I have both...I use my PS3 for movies, and my 360 for gaming. If you're into sports games, get the 360.

= J

For the sake of argument, let's say the PSN was ready on day 1 and had features for every game, but the price was still up there.

I guess the point I was trying to make was, all things being equal, I don't think it mattered to most if it was Microsoft or Sony. It was the first HD online gaming console, and it was bound to be a big hit with serious console gamers.

I also have to wonder if MS, knowing this, intentionally rushed out the 360 to be a year ahead of the PS3, even though it cost them a ton of money on the back end due to RROD.

Uhh, Xbox 360 Pro is $299.99 and PS3 (with 80gig harddrive) is $399. I just checked.

McHawkson, we are discussing launch prices, not current pricing.

IIRC, they've already gone on record saying the system was rushed out to have the year head start. Despite the RROD it was a gamble that has, so far, paid off.

As for your new scenario, so all things equal and the only difference is price? Then I'd say PS3 by a nose because of Blu-ray. When we entered this gen in 2005, and even with the PS3 in 2006 people wanted a gaming machine first. It's only been in the past year and with the price drops have people come to expect all the media features. Therefore you would be looking at a $400 game system vs. a $500-$600 game system.

It's crazy to think back and conjecture on a different outcome from different factors.

Sorry, man, I was half-sleepy. I just assumed that you guys were talking about present price.

All things equal, I definitely think the PS3 would have been ahead due to brand name and still having exclusives at the time. I mean when Final Fantasy 13 is coming out on XBox for the specific reason that there's a larger user base, it really shows how well Microsoft's early release worked.

But a lot of credit has to go to MS for coming out with a solid service from the start, especially stuff like Geo Wars in XBLA to make the service look worthwhile. That and it didn't help that Sony pretty much made MS look good with all their PR flubs.

I know it's crazy, but basically I'm trying to figure how much of the staunch loyalty to what essentially is a poorly-designed and rushed hardware console is due to the "gotta have it now" mentality that most of us gamers have. MS basically took advantage of that. I leave it up to each individual to decide how respectable or despicable it is to sell a known defective product. I tend to lean towards the latter.

I'm not trying to sound like a hater - it's more curiosity than anything.

If this is in fact true, then there is no doubt I should get the 360.

AFAIK almost all major sports games are cross-platform. His comment may be in reference to a larger online player pool on the 360.

Personally the best sports game I have ever played is a PS3 exclusive - MLB 08 The Show.

As an owner of all 3 systems...I must agree with this...The Show is the best sports games since NFL 2K5. (and is the only PS3 game that could pull me away from the 360's lineup)

It is very despicable that there hasn't been a massive recall but they have done right with unlimited returns/repairs under a 3 year warranty. Even covering the cost of shipping both ways. That being said, the pros of Live, games, features, etc. far outweigh the single con.

I'm sure being a multi-system owner changes the perspective a bit. I can always turn on the Wii or PS3 while the 360 is out for repair. If I had a single console the RROD would be much more of a concern.

I didn't have to have mine--I've learned my lesson, I don't buy hardware on launch day anymore, and I usually wait at least a year. I've had mine less than a year.

"I'm sure being a multi-system owner changes the perspective a bit. I can always turn on the Wii or PS3 while the 360 is out for repair. If I had a single console the RROD would be much more of a concern."

This is interesting phrasing...why not "Being multisystem means I play the Ps3 more so I have less chance of RRoD." This looks to me like the 360 is your "main" console, and the others are "backup" . I have a Wii as well, no PS3, and the Wii is the backup, mainly for occasional Mario Kart or Boom Blox (I have Okami but haven't even opened it yet.)

I don't disagree, MS should not have released hardware they knew was shoddy. In their defense, they have tried to make up for it in good warranty policies; and the fact that the 360 was as successful as it is, even with the poor QA, says something about the console/service. I'd rather play games i enjoy on a console with a 30% failure rate than games I don't care about on a console with 2% failure rate.

I've got the 120 GB, and I have about 45 GB free. Granted I have downloaded lots of demos and haven't tried some of them, but I've also downloaded lots of RB content. With hard drives, I lean more toward "bigger is better". Especially if you want to store/dl music, movies, or videos onto the 360.

If you have the money and want to go "home theater", the best thing would be to buy a PS3 for the BD player and occasional games, and the 360 for your main gaming console.

I'd say that if people were really that into having something right away and whatever came first, the Dreamcast wouldn't have died so quickly. It came out early, had great games, and a lot of staunch supporters (i've never heard anyone say "ugh, that system sucked!"), plus it wasn't even defective like the 360!

Makes me think it was more of Sony shooting themselves in the foot more then anything else. Gaming consoles always seem to suffer based on mistakes, rather then necessarily the big knock out features. But maybe that's just me.

I have to agree as well. Having that on PS3 and the 2K series (on both obviously) and Gran Turismo pretty much made the PS3 my perfect sports console. I will say most people I know are on Live, but I have never had an issue finding people online on PSN to play Burnout, Super Stardust, Poker and College Hoops. There are a lot of people on PSN playing games and to try and spin it like you can't get a match online is very misleading. My only issues are playing with most of the people I know since they bought 360s.

I don't know about the launching first thing. It helped PS2 against Xbox and GameCube, but the Wii hasn't suffered at all launching after and the PSone launched after Saturn and 3DO with no issues. I think higher console cost is the culprit, but 360 also having an amazing game lineup helped.

I've read this 3-4 times now and I still can't decide on a true response. I didn't mean to sound like the Wii and PS3 are backups, but it does kinda seem like that now that you mention it. Because of Live and friends, the 360 will always get turned on first to see what's going on(that and Rock Band ). Simple as that. I still hit the AAA titles I'm interested in on the others, but maybe not on release day like I do on the 360, and that's due to friends.

Were the Saturn and 3DO ever contenders though? That's kinda like tossing in the NGage in a DS vs. PSP debate. It was N64 vs. PS1. It was a perfect storm that led to the 360 taking the lead over Sony. Sony placing all their eggs in the Blu-ray basket led to the pricing problems and Kutaragi shooting himself in the foot repeatedly didn't help. I'm amazed the guy can still walk these days.

I agree about The Show being an awesome baseball game. Actually, it's one of two games I own for the PS3.

I play everything else on the 360 because of the online availability and the achievements. I don't specifically shoot for them, but when you are having a great game, it's fun to see an achievement pop up out of nowhere.

= J

This is me. I have several single player games that i enjoy but gaming with buddies online or in meatspace is so much more fun. Unfortunately most of my old gaming friends are scattered around the country so that just leaves online.

Easily 9 times out of 10 i pull up xbox.com to check the friends list and see who is on and what they are playing. This dictates whether i even turn the console on. Most of my single player games (aside from the DS titles i am playing) languish because the social element of Live is such a big deal to me and i find it hard to resist an invite to RB or Halo from a friend even if i'm wanting to lure a new piņata into my garden.

I think it really comes down to the controller. I never owned an Xbox. Didn't care for the controller when I did play it. I had a Playstation 2 and was a staunch PS supporter. And then I got the 360. The controller was like night and day for me. I don't have big hands at all. The 360 controller is bigger but it feels more solid. The PS3 controller is so light it feels like it's hollow. Some may enjoy the lightness, but I prefer a controller that feels heavier than my TV remote controller.

The Saturn absolutely was and was riding on a fairly successful run by the Genesis. The PSone came out of no where for most people. Everyone was anticipating the Saturn and Nintendo's console, but it was the Playstation that caught us all by surprise. In that battle launching after the Saturn was not a problem.

It is just not easy to figure out the PS3 struggles, but I think it is a combination of things. Microsoft launched first yes, but they also lined up some great games especially for year two when Sony was trying to get started and they built Live which started quietly in the Xbox era into a powerhouse. Price could also be a factor, but really listening to people I know it seems to be all about Live. They all love the friends lists, achievements, etc and it has taken Sony way too long to catch up.

Don't the current PS3s all come with Dualshock 3s which are heavier than the initial controllers?

Maybe. I have one of the lighter ones that comes with a PS3 that can still play PS2 games. Oh, the tradeoffs Sony makes.

In the interest of full disclosure, I currently own a PS3 and Wii.

Up until now, I've always owned every "current gen" system. My original Xbox did get more play than my PS2, but I never was into Live. Most of my friends are PC gamers and play a lot of MMORPGs (in which I was never interested), so Live was really more of a novelty for me than anything else. The few times that I did try to play online, I would always get stuck with the most annoying kids on the server. Anyway, I still did like playing all of the single player and local multiplayer games on my Xbox. The only time I fired-up my PS2 was for exclusive titles (Ratchet, Sly, GTA originally, etc.).

I decided to hold-off on purchasing anything for the current generation, and I finally got a Wii in late 2007. My girlfriend and I enjoy playing that together, and it has a lot of games that she can really get into. Plus, I really don't have a lot of time for "hardcore" gaming and consider myself more of a casual user. The "pick-up-and-play" attitude of the Wii appealed to me, and I've always enjoyed Nintendo's consoles and software.

Once HD-DVD died and Blu-ray became more official, I started looking into a PS3. I purchased one not so much as a gaming platform, but because it was a great BRD and (upconverting) DVD player. Although we do use it for movies, I don't use it for music or video (aside from PlayOn!, which I'm loving). To my shock, I'm really enjoying the PS3 as a gaming platform. My game collection is still growing, but I've thoroughly enjoyed Ratchet & Clank Future, Madden, SW: Force Unleashed, and the demo of Fracture. I'm really looking forward to GH: World Tour and LBP.

I never though I'd enjoy the PS3 for gaming as much as I am. Plus, it's the first time (for me) that I've been able to enjoy true HD (1080p) video and high-quality audio. I'm not knocking the Wii, but it is obviously lacking in those departments. Not being a huge online gamer, the lacking of a Live counterpart on the PS3 is a non-issue for me. I really enjoy Sony's PS Store. Sure, I like that I can download games and demos, but I really like that they let me buy things in real money. I never did like the idea of having to buy "points" (Wii and X360) to then buy games. Why couldn't they just sell it to me in real money?

That's just to say that just because you liked one console in the past, that might not hold true today. I always thought I'd be a MS/Xbox person, but Sony has won me over with the PS3. I'll probably always have a current Nintendo console, but I feel like the PS3 is a great balance to the Wii.

Ditto. I spent a lot of time playing Gears or Halo 3 with my buddies (lately, Soul Calibur). I don't even really like Halo much but I like playing with my buddies.

I don't buy or play through a lot of games. I've got about 8 Wii games, 8 360 games, and 1 PS3 game (Heavenly Sword - actually the wife bought it).

For me, the PS3 purchase was simply a PS2/BD player combo, although I figured on getting some games eventually (White Knight Story is the first PS3 game really on my radar).

Get 360 Premium 60 Gig holiday Bundle $300 includes Indiana Jones & Kung Fu Panda games for Free. Very good deal you get 60 gigs core systems $220 plus taxes (Free games value $80)

Honestly, if you had a 360, you'd have 10x as much fun gaming.

But, if you don't really play games, the PS3 as a BD player that happens to play games isn't bad. Like you said, you've got the pick-up-and-play attitude and that's about right for the PS3: I pick it up and get bored with it after about 20 minutes.

The 360 I play when I've got time to play games and want to really enjoy myself.

The Wii I will play when I've got relatives over or people that don't really play games.