360 or PS3?

[Sideshow]

Reasons for upgrading to next-gen console

Assassin's Creed
GTA IV
Rock Band


Reasons for choosing 360

Cheaper in short-term
Mature online service
Gears of War
Crackdown
GH2 (for now)


Reasons for choosing PS3

Cheaper in long-run
Home (possibly)
Heavenly Sword
LittleBigPlanet
Fl0w (meh)
Gran Turismo
Final Fantasy (possibly)

Aside from a desire to play Mario, Kart, Smash and Metroid I'm not interested in a Wii any more. Discuss? I'll edit in any worthwhile additions.

[Hex]

Reasons for choosing PS3

Cheaper in long-run


Whats your reasoning for PS3 being cheaper in the long run?

Anyways, here's my thoughts on the next gen...can't say I'm overly interested in the Wii tbh - yes it its pretty good fun but the current catalogue of games is incredibly lacking, I just can't see enough titles to warrant a purchase. Virtual Console doesn't interest me as I have the original consoles for pretty much all the games they're selling on it, so I can just go buy the carts on ebay.

As for 360 vs PS3 I'm tempted by both, but at the same time I don't wanna shell out loads of money and not appreciate my purchase - I don't own an HDTV or even an HD capable monitor (I'll have a better monitor soon). For this reason, I think if I was gonna buy either it would be the 360 - I can get VGA output from a 360 so it'll play on the monitor I buy w/o problems. If I wanted to play PS3 on a monitor, I'd have to make sure my monitor was HDMI compatible, which involves spending yet more money. Also, I really don't feel the PS3 is worth the £400+ asking price. I might pick up the 360 within the coming year, but I imagine PS3 will wait until I have graduated and I have a real job - that way I'll be able to afford an HDTV with 1080i/p in order to really enjoy it, and by that time Sony might have seen sense and dropped the price, being as they've sold about 5 PS3s so far in the UK.

Oh and GTA4 will undoubtedly be out on the PC, not really a reason for a next-gen upgrade

[Sideshow]

PS3's online service is free, 360's has a yearly fee.

[Bluepixie]

Assassin's Creed is also getting a PC release.

[GingerPrinz]

I don't know a lot about PS3's onlie service, but Xbox live has THOROUGHLY impressed me when I've seen it used. I know 2 of the devs for Heavenly Sword and it's supposed to be looking pretty damn sexy. That said I reckon the 360 is the superior choice at the moment - Dead Rising, Crackdown and GOW push it past any current competition.

[saladin]

I'm a total console junkie, to be honest. I own a 360, and do not see the point in buying a PS3. The graphics are pretty much the same, quite nicely illustrated here (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=75856). I have a HD TV and the 360 looks great.

As for online, PS3 might be free, but Live is the best online service currently available. On Live, gamertags added to your friendlist don't have to be readded every time you get a new game. With the PS3, the list isn't persistant between games, which is a bit of a pain apparantly.

Also, do you actually care about blue-ray? I don't think it's worth the money. If you buy a 360 and later decide you want to get HD video, you could just buy the HD DVD add on.

[Strings]

As far as games go. I'd play the waiting game for a wee while then buy a PS3. So far the PS3 is the only console to have provided a "must play" game for me, that being LittleBigPlanet.

Yes Sony have a horrendous start, so much so it's almost comical. But I'm going to get any console in the near or later future, it would be a PS3.

[Hex]

Also, do you actually care about blue-ray? I don't think it's worth the money. If you buy a 360 and later decide you want to get HD video, you could just buy the HD DVD add on.

HD-DVD/BluRay should have absolutely no influence on your choice of which console to buy. Wanna know why? By the time HD movies actually take off in this country(i.e. by the time enough is available on the formats for it to be worth giving a toss), I will almost guarantee that you'll be able to get a player for your TV that will play both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs for less than £100. PS3 represents a relatively cheap BluRay player AT THE MOMENT, but at the moment, certainly in europe, BluRay/HD-DVD is pretty much unnused, and there are very few titles available. Its not gonna be like PS2 and DVD, trust me on this.

As for the online services, methinks you get what you pay for. Yes Live costs money, but I bet you anything it'll shit all over Home. Besides, a 12 month card for Live gold only costs 40 quid - thats less than £4 a month. I dunno what silver costs but that'd be even less, not exactly mammoth amounts considering that a new game for the 360/PS3 will cost around £40.

[saladin]

As for the online services, methinks you get what you pay for. Yes Live costs money, but I bet you anything it'll shit all over Home. Besides, a 12 month card for Live gold only costs 40 quid - thats less than £4 a month. I dunno what silver costs but that'd be even less, not exactly mammoth amounts considering that a new game for the 360/PS3 will cost around £40.

Gold is the only access you have to pay for. Silver is the free one that all consoles have, allowing access to demos and so forth.

[Sideshow]

OTOH Gold is the only service that counts - Silver is pointless.

[Tiberio]

I'd personally pick the PS3 but that's mostly to do with all the HD stuff.
I am buying a HD monitor (ie. dell or Benq) during summer and will be using it as a HD tv for console gaming.
The PS3 has bluray built in, you don't need to go and buy an extra drive or anything, this also means more storage for developers which means (hopefully) better games.
Out of personal preference, I really like the PS controllers, they fit my small hobbit hands really well.
oh yeah, the PS3 has an hdmi output as well and a built in harddisk.
The price is a bit steep though.

[LastChanceHotel]

I think I might buy a PS3 and an air conditioner, then I'll plug it into the WUXGA projector I'll be grabbing on my return from the States, dump the PC running the living-room, and splash out on the linux kit for the PS3.

But that won't be until I need a better living-room PC, a good-enough modchip for the PS3 comes out, and I buy another terabyte of disk space to store the legitimately backed-up games.

Fuck, buying a PS3 is expensive when you consider the other things needed to use it properly.

- Gigabit cabling to server room
- 25GB for each game you legitimately back-up in the fileserver, probably RAIDed
- Modchip and installation, firmware upgrades
- Decent DVI/HDMI cabling to go from PS3 to projector
- 2000 lumen HD+ Projector (although this will be purchased anyway)
- Speakers, 5.1 minimum
- wireless keyboard and some kind of gesture mouse (or just a keyboard with a trackpad)
- air conditioning :D

[Hex]

Fuck, buying a PS3 is expensive when you consider the other things needed to use it properly.

- Gigabit cabling to server room
- 25GB for each game you legitimately back-up in the fileserver, probably RAIDed
- Modchip and installation, firmware upgrades
- Decent DVI/HDMI cabling to go from PS3 to projector
- 2000 lumen HD+ Projector (although this will be purchased anyway)
- Speakers, 5.1 minimum
- wireless keyboard and some kind of gesture mouse (or just a keyboard with a trackpad)
- air conditioning :D

For "properly", read both "illegally" and "retardedly". To enjoy PS3 you need - a PS3, some games, and an HDMI compatible, 1080 res HDTV. Yes, still expensive kit, but not as expensive as all that nonsense Jan is talking about. I mean you do realise that the cost of all that shit far outweighs the cost of the games you seek not to pay for yes?

[LastChanceHotel]

For "properly", read both "illegally" and "retardedly". To enjoy PS3 you need - a PS3, some games, and an HDMI compatible, 1080 res HDTV. Yes, still expensive kit, but not as expensive as all that nonsense Jan is talking about. I mean you do realise that the cost of all that shit far outweighs the cost of the games you seek not to pay for yes?

Is it? Let's break down the numbers here a second.

Bravia S-series 46" HDTV: £1,250.00
HDMI cable, 2m: £18.99
some games (£40 each) x (say 15 over life of console?) = £600
PS3 - £399
Total cost: £2267.99

Sony VPL-HS60 WXGA Home Cinema Projector - £736.99
HDMI cable, 5m: £24.99
gigabit cabling, 15m: £7.12
PS3 - £399
500gb drive: £92
wireless keyboard and mouse set: £22.99
modchip, when one finally becomes available - £90 or so
Total cost: £1373.09

....which leaves room for 127 pizzas from Pizza Hut, or 894 shots of Vodka.

Huzzah!

[Fyndir]

God damn it, fuckers.

I don't care if I'm not a mod anymore, I'll rip your fucking heads off and shit down your necks if you insist on discussing piracy on here. >=(

[YcMing]

X-box just don't have the games that appeal to be at all...

Like Final Fantasy and Gran Turismo that will be coming out on the Ps3 ..

[Fyndir]

X-box just don't have the games that appeal to be at all...

Like Final Fantasy and Gran Turismo that will be coming out on the Ps3 ..

Final Fantasy XIII might not be PS3 only, the official wording was that the exclusive nature of the game was "in discussion", so it might make its way to the 360 too.

[TK-Maximus]

God damn it, fuckers.

I don't care if I'm not a mod anymore, I'll rip your fucking heads off and shit down your necks if you insist on discussing piracy on here. >=(

I'm in complete agreement. Let me spell this out in short sentences.

Pause is a University Society.
Pause is Funded by the SRC.
The SRC does not support Illegal Activity.
If Pause were to Support Illegal Activity, the SRC will not Fund Pause.
If the SRC does not fund Pause, Pause cannot Affiliate to the QMU or the SRC.
If Pause cannot affiliate to the QMU or the SRC, Pause can book neither the Food Factory or the Williams Room.

Clear enough? Do you need me to go into the SRC's Policy of Checking Society Web Pages for this kind of Breach of Policy?

[YcMing]

It's hard to believe FF series will be out for the 360~~~

[LastChanceHotel]

God damn it, fuckers.

I don't care if I'm not a mod anymore, I'll rip your fucking heads off and shit down your necks if you insist on discussing piracy on here. >=(

Piracy? Where?

Let's lynch those fuckers!

[Hex]

Is it? Let's break down the numbers here a second.

Bravia S-series 46" HDTV: £1,250.00
HDMI cable, 2m: £18.99
some games (£40 each) x (say 15 over life of console?) = £600
PS3 - £399
Total cost: £2267.99

Sony VPL-HS60 WXGA Home Cinema Projector - £736.99
HDMI cable, 5m: £24.99
gigabit cabling, 15m: £7.12
PS3 - £399
500gb drive: £92
wireless keyboard and mouse set: £22.99
modchip, when one finally becomes available - £90 or so
Total cost: £1373.09

....which leaves room for 127 pizzas from Pizza Hut, or 894 shots of Vodka.

Huzzah!

Your figures are totally skewed there by the fact that you're factoring in £600 for games (ludicrous figure, games only cost £40 new and you'll likely end up trading some in anyway) and the HDTV you've chosen for the list costs £500 more than the projector. Thats whats called an uneven comparison Jan :-P. Plus you're *assuming* that a good modchip will in fact come out, but given recent laws outlawing such things in the US, don't be surprised if that takes a coupla years.

Oh and the lads have a good point, stop alluding to pirated PS3 games. (sorry Fyndir)

[Sideshow]

Also: why on earth would you need to buy a new TV at all? I don't give a shit about HD, not relative to the price involved.

[Hex]

Also: why on earth would you need to buy a new TV at all? I don't give a shit about HD, not relative to the price involved.

PS3 on a normal tv looks marginally better than PS2. I am not paying £400 for a console which looks identical to the last one, waste of fucking money. You would at the very least need a decent monitor to appreciate the increased graphical quality.

[Bluepixie]

It's hard to believe FF series will be out for the 360~~~

In the same way it jumped ship from Nintendo to Sony? One sec, they still release FF games on Nintendo systems.

But, yeah, sounds unlikely.

[Sideshow]

PS3's "marginal" improvement on PS2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zQSWOTS3Gw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Etecheblog%2Ecom%2Findex%2E php%2Ftech%2Dgadget%2Fvideo%2Dps2%2Dvs%2Dps3%2Dgra phics%2Dengine)

[saladin]

If HDMI is such a sticking point, why not go for the new 360 Elite? It has a 160gb HD and a HDMI port. And it's black and sexy.

[Hex]

PS3's "marginal" improvement on PS2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zQSWOTS3Gw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Etecheblog%2Ecom%2Findex%2E php%2Ftech%2Dgadget%2Fvideo%2Dps2%2Dvs%2Dps3%2Dgra phics%2Dengine)

Ok, firstly my point was only about graphics, not about gameplay improvements. Yes I do realise that gameplay will be better on PS3. Nonetheless, the major deal here is the graphics, and that video shows no demonstration of PS3 on a standard res TV. Trust me, the difference in graphical fidelity is vast, you really won't be gettin the most out of a next gen console w/o a high-def TV/monitor/projector.

[LastChanceHotel]

you really won't be gettin the most out of a next gen console w/o a high-def TV/monitor/projector.

I hope you're remembering the difference between this http://main.itac.ksu.edu/techclass/Equipment%20Checkout/Images/tv-vcr.jpg and this http://dapmalaysia.info/tv/tv-pic.JPG.

Oh, and projectors are cheaper than you might think. The one listed would provide the same visible quality as the Bravia.

But having had a watch of some of the nice tech demos for the PS3, I'm looking forward to getting to play some of them, hopefully without stabbing a BD-ROM sized hole in my wallet (Hopefully, a BD-R sized one instead).

[Hex]

I hope you're remembering the difference between this *insert pic of tv here* and this *insert pic of monitor here*.



Which particular difference are you angling at, there are quite a few...

[YegaDoyai]

No Jan, the Bravia is stunning, the projector you are mooting is going to have the same res but that is all, colour, fidelity, upsampling, contrast are all better on the Bravia. However, the bravia comes with a price tag that is representative of the difference in quality. For a top flight projector to compete with the bravia you need to look to the £5000+ market and get a seperate video processor for upsampling.

My money would rest with the projector if you are a part time gamer and never watch TV, no projector will ever rival a TV until you can use LEDs as the light source.

[Hex]

Projector is also pretty impractical for most people - I would struggle to fit a Bravia into my room, but there is no fuckin way I could get a projector and a screen setup in here permanently without throwing out some furniture.

[DAve]

Is it? Let's break down the numbers here a second.

Bravia S-series 46" HDTV: £1,250.00
HDMI cable, 2m: £18.99
some games (£40 each) x (say 15 over life of console?) = £600
PS3 - £399
Total cost: £2267.99

Sony VPL-HS60 WXGA Home Cinema Projector - £736.99
etc
Total cost: £1373.09
so, that's around 2267.90 / 15 games = £151 per game.

(with a projector, that's only £117 per game.)

I'm sticking to a PC, it's cheaper for me since I already own most of the kit.

[LastChanceHotel]

Projectors are only good if you have the space: they let you get good quality picture on par with most regular HDTVs but at a vastly, vastly increased size. Obviously the Bravias are the other way around: they give you gobsmackingly good picture quality but at a reasonable size. You'd need a £5k projector to directly compete with the Bravia on quality, but then you're forgetting about the benefit of added image size. So, in the end, the projector and bravia are two ends of the same spectrum, and choosing one or the other should be on the basis of requirements.

Still, I'm going to be buying one of these while I'm in the US (on the first day I'm over there, rather) for my desktop there and at home:

http://i.dell.com/images/global/products/monitors/3007wfp_hc_intensity.jpg

... then I think I'll use the existing 800x600, 2000 lumen projector I will have use of for free (my dad's stopped using it for presentations, he doesn't do them very often any more) in the living room, and just keep my big monitor in my room for my own use.


Mmmm, I can't wait.

On another note, any word if Razers' Mako 2.1 speakers are any good? Razer Mako Speakers (http://www.razerzone.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_16&products_id=50)

[Strings]

They look dead fancy. But I wouldn't trust the sound quality at all.

[Sideshow]

Was searching for something and came across this thread. Bumping for myopic hilarity.

[To0]

HD-DVD/BluRay should have absolutely no influence on your choice of which console to buy. Wanna know why? By the time HD movies actually take off in this country(i.e. by the time enough is available on the formats for it to be worth giving a toss), I will almost guarantee that you'll be able to get a player for your TV that will play both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs for less than £100. PS3 represents a relatively cheap BluRay player AT THE MOMENT, but at the moment, certainly in europe, BluRay/HD-DVD is pretty much unnused, and there are very few titles available. Its not gonna be like PS2 and DVD, trust me on this.

Thank fuck we didn't.

[Hex]

While I might have been off in my reckoning of £100, it's still not like PS2 and DVD. Who gives a shit about BluRay really? It's not even close to ubiquity, and it won't be for some time

[To0]

True but if you bought an early adopter standalone chances are you can't even use all the latest features or have the same quality sound that you can with the PS3. The PS3 is still one of the fastest BD players for the extended features. And with the advent of 3d BD next year still stands as a sensible option.

Also, if you have the money, HD is totally worth it.

[Hex]

I love HD, I just don't use BD for it!

[To0]

you are the cancer etc...

[Hex]

I'm not gonna feel bad for downloading content I couldn't buy if I wanted to! Half the stuff I'm getting hasn't got a BD release, it's ripped from US cable

[DAve]

I'm not gonna feel bad for downloading content I couldn't buy if I wanted to! Half the stuff I'm getting hasn't got a BD release, it's ripped from US cable

do you actually /pay/ for anything?

[Hex]

do you actually /pay/ for anything?
Yes actually I do DAve. I spend hundred (yes, hundreds) a month on vinyl releases, I buy games from Steam, I pay to watch films in the cinema and on DVD. I often download things first and then buy them if I consider them worth the money. I'm not gonna claim I'm a saint but I resent the accusation that I'm a complete freeloader - I support the industries I love by targeting my limited funds at those I consider most worthy.

[saladin]

I hate Hex. He pirates everything. Even fish and chips. He just sails down to the chippie, fires off a barrage from his port-side cannons and gets himself some cod and chips.

What a bastard.

[Fil2eFly]

Yeah fuck you hex, your everything thats wrong with this country! You caused the recession with your piracy!

[Octavion]

He keeps pirating my cups of tea. My tea is soverign territory!

[saladin]

Yesterday I saw Hex torrent a baby. Then he seeded it to 100%.

It was terrible.

[Captain_Caveman]

http://forum.pausegaming.com/picture.php?albumid=2&pictureid=2

Proof that Hex is clearly a pirate. As inspired by the previous artistic talents of Troll.

[Fil2eFly]

Using my 1337 image skills iv found HIDEN things in that photo of hex!

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/3319/hex.jpg

You can clearly see his Pirate ship!
And his Pirate parrot!

AND his pirated pirates booty!

[Hex]

Lol, good work guys :lol:

[DAve]

Lol, good work guys :lol:

Fair point. I was pretty harsh with my earlier comments. Sorry for the offence.

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion I've been a cantankerous, grumpy bastard recently. :(

[Hex]

Don't worry DAve, it's all good! You just need to get along to a LAN for some much needed R&R ;-)