Best console for PC gamer?

[abobrien13]

I've been a PC gamer for my entire career. My family never had the money to buy new consoles every 3-4 years, so we stuck with a decent computer. Now, things have changed up quite a bit and consoles end up being cheaper considering the longer lifespans of systems and the shorter lifespans of good computer hardware.

I'm probably not going to be jumping into it for another couple of months until I get my all my bills settled and build up a reserve, but what console (if any, I suppose) would be suitable for someone like me? My PC is quickly outdating, PC games are being cancelled/delayed left and right, and I do have a new LCD TV.

I've only had a few minutes on the 360 and PS3. I have a friend with each but they aren't living near me and my PS3-friend only has 2 games. For shooters/action/artsy games only, what would be best suited at this point in the tech race?

Thanks in advance.

[comhcinc]

career? what career would that be?

[gonzooo]

I'd go with the PS3 because it has great potential for the future. Hopefully your PS3 friend can buy new games and you can coordinate your purchases for some online MP goodness.

Honestly, I think both the 360 and the PS3 would be a great purchase. I can't imagine either of them not being fun; you just have to sync it with your needs.

Personally, I have a 360 and I try to coordinate purchases with a friend that also has one, and we have lots of fun; not specifically because we're playing on the 360, mostly because we're playing together.

[ryudo]

If you want high tech and something that will be supported longer.

Probably PS3.
MS will prob dump 360 the very second a new Xbox is released while sony will support PS3 years after.
Plus has Blu-ray of course and almost anything on 360 is getting released on PS3 also.

EDIT you might feel aslo more at home with PS3 since you can upgrade your HDD without voiding warranty using any store brand HDD unlike MS which makes you buy their brand enclosure overpriced.

[gonzooo]

MS will prob dump 360 the very second a new Xbox is released...
I'm not so sure of that. MS were right in dumping the first XBOX when the 360 shipped. They needed to concentrate their firepower in one place and the XBOX was a big dud. There was nothing really fruitful to leave, whereas Sony has only had fruitful predecessors to deal with so far.

[abobrien13]

career? what career would that be?

I meant my video gaming career. I've probably been spending too much time in academics this last week to not sound so pretentious when I talk. ;)

I don't really keep up on the news that much about this. Is MS rapidly planning the next Xbox or are they riding out the 360 a bit? I talked to my 360 friend today and he seems pretty excited about me getting that, which as GonZ mentioned, would allow a lot more networked play.

I know the PS3 has network media streaming... is it any good? And does the 360's network streaming only function with Media Center software (that counts my version of Vista out, I have Business)? That's a consideration but not a dealbreaker.

Thanks for the quick replies.

[gonzooo]

I know the PS3 has network media streaming... is it any good? And does the 360's network streaming only function with Media Center software (that counts my version of Vista out, I have Business)? That's a consideration but not a dealbreaker.
Last time I really checked the streaming out on the 360 it'd work, but it wouldn't work well.

The 360 has some streaming capabilities itself, but to be able to detect and watch every file type I needed something to complement it. I couldn't pause movies or rewind / fast forward. The program I was using was TVersity on an XP box, and I hear people talking about how good TVersity is now, so I can only assume they got it working far better than it did then...

I've been playing things from discs and USB memory sticks flawlessly after I tried the streaming from a computer thing out.

[abobrien13]

I think I need to convince my friends to let me take their consoles for a field trip when I am visiting in a few weeks. I am going to check out some more streaming stuff online and get ideas for that... my htpc kicked the bucket and was conglomerated into my desktop. I think the streaming might be just as good as the console as far as my typical usage of it would go.

[therage800]

I think it matters more what type of games you play more than having anything to do with the fact that you always used a PC. As for streaming media I always used TVersity with the 360.

[techliveadmin]

The Sony Computer Entertainment System is far beyond what the Xbox360 can offer in terms of quality, reliabilty and standards.

The system itself is stable, has a solid line up of games for it, Blu Ray movie releases and their availability are becoming super incresingly easy, and REGULAR (like once a month MAJOR updates) are being released.

Think of it like this. New Xbobx within 3-4 years, New Ps3 7-10 years.

Longer life.........go with the Ps3, short term investment as of which you are trying to avoid.......stay away from the 360.

Go to Playstation.com , sign up for the forums, great community, they can answer your questions on the GENERAL BOARDS.

[gonzooo]

I think it matters more what type of games you play more than having anything to do with the fact that you always used a PC.
I agree.

The Sony Computer Entertainment System is far beyond what the Xbox360 can offer in terms of quality, reliabilty and standards.
I don't agree that the 360 is of lesser quality as a whole, or less reliable as a whole. When it comes to the hardware, or more specifically how it holds up to heat, the 360 is definitely less reliable, due to lesser quality, but...

That pattern doesn't transcend into other aspects of the console.

As far as standards go; yes, the 360 is behind due to it not having Blu-ray.

Think of it like this. New Xbobx within 3-4 years, New Ps3 7-10 years.
I don't think any of them will hold up that long. I think the minimum number you set for the XBOX seems like a good number for the maximum number. I'd expect MS to have something cooking and pretty much ready in 3 years.

As for the PS3, 10 years seems a bit long. The PlayStation (PSX) was released in 1994 (December), with the PS2 being released 5 years after. About 6 years after, the PS3 is released. Obviously, 3 releases aren't enough to draw conclusions from, but I think it's a safe bet the PS3 won't last 10 more years without a successor.

I think you're hyping the PS3 a bit too much while downplaying the 360. Both are great machines, and I'm certain there is fun to be had with both of them. The differences are small and largely trivial when you consider the fact that both machines do exactly what games consoles should do; they run games. Also, both consoles manage to produce extremely nice visuals.

With all that in mind I don't see the need to talk about trivial details, to be honest.

[therage800]

Think of it like this. New Xbox within 3-4 years, New Ps3 7-10 years.

Longer life.........go with the Ps3, short term investment as of which you are trying to avoid.......stay away from the 360.



Umm, no. There is no way in hell the PS3 is going to last 7-10 years it won't even make your minimum. I'd give 5 or 6 more.

[radzack]

The Sony Computer Entertainment System is far beyond what the Xbox360 can offer in terms of quality, reliabilty and standards.

The system itself is stable, has a solid line up of games for it, Blu Ray movie releases and their availability are becoming super incresingly easy, and REGULAR (like once a month MAJOR updates) are being released.

Think of it like this. New Xbobx within 3-4 years, New Ps3 7-10 years.

Longer life.........go with the Ps3, short term investment as of which you are trying to avoid.......stay away from the 360.

Go to Playstation.com , sign up for the forums, great community, they can answer your questions on the GENERAL BOARDS.


LEAVE SONY ALONE!!1!11

[samureye]

All you want is SPORE SPORE SPORE SPORE SPORE!