Wii, 360, or PS3??

I am having much difficulty in selecting which console to choose for next gen gaming. To give you a background, in my past I have had a Nintendo 8-bit, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, Playstation 2, and Nintendo DS. My favorite series that I have played are definitely Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, and Gran Turismo. I never grew that fond of Halo, FPS's don't really do it for me.

So .. I am getting tired of playing my Playstation 2 (my favorite console of the bunch) and am ready to move on to the next gen, now that some great games are finally coming out for these new consoles.

I like the Wii because it is innovative, but the only Nintendo game that has ever really captivated me was Perfect Dark on N64 (don't get me wrong, I loved Mario 64, Mike Tyson's punchout, etc. etc. ... but they never had that "it" factor that games like Metal Gear Solid has).

I like the XBox 360 because it is the most proven system of the bunch and it has the most games currently available. But I have never owned an Xbox and all my friends who had one had it break at one point in time, so I am scared of that aspect and I have a sentimental connection with Nintendo and Sony. It's tough to open myself to a new brand, controller, series, etc.. In addition, Metal Gear Solid 4 is probably not coming out on this console, so, if I were to get this console, I would have to play the game on one of my friends' console.

I like the PS3 because it will have all the titles on it that I love. And the PS2 was my favorite system ever ... I had no hardware/software issues with it ever. The negative aspect of PS3 is that it is expensive and it doesn't have a vibrating controller anymore (I love vibrating controllers)

So what do I do ... could you help me out here?

If you have a personal experience with the consoles and would like to share, that would be great....

When buying a console, regardless of what people will tell you, it comes down to one thing: games

Take a look at the games currently available for the consoles. Then look at upcoming games. Which console has, or will have, the games you want to play? If one stands out above the rest, then there's your answer.

None of the multimedia functions or other features matter when none of the games on that platform interest you.

I personally have the Xbox360 and love it. I've got a nice stack of Xbox360 games and I look forward to several more that are on the horizon. The controller is absolutely amazing, it feels as though it were made just for my hand. I also like the Xbox Live service, along with the Windows Media Center features. I've been trying to get my hands on a Wii, but they're out of stock everywhere nearby, and when they DO get new supplies, they're gone before I can even wake up

Yea, I guess you're right. The console with the most games I want is the PS3, but it is SO expensive. I could get a 360 and a Wii for the same price as a PS3 and I have thought of this option but am iffy.

Ultimately, the PS3 is best for me game-wise. But console wise, the XBox 360 and Wii combo seems to be the best combo of uniqueness and games. Arggg...

Does anyone have any personal experience with the PS3 and could tell me how it performs and such?

I'm looking at the 360 for the games, but for my 4 year old daughter, the Wii is the weapon of choice. she's a master at that cooking game. i like the physical interaction she gets. as for games on the Wii, don't forget that it also plays gamecube games also. sounds like you're pretty selective in your games, though. i would say though that if you went to the 360, keep that sucker COOL!!! once it heats up, you'll see all kinds of crazy stuff go wrong. typical microsoft style -> it's pretty, but under pressure, it will crack!
9 years in navy electronics taught me a few things about heat sensitivity.

I love my 360. The big games combined with the arcade stuff in XBox Live Arcade make it completely awesome.

Yea, I have heard plenty of issues that people have had with the 360 and the original XBox, hardware-wise.

Willem said:

I love my 360. The big games combined with the arcade stuff in XBox Live Arcade make it completely awesome.

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How much is XBox Live ... that is one of the negative aspect to me is that you have to pay a fee to use the online service. The positive of paying for internet is that the servers will probably be properly maintained and upgraded with that money.

I went with the Wii60 combo. And am glad I did.
The 360 is my favorite though and my Wii actually hasn't been touched for over a month. There are just too few games for the Wii right now and the ones that are fun get old kinda quick with the exception of Zelda.

I have had my 360 crap out on me once, but it has since been replace and it was quite a painless process. Don't let that scare you out of the purchase though as I have gone through 3 PS2's with the Disc Read Error issue.

There are some interesting games coming out for the PS3, but there current lineup is definitely less than stellar. Not to mention they keep losing there exclusive titles anyway. Wait till the games come out and then decide to purchase or your system may just sit there like my Wii.

I personally say get a 360 and then decide to get a PS3 after a price drop and the good games come out

rpmgatech said:

Does anyone have any personal experience with the PS3 and could tell me how it performs and such?

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I've got one and I'm loving every minute of it.

Playing games and watching movies at 1080p or even just web browsing on a 42 inch TV is amazing.

I've currently got F1, Motor Storm, Oblivion, Virtua Fighter and Fall of Man and they are all excellent imo.

It also plays about 50% of my PS2 games flawlessly as well with a noticeably better display than on the PS2 with the same TV.

I'm still going to get a WII if I ever find one but the longer I wait for one to appear in any of my local shops the more PS3 stuff I'm buying so Nintendo have made a big mistake AFAIAC.

If the current crop of games are anything to go by the next lot should be fabulous.

Amen-Moses

PS: I have also downloaded about 5 full games from the playstation website, averaging around 4 GBP (about 8 USD) a pop. Things like Tekken and Lemmings. Even the cheap games are pretty good (you have to see the rubber duck game, the water looks real enough to touch)

Live is $50 or$60 a year and is worth it IMO.

You get a friends list that works with every game, cross platform IM with windows (feature to be added in the next update), as well as cross platform play with windows users. Okay well that last feature may not be exciting to some, but I don't think it is a feature you'll see on the PSN for free.

Not to mention that when you purchase a Live subscription it usually comes with games. On the 360 it is normally an arcade title, but with xbox1 it was full retail games

Xbox 360 + Xbox Live = Best Console Going!

Although Xbox Live is £40 a Year it is most certainly worth it, and is far superior to the services of Playstation and Wii.

Xbox 360 is good for Price, Games, and Service. It's an obvious choice and has some top quality titles on it. As for Hardware Problems, I don't know, I know people have had trouble but I myself have had mine since Launch and it's been more or less trouble free.

Any problems I solved in about 2 minutes by checking out Xbox.com Support. I can't emphasise it enough, if you want a Good Machine that gets you the best for your buck than the Xbox 360 is it.

I bought a 360 because it had and still has the best choice of games for me. It has more exclusives that interest me, than the PS3 did.

There will be no good games out for the PS3 until September unfortunately.

Yea. I think I am gonna get a 360 and a wii and then wait on the ps3. If the ps3 ends up losing its exlusive titles such as MGS4, then there is no point in getting that console in my case. Ultimately I think I have to go test out all the systems at a place such as Gamestop.

rpmgatech said:

Yea. I think I am gonna get a 360 and a wii and then wait on the ps3. If the ps3 ends up losing its exlusive titles such as MGS4, then there is no point in getting that console in my case. Ultimately I think I have to go test out all the systems at a place such as Gamestop.

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It loses more as time goes on. Devil may Cry 4 was supposed to be PS3 exclusive, but when the user base is 10.5 million (360) as opposed to 2.5 million (PS3), it makes sense for Capcom.

$600 is a lot of money. But look at it this way, the Xbox 360 is $400, and the HD-DVD player is an extra $200. The PS3 is Blu-ray for $600. But of course, you have the option of getting a HD-DVD player or not with the 360, whereas you have no choice with the PS3.
A newer version of the Xbox360 is coming out soon though, its a black colored one with a larger hard drive. It looks sweet.

leecho7 said:

$600 is a lot of money. But look at it this way, the Xbox 360 is $400, and the HD-DVD player is an extra $200. The PS3 is Blu-ray for $600. But of course, you have the option of getting a HD-DVD player or not with the 360, whereas you have no choice with the PS3.
A newer version of the Xbox360 is coming out soon though, its a black colored one with a larger hard drive. It looks sweet.

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It's not fair to compare the price with the HD drives. I say that because the 360 has a video marketplace which offers HD downloads that rival any HD format. Besides, digital distribution will be king beating out both HDDVD and Blu-ray. Don't believe me, just wait till HD movies are offered in the iTunes store.

The newer 360 you are talking about is out and is dubbed the 360 elite, As you said it is black and comes with a larger hard drive. It also comes with and HDMI port. And it is fact already available.

I would only suggest you buy the Elite if you are a videophile and plan on downloading movies or plan on using the IPTV feature.

Oh, I didn't mention IPTV before. Well in that case, the 360 will receive an update sometime this fall or winter which will add IPTV functionality (may be a charge). So not only do you get a killer game console you'll get a video on demand service and a PVR among the other features I have mentioned.

But iTunes will offer Blu Ray, not HD-DVD.

Apple & Sony vs Microsoft & Toshiba

I think the PS3 will be the deciding factor with HD, and I think Blu Ray will win. It's still too difficult to download HD films though - by the time a 30Gb film has downloaded, you could have gone and rented the disc.

Alexis said:

But iTunes will offer Blu Ray, not HD-DVD.

Apple & Sony vs Microsoft & Toshiba

I think the PS3 will be the deciding factor with HD, and I think Blu Ray will win. It's still too difficult to download HD films though - by the time a 30Gb film has downloaded, you could have gone and rented the disc.

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iTunes will offer neither. I know Apple is backing Blu-ray, but the downloads will just be a HD codec. Just as the movies are now, they are just a codec which can then be converted and burned to a DVD.

It is not difficult to download HD videos at all. The 360 has been offereing HD downloads for some time now on their video marketplace. The files range between 3-5 gigs. And there is reall no difference Linky . And seeing as there is no difference, other than brightness, between HD DVD and Blu-ray makes the video marketplace comparable to them both.

You must also factor in price. The HD discs are retailing for around $30 and the marketplace videos are $6. Granted, there are no special features with the market place, but who knows what the future holds. IMO most people don't watch the special features anyway (thats just my opinion so don't give me any flak).

SmokingFetus said:

I would only suggest you buy the Elite if you are a videophile and plan on downloading movies or plan on using the IPTV feature.

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Yea, but what about getting an external hard drive for the regular 360 (not the core). It seems cheaper than paying all that extra money for the elite. It doesn't have any other features on it that appeal to me besides a larger hard drive. Therefore, I may just get the premium xbox360 with an external HD... that is if there aren't any negatives to having an external HD.