XBOX or PS3

[GINNNNNNNNNNNNOBILI]

Cool thing not alot of people know about the ps3, you can actually download movies on your computer put them on a USB flash drive and insert the flash drive into the PS3 and play them in pretty good quality on the PS3

[baseline bum]

I agree totally that from a hardware perspective ps3 is the bees knees. It's 99.9% reliable, internal wireless, rechargeable controllers out of the box. If you're into blu-ray, it's all the better. Unfortunately, Sony really screwed the pooch in terms of third party developer support and really just, games, for their gaming console. All things being equal I wish Sony's hardware was Microsoft's. Sadly, Microsoft having inferior hardware doesn't even matter to me, because they are light years ahead of Sony in terms of content and utility.

From a hardware perspective, the PS3 is lacking because it has two memory pools which are expensive to copy between, so they can't be effectively treated as a 512MB array like the 360's memory can be.

That's not exactly true. All you need to play online is a $199.00 arcade model and a $19.00 memory card so you can save your gamertag. You don't have to buy an official xbox wireless adapter to play online, you can just plug it in.

Actually, I'm pretty sure the arcade comes with a 256MB memory card, so it's ready for XBoxLive out of box. I think you also get a free month of XBL-gold even with the arcade.

[baseline bum]

Cool thing not alot of people know about the ps3, you can actually download movies on your computer put them on a USB flash drive and insert the flash drive into the PS3 and play them in pretty good quality on the PS3

360 does it too, and upscales.

[lefty]

PS3 by a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooong shot

[Heath Ledger]

PS3 by a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooong shot

You are smoking rocks, xbox 360 online play is much more enjoyable than pse.

[CuckingFunt]

At this point, the only thing that would make the 360 even remotely tempting to me is an unexpected Kratos appearance.

[PM5K]

To each his own, but I have both and if I had to choose one I'd easily choose the 360.

[101A]

Very enlightening; thanks to all

[MiamiHeat]

XBOX 360 was my choice for this generation. I might buy a PS3 in the future if there is a game I really want to play. Haven't seen any yet. Grand Theft Auto was on 360. Actually, the 360 has a few exclusives that I wanted to play.

XBOX LIVE is also the best online experience.

Blu-Ray is irrelevant to me. The corporate suits found a slightly-better-than-what-you-have technology and are trying to get us to buy new TV's, re-buy our movie collections, new Blu-Ray players to replace DVD players, etc so you can get a slightly-better-than-what-you-already-have experience.

No thanks.

[Barbarian]

I don't know if the original poster is even in the South Texas area but I did see an HEB ad that has the XBOX 360 (20gig version) at 199.00. Only this weekend though.

[PM5K]

Slightly better?

Six times the resolution and about five times the bit rate, you're crazy if you think it's "slightly better", and I haven't even mentioned the audio....

[Dr. Gonzo]

I like my PS3 but I think the XBOX 360 is a great system. I'm not a fanboy so I say go with whatever you feel is best.

[DarkReign]

I have both. One collects dust (literally), one doesnt.

360 has a uva lot more games. Its not even close. On that fact alone, I would recommend a 360. Just be careful what games you buy for your kids. Unfortunately, if youre not a gamer, thats going to take some research.

I recommend this website www.gamespot.com

There is a search bar at the top. Just type the game in your kid wants to play and read about it. You'll know if its age appropriate or not.

Otherwise though, my 360 just took a . I bought it at launch and the disc tray is scratching up my game discs now. I am too lazy to send it in (especially when theyre going to charge me $100 for repairing it... ing Microsoft).

[2centsworth]

I have both. One collects dust (literally), one doesnt.

360 has a uva lot more games. Its not even close. On that fact alone, I would recommend a 360. Just be careful what games you buy for your kids. Unfortunately, if youre not a gamer, thats going to take some research.

I recommend this website www.gamespot.com

There is a search bar at the top. Just type the game in your kid wants to play and read about it. You'll know if its age appropriate or not.

Otherwise though, my 360 just took a . I bought it at launch and the disc tray is scratching up my game discs now. I am too lazy to send it in (especially when theyre going to charge me $100 for repairing it... ing Microsoft).

apparently microsoft knew about the scratching discs problem.

http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/...ations/1274293

[DarkReign]

apparently microsoft knew about the scratching discs problem.

http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/...ations/1274293

*sigh*

I know, which pisses me off even more. But that particular admission only applies to "moving the 360 from one position to the other (horizontal to vertical) while the disc is spinning".

Mine just straight scratches it no matter what. 3 week repair time and $100. Im a little pissed.

[101A]

Update:

Ordered an X-Box 360 Pro Bundle, an HDMI cable, Two Extra Controllers and HALO III.

Thanks for everyone's input.

[TwAnKiEs]

congrats 101....


They \ you would have enjoyed either one

[stretch]

buy them a tomagatchi and off

[Duff McCartney]

Even some tech guys are calling Blu-Ray dead. I personally don't really see what the big deal is. A movie is a movie to me.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blog/null/108657

Next-gen optical format promises to revolutionize the industry with features unavailable to previous formats... but it runs afoul of corporate infighting, high prices, and consumers uninterested in changing formats. Eventually they decide, en masse, to stick with what they already know.

Sound familiar? That's what relegated Laserdisc to an oddball obscurity back in the 1980s, and it's an uncanny description of the current situation with Blu-ray today.

ZDNet's Robin Harris is now taking the bold step of calling Blu-ray "dead" and "in a death spiral," saying that in 12 months the format "will be a videophile niche, not a mass market product." While it may be early in the game to make such a prediction, Harris has some good points in his screed. Among them: That after its gruesome, 18-month battle with HD DVD, no one has the energy to care about high-def players any more. Probably a bigger issue: That upscaled DVD players, which can be had for $50 or $60, look almost as good as content played on a Blu-ray player. Consumers just don't see the value proposition in upgrading their hardware, particularly given that players are still over $200. What's a little better picture worth? With Blu-ray pegged at a four percent market share, most people seem to be saying not that much.

I've got my own problems with Blu-ray, having been giving it a fresh shot over the last few weeks. The player I have is a real pain vs. my cheapie DVD player. Startup time is ungodly, and I'll never understand why the player can't automatically figure out to play a Blu-ray disc if there's one in the device when it starts up. Instead it goes to an aggravating "home page" after a 30-second wait, and then it's another button press and another minute-long wait before I can get to the Blu-ray disc's home screen. Fast-forward and reverse is jerky and difficult to finely control, and that's a problem because I have to use them all the time due to the player's biggest annoyance: It doesn't remember where you were in a movie if you stop in the middle. If I quit at the 1 hour mark while watching a DVD on my bargain player, it picks right back up there the next time I turn it on. I understand that different model players will have different features, but this is standard on even the cheapest DVD gear. It's unfathomable that a $300 Blu-ray player can't get the job done.

Is Blu-ray dead? When people like me who have both units sitting side by side actively prefer using DVD instead of BD whenever they can, you've definitely got some trouble ahead.

----------------------------------

I still wouldn't buy a Blu-Ray player.

[leemajors]

XBOX 360 was my choice for this generation. I might buy a PS3 in the future if there is a game I really want to play. Haven't seen any yet. Grand Theft Auto was on 360. Actually, the 360 has a few exclusives that I wanted to play.

XBOX LIVE is also the best online experience.

Blu-Ray is irrelevant to me. The corporate suits found a slightly-better-than-what-you-have technology and are trying to get us to buy new TV's, re-buy our movie collections, new Blu-Ray players to replace DVD players, etc so you can get a slightly-better-than-what-you-already-have experience.

No thanks.

if you sat down and watched a blu-ray movie, you'd know it's way more than slightly better. that being said, you can buy a blu-ray player and a 360 for the price of a playstation 3. i just rent blu-rays via netflix, will probably never actually buy one

[PM5K]

if you sat down and watched a blu-ray movie, you'd know it's way more than slightly better. that being said, you can buy a blu-ray player and a 360 for the price of a playstation 3. i just rent blu-rays via netflix, will probably never actually buy one

Yeah my best guess is that the people that say that must have never seen a Blu-Ray.....

[MiamiHeat]

I have. It's not that big of a deal. Colors are a bit more vibrant, detail is a bit improved, but really who cares? Nothing to get excited about. It's the same movie and both DVD and Blu-Ray have great quality.

If you really want to enhance your movie experience, buy a home theater surround sound speaker system. I have a Bose system with 4 mini-speakers installed on the roof of every corner of the living room. The sound is absolutely amazing. Scary movies become scarier, action movies become more intense..... especially the movies that take advantage of surround sound because you can hear the audio coming from different directions....

I inaugurated my Bose system with ALIENS (that's part 2)...... in the quiet scenes with breathing and all that, the sound comes from behind you.

[TwAnKiEs]

if you sat down and watched a blu-ray movie, you'd know it's way more than slightly better. that being said, you can buy a blu-ray player and a 360 for the price of a playstation 3. i just rent blu-rays via netflix, will probably never actually buy one

To add to that, having the right setup helps.....

I saw an HD setup w\ a tv (full 1080P) blu-ray w\HDMI + a surround sound, and they were playing King kong...... My goodness I almost came i swear.....

[leemajors]

To add to that, having the right setup helps.....

I saw an HD setup w\ a tv (full 1080P) blu-ray w\HDMI + a surround sound, and they were playing King kong...... My goodness I almost came i swear.....

mine only does 720p/1080i but it looks damn good. 2001 on blu-ray is the best looking movie i have ever seen, and it's not even close.

[Heath Ledger]

I own a ps3 and I have only bought 3 blu ray discs, I am legend, Tropic Thunder, and The Dark Knight.

There is a huge difference especially on my 110" screen(projector) but not so much that i feel like plunking $25-$30 per movie to have it on Blu Ray.