Kirsten got me a PS3 for Christmas, one of the last generation 80 GB models which is still backward compatible with PS2 games. The newer models are not. I've been a die hard aficianado of the XBox 360 from the beginning, and even more so with the advent of XBox Live arcade and the NetFlix on-line player, so I never really gave the PS3 a second glance. We also own a Wii, but I'm not really a fan. I didn't see any draw to the PS3 other than as a blue-ray player, but the failure of one of the DVD players in my house opened the door to using a PS3 in that role. More importantly, Kirsten wanted one.
The PS3 has built in wireless for it's controllers, built-in blue tooth for remotes, keyboards, and other accessories, and comes with a wireless controller that recharges via a mini-USB cable. No batteries required. You can have 4 wireless controllers paired with the system, and they don't interfere with any of the blue tooth accessories. The PS3 controllers have a six axis motion sensor in them, and so can do Wii like controller tricks. Very slick. The transformer is also built into the box, so there's no additional power brick. The off-on switch and DVD eject switch are both touch sensitive with no moving parts. Overall responsiveness and build integrity is near perfect. An HDMI output that supports 1080p tops off the hardare features that set the unit apart from the competition.
ADDED: Blue-ray playback is excellent, though the controls on the PS3 controller are far from intuitive and over sensitive... don't hold the controller in your lap while a movies playing. The bluetooth remote works very well and is far more functional, but you won't be using your universal with the PS3 since it has no IR remote port. Image quality on my 50" Samsung DLP was superlative. Enchanted and Die Hard were both significantly clearer than on standard DVD. I'm looking forward to seeing Iron Man in Blue-ray on this system. In general, blue-ray is not so much better than DVD that it's worth the price of admission, but it a nice, if minor, upgrade. Since I have Netflix, I just converted my queue to Blue-ray format by default. I don't plan to buy a large Blue-ray library. The player plays standard DVDs just fine, and will output/upscale all formats to 1080p, a very nice bonus if you have the TV to support it.
Setup was much easier than for the XBox, but that includes XBox Live, whereas I have not bothered with the Sony equivalent. Wireless setup worked flawlessly. All system tasks are preformed from a single 2d menu that works quite well, though the organization takes some getting used to. All system level functions are available while playing a game by simply pressing the PS3 button. Save game files are seperate for each logged in player ID, so there's no danger of accidentally over-writing someone else's game, a big plus in my household. Overall I give the software/OS a minor edge over the XBox 360, though the lack of XBox Live Arcade and the Netflix still have no Sony equivalent I'm aware of. Fortunately, I have both.
PS3 exclusive Games we've tried so far are Mirror's Edge (excellent, but short, first person action RPG), Little Big Planet (a semi-3D platformer that has no equivalent I know of; a truly unique and well thought out non-violent action game), and Valkyria Chronicles (see my review here.) All great games. Personally, I don't see any great difference between the graphics capabilities of the two systems, but the PS3 feels slightly more capable, and the recent games for it seem to be pushing the envelope further.
Bottom line, if I were buying only one platform, knowing what I do now, it would be the PS3. The XBox 360 is a close second do to a wider variety of games, XBox Live Arcade and the Netflix player. The Wii is a distant third.
Ariande Bard 20 • Nightfall Ranger 19
The Avatars, Argonessen Server
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Basically, I agree that the
Basically, I agree that the PS3 hardware is slightly better. I actually prefer the larger sized XBox 360 controllers, especially the more accurate analog sticks, but I do like the 6-axis functionality of the PS3 controllers and the independence from batteries. My kids like the XBox controllers better too, so it's not just a matter of hand size. In truth, the 360 has a better graphics processor, but the PS3 games seem to push the envelope harder and some of them look better.
All that said, the one thing the PS3 lacks is XBox Live. PS Home is not even a pale imitation. The Netflix player and the XBox 360 version of board games and classic PC games like Wing Commander are a compelling argument for the XBox 360 over the PS3.
Meanwhile, Sony is working hard to keep Blueray player costs high so they can justify the cost of the PS3 and keep the sales figures artificially inflated. It's hurting them in their competition with the Wii and XBox 360. It'll be interesting to see if they can keep it up. Personally, I think if you don't make use of XBox Live, the PS3 is an overall better value than the XBox 360, even at a $100 higher price point. Once you buy the standard load out of accessories, the PS3 is about the same price, and the Blueray player means one less piece of hardware to buy. If you do use XBox Live, there's no equivalent on the PS3 and the choice is easy.
I always preferred the Ps2
I always preferred the Ps2 over teh XBOX, but when I was looking at the new generation, I initially got a 360 because there were some XBOX only titles I wanted to try (which promptly came out on PC the same month I decided to buy). I've always hated the XBOX and 360 controllers. In November, after realizing I rarely ever played the 360, I sold it and bought a used first generation PS3 (full hardware backward compatibility, 4 USB, 60GB). I broke even on the exchange in the end too, which was a nice bonus. All I can say is WOW, what a difference. the PS3 is far superior. I never trusted the 360 for DVD playing due to reported hardware issues, and kept using a glitchy DVD player in my living room. The PS3 is brilliant as a player, especially for bluray. I have played The Darkness on both 360 and PS3, and the PS3 version looks much better and my load times are shorter. I also like the availability of free themes for the interface/background (I downloaded up a Fallout 3 theme on the day I got mine). I know there's a lot of functionality that I'm really not using at the moment, but I'm not spending all that much time with my console with everything else going on in life either.
External charger\Games
Right after I bought the system I decided that I hated having to plug the controllers into the console to charge them so I bought a separate charger (linked below.) They charge to full fairly quickly and without me having to leave the system running. As an added bonus it leaves both USB slots free for accessories.
I realized when you asked what co-op games I would recommend that I really had no idea. I sort of had the idea that there were a bunch of games to play that way but when I went to look at what they were I pretty much came up blank other than sports games which I don't really play. I did wind up with the PS3 version of Far Cry 2 but haven't tried multiplayer at all yet. I also have Carcasonne and Castle Crashers on Live Arcade was also pretty fun and might be worth a try. I'll keep an eye out for stuff that might be fun though.
http://www.amazon.com/PS3-Dual-Controller-Charger-Playstation-3/dp/B000T...
The Avatars, Argonessen Server
Yes, but then one of my
Yes, but then one of my controller USB slots is used up. Still, a good option if the universal remote that came with my HR21 DVR could be programmed to recognize the PS3. Thanks G.
You can get a usb IR
You can get a usb IR controller for the ps3 and use a real remote.
PS3/XBox Multiplayer
So Doug, what coop games do you recommend? I'll take a look at them. Most of the multi-player console games I have are from XBox live, such as Settlers of Catan, Carcasonne, and Ticket to Ride. I don't play Halo 3, but I do own it.
I didn't know anyone besides Griffon and I owned consoles
Glad to hear you are enjoying it. I have actually had one since August but somewhere got the idea that no one else on here was into console gaming. My account on both xbox live and ps3 is the same as my ddo character name (borrin). Shoot me a message if you want, be nice to have another for some of the co-op games.