Because My Readers Are Smarter...(Usually)...Help Decide My Machine
I am an on-the-wagon gamer. My last system was a N64 and I haven't purchased a computer game since Baldur's Gate II in 2001 or 2002ish.
I walked away from gaming, and for the most part, have never looked back.
Until now.
Rock Band is bringing me back. I had been getting teased by its fun potential for months and months and the announcement that AC/DC was coming put it over the top. I'm getting the game and that means buying a system for the first time in years to play it.
My original instinct was to get a Wii, because there are other Wii games that I would play and I'm a Nintendo boy going back to Super Mario Brothers. But alas, I'm told the Rock Band downloadable content is insufficient with the Wii and I'd be choked about missing that from the package, so onto X-Box360 or a Playstation 3.
So which of the two would you get?
I walked away from gaming, and for the most part, have never looked back.
Until now.
Rock Band is bringing me back. I had been getting teased by its fun potential for months and months and the announcement that AC/DC was coming put it over the top. I'm getting the game and that means buying a system for the first time in years to play it.
My original instinct was to get a Wii, because there are other Wii games that I would play and I'm a Nintendo boy going back to Super Mario Brothers. But alas, I'm told the Rock Band downloadable content is insufficient with the Wii and I'd be choked about missing that from the package, so onto X-Box360 or a Playstation 3.
So which of the two would you get?
I'm told the X-Box is cheaper, but PS3 includes a Blue-Ray player. I need a new DVD player, but I won't have a high-def tv for at least another year or so at the earliest. I wasn't going to buy other games, however Fallout 3 is likely going to drag me back into it. Mayhaps Diablo III next year as well.
But outside of those three, which would be more than enough to keep me busy, I am not going to be buying other games. This is essentially a Rock Band only system.
What should I buy?
But outside of those three, which would be more than enough to keep me busy, I am not going to be buying other games. This is essentially a Rock Band only system.
What should I buy?
PS3.
+ Best Blu-Ray player on the market (Criterion and others use it as the baseline system for production). Fully 2.0 compliant. Futureproof.
Beats stand-alone Blu-Ray players in start-up speed and responsiveness.
+ Excellent DVD upscaler.
+ Reliable. No Red Rings of Death.
+ Gets all the big-name multi-platform games.
+ Free online.
+ Little Big Planet.
- Less games in general.
- More expensive than 360.
- Less cheap, used games on the market.
Posted by
Anonymous |
5:15 PM
Xbox 360. The online content is vastly superior to the PS3 (though you do have to pay a monthly charge to get on Xbox Live).
If you dont have an HDTV, then why do you want a Blu-ray player? Wait a year and pick up a blu-ray player for $100 next Xmas. The Xbox 360 is also a better upconverting DVD player for Standard Definition content.
I've always like the Xbox controller better than the PS3 (this is strictly a personal preference).
The Xbox also has better media-streaming capabilities than the PS3, ie watching movies from your computer on the XBox. I have an HP Media Center PC which lets me stream live TV, movies, music, etc. to my Xbox (without wires).
Oh, and you can pick up an Xbox 360 Arcade for $200, while you're looking at double that for the PS3.
Posted by
NateDawg |
6:09 PM
If you're going to make comparisons, make them fairly.
The $200 Xbox does not include a hard drive which is essential for Xbox Live and those Rock Band downloads.
The $300 Xbox includes a 60GB drive.
The $399 PS3 includes a 80GB drive.
Xbox doesn't include batteries fo controller. PS3 controller has built in rechargeable battery.
The statement about DVD upscaling is incorrect. AVS, HomeTheatre, HD Guru, etc. all rate the PS3's cell processor-enabled upscaling much higher than the 360.
As for Blu-Ray - the $100 BR players you buy at Christmas will be old Profile 1.0 units...not the newest, most compatible, fasted players. Which the PS3 is.
Posted by
Anonymous |
9:37 PM
Re: anonymous poster #2.
True about the Xbox Arcade not having a HD, but MS has offered up 60gb hd's for a mere $20. And as someone who dropped the extra coin for the 120Gb, I can honestly say that was wasted money.
And because of the PS3's internal battery, those controllers need to be replaced when the rechargeable battery inside finally bites the dust.
Another point I forgot to make about the media abilities, is again Xbox Live's marketplace. Who would wanna drop $35 on a Blu-ray disc you'll watch once, when you can drop $4 on Xbox-Live and stream a movie straight to your machine (and the SD content is cheaper [and faster] than the HD content, for folks like the Hack)? Not to mention, since HD-DVD went the way of the Dodo bird, you can pick up an HD-DVD drive for the Xbox for next to nothing and there are all kinds of great older titles on clearance racks everywhere.
Posted by
NateDawg |
9:53 PM
*throws a thick steak into the arena to keep the fighty going*
This is good! I'm learning here and the best way to really get to the heart of a debate is to scrap it out. Nicely done lads.
As a score towards Natedawg, I realize that I haven't bought a DVD in over two years and have rented a grand total of maybe three over the last one. (Transformers, Across The Universe, Lake Of Fire)
The Blue-ray has instantly become less of a consideration.
Posted by
The Hack |
10:10 PM
If Blu-Ray (BD) isn't a concern, it matters a lot less which system you purchase if you mostly play multi-platform game (i.e., the popular games). Largely comparable.
However, with upcoming BD releases of Dark Knight, Taxi Driver, and The Shawshank Redemption it's one of the main reasons I went with a PS3.
Oh, and the $20 hard drives are 20Gb, not 60Gb. And they're refurbished.
Posted by
Anonymous |
10:36 PM
I'd avoid comparing the Xbox Live "HD" streams to the much, much higher quality Blu-Ray.
Xbox streams are limited to legacy 5.1 sound. Blu-ray is lossless (uncompressed) up to 7.1.
Xbox streams are 720p max, BD is 1080p.
BD prices are dropping. Picked up Iron Man for $24 from Amazon.ca - not $35.
There are lots of reasons to buy a 360 - it's online movie service isn't one of them. Unless you like waiting for massive HD downloads to complete.
Posted by
Anonymous |
10:40 PM
PS3 runs linux, meaning you could turn it into a media center for recording tv shows and and storing your movie collection on, or streaming from your home computer. When you want to play rock guitar or something, you reboot into the ps3 game console. The rest of the time you use Fedora runnng MythTV to act like your very own Teevo.
Posted by
Anonymous |
8:35 AM
The PlayStation 2 Rock Band instruments work on the PS3. They are easy to find cheap/used.
A nice way to get into RB for cheap - just grab the PS3 copy of the game.
Posted by
Anonymous |
9:25 AM
Pee Es tharee
Posted by
Anonymous |
9:26 AM