Yea, the blu-ray drive on the PS3 had tremendously slow seek times which is why they started with the mandatory installs on many games.

It works alright for a high bitrate bluray movie since it's more or less linear, but you can't say you haven't noticed the menu lag.

As I do you, good sir!

If I recall correctly, the issue with the Blu-ray drive in the PS3 was that it only spun at 1x, which was not fast enough for data to be transferred to the console to run the high-def games in "real time" so to speak. The majority of the data had to be dumped onto the console to alleviate this constraint, especially because Sony forced all disc-based game makers to use Blu-ray discs instead of DVDs, whether their game was 1GB or 25GB.

You could say that MS tried to pull an Apple, but not as gracefully. Apple's good at convincing you that their way is the right way. MS is... not.

Agreed, although I like that I can use AA batteries in my controller when I am wanting to do so. Right now, I keep my 360 controller plugged in anyway. To each his own, right?
I think MS is going to have to play catch up in gamer good-will after E3, but Sony has to play catch up on infrastructure and maintaining a large online network. It's debatable which task is going to be harder, but either way, they both have a lot of work to do. The launch is still about 4-5 months away. Anything can happen in that time.

You don't like AA batteries, or am I reading that wrong?

He probably prefers B Batteries.

or D.

I hate messing with rechargables and figuring out what's charged and what isn't. It's bad enough with a bunch of Wiimotes running around.

I much prefer the convenience of the internal battery on PS3 controllers, and I've never had one wear out.

As to the PS4 and Xbox One Blu-ray drives, there are specs on the PS4 on the wiki page.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playstation_4

...but so far nothing has been posted on the one inside the Xbox One. I've seen several topics on people asking but no actual data is out there or at least no-one has found it.

The disc specs really aren't going to matter on either system since all games are going to run off the hard drive.

BTW, I didn't know that about the disk speed limitations and the forced Blu-ray on the PS3. Thanks.

I always thought it was the limited RAM...a mistake they almost made again.

I love the flexibility of having a Play and Charge pack but using AA batteries in a pinch. I've had a dead PS3 controller that I ended up plugging into my laptop to use because the PS3 is on the other side of the room and above my TV so stringing a USB cable to it is out of the question.

Plus I've got enough rechargables in the house that at least 4 of them are sitting on the charger at all times, no matter what.

I love those battery packs on the 360 controller. I use the Xbox 360 Quick Charge Kit so there's always two fresh batteries ready to go. I can keep the Xbox controller next to the sofa, and just swap batteries when needed. But the PS3 controller is always plugged into the charging station.

What bugs me about the PS3 is the controller will only charge if the console is on. So I have to plug the USB cable into something else if I want to charge when I'm not already using the PS3.

I plug it into my tv.

I keep one plugged into the PS3 while I use the other. When it dies, I just swap it out. Still, neither of them lasts very long at all.

I should see if my USB ports are "hot" on the TV when it's in standby mode. I used to use the Wii for this, but I "upgraded" to the Wii U and the ports go dead on that when it's off, just like the PS3.

On PS3, I generally have one I'm using on the coffee table and the other plugged into the console...just swap em out. We're also watching Netflix all the time with the bluetooth remote, so it's never much of an issue.

That said, given that it's a standard USB input, it would be nice if one of my 55 old cell phone chargers and USB wall plugs for iPods, iPhones and Kindles would work on it. Bet they have that sorted for PS4.

I keep one of these plugged in in my media closet. I got it on clearance at Target maybe a year ago or more. I freaking love it.

I'm using the Playstation 3 Energizer Power & Play Charging System. It works pretty well. Although it always takes me a couple extra seconds to get the controller properly plugged in.

Look can we all just agree it's better than the Wii U solution of non-removable, non-USB?

I use the powered USB ports on my router for charging. It's perfect because it's right next to my couch, so the cable throw is much shorter than plugging it into the console, and it doesn't stretch across my living room.

But AA batteries was one of the smartest choices MS made. Buy a few rechargables and you're set for years, and at a much lower price than proprietary pack-in batteries.

So how long do these games take to load to the hard drive from the disc, anyway (which is going to be every single game, right)? Any info about that? That's the thing I hate most about PS3 third party games (1st party games usually have minimal installs), it takes forever to actually get to play them the first time between the loading to the hard drive and downloading the updates.

Much lower price for whom?

I'd probably have to buy one of the third party packs that you can leave in the controller...not sure what they cost. I'm about to buy a set for my Wiimotes though.

Loading from disc to hard drive will take awhile, but that's why both new systems are implementing a "play while loading" feature. It'll install the first couple necessary GBs, then get you in the game. As you play, it'll keep loading in the background.

Not that matters to some but the XO does not include a headset...

Xbox One does not include headset

http://www.gamespot.com/news/xbox-on...eadset-6410685


Gamers who buy an Xbox One this holiday will not find the redesigned headset in the box, Microsoft has confirmed with Ars Technica. Players will have voice options from day-one, though, in the form of the system's built in Kinect unit.

"Xbox One does not include a pack-in headset accessory," a Microsoft representative said.

That's the one thing that I'm upset about. Not everyone, for whatever reason, wants to send/receive voice chat through Kinect. It should come with a headset just as previous consoles did.