a fan of Fable as I was and he played the other two and said they weren't as good.

forrestcupp
May 18th, 2011, 03:22 AM
My brother was as much a fan of Fable as I was and he played the other two and said they weren't as good.

I haven't played them yet, but I've heard the opposite. From what I heard, 2 & 3 were much better than the first one, especially 3. It looks pretty cool that you get a dog in Fable 2.

Dustin2128
May 18th, 2011, 04:20 AM
I haven't played them yet, but I've heard the opposite. From what I heard, 2 & 3 were much better than the first one, especially 3. It looks pretty cool that you get a dog in Fable 2.
Methinks you are easily impressed ;).

forrestcupp
May 18th, 2011, 02:52 PM
Methinks you are easily impressed ;).

Lol. That's not what impressed me. I just thought that was a cool addition.

wizard10000
May 18th, 2011, 03:17 PM
I own a PS3 and an Xbox 360 - the Xbox gets almost no use.

I think the Xbox' UI is horrible and I prefer Playstation controllers to Xbox controllers.

I've had no desire to do OpenOS on my PS3, though. Although the PS3's got eight cores it's only got 256mb of RAM - and AFAIK they never got wireless working in Linux on a PS3.

Props to the people who have installed Linux on a Playstation, but it kinda seems like intellectual masturbation to me - I don't think a PS3's got enough RAM to be really useful as a Linux machine.

forrestcupp
May 18th, 2011, 06:18 PM
but it kinda seems like intellectual masturbation to me

This is becoming a very hackneyed term.