Just wanted to let Pope know I just walked in with an X Box 360 with 60 gig hard drive, based on his (?) post, and we’re installing it tomorrow. My grandson Julian is going to have a fit:D when he comes to spend Christmas with me!!!
This is what I meant in the above post. There’s no substitute for “word of mouth” when making a decision of what to buy, and the ability to connect to the internet for 50 bucks a year is what swayed me to the Box rather than Play Station 2.
That’s why I come here. Y’all are my private Consumer Reports!
Wow, thanks Hope you guys havea great christmas. I woke up this morning and saw ice on my neighbor’s roof, so I’m a bit scared (California boy here, not used to actual “winter” or anything, this will be my first)
@Anotherstranger: Yea, I know that, but the availability of such games is, from what I’ve seen (and I don’t own a ps3, just used my buddy’s) is greater on the x360. The whole online network is integrated into the box itself, you can even stream media from your computer, and if you’re listening to music from your computer during a game it even pauses the music during cutscenes. It’s very well done.
@SMID don’t have the numbers now, but easy enough to look up, but the X360 has outsold the Ps3 for a couple months here in Japan due to SquareEnix support (games like Infinite Undiscovery and the upcoming Last Remnant being X360 exclusive, and FFXIII being multi-platform have convinced a lot of Japanese to go with Microsoft). But you should know that Shadow of the Colussus and Ico were created by Team Ico, which is owned by Sony, and I have no proof but one could assume they’re working on a PS3 game (it certainly won’t be for any other system, so I’m basically just assuming they’re not sitting around doing nothing all day, as they haven’t disbanded or anything)
@Robin: I’m personally not a fan of the Halo series. I followed the game for about 2 years before the original came out, and honestly feel when MS bought Bungie and made them put the console on the Xbox they absolutely ruined it. It was originally a 3rd person tactical shooter that allowed you to roam free over the ENTIRE Halo, there were even wild animals running around, and they were aiming for a 40v40 to possibly 60v60 online experience (it was originally for PC/Mac, mind you). Halo 3 I felt was exactly like Halo 2 and Halo 1, it did nothing, really, to advance the series. Controversial opinion, yes, but it’s mine and, as far as I’m concerned, I’m always right As for FFXIII… well, I lost faith in Square Enix long ago, after Hironobu Sakaguchi and all the actual Squaresoft employees left. FFXIII is being directed by Motomu Toriyama, who did FFX-2, which was total crap, so I have no faith in him. The battle design is being done by Tohsiro Tsuchida of Front Mission fame (he also did hte battles in FFX) so there might be some hope, but overall I think it’ll be just as crap as the last few Squeenix offerings. Most of the “core” FF Fans are on the 360 these days, as Sakaguchi’s new studio (MistWalker) is owned by Microsoft, and they’ve produced two games (Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey) on the 360 already and they’re develoing a 3rd, Cry On. They also do some Nintendo DS games, but none have come out in the states and I can’t read Kanji for crap so I haven’t played them
Off-Topic, but I’m curious to know how you like Japan? As an observer from “the sidelines”, I have always been under the impression that the Japanese culture has life way more together than we do here. Do you agree/disagree?
Helping with the hijack (guess that makes me the gunman?) Japanese culture is definitely not as “together” or “efficient” as a lot of people make it out to be, but it isn’t all crazy or anything either. There are definitely a lot of confining aspects to it, people are expected to do what’s best for the family a lot, they’re expected not to make a fuss, and they always have to show up for work unless they’re in the hospital (literally) which is messed up. That said, they get married pretty young here a lot of the time, and divorce isn’t terribly common, so long story short I’ve never seen so much cheating on spouses in my life (and both partners do it) which is sorta depressing. All in all, though, I really liek Japan and I like Japanese culture, it’s very interesting and, even without the two-face thing (forgot what they call it, basically the work personality (very polite) and the home personality (normal person)) most people are quite nice, if sometimes they can be a little rude to foreigners (gaijin) by our cultural standards
I own all three systems and vastly prefer my PS3. I’ve had 2 RROD on my Xbox, I’ve had a controller stop working and a game get irreparably scratched up when I accidently jostled my Xbox while playing. I’ve had no problems with my PS3, it is simply a vastly superior piece of hardware.
My roommate is a bit of a videophile and used to work in a store that specializes in home theatres. He was so convinced that the PS3 was the best Blue-Ray player for the price that he helped me pay for it! We have a sweet set up now, with a big HDTV surround sound and the PS3 fits in nicely. (Sometimes its nice to have roommates!) I guess one of the reasons the PS3 is so good for the money is that it is one of the only Blue Ray players that automatically updates itself when new software becomes available.
There have been a few games I wanted that were Xbox exclusives, but there have been just as many that are PS3 exclusive. Ratchet and Clank is a hell of a good time, and heavenly sword was fun while it lasted.
I have had no problems with PSN, I don’t really care about speaking to my friends across games or whatever, I just want to play. I have had no problems connecting and playing with the PS3 free system.
I absolutely recommend getting the PS3 over the Xbox 360, the extra money is worth it for this vastly superior piece of hardware.
p.s. even the non-backwards compatible PS3s can play PS1 games, they just cannot play PS2 games.
knock on wood I’ve had my 360 for over 3 years(?) now without any RRoDs, no problems whatsoever. I also cannot count the number of xbox exclusives on one hand that I absolutely loved when they came out, whereas the only real ps3 exclusives that have interested me are Ratchet and Clank, Warhawk (cause I loved the original on the ps1) and resistance 2, honestly wasn’t that interested in the first one. Plus whatever Team Ico has going on, when they release a game for the ps3 I’ll definitely be drooling over it. Other than that, I’m amazingly happy I picked an x360 over a ps3. Just difference of opinion I guess.
Can I ask when you bought your 360? Because it’s my understanding (and has been brought up repeatedly in this thread) that that problem is a thing of the past (for the older models).
I’m still crossing my fingers, as I’m still running my original 360, with no RRoD problems at all.
I got an original Xbox, my first RRoD was within a few months and the 2nd was about 6 months after I got my new one.
I concede that the RRoD problem was probably exclusively with the original models, but the scratched disc and broken controller were both recent problems.
The Xbox is fun and they seem to be raking in the exclusives at a prodigious pace. I don’t regret buying it, but any game that is cross platform I always get for the PS3. I love Hi-def and for me (and especially my roommate) the blue-ray was a big selling point. If I could only keep one, it would definitely be the PS3.
As and aside, the Wii is such a different gaming experience that it seems a little odd to include it in any discussion of console superiority. There isn’t really any game you can compare across the platforms. And if you want to talk about exclusives, the discussion begins and ends with the Wii. The Nintendo games alone are worth the purchase price, not to mention “cross platform” games like Shaun White Snowboarding, which is vastly different on the Wii (uses the balance board, Yea!).
I don’t know if that was directed at me or not, but I bought my XBOX 360 2 days ago and had it installed today.
The only thing disappointing is that I thought once I signed up for GOLD membership, I could download ANY game with no cost, but apparently that is not the case, so I am glad I only signed up for 3 months.
Yeah, gold membership just lets you play online. If you just want to download games then there is no benefit to a gold membership.
What do the 360 owners think of the new Xbox Live? I thought it was pretty cool looking and I like the presentation of the Xbox Guide, but I’m not a social Xbox player so most of the enhancements are of no value to me.
Not much to add here, except that the guy who wrote the Koran song is gorgeous, in his own very unique way. And a sharp dresser to boot.
So, wait, did Blu-Ray officially win? Is HD-DVD dead now?
I’m seriously asking; I don’t keep track of these things, since my taste in movies is fairly quaint. The end effect of the format war probably won’t affect me until after the new format completely knocks the old one dead–and that took a handful of years for DVD.
Speaking of which, does anyone have a PS2 they want to get rid of? My newest plug-in console (as opposed to handheld) is an SNES, and I want something a little more modern and entertaining for my guests.
FTR, if I had the money, my order of priorities would pretty much go the way the sales charts are: Wii, 360, PS3. I’m not a hardcore gamer like I used to be, and the Wii and 360 just seem to be more immersive gaming environments for me. Of course, the Wii takes that to a happy extreme, while the 360 is particularly well-suited to my ADHD style with the collection of great “minigames” on Live Arcade. Actually, I’d make those purchasing decisions mostly for Virtual Console and Live Arcade, to tell you the truth.
Don’t you get to play against XBL players with multiplayer Windows Live games, and vice versa?
Wow, that’s awesome. I hope that’s a sign of things to come.
Apparently it was the sole decision of one of the higher ups at Sony. A day after all this was announced, a major Muslim group in the US basically said “Muslims aren’t that thin-skinned and we’re kind of insulted that you’d think we are.”
Well, sure, eventually it’s going to be one guy’s decision - I was more wondering what sort of idiot thought it worth reporting in the first place. Once the media got hold of it there was no real winning answer for Sony, to be honest. It’s like those “Muslims ban Christmas” stories you get in the Daily Mail - no-one is actually offended, it’s just a stupid convergence of busybody idiots and media attention that cause ridiculous outcomes.
Hey ho, you never know - he might get more exposure out of this, which would be nice.
That is a pretty tune, and what is that instrument called
Okay 3 things: I kinda wish I hadn’t bought the XBox 360 now, because none of the games in any way come close to my beloved WoW, but at least my grandson will have something cool to be play with when he comes to visit me!
Get yourself a steam account. There are a few free and some very cheap, but very good casual (and otherwise) games on there. No reason why he couldn’t enjoy some games on your PC.
Unless you’re worried he’ll cut into your WOW time
It’s called a kora, rather appropriately. Leading to the artist’s statement that “Koran and kora are all that we know”, referring to his family in Mali.
Now that my monetary situation is currently excellent and I’ve had a long time to look at all three sytems, I can say with total confidence that the only one there’s even a remote chance of me getting is the PS3. The library isn’t impressive right now, but there are some definite quality games (especially the Namco arcade ports), and overall this is simply a powerful, dependable system with controllers I can actually use. I don’t intend to get a dedicated Blu-Ray player, so being able to play it on this system is a definite plus.
The Wii is immensely popular with an enormous gamut of gamers. I’m not one of them. I hate gimmicky, imprecise controllers, and physical games almost always give me tired arms or leg cramps (for me, physical discomfort is an absolute 100% fuggedaboudit dealbreaker in video games). The library is heavily skewed toward party/sports/family titles, nowhere near the variety that even the PSX had. On top of that, I find the controllers just plain awkward to use, especially that “nunchuck” required for almost everything.
As for the X-Box 360, I absolutely refuse to buy a system which has a good chance…not a vanishing small chance, not a remote chance, actually a pretty good chance…of completely breaking down at some point. I don’t care how many gamers don’t have a problem with this, and I don’t care how easy it is to get a replacement. Catastrophic failure should be at most an aberration, a one-in-a-million accident, not something you expect to happen. Aside from that, the controller is too bulky for my hands, and the library is skewed toward intense action-packed titles with a heavy emphasis on online play. Too rich for my blood.
As for the sales figures, I seriously doubt at this point that many people in the Sony organization even care anymore, or at least just can’t work up the energy to get upset over it. They cast their lot with advanced technology and the long haul and they’re sticking with it. I think that in the long run, the PS3 will make up much of the gap. And if not, so what? So long as there’s a market for this system, and the rest of the corporation is reasonably secure, no sense doing anything rash.
(Heh. Listen to me. When everyone knows at this point that I’m not buying any system that doesn’t have a cheat device. C’mon, 8 years not long enough to figure out how to block them out of online?)
Hope you guys havea great christmas. I woke up this morning and saw ice on my neighbor’s roof, so I’m a bit scared (California boy here, not used to actual “winter” or anything, this will be my first)
