Thinking of trading out my entire XB360 inventory (except the console and Kinect games since my kids love it and IMO, Kinect > Move ... at least for my kids) and getting a PS3.

Reasons:
a) Most of my regular friends who I play Xbox with have already switched over to the PS3,
b) Aforementioned friends and myself are going to wait out the next-gen for at least a year (subject to change of course),
c) I would like to play some of the PS3 exclusives such as Last of Us, Infamous, Uncharted, etc.
d) I have a lot of Xbox games (see below) that I know I will never have time to play so having a stream-lined, thinned-out inventory is very appealing.
e) PS+ seems to be > Xbox Live mainly due to the free games available each month on PS+. I know Xbox Live is now doing that but it is supposed to end when XBONE is released. PS+ has been doing it for a long time (I think?).

Things holding me back:
a) I have almost 75 non-Kinect games. Most of those are sitting in my Pile of Shame. Realistically, I doubt I will ever have a chance to play all of those.
b) My play time is very limited. Maybe a 8 hours a week if I'm lucky. Again, realistically, I will never get around to playing all of my Xbox games.
c) I still have a plethora of MS Points which I know will soon convert to local $. I don't know what I will be spending that on if I switch to PS3.
d) I've been entrenched in the Xbox for about 4 years meaning I've bought a lot of XBLA games, DLC, etc. plus my Gamerscore (<-- a lame reason I know but I'm weird like that).

So, VideogameTalkers, should I trade-in/sell my Xbox, non-Kinect inventory and switch to a PS3 or just wait till I'm ready to dive in to next-gen and go straight for the PS4?

Thanks all

You have a pile of shame as it is, what will switching teams at this point accomplish?

Forget about what you have, and decide what you want. If you want to play the PS3 games, get a PS3. Use the Xbox stuff to offset the cost. If the PS3 games aren't all that important, keep the Xbox and finish what you're sitting on already.

Having both consoles is not an option?

Are any games in the pile of shame exclusives?

Those PS3 games you listed are really awesome and you are missing big not playing them.

But yeah. This.

8 hours?

If you want to use the time that you do have for gaming to play with friends, then get a PS3. But that said, the exclusives you mentioned are more single player based. So unless you and your friends are planning to play the next CoD or something, then what your friends have might not matter that much.

You could also hedge that PS3 streaming will come to the PS4 in a year or so, and wait to play the exclusives then...

Probably nothing.

Good point, thanks.

It is an option and I would keep the Xbox mainly for Kinect for the kids as well as the Xbox exclusives that I already own, Gears, Halo, etc.

Unfortunately, yes, 8 hours. Between work, balancing the home life and 4 kids I average between 2-3 hours a session, maybe 3-4 times a week.

Good points as well, thanks.

Taking the free games out of the equation, how does Xbox Live stack up against PS+? Is one more reliable than the other? Better voice communication, party chat, etc?

How does the PS3 interface/OS/GUI compare to the Xbox? Prefer one over the other?

I prefer the Xbox 360 GUI, but I like bright colors.

Well, If you're just talking about the online experience, I think most would say that Xbox Live wins in just about every category. For PS3, PSN is still free to play online though. PS+ bascially just adds the free games plus cloud storage of your saves.

Interesting discussion.

I'd say, unless you want to play online with your friends, there's not that much of a case for a PS3 right now and you should just catch up on your 360 library. But if your friends do play a lot of coop or multiplayer and you're sure they won't go next gen anytime soon, it's a pretty good time to jump in.

My advice would be to abandon the current generation entirely, give the Kinect to your kids, and preorder a PS4. I really think all of the PS3 games you listed will find their way onto PS4 at some point anyway, and instead of following your friends, you can lead them. The price difference will be about $100-$150, depending on which PS3 model you want, and it would be money well-spent in my opinion. At a minimum, you won't be wanting yet another console in a year or two. There will also be lots of "free to play" and free games with PS Plus to spend your limited gaming time on.

Note: A similar case could be made for X1, aside from free games, depending on 1) which way you think your friends will go and 2) whether your kids like Kinect enough to spend $100 on it.

Uh oh, something weird is going on. I plugged in a USB stick to my PS3 in order to do a backup so I could then install a larger hard drive. It told me I needed 33 more GB, then it shut down on its own, and a red blinking light came on. I tried restarting, and kept getting the red blinking light. Apparently this means there is a hardware malfunction. It could be as simple as overheating, but it could be something more serious. I have a backup system, but I might not be able to transfer my info. I'm not sure how much is backed up through the cloud.

Yeah, sounds like it's time for a new PS3. Have you seen the new blue one yet? Looks different.

http://www.gamestop.com/ps3/consoles...-system/111553

That looks like the same shade of blue that the PS4 controller was shown in, and it's hideous. It needs to be a deeper hue. This color just makes it look like a Fisher Price toy. Same with the red.

That's what mine did when it died. Everyone told me it was YLOD, but I never saw any yellow light. Apparantly the yellow light only comes on for like half a second, but I never saw it.

Anyway, it's dead. The hair dryer trick might get it going for a bit, but it might not last long enough to do a backup. It worked on mine, but it only lasted long enough to get my game out and push the game save I was working on to the PS+ cloud. It died again while I was trying to do a backup to an external.

Yup, yours is now dead. It's super-frustrating, but that's what happens. Here's my experience from January, cut and re-posted since I'm too lazy to type much.


If they're still offering that, go that route. It's a great deal for $100 and I like the Slim much better than the Super Slim anyway. It's quieter, more elegant and ejects the disc.

I pre-ordered the GTA V bundle, which is actually an awesome deal compared to the other non-used or refurbished PS3 systems. It's a 500 GB ultra slim with GTA V and 30 days of PS+ for $270, which means that the system itself is essentially $200. Now, if Sony were willing to send me a 500 GB system for $100, I'd do that, since I still have a second 60 GB console.

My only problem at this point is that I have a copy of Arkham Asylum in my Blu-ray drive, and I can't get it out.

Sony will retrieve it and send it back to you. They sent me my copy of The Simpsons Movie blu ray back

There's a local repair place here. I'm going to call them and ask them how much for a full repair and how much it would be just to retrieve the disc inside of it.

Worst case, I could always go and buy a used copy of Arkham Asylum, but I'd have to make sure it's not the GOTY edition in order to ensure that the saves are compatible.

When my 60GB died, I got the disk out myself...just watched a few youtube videos and broke out the screwdrivers. I had to take the blu-ray drive apart as well, but it was reasonably straightforward. And it was kind of neat learning about what was going on in there.

I ended up going the same route Decker did and sending it in for a slim...thinking it was $150 back then.

I also agree with Decker that the Slim is a much nicer piece of hardware than the Super Slim. I own both, and the Super Slim is simply a bad design IMO...looks and feels cheap...fins on top collect all kinds of dust.

Sorry for your loss.

There's a trick on You Tube to retrieve your disc that might work for you. It didn't for me.

If memory serves, I think that worked on the 40GB and 80GB but not the 20GB and 60GB.

Sony still accepted your broken system after you opened it up? Doesn't that break some kind of seal and voids your warranty?

Also, while the super slim might be a cheaper design, at least if it dies I can get the disc out without any problems.

The trade in for fats isn't a warranty matter, as mine was many years out of warranty, and I put it back together very carefully. I actually take the trade in deal as a tacit acknowledgement that the fats have a limited life-span, and I'm guessing they just part them out.

Fair point on disk retrieval, but I've taken a slim apart as well, and it was MUCH easier than the fat. Guessing I could retrieve a disk from a slim inside of 15 minutes if I'm deliberate...probably under 10 if I rushed a bit.

I used a video sort of like this one:

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UPq4PaUSSUs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

He gets to the disk drive by about the 15 minute mark. There may even be video for taking that drive apart, but I just winged it. I remember it like it was yesterday...the game was Borderlands, and I was PISSED. At the time, I didn't have a backup PS3, and I really wanted to play that game.

Okay, I was able to use a video like that to get the disc out. But the system is definitely not in a state to be swapped now.

Your video didn't involve a hammer did it?