Which games console?

A._Badger

First an admission. I know nothing at all about games consoles - I just need to buy one for a Christmas present!

Research so far had (just) swung me towards the XBox but recent comments on Amazon suggest it is coming to the end of its life and will be outdated in a year or so.

Would that rule it out as a sensible purchase?

All advice gratefully received!

markfj

I'd recommend an xbox 360, or a PS3

I have xbox, I dont see if being end of its lifespan anywhere near 1 year, if its due to technical issues you may read, alot of those were sorted. They are a good price for a new one too

If its games you want it for, xbox is ideal... PS3 is also good for games and watching Bluray movies, and if you would use that then perhaps PS3 is a well suited purchase too?

GunJack

it depends on who it's for.....and more to the point what said recipient's mates all play on, 'coz if you get them an xbox and all his mates are on P3, or vice versa, they'll be a bit miffed. So, do your research on the sneak and choose accordingly

Weird_Nev

Yeah. When it comes to the console, most games are shared and of equivalent quality. What's important is which console most of the recipients friends have so that they can play online together, which is a massive part of the console experience.

PS3's are slightly stronger as a "media centre" because you can get iplayer on them, and they play high defininition Blu Ray Discs.
Xboxes have a stronger online gaming experience, but it does cost about £27 a year with deals to play online - this service is free on Playstation.

Find out which one the recipient wants, that's the only way to be sure.

A._Badger

Weird_Nev wrote: »

Yeah. When it comes to the console, most games are shared and of equivalent quality. What's important is which console most of the recipients friends have so that they can play online together, which is a massive part of the console experience.

PS3's are slightly stronger as a "media centre" because you can get iplayer on them, and they play high defininition Blu Ray Discs.
Xboxes have a stronger online gaming experience, but it does cost about £27 a year with deals to play online - this service is free on Playstation.

Find out which one the recipient wants, that's the only way to be sure.

That would be a misleading path in this case, I'm afraid (but thanks for the suggestion) as the intended recipient lives in the deepest country so will be playing solo or online.

On balance, as I say, the XBox seemed the stronger bet (there's at least one DVD player in the household) but it's really the limited life that users are talking about that worries me. If that's not going to render it useless in a year or so I will probably go ahead and get that.

Mind you, the lucky little blighter already has a modern PC with a lot of RAM and a high speed graphics card. I wonder if a console really offers any advantages at all?

Thanks for the comments.

markfj

A._Badger wrote: »

That would be a misleading path in this case, I'm afraid (but thanks for the suggestion) as the intended recipient lives in the deepest country so will be playing solo or online.

On balance, as I say, the XBox seemed the stronger bet (there's at least one DVD player in the household) but it's really the limited life that users are talking about that worries me. If that's not going to render it useless in a year or so I will probably go ahead and get that.

Mind you, the lucky little blighter already has a modern PC with a lot of RAM and a high speed graphics card. I wonder if a console really offers any advantages at all?

Thanks for the comments.

Whats the issue regarding the Limited life you are hearing about regarding xbox? Ive not heard anything that should indicate this

Xbos when launched had a lot of issues, but they were eventually ironed out, as long as games keep coming out for it (they will) itwill survive, I am sure the xbox has outsold ps3 so cant see why it wouldnt survive now

A._Badger

markfj wrote: »

Whats the issue regarding the Limited life you are hearing about regarding xbox? Ive not heard anything that should indicate this

Xbos when launched had a lot of issues, but they were eventually ironed out, as long as games keep coming out for it (they will) itwill survive, I am sure the xbox has outsold ps3 so cant see why it wouldnt survive now

Word has it that the XBox in its current state will be replaced by 2013. Who'd bet on Microsoft not to outdate and abandon users of the previous version when the new one's released? That's the concern.

markfj

I see, of I'd not heard about that, I still doubt it will happen to be honest, it wasnt long ago they made Kinect for 360 so Id assume they'll contirnue to push them, but I could be wrong, I doubt you'll have much to worry about though

scotty_591

Hi there

From personal experience I prefer the Xbox 360 as it has crisp and clear graphics, all the latest games and is very easy to use.

On the other hand the Playstation 3 comes with a built in blu-ray player which is great if you want to watch blu-ray DVD's and don't want to fork out for a blu-ray player. Another advantage is the PS3 network (Sony's equivilant to Xbox Live) is free whereas you have to pay for Xbox live.

Despite all this I prefer the Xbox 360 as it is a lot cheaper than the PS3

As for it being outdated, it is true, but all current next gen games consoles (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3) will be outdated soon as rumour has it that the PS4, Xbox 720 (Not it's confirmed name), and the Wii U are due to be revealed at E3 2012 (basically a gaming expo) and due for release in late 2012/2013.

Hope this is of some help

In summary I would get the Xbox

scotty_591

markfj

http://www.inentertainment.co.uk/20111124/release-date-for-xbox-720-and-ps4-to-coincide/

ukjoel

All consoles are coming to the end of their lives.
They need to in order for manufacturers to bring out new ones and make more money and sell newer and even more expensive games.

The good news is they seem cheaper now than ever before.
2 years ago you couldnt buy a wii for love nor money. Now you struggle to give them away.

I would go with Xbox but its personal preference.
The xbox deals at the moment seem stonger than the ps3 deals.