Xbox or PS3 for 11yo/family

Bowling_4_Gold

It depends on what you will be doing really - I mean, if you will store and use a lot of music and photos etc, a PS3 will probably be better (although a 360 will still do it - be it with perhaps a little less appealing UI). If you are going to be hardcore-gaming, an Xbox 360 is probably the best out of the two. Personally, I only really like (and use) the 360... This may sound silly but it is because I really can't use the PS3 controller - it is way too light, and L2/R2 are supposed to be buttons:mad:... I know you can get alls orts of controller conversion kits, but a 360 will do! Will be interesting to hear what you decide though:D

Decyfa

Your son probs wont be chuffed with me sharing this, but on the 360 you can set parental controls to limit the games/dvds being used and also how long he can be on it for..

The two consoles are pretty much evenly matched, however in my opinion xbox live is well worth the 30 odd quid a year, simply because the social side to it, you can have party chats where your son and his mates could all be playing different games yet sit and chat to each other.

Poppycat

I am toying with getting a ps3 mainly for blue-ray yes I know you can get a player for around £140

I didnt know you could get a stand which is great for us having it that way due to tv stand being covered with 2 pvrs, large amp, and dvd player plus a wii

I got a 720p samsung 40" tv I assume it can scale to 720p and or 1080i, I will also need hdmi switch as 3 hdmi sockets I have are full

fox2319 wrote: »

I've tried iPlayer through the PS3 web browser and it looks good, perfectly watchable. Blu-ray is also very nice. I've seen places offering the new slim with Batman Arkham Asylum for around £250, absolutel bargain.

Only thing to be wary of is that the new slim can't stand on it's end without spending an additional £15-20 on a stand.

Personally, I've had 2 xbox's (both died within 5 months) and a PS3. PS3 is much quieter (esp disk noise) and much more versatile. Now with the price drop, you know it makes sense...

fox2319

Poppycat wrote: »

I am toying with getting a ps3 mainly for blue-ray yes I know you can get a player for around £140

I didnt know you could get a stand which is great for us having it that way due to tv stand being covered with 2 pvrs, large amp, and dvd player plus a wii

I got a 720p samsung 40" tv I assume it can scale to 720p and or 1080i, I will also need hdmi switch as 3 hdmi sockets I have are full

If you get the older PS3, you don't need to buy a seperate stand. It's only a problem if you get the newer slim.

It can ouput anything up to 1080p and will autodetect what your TV can take. At a guess, your TV will claim that it can receive 1080p and scale it down internally. Mine did (26" Phillips) so I manually selected 720p anyway.

The other thing both consoles do if you've got a PC with a big media library is stream from them over a household network. Speed and quality are good on the PS3, not sure about the xbox as it's been a while.

DCFC79

Also the xbox 360 has access to demos, game trailers, arcade games, game add ons and indie games via the xbox marketplace, some of these can cost points (you buy a microsoft points card eg 2100 and this is your currency) eg game add ons and the full game of an arcade classic. The arcade and indie games allow you to try a trial version of the game first to see if you like it and if you dont then nothings lost on your part.

donnajunkie

DCFC79 wrote: »

Also the xbox 360 has access to demos, game trailers, arcade games, game add ons and indie games via the xbox marketplace, some of these can cost points (you buy a microsoft points card eg 2100 and this is your currency) eg game add ons and the full game of an arcade classic. The arcade and indie games allow you to try a trial version of the game first to see if you like it and if you dont then nothings lost on your part.

you can do most of this on psn as well.

GunJack

I've gotta say, we have all 4 consoles in our house (ps2, ps3, xbox360 and wii, and for me the clear winner is the ps3. To address some points made above..

1. ps3 controllers and mechanisms far superior to xbox
2. yes, more games will appeal to older peeps (like me ), but most new releases aren't exclusive to either console.
3. psn is free and good, paying for xbox live is a rip-off.
4. graphics (esp. on a HD tv) are better on ps3
5. If the main consideration is your son, however, then xobx if that's what all his mates have...

..and the wii is the least-used of all of them, just a dust-gathering piece of carp

donnajunkie

GunJack wrote: »

1. ps3 controllers and mechanisms far superior to xbox

i disagree with this point. half of the battle while playing killzone 2 online is with the controller.

GunJack

donnajunkie wrote: »

i disagree with this point. half of the battle while playing killzone 2 online is with the controller.

I think this depends what you're used to....I progresed from Megadrive through to ps2 and 3, so I am used to the controller size, layout, etc. I hate trying to play xbox360 games using the lump of lead with d-pads and joysticks the wrong way round !!!

DCFC79

donnajunkie wrote: »

you can do most of this on psn as well.

i wasnt saying you couldnt do it on the psn, i was just adding that you can do it on the xbox 360 as i dont have a ps3,

if we arent careful this is going to turn into a "which 1 is better" fight