I agree with you. The average consumer can replace the Xbox 360 controller batteries. I didn't even know I would have to replace the PS3 batteries at some point.

:shrug: Then just buy a new controller in a few years, I guess. For me, I think the solution is okay.

...but it's the epitome of easy! ;) I'm obviously down with your post. Without a clearly defined battery compartment, I honestly think average people would assume their controller was broken and go out and buy a new one and not dismantle a sealed controller.

The instructions are in the manual for the PS3 (I guess reading the manual is still too much to ask for most consumers) or you can just call Sony and they will walk you through it and replace the battery free. This is really a non issue and I can't believe something this lame is being used as a negative for the PS3. They give you the lithium ion pack free instead of charging like everyone else and they are the devil. Sucks to be Sony.

Damn them and their free online, free batteries, free Wi-Fi, support for non proprietary HDDs, memory cards, headsets and cameras. Why can't they care about the consumer like Microsoft and force expensive proprietary accessories on you, charge you a yearly fee to play online and give you a battery cover so you don't have to bust out a phillips every 4 years. Fuck Sony.

Yeah... cause 1. I am going to read a manual about how to use a controller...(which did not come with my controller that I bought separately) and 2. I am going to remember in the year(s) after reading said manual that the manual said the batteries are replaceable and had instructions on how to do it?

Obviously... If I read the manual, I don't remember reading anything about it... so you think the average consumer is going to?


I'm not in this for the PS3 vs 360 which is better/worse debate... I'm basically talking about the controllers themselves in regards to the batteries.


Now for the debate: I like the fact that the PS3 controller has it integrated where you don't have to use regular batteries or switch in and out rechargeable batteries. I also give it a plus that it uses a basic and readily available USB cable to charge it. Until such time that it stops recharging... then I am left without a controller.

On the 360 controller: I like they give you a choice, perhaps they should have included the play and charge kit with rechargeable battery pack with the controller that came with the console. :shrug: Price is not an issue with having to purchase the play and charge kit separately or buying the controller bundle that includes it, do to frequent sales on them.

One strength on the 360 controller side is that when that rechargeable battery pack does stop recharging, I can simply install batteries into it and I am working again... in a matter of seconds.

I don't have to disassemble the controller and replace some special? battery pack.


And further on the hardware negatives of the 360:

Reliability factor (though the PS3 has had some failures reported as well... but not even close to the 360's even when you take into account the number of units of each)
Proprietary Hard Drive
Proprietary Plug and Play Charge Kit


You should have heard and read plenty of the problems the 360 has had with the consoles dying... but then again, you should have also heard all the great things about the 360 and Xbox LIVE that makes people want to buy more than one.

I know that if mine dies (again) that I am not going to want to wait the 2 weeks or so I hear it takes now to get it back... I will go out and purchase another... the toughest part will be trying to decide which model. :D

Well, the "nonreplaceable battery" is unfortunately not something totally new (thanks Apple), but lots of toys do have screwed-in battery covers.
As long as Sony will replace the battery, that is actually a pretty cool feature, assuming it lasts a while (which it apparently does). My only concern would be what happens when Sony stops supporting that controller, is the battery totally proprietary and you're SOL, or could you find an aftermarket replacement?
Long before I got the 360 I invested in multiple sets of rechargeable batteries, so that's what I use for my 360 controllers, and it's been no problem and very convenient.
The only negative I can see is having to wait to get the replacement battery shipped to you....but if you have two controllers, it's unlikely both would need replacing at the exact same time.
I do agree that the HD pricing for the 360 is ridiculous. To me it's a testimonial that people are still willing to put up with high prices and shoddy hardware (at the beginning) for the gaming experience.

:clap: Well said!

Sometimes I really don't get the hate for Sony. Sure, the games were lacking for the first 12 months, but now I think if I had a choice, it would be PS3 all the way. Not that I don't like the 360, I do, but I think the PS3 is as good for gaming and by the way is an excellent BR player. I hate that it's going to be so expensive to get a new MS 120 HD and I don't think I can continue to play games without the upgrade now.

There is no hate for Sony from me, if you looked in my living room, you would see that.

I also don't see any real hate from anyone else either... just a debate and personal opinions... :shrug:

I spend most of my time gaming on my 360 - that is where most of the people I play with play.

I do spend time gaming on the PS3, more and more so lately. But there are just some things on the PS3 side that are frustrating when trying to play multiplayer that the people I play with tend to not play on it as much. :shrug:

I still don't know if it is possible or not to have 2 separate "profiles" active on the PS3 at the same time, or if the game Buzz Quiz TV allows it.

I do know that the Little Big Planet Beta seems to allow it as it asks you which profile to use for a 2nd active controller. :shrug:

Alright, this wasn't posted when I made my reply, so here goes:

I already included the proprietary HD and Plug and Play charge kit as negatives. and that they suck.

Free Online? meh, will it always be free? They are starting to charge for more and more things now that used to be free. :shrug: But it works now and it is free.

Free batteries? What?

Free Wi-Fi? Free is good... yes definitely something the 360 should have built in.... Fuck Microsoft... those greedy bastards!

Memory cards? Don't use them...

Cameras? I have one, it was wicked cheap... no idea if my PS2 Eyetoy would work or not... I know it works on the PS3 though!! :D

Headset? That is a problem for people, some work, some don't, other issues... at least the 360 version being proprietary means it works.

I have to admit I had no idea the battery could be replaced on the PS3 controller.

I suppose if people didn't know about it and their controller stopped working, they might seek out assistance from Sony that would point them in the direction of changing it.

I won't say the non-free network is a ding against 360 because many successful gaming experiences require subscriptions (like WoW).

However, the lack of built-in wireless on the 360, and requiring $100 to add it is worse than the exorbitant prices required for a proprietary hard drive.

One of the biggest selling points for the 360 requires a network connection. I would wager more than half of 360 users are not in a position to directly wire their box to a hub. Regardless of the number, anyone in that situation is basically forced to pay a whopping $100 for a simple USB network adapter. Now, I know there are cheaper solutions out there, but just like the argument about the PS3 controller, how would the average consumer know which ones to get? It's not like MS is going to help publicize cheaper alternatives.

It's pretty sad IMO when the Wii includes network support for $250, but MS can't at least include their adapter in the latest bundles, let alone from the start when the boxes were $400 or more.

Now... that is something that is "well said" :up::up:

Six of one half dozen of another. You say they are free features but I say they are a $100-$200 premium over the competition. :shrug: The Arcade unit comes with a memory card (who trusts third party memory cards anyway?), every other unit comes with a 1st party headset, ethernet cable to get you started and HD cables. Out of the 10 or so skus that Sony has pushed out the door, they still haven't included an HD cable. This coming from the company that said HD gaming doesn't begin until they say it does.

I do agree with bunkaroo, when the Wii and even the DS can include Wi-fi for under $250 there is no reason the Elite 360 shouldn't at least come with it. I think it has more to do with the RROD. They still haven't nailed it and introducing another variable inside the case isn't going to help. In such situation, they should obviously cut the price of the external adapter in half.

They dropped the price of the 120gb HDD, so I'm sure they have some room to drop the adapter too. I've been hard wired since day one. If keeping the adapter kept the price of the console down, I'm glad they kept it out. With that said, it's definitely time to include this feature inside the console.

The wireless adapter definitely needs to drop a bit to at least the $70 range. I can understand MS pricing it above regular USB wireless adapters that are typically $40-50, but $100 is nuts. Peripheral pricing is pretty much my only complaint on the 360 side whereas the PS3 doesn't have enough to keep me interested in buying a new one once I move (current PS3 is my roomie's), even when I need a Blu-ray player.

The extra cost is really the Blu-ray and I agree it is a negative on the PS3. Great if you want Blu-ray movies, but if you are buying it for games why pay the extra money? Definitely a reason to get a 360 if all you want is gaming. I'm not saying everything is rosy on the PS3 side, but I will give it credit for the things it did right and I totally agree it has plenty it did wrong.

Sony was a company I hated for years with all their damn proprietary stuff. Memory cards, music formats, disc formats, ports and adaptors and so on. I have to give them some credit for putting so much (other than the Blu-ray drive) on the PS3 that is universal and that works with standard equipment. You can hook up a standard portable HDD or add a standard laptop drive, plug in standard compact flash or SD (if you got one with the readers or use a USB one), plug in a standard USB camera, keyboard and mouse, and the bluetooth works with most headsets (i realize there are issues with some after the lastest firmware) and keyboards as well. Hell, they even let you put Linux on the thing. That is shocking considering where Sony was just a few years ago and I have to give them some credit for trying to be a little more open with their hardware. It sold me on the hardware, but I understand that many just want to put a game in the thing and the 360 does that very well with some nice extras on top of it.

Something to think about: the PS3 has a web browser. If you don't have a PC in your TV room, sometimes it's easier to look something up on the console.

Not really a dealbreaker but for a good six months, the web browser is the only feature I used on my Wii. Literally, the only feature.

I'm with you on that. I didn't use the PS3 web browser a lot until custom soundtracks were added. I liked that I could jump online download a couple of podcasts straight to the PS3 and then cruise and listen to them in Burnout Paradise. Not a must have, but I like that the option is there. I really wish they would add an RSS reader to the PS3 like the PSP has. Very handy for podcasts.

That would be an awesome feature. I would love to be able to easily pull new ones and then stream them.

I just bought an xbox a month and a half ago, and I was suprised that there was no wireless built into the unit. Then I was real annoyed when I saw that the only option was a 99 dollar one. So I just bought a cheap wireless router and bridged it to my existing wireless router. 29 bucks on sale. Works perfectly fine

I also am always suprised and annoyed at how expensive controllers are. Does a controller really need to be 50 bucks? Seriously.

I'm a bit annoyed at controller prices, but I think the 360 controllers are very solid and I've seen them at Amazon for $37 which isn't too bad. They are certainly higher quality than the old controllers we paid $20 for on older hardware. I even scored a Sixaxis for $20 at Amazon last Christmas so thankfully I'm not out big money yet, but I haven't picked up a DS3 at this point.

Honestly the ones that annoy me are the Nintend Wii ones. I know people will argue they are expensive because of all the motion stuff, but damn it is $60 for a remote and nunchuk and I honestly don't think they are worth even half of that cost. When you compare a 360 controller to that it is a bargain.

Yeah, but like Nintendo said right out of the gate it will be rare that you ever need multiple nunchucks. Out of all the party games I've played I'm surprised (and dismayed) that Reggie was right on that one. I bought 3 and rarely use more than one. It's always a solo game that requires it. All that hoopla about finding nunchucks and we didn't even need them, unless you are playing WiiBoxing or any of the mediocre FPS games on the system.

I agree but at the same time it is retarded that the Wii does not include an ethernet port for us hardwirers out there. I never have been a fan of wireless gaming and always have preferred to hardwire it. The Wii charges you $25 for a "lan adapter" when they could have just put in a port.

All the consoles have certain drawbacks and certain attractions. The final choice comes down to one having to look at exclusives (I preferred the 360 exclusives to the PS3 exclusives), controller handling (I despise the PS3 controller and always have. Nowhere near as comfortable as the 360 controller), BD (I like having this option but I preferred a stand-alone player), and if you like to play online (c'mon...everyone knows the answer to that one. 40 bucks a year for what you get...whoopie-shit.).

I have owned both a PS3 and a 360. The PS3 was sold within 4 months and I have not missed it.

One other detail I forgot to mention is the 360 marketplace. The amount of variety sold at the xbox marketplace simply blows the PS3 out of the water. Choices ranging from downloadable games, available demos, movies, TV shows, game and movie trailers, gamer pics, dashboard themes, etc. The PSN marketplace doesn't even come close and it really disappointed me when I had my PS3.

I think the choice is pretty easy myself. :)

This will hopefully be fixed in firmware 2.50:
Hopefully it's going to be separate settings, so the controller can time out and shut down without needing to shut down the entire system. I assume it'll work that way, but you never know.

The 360 has certainly spoiled us with the demos. The fact that EVERY Arcade game has a demo is incredible. I've come to despise the fact that I can't expect that on the PS3(and to a lesser extent on the Wii). It's rare that I'm going to blind buy a lot of those unless they are on sale. Which brings us full circle... at least Sony has frequent sales and promotions on their titles, something the 360 would certainly benefit from.

Absolutely. I hate the fact that some of the earliest Arcade titles are still full price. I can sometimes get point cards for sale so that indirectly makes the games cheaper but it is garbage that we don't get some actual sales on Live Arcade titles to help drive sales. There are multiple games that i would pick up if they dropped to the 400 point range.