Q: I'm planning to buy an Xbox 360 or PS3 by the end of this month. The main reason is because of the release of GTA 4. I've spent a while deliberating which system to go for but I still can't decide! The main thing that concerns me about the 360 is the so called "red ring of death". I've also read that it's quite noisy when in operation..have these problems been worked out? Any info that will help me decide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
A: Well, ps3 sales have caught up with the 360 as of March. So seems people think it is worthwhile. See the article below. (PSP also beat 360.) As far as cost, to get a 360 up to the ps3 features, the 360 costs a lot more. Microsoft did a great job selling the stripped down machine with components customers would need to buy later ($100 wi-fi attachment?!?! Rechargeable batteries for controls?). This helped give the illusion that 360 was very cheap. ps3 has bluetooth. Its controllers now have bothe rumble AND motion. The Blu-ray on ps3 is just a bonus for relatively low price. The defunct HDDVD on 360 added a lot on price to compete with ps3. As far as hardware goes, the ps3 is easily more powerful. Give it to the 3rd generation of games and the games will look noticeably better than xbox360. At the life cycle of any console the first games don't look nearly as good as the later ones. Developers are saying they are just scratching the surface of the ps3 whereas the x360 is nearing its maximum potential. And have you noticed a MAJOR complaint amongst all gamers on all systems? Games are extremely short. DVDs are very small compared to a Bluray. More storage for longer games. MGS4 is the first to use the entire space on the disc. Kojima said he had more he wanted to include but couldn't. Right now, the 360 has a great library of games. But as third parties produce more of these big hits, they will be on all systems. (GTA4, COD4, Assassins Creed). Both have some great exclusives. It is all relative which is better. Relative with time as well. As the increasing ps3 sales indicate and the increase in 3rd party games, ps3 will gain more support on game and increase their library. This is the only area that 360 leads outright. So, for now 360 has that big advantage. But it is disappearing. Expect MGS4 and GTA4 to sell to sell many more ps3 consoles. Many people have been sitting out waiting for big title games (and to see who won the video format war) before buying a ps3. There are MANY people who are sitting pretty with their ps2s (install base is 120 million) as sony loyalists waiting for the right time to jump to next gen. I am one of them. Not saying its right or wrong, it is just what it is. Oh yeah, and shoddy hardware on the 360. I know people who are STILL getting that thing on theirs. And the machine is noisy and clunky, not like the slim and sleek ps3. Oh yeah, just thought of another. You can play DIVX movies on ps3!!! Movies are encoded in this great format and are available everywhere you can imagines. ;) http://www.gamespot.com/news/6189483.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;16