360 vs. PS3: Lets End This Debate

I wrote this on www.TheGamersGarage.com, but wanted to bring it to my blog as well...

Here's a excerpt from Gamespot's article:

"Though they ultimately rule that the Xbox 360 still slightly wins out in the overall, the difference is negligible enough that they're willing to call it a tie. The 360 rocks the boat in high-res textures and texture mapping, but the PS3 conquers in shadowing and anti-aliasing (whatever all that means)."

Isn't all this a bit of a pissing contest? Do we REALLY care if the 360 has slightly better graphics? Does it REALLY matter? I've seen footage of games on the PS3, it looks excellent! If I had the extra ca$h, I would pick up a PS3 faster than Jack Thompson can say lawsuit.

Allow me to stray from the main topic at hand......

The simple fact is, is back in 2005 when it was announced that the Xbox 360 was coming out, I did everything I could to save up for it (I was recently graduated from high school). I had an original Xbox, had a full friends list on Xbox LIVE, and just knew beyond a shadow of doubt that the Xbox 360 was for me. I had a PS2 at the time, but the Xbox's version of online gaming was for me, the gamer. It wasn't convoluted, I didn't need to buy any extra add ons to play LIVE. I paid my $50, and I was sucked in to this amazing online world.

This brings me to something Okatta said on episode 35. The Xbox 360 is what it is now because of LIVE. I really have to agree. Where else has it been so easy to plug in and play online with your friends, send them pics, messages, or talk to them with a few moves on the controller? Microsoft understood what gamers were wanting, and they delivered it in a nice little package.

Now, this brings me back to the PS3. The PS3 and Wii came out at the same time frame. The Wii still out sells both consoles. The 360 had a full year head start. If the PS3 was really worth my money, wouldn't it be outselling the 360 month in and month out? Quite frankly, all of the stupid downloading, installing, bad online execution, lack of ease of use for the gamer and the total lack of good games to play is the reason I do not own a PS3 over the 360. The only reason I would buy a PS3 is for when a big hot game comes out such as MGS4 or GT5, and to play Blu-Ray movies. I can't go back and play older games and still have a plethora of other gamers to play with on the PS3 like I can the 360. I can get on Bomberman LIVE, GRAW 2, or even Perfect Dark Zero and still find gamers to play with.

To be 100% I'm-sorry-if-this-offends-you-honest, I think that people that buy a PS3 instead of a 360 are completely uninformed and have quite a bit of buyers remorse a week after purchase. People that have the 360 and PS3 are probably fine, because they know that they will always have something to play and do because of the multi-functionality of the Xbox 360. I know, I MUST be sounding like a fan boy again right? Well, I don't care. When it comes down to it, the Xbox 360 has ten times more functionality than the Playstation 3, and I don't care who disagrees with me. The PS3's graphics are great, but so are the 360's. Are the graphics that big of a deal to choose one system over the other? Lets look at Call of Duty 4, a game renowned for its graphics. Does the 360 or PS3 look all that much better than the other to choose one version over the other? C'mon..

The online for the PS3 is pish posh; the 360's online is bursting with functionality and maneuverability. The game library for the PS3 is lackluster in comparison to that of the 360's. If you can't find a game for you on the 360, then your hopes of being a gamer are doomed.

Without a doubt, I will hands down give the PS3 its credit on how solid of a machine it is. It runs great, no hardware failures, it's excellent. I just feel it has not been tapped into in the right way. The hardware failure on the 360 is despicable, but it has also given the 360 a lot of credit. Why? When else have you heard of gamers on their 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 13th console? They love their Xbox 360 so much that they are willing to go through whatever it takes to get it fixed and plugged back in to their TV’s.

The PS3 NEEDS games so badly. Its kind of weird, because the PS2 had such a huge library full of amazing titles, why's it taking so long for the PS3 to follow suit? Why does the PS3 barely have 5 solid games? Sure, the PS3 hasn't been out as long, but I'm talking quality of games, not quantity. I just see more potential from the PS3 machine, and its angering as a gamer to see untapped potential.

All in all, we are all gamers. I don't want Sony and the Playstation brand to keel over and die. I'm a gamer, and I like games. But the system I chose to game on is the Xbox 360 because I truly feel that the people behind it understand my wants as a gamer, and they satisfy them in the right way.

In the end, you’re the teller of the tale. You’re the one spending your money on whichever console you want, and that’s great!! But please be informed as to what you are getting yourself into....