Am I mistaken in saying that the 360 has optical audio out? Mine does. Right on the back of the A/V cord, where it makes to the unit.
No one seems to have mentioned this…
Mine does as well, as, I suspect, do they all. An optical out is all well and good for the 360’s audio capabilities. However, the PS3, having a spec HDMI output (unlike the 360 elite’s HDMI out), outputs high def audio sources that an optical cable just can’t match, in terms of bandwith.
Not really a big issue for games, mind, just something to think about.
If you get the component cables you do have optical out. IIRC the basic 360 comes with standard AV cables which do not have optical out. I am not sure if the more expensive versions have component included or not. I have the basic 360, and bought the component cables later when I got a TV that supported it. My 360 is currently hooked up with the optical out to my AV Reciever.
Also for the wireless network adapter you can use the old XBOX adapter without a problem.
-Otanx
This is not entirely accurate.
Microsoft didn’t drop Xbox 1 support so much as they pushed all of their chips onto their current system. This is not uncommon for the losing console maker to do in a generation shift. Sony only continues to support the PS2 (and really, it’s all 3rd party support now, so Sony isn’t doing anything) because it’s still the 800 pound gorilla in the living room.
Right now there’s no way to tell what these companies once their next systems come out, but Sony has already dropped backwards compatibility from all future versions of the PS3, so that doesn’t bode well for Sony’s “great track record”
PS3 Owner. All my decision points were subjective:
Very pleased with my decision. None of the 360 exclusives appealed to me when I was first looking to purchase a system, so that didn’t bias me. I liked the concept of Blu-Ray better than HD-DVD. I liked the built in wireless internet connectivity. I liked that PSN was free versus $50/yr for Live. I was disturbed by all the RROD stories floating around about the 360. I also liked the design of the PS3 better versus the 360. The only thing I didn’t like that the controllers lacked rumble feature (although that has been taken care of since).
And even better for me at the time that I was able to get the premium PS3 for less money than the premium 360.
Now that I’ve had it for about a year, I know I made the better choice. Blu-Ray looks spectacular. I enjoy my (small) collection of games. The wireless internet works flawlessly.
I’ve never experienced Live before so I had no comparison, but I’ve got no issues with the way the PSN works. I can browse and download demos easily, and if I wanted to purchase games or add-ons, that also looks pretty straight forward. I’ve added a few SDMB members to my friends list without a problem. I’ve played a few online games with friends and strangers without any difficulties. And with Home coming later this year, the online functionality looks to improve even more. So while Live may be somehow better (and granted, I do not play online that much so I do not need much), PSN meets my needs.
Purchased Rock Band 2 yesterday - and in the basement it must wait until Christmas (argh!).
And don’t forget Little Big Planet coming in a week or two - another (PS3 exclusive) game that should be a blast to play whilst drinking with your buddies.
So for a stand alone system where you want to fire it up when your friends come over to rock out, and take full advantage of your home theatre setup - I’d go with the PS3. If online gaming is primary, go with the system that your friends already have.
Got em both. My impressions are the 360 is the better game machine, but I use my PS3 more often. Right up front let me say I have never liked the PS controller…too small and the sticks are too close together for me. I have big hands so YMMV. Other than the controller, I really like the PS3. Great media player, Blu-ray is more awesome than I thought, some good exclusive games. The 350 had a leg up because of its controller, which is almost the same as the old X-box controller I loved over the PS2 controller. Actually, I find myself buying games for the 360 that come out on both consoles…entirely due to the controller issue I have with the PS. The PS3 is an unbeatable media player, though. DVD and Blu-ray look awesome and the sound is great. My 360 had a digital out on the HDMI dongle, but I got the Elite, so I can’t say what the other models have. Had to buy a digital audio switch because my reciever has only two optical inputs, but it works great. In closing, (because this is getting long) I USE the PS3 more, but I PLAY GAMES on the 360 more.
Oh, how could you not know about the ass games? They’re sweeeeeeet.
Naturally, Japan comes to the rescue with Spank 'Em!
http://www.seanbaby.com/nes/naughty02.htm
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
In fact, if any other SDMB PS3 owners want to divulge your PSN name, please do so. I’m mske10.
Well, I can’t say I DIDN’T expect it from Japan…
Here’s the latest volley in the “Even though the PS3 is technically more powerful and now requires massive 20 min. installs for every game as a standard practice, the games still look and perform better on the 360” wars: Dedicated PS3 magazine admits that Fallout 3 looks and runs better on 360.
As one who owns both consoles as well as the Nintendo Toy if I had to pick one console to own for games it would be the 360 hands down. There are just WAY more good games for it that there are for the PS3. The PS3 hardware is much nicer and more versatile though. It’s far quieter and can play Blu-ray which we use it for all the time. The games on PS3 just aren’t as good though.
Though I like both systems, I would pick up the 360 if I was forced to have only one. Then the PS3, then the SNES, NES, Gameboy, Atari and then the Wii.
Uhh…hate to break it to you but an optical feed has infinitely (figuratively speaking) more bandwidth than any HDMI connection ever will. You will not hear ANY difference between the audio from an HDMI feed vs an optical feed though.
fair enough, though Xbox360’s “backwards compatability” never really worked in the first place so Sony still had/has a one-up in that sense (though now you can purchase xbox games off XBL, it’s still not the same thing as you have to re-purchase the thing even if you own the original version
wow, they have a koncho* game?! That’s freakin disturbing. I’ve fought off several koncho attempts from my elementary school students and live in fear of the day when one of the little bastards will actually get one through my guard…
*a Koncho is when you put your hands together with your two index fingers pointing out and “poke” someone’s asshole. I have NO IDEA why japanese kids do this, but they ALL do it. Japanese kids are WEIRD (they also love to grab a guy’s nuts, another disturbing and uncomfortable trend)
all that said, XBL is literally leaps and bounds better than PSN (back on topic, hehe) You have to pay $50 a year for it, but it’s totally worth it, especially with the huge dashboard update coming in November. You could already voice chat with your friends even if you were playing different games, now you’ll be able to do 8-way voice chat. you’ll have Netflix access (you can already “rent” movies/tv shows, but now you’ll be able to download anything from Netflix’s huge inventory). Plus the online-gaming on XBL is a lot better than PSN, more people, more games, all of them solidly running with no lag (in my experience. I’ve hit lag once or twice, but it’s rare).
I used to use XBL as a phone with my friends when we were all online, and there’s nothin quite like playing a full game through on co-op with a buddy of yours from childhood who now lives a couple thousand miles away
…By dropping Xbox 1 support, yes.
Another question I always hear is ‘when will they stop making games for the PS2?’ to which my answer is: when PS2 stops selling about the same amount of consoles per month as either of the next-gen systems. Perhaps it’s silly of Sony to splinter their fanbase by getting rid of backwards compatibility, but I imagine it’s both to bolster one of their classic systems’ sales and also encourage new PS3 owners to get some of those licensed PS3 games.
Leaning back toward the console fanboy wars, I have to note that 360 does have superior online support, mostly due to its dedicated interface and standardization. There are sets of memory that no game is allowed to touch which are used for universal features like friend notifications, voice chat, mandatory updates, achievements, and music playback.
If you’re not going online, however, the PS3 has objectively better features and options precisely because its functions aren’t as regulated. You can choose to install a printer, random bluetooth accessories, any USB webcam (as opposed to only the grainy Xbox Live Vison Cam @ MSRP $40), use mouse and keyboard with the built-in browser and some FPS games, or even install a different operating system, in addition to the usual media-browsing features with photos and music. They also just patched in Flash 9 support, so we can finally watch non-Youtube flash videos on a console system! Great for entertaining.
The PS3 in design feels more like a really souped-up computer that happens to play console games and HD movies, while the 360 is a more streamlined but controlled experience where every accessory or feature is proprietary and has an extra charge, but (usually) works a bit better. And anyone willing to knock the selection of downloadable stuff for PSN needs only try Pixeljunk Eden, Wipeout HD, Fl0w, or Echochrome to see the light. 
It’s true that there are more people playing their online games on XBL than on PSN, so it’s never hard to find someone for a match of Call of Duty. This is both a feature and a bug, since every testosterone-confused tween boy who has a Live Gold account also has a microphone and can easily pollute otherwise fun matches with whiny, homophobic, trolling bullshit, and (depending on the game), they often do. I rarely play Live games anymore for just that reason. Technically, PSN games don’t run quite the same risk, since it actually takes effort and money to get voice chat in PS3 games, so there aren’t as many folks who log onto Uno just to whistle into the microphone or yell the N* word over and over. Sometimes smaller communities aren’t a bad thing.
Again, I’m pretty neutral on the whole issue (I have both systems); I just like to balance things out if I notice a conversation leaning heavily in one direction or another, since, in my opinion, it’s a pretty close race with pretty equal distribution of features and titles. We can all have fun, regardless of what we choose - fanboyism need not apply. 
you could do that on the Wii from they day the browser came out (the first thing I watched was a rather more adult version of the youtube 
Admittedly, I just loved the idea of watching such things on a Nintendo system, with all it’s “its for kids” connotations 
the “mute player” option is your friend Seriously, my buddy’s girlfriend ran into this problem a lot. She was WAYYYY into Gears of War when it came out, and was damn good at it (cause she played it freaking constantly) but anytime she opened her mouth there’d be at least one tool on the server asking if she was a girl or a 10 year old boy. When she said she was a chick the next comment was, almost unwaveringly, either “are you hot?” or “You’re probably a fat bitch that can’t get laid, right?” or something similar. She loved that mute button, believe you me (and for the record, she was a skinny blonde that worked at an upscale restaurant and was DAMN fine if I do say so myself, and I do. Good ups to my buddy for landing that girl, hehe)
Eh, I’m perfectly fine with Xbox 1 BC and have bought a bunch of games I missed to play on my 360. They all work fine. It doesn’t have complete BC like the Wii or the PS3 used to, but the fact that they didn’t take it away puts them one up on Sony in my book.
And the PS2 stopped selling as many systems a month as the big boys a long time ago, but it still sells decently so third parties still make games for it. Sony does too, technically, but they’re just ports of PSP games.
That’s not really what I’ve read when I’ve done research on this on the high-def forums. TOSlink cannot transmit any signal greater than a 640 kbps DD signal, a regular DTS signal (up to 1500 kbps), or 2.1 LPCM signal. HDMI, in contrast, can send up to a 7.1 LPCM signal, a TrueHD signal, or a DTS Master signal (the three present lossless audio codecs) as well as a DD+ signal.
It may or may not be a bandwidth issue (I’ve never gotten a clear answer on this, but most of the high def audio forums I’ve read say it is, so apologies if I’m wrong), but based on the audio specs right now, HDMI DOES blow TOSlink out of the water. Now, are you going to hear a difference between the two if they’re just transmitting a game’s DD track? Absolutely not. Same signal–same 1s and 0s. Can you hear a difference between the audio on a Transformers DVD played on a 360 (DD signal) and a Transformers Blu-ray on a PS3 (TrueHD)–I can, at any rate.
I bought a 360 about a year and half or so after purchasing a Wii. I have not played a PS3, but I did consider it when I purchased the 360.
I am consistently amazed by how good the 360 is. It is really a great, great system. Live is just unbelievable. I didn’t really think I would spend much time playing online, but it has turned out to be a blast. On those nights I come home late from work and just want to blow off some steam before going to bed, jumping into a deathmatch on Call of Duty or Halo is just about perfect. Short games, mindless, but absolutely fun.
For those times when I want a more immersive experience, games like Mass Effect, GTA, or Bioshock are just great. And I feel like there are tons more on the horizon. So, as a gaming system, I think it’s the best I’ve ever seen.
I do like the fact that the PS3 has Blu-ray, but standalone players will come down in price in no time. Other than that, I don’t really see any advantage to the PS3. I’m sure it’s a great machine, but I don’t regret my choice at all.
I have both an Xbox 360 and a PS3. I definitely prefer the Xbox. The online features for Xbox were done very well. The “dashboard” is well designed and accessible within games for a very seamless online gaming experience.
Additionally, Halo and Gears of War, in my opinion, are fantastic game series. More so if you play with friends online. I would have bought an Xbox for those games alone.
PS3 on the other hand is a very good BluRay player. It even upconverts normal DVDs much better than my existing DVD player. That was my primary purpose in buying the PS3 and I was not at all disappointed.