PS3 or XBOX 360 Elite?

Welsh_Money_Saver

I have a 16 year old son and am stuck on whether to get him a PS3 or XBOX360 elite, I don;t know much about the consoles other than PS3's can play blu-ray and do wireless online gaming but the XBOX needs adaptors to play online.

He won't be doing much online gaming yet, as we don't have a wireless connection, so I don't know which would be the better option in terms of longevity. Are there any problems/bugs with the PS3 as he has a PSP which froze and we need to pay to unbrick?

Have seen an offer for xbox 360 elite, 6 games plus 2 wireless controllers for £279, and am tempted by it, any advice greatfully recieved.


Many thanks from a clueless Mum!!!!

fox2319

Ultimately it comes down to what sort of games he'd want to play. There's a lot of good games on both systems but some are unique to a particular platform, Halo and Forza on the xbox and Gran Turismo & Killzone on the PS3.

I've got a PS3 and would recommend it but it's entirely your call.

timbim_2

I'd go for the Xbox, simply as it has a much larger selection of titles available. To me, that's the most important thing.

bennybroadbean

The good old debate of PS3 or XBox 360!

It does really depend on what games you want to play and your budget - I've also got a PS3 and would def recommend it, a few deals are out now with the new slim PS3 - might be worth a look?

savemoney

PS3, heard some many bad things about xbox360 over heating I know several people with this issue and and its far for uncommon

Also ps3 had much more capability especially blue-ray thats my main reason I would get one

The wii is a good console too but the graphics arent cutting edge but the big selling point is the hardware and its interactiveness

DCFC79

If your son is likely to play online game then it would depend on which of the consoles his friends have as hes likely to want to play games with them iyswim,

donnajunkie

DCFC79 wrote: »

If your son is likely to play online game then it would depend on which of the consoles his friends have as hes likely to want to play games with them iyswim,

i suspect knowing how kids think even if he doesnt play online he is likely to want what most fo his mates have.

xbox 360.

the good things,

1. more popular online play.
2. more good games like gears of war.
3. better controller.
4. guaranteed for 3 years and good repair service. this is good in relation to point 2 in the bad things below.

bad things,

1. runs quite loud although you do get used to it.
2. higher than acceptable failure rate with the 3 red lights and even 2 red lights.
3. £30+ per year to play online.

ps3.

good things,

1. blu ray player.
2. free online play.
3. most good games come out on it also now.
4. free online play.
5. runs quieter.

bad things,

1. costs more.
2. less popular.
3. heavyish and chunky although this may not be an issue now with the slim version.
4. controller not bad but not as good as xbox 360 controller.

there are other differences but those above are what i think are worth mentioning.

Welsh_Money_Saver

Thanks for all the help, I am going to check out the games available on each and see what hes got already, to see whats got the most of the games he already likes playing.
Might wait and see if there are any better offers as we get nearer xmas though!

fox2319

Seems to be some good deals on both at the moment. I've seen the PS3 with Batman Arkham Asylum (must have game!!! Available on both systems) for around £250-260. The Xbox 360 Elite with a game or 2 at currys for £200.

Saying that, if you want to go online you'll need to consider how far you are from the router. If it's close, you can connect either over ethernet. Further away and the PS3 already has wifi built in, that costs an extra £40-50 on the Xbox. It's also easier (and cheaper) to upgrade the PS3. It takes a standard laptop hard disk, so you can get 500GB for around £60 and if you get one of the fat PS3s, you can put linux on a portion of the disk, attach a keyboard and mouse and you'd have a computer for homework, surfing the net etc. (although strangely, not up to games...)

Definitely don't buy a second hand 360, the older ones died more often than not (I went through 2 in 9 months before I got a refund and bought the PS3). It's apparently sorted on the newer models but...

Both of them have a decent online community but as the Xbox comes with a headset included, you will hear a lot of 12 year old american kids talking rubbish.

Best of luck and enjoy!
PS - The 360 is a lot louder than the PS3, esp when the disk drive is spinning up.

savemoney

I think the xbox360 will come down after the price reduction of the ps3

That said, my daughter boyfriend has told me his 360 is duff, another dead 360. Seems a very common occurrence

fox2319

savemoney wrote: »

I think the xbox360 will come down after the price reduction of the ps3

That said, my daughter boyfriend has told me his 360 is duff, another dead 360. Seems a very common occurrence

It just did. The Elite is now £200 base price (although there are some deals). It's the most comparable in terms of features (but still lacking blu-ray and wifi.)