Right, I was always going to get a PS3 as ive always been a playstation man.

However, with the cost of Xbox360 now less than half the price of a PS3 im starting to think about getting an xbox360 despite the fact ive never ever played one, not even the old Xbox.

I know a lot of people have different opinions on each so all comments are welcome. Looking for advice on all aspects. Like how easy and the cost of Xbox Live etc.

Many thanks gamers

Edit: Also how important is the GB size?

For xbox, not really an issue, if you want to download the on demand movies, then get a bigger hard drive, if not, then dont bother.

If you want to watch high def movies, then get the ps3 for the bluray, if you just want to play games, buy the 360, cheaper, more games and has a better catalogue of games.

Both are similarly powered, despite what fanboys may pretend, the 360 has a better graphics chip, but less processing power, ps3 has weaker graphics chip but better processing power.

And whats the the deal with Silver/ Gold membership and how much is it?

I've had both and the PS3 is by far the better machine in my opinion.
Bluray and free online play included plus a games catalogue that is getting bigger all the time would swing it for me.

I was similar and had the Psone & PS2 before switching over to the Xbox360. Although it took a wee bit of getting used to I actually prefer the Xbox controller. It costs around £30 for a gold membership to Xbox Live which lasts a year. Its also a complete bugger to hook up to Xbox Live if you have AOL as your internet provider as I found out believe its easy enough with any other provider.

There arent that many console exclusive games now apart from a few(Metal Gear, Halo) so if your just looking to play games then would go for the Xbox since it much cheaper.

Anybody that has AOL deserves everything they get

The online play isnt really a better reason for the PS3, the online side of the PS3 is pretty poor in comparision.

You could buy a xbox 360, standalone bluray player and 2 years online for the cost of a ps3.

I don't know what the lifespan of the PS3 is but i my 360 is away getting fixed atm because of the red ring of death. I've had the thing less than 2 years.
If i had the choice i think i would go for the PS3, perhaps when my 360 finally packs up the PS3 will be more reasonably priced and i would seriosly think about getting the PS3.

PS3 all the way!

For my sins I have AOL, but it was piss easy to get online for me.

I got the red ring a few months ago. Sent it away to get fixed. Got it back 3 weeks later. A month goes on and I get the red rings again.

PS3 for me next payday.

Why dont you just buy a new 360, they are more reliable than the current ps3s.

re: the red rings... I may have got taken for a mug but I bought my 360 at Game and paid an extra £25 to get cover that I could get it replaced straight away if anything happens within two years.

they should replace it at the shop after the first year anyway, but its handy for when the new SKU's come out, if you enforced a break on an old console just now you would get one of the new hdmi ones

Because I am mightily pissed off with it at the moment and I am not willing to pay for a product that is going to break. The fact I just had it sent to Munich to get repaired and a month later the same thing happened is quite frankly laughable.

My Xbox was bought less than a year ago. What are my rights under warranty? And would I have to get these red lights sorted before I could get rid of it? Help appreciated MarreZ

I bought an elite 360 the week the "new stock" came out (just about a year ago) I dont understand the full ins and outs of it but I believe the processer runs at a lower temperature which is supposed to ston any red ring nonsense, Ive had no problems with mine.

I had a PSone, got an xbox & got rid of it in a couple of months because Im not really into shoot em ups and it seemed thats all it was good for & got a PS2

last year I was waiting for the PS3 when my mate got a 360 and showed me all the benefits & I havent looked back, in reality, theres not much difference between the two, both have some exclusives but most games will be on both systems, I would pretty much go buy what your friends have, theres not much point forking out for al the online stuff if you dont have friends to play on it.

if you go for an xbox make sure its one of the newer ones made in the last year (it says on the box, I cant remember the exact details... google it) dont get an arcade, you will need some sort of hard drive, but what one you get basically depends on what you can afford

I have always been a Playstation man but i decided to trade in the Ps2 last weekend and get an xbox 360. Best decision ive made i think. Although im not on xbox live yet it is still a very good console and the fact that there is a 60gb hard drive to save games and things onto is even better.

Get a 360 the games look far better as well.

I reiterate I'd be more than happy to have an xbox360 if I didnt think it was going to break all the time.

You could but in my opinion you would be buying an inferior machine.

Your opinion is wrong though

There is nothing the ps3 does better than the 360. Of all the multiplatform games, the ps3 has had the weaker versions, slower framerate, worse graphics etc.

Sony do a good marketing job on people though.

The PS3 plays Bluray better than the 360.

It all boils down to personal preference but I respect your geeky type research (I mean that in the best possible way) so dont doubt what you say about the 360. I just didn't like it though and much prefer the PS3.

Screw you pete!

The PS3 is currently more liable to break than a new 360 though.

You can get the red lights fixed then trade it in or sell it on ebay.

My 360 plays bluray rips just fine

Proof?

I would buy whatever your friends have. If you want a comparison then the XBOX 360 is easily the better option.

It has a good few times times more exclusives that have achieved an average rating of over 8 than the PS3.

It has a far bigger games library than the PS3, almost all games that have been on both have been poorer on the PS3 (but not a great deal) and it is backwards compatable (can play original XBOX games) unlike non-launch PS3s.

Red Ring has been a big problem for the 360 but consoles in the last year will not have the problem.

The DVD player in the 360 can be noisy at times (although I don't notice it when playing) but this should not be a problem as you will soon be able to install games on the hard-drive so the DVD player will not be spinning.

Although you have to pay for Gold (Silver is free but inferior), XBOX Live is a far superior online experience PSN.

Although just being numbers and pictures, the achievements and gamerpoints are a great incentive to play through games multiple times and increase the enjoyement of playing. The PS3 now has Trophies but these do not give you Gamerpoints. Although this may seem nerdy it does actually improve game.

The 360 is primarily a gaming machine but does lack a BluRay player which is a shame.

I would say the S3 is better for watching films and stuff but the 360 is far and away the better gaming machine.

I would say that is in fact miles off the mark.

Unfortunately its not the case, im sure they have fixed the 80gb ps3's, but the failure rate for 40gb ps3's was extremely high, while the falcon 360's failure rate was the same as the original ps3.

"According to a story on Gamer.tm, Belgian games retailer Games Mania is reporting that while 40GB PS3s are selling well, they're suffering a 40% failure rate. The problem, originally reported by Dutch site Gamed, is with the failing consoles' inability to read discs. No actual numbers were provided, and we've yet to hear similar reports from other sources, so file this under "unconfirmed anecdotes" for the time being."

compared to the 10% failure rate of the falcon 360's, theres 4x more chance of your 40gb ps3 failing than a new 360.

I dont want to put down the 360 as i love it but i bought a 360 Elite last december and i got red ring last week

3 red rings or one red ring?

Is yours a falcon?

Woulda been better if you set this thread up as a poll.

Definetely PS3 id say. Much more reliable. I dont know that many people that havent had the rings of death on their X-Box.

This is my train of thought.

I bought a PS3 tonight but need to get a cable for my tv which I didnt know I had to buy seperately

3 red rings and i have no idea. How do i find out?

Says the power usage on the box if its a falcon.

I was going to buy a 360 but after reading up on the red rings fault I opted to buy a Playstation3 as I had not heard of them failing. Within three gaming hours my PS3 broke. GTA4 crashed and when it was reset the PS3 failed to read any discs. Sony were top notch though and I had a brand new replacement within two days. All I had to do was provide them with the serial number.

Pointless. People just vote for what they have.

Not necessarily, i have a 360 and given the choice i would go for the PS3

PS3 FTW.ive had it since it came out and never had any problems.

Case in point.

Theres no doubt that the PS3 has the poorer selection of games, and that the multiformat games are worse on the PS3.

If you want to play the best games, then the 360 wins hands down as the console of choice.

If you want a media machine, then go for the ps3, dont listen to the fanboys.

I went for the Sex box. Thanks to all for the advice. Really like it so far actually.

Got Beijing which is pretty gash, Pro08 and FightNight3 . Any must have titles?

Oh my Gamertag is : Elstuartio

Mass Effect, depends what games you like, Fifa 09 is out this coming Friday. Theres loads of great games depending on what genres you like.

Mostly sports as I tend to play mainly multiplayer as apposed to myself. Will get Mass Effect though for those cold winter nights

Edit- HDMI cable is a must I presume?

Edit again- I was a bit suprised there was no Internet Browser on it..

Why would you want an internet browser? I can honestly say apart from to try it out, ive never used the internet browser on my ps3 and wii.

NHL09 is superb, as is Madden 09 if you like those kind of sports.

The poker games are pretty good as well if you can get them cheap.

I use mine all the time. Hell, I'm using my PS3 to post this! I would never have anything other the the PS3. There are no hidden costs (xbox live, blu-ray, hard drive, wireless internet) and multi-platform games are now practically identical in terms of graphics. What few xbox exclusives there are have been seriously over-rated by the xbox fanboys in the media (so I'm told!) Mine is a 60Gb launch model which cost me (with 2 games, a 3rd party controller and 2 year warrenty) £503 and I've never regretted it once.

HDMI cable is awesome . I would recommend getting COD4 if cheap as COD5 will be out in a few months. Gears of War but only if cheap as the 2nd one comes out in a few months again. Guitar hero 3 which you will get cheap, the new one comes out november too . I will add you on live but wont be on for 2 or 3 weeks due to 3 red lights

Im not saying people dont use it, but most people use it, maybe to check the odd thing.

The PS3 is a fantastic machine, dont get me wrong, there are hidden extras though, your lauch console didnt come with a headset, nor did it come with a rumble controller, which would set you back about £50 for both of them.

Xbox live does cost, but for what you pay its excellent value for money, and does offer a better service than the PSN, sony have improved it leaps and bounds since inception, but the 360 service is how it should all be done, it probably should be free though, but its a service worth paying for.

See, the 60GB launch model is the one that would have appealed to me, as I still play my PS2 games (and a few FF games on the PS1 every year or so), but now that that model's not available that would put me off.

The 60gb was a great machine, in addition to backward compatibility you had a 4 port usb hub, card reader, it was a great media machine.

How much would an HMDI cable set me back chaps?