Video Gamers

[Denim Gremlin]

anticipating the release of both Fable 2 and GTA IV I'm considering buying an Xbox 360.  I figure both these games will be worth buying a new system but I haven't owned a video game console since my playstation 2 stopped working like 2 years ago.

Is it worth my while to buy one these? should I go for the super fancy version that cost 100 bucks more? are there any other games that are worth having one for? is this a stupid thing to waste my money on?

help me out.

[Gilly]

If you like Fable get Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. That is a must have for fans of that genre and you can play it forever. Bioshock is a great game too. I don't even like shooters but that game was really, really good. Oh, and the Orange Box to play Portal which is one of the best games ever and you also get three other great games.

Here's a good article about Elite vs. Classic. I'd go Classic unless you feel you really need HDMI (which you don't).

http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/26/xbox-360-elite-vs-classic-the-test/

[Stupornaut]

And post your gamertag if you sign up for XBox Live. FOTmatches galore!

[Andy]

not to start a flame thread, but I would seriously look into a PS3.  They're coming down in price and are a superior system overall.  Unless you have friends with the 360.

eh, fuck it.  They're both great systems.

[Josh]

PS3 coming down in price? Please explain.

I'm on the cusp of a new system purchase for the first time since the original PlayStation and I don't wanna blow it.

[Andy]

there were rumors that they would cut the PS3 price to $250, which isn't going to happen now that the PS3 has outsold all other gaming systems every month since Christmas. But it looks like both systems are getting a price cut.  At $350, the PS3 seems to be the clear choice to me (blu ray player included, free online play, etc...), but they're both great systems.

http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/03/19/gamestop-predicts-50-ps3-price-cut/

[Denim Gremlin]

there were rumors that they would cut the PS3 price to $250, which isn't going to happen now that the PS3 has outsold all other gaming systems every month since Christmas. But it looks like both systems are getting a price cut.  At $350, the PS3 seems to be the clear choice to me (blu ray player included, free online play, etc...), but they're both great systems.

http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/03/19/gamestop-predicts-50-ps3-price-cut/

hmm... the only problem is that ps3 won't help me play Fable 2.

I don't think so anyway

[TremblingEagle]

the first Fable was good
but man did the lack for game play/time

[SamStone]

There's no reason to get an Elite.  The 120GB HD is really kind of a waste and the HDMI is nice but you can go easily get a cable elsewhere cheaper.  Just go with the Pro and you'll be OK, the Arcade is a waste of money.

As for 360 vs. PS3, if you're looking at it from a "games only" perspective, then the 360 wins, hands down.  From a "games and multimedia" perspective though, it's a lot harder to pick.  Blu-ray is awesome, but there just aren't a whole lot of great exclusive games for it.  The 360 is the exact opposite - There's a lot of great exclusive games, but the death of HD-DVD really hurts the 360.

[Gilly]

120 GB might be useful if you are into downloading TV shows on the Marketplace or movies. But, you can add it later for the same price. I think with both consoles you can plug an external hard drive in a usb slot and watch whatever divx or mpeg4 files you want anyway. I know I do that with the 360 although there is a trick to make it work. So, yeah a 120 GB probably doesn't matter too much.

Blu-ray is a big plus for PS3 but it won't be long before standalone players are cheap so I wouldn't make that the reason you buy a game console.

[Stupornaut]

Another advantage with the 360 is that it seems to have a better interface for listening to custom soundtracks -- I can plug in a 4GB flash drive and replace a game's default soundtrack with Ghostface Killah and the Stooges.

[yesno]

there were rumors that they would cut the PS3 price to $250, which isn't going to happen now that the PS3 has outsold all other gaming systems every month since Christmas. But it looks like both systems are getting a price cut.  At $350, the PS3 seems to be the clear choice to me (blu ray player included, free online play, etc...), but they're both great systems.

http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/03/19/gamestop-predicts-50-ps3-price-cut/

I'm pretty sure the Wii is still on top, sales-wise. 

http://venturebeat.com/2008/03/13/video-game-sales-grow-34-percent-in-february-ps-3-stays-ahead-of-xbox-360/

"The Nintendo Wii is still on top with sales of 432,000 consoles in February in the U.S., while the PS 3 sold 280,800 units and the Xbox 360 came in third with 254,600 units sold. The Nintendo DS sold 587,600 units, widening its lead over the PlayStation Portable which sold 243,100 units. Year over year, Sony’s PS 3 numbers are up 120 percent."

I theoretically love my Wii.   I was considering selling it last Christmas, as I could have gotten $600 for it on Amazon.  I wish I did.  I never have time for it anymore.  Okay, that's not true.  If I have time for message boards, I have time for the Wii.  It's just that most games are just too taxing for me.  They're like work.  Or, after I've gotten pretty good at them, I lose interest.  I just have no desire to complete them.

That said, XBox Live is pretty amazing, at least for the kinds of games that I like (simple/trippy/cartoony).

How quiet is the PS3 when playing movies?  I don't want to have fans running when I'm watching a movie.  It's like with computers-- I'd rather have a slower computer that generates less heat and is quieter, than a newer or pro machine that needs fancy cooling.

[Gilly]

How quiet is the PS3 when playing movies?  I don't want to have fans running when I'm watching a movie.  It's like with computers-- I'd rather have a slower computer that generates less heat and is quieter, than a newer or pro machine that needs fancy cooling.

As much as the 360 is maligned for it's noise, it only is noisy during startup and when playing games. It's silent when playing a DVD or streaming a movie from a hard drive.