An Xbox fan's perspective: is it time to move to PS3?

by Nick Doerr { Jul 4th 2008 at 1:00AM }

Just a foreword: we're not trying to instigate any console wars or flame wars here. This is just a pretty interesting article written objectively from the mouth of a self-proclaimed "Xbot" -- whatever that is. The author goes on to explain why he feels now is a pretty good time to switch from the 360 to the PS3. He points out a few good reasons and we'll outline them below. It's up to you to confirm or deny these ideas; come to your own conclusions about the reasons and let us know!

First off, he points to the 2.40 update (once it gets ironed out for those experiencing problems), saying it brings the PSN to almost all the same features as Xbox Live and it's free. The price is no longer a complaint, considering the built-in WiFi and the ease of replacing the standard 40GB hard drive with any 2.5" SATA drive. Blu-ray is inevitably going to become the next media format for gaming and movies (digital downloads are a ways off). PS3 comes standard with Blu-ray capabilities. His next point is about the open peripherals of the PS3: almost any device you can plug into it will work and the hard drive is very simple to replace with any laptop hard drive. The PS3's media center support is great, too -- DivX codecs are supported and most audio and picture files are as well. He concludes by stating the PS3 has no RRoD problems and trophy support will become just as addicting as gamer scores.

Those are his points and he feels it's a good time to move onto the PS3. Surely, many will disagree and others will nod in accord. But it's not about making a list of features -- it's about your opinion on the matter, given the information. Leave yours below!

Tags: playstation-network, psn

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Riley Freeman @ Jul 4th 2008 1:06AM

hopefully more and more people see the light. devs stop shortening games to fit on dvds and more exclusives to the ps3

ejamer @ Jul 4th 2008 10:35AM

There is one problem with "seeing the light" - once people are invested into one system, it's not always easy to just switch over to a more expensive alternative. This is especially true if you have a group of friends that are all using the same system.

MS beat Sony to market, and gained quite a chunk of market share before the console race even began. They offered features out of the box that Sony is just now close to copying. They are still selling at a significantly lower price point. Their hardware reliability has increased greatly since the early 360 models...

What does this all mean? That seeing the 360 and PS3 systems reach parity isn't a good enough reason for most people to jump ship and change brands. Sony needs to continue upping their game, finding ways to innovate and improve the system, and (most importantly) releasing great exclusive games.

A good article, but I think that there is still a long road ahead for Sony this generation.

Secret @ Jul 4th 2008 10:35AM

Xbox360 owners seem slow to learn. The reason for this is because these are the same points that us first generation PS3 owners knew of and argued on even before the launch of the PS3.

After nearly two years, this guy finally learns that 2+2=4. Finally, he learns what we've already learned. Too bad we're now advancing towards Calculus and he's still on arithmetics, counting with his fingers, like most xbox360 owners.

OwningXylophone @ Jul 4th 2008 12:11PM

@ Secret

Come back to me once the PS3 supports custom soundtracks for ALL games, Cross game chat for ALL games, Trophies for ALL games, when the 2.40 update doesn't cause 'RROD' for some users and when people in Europe can play online against Americans... Then the PS3 will be able to do everything the 360 has been able to do since its launch 3 years ago...

Plus trophies will never reach the level of the 360's gamerscore system if Sony doesn't open it up. Gamerscore is a huge success because of the community that has built up around it, with sites x360a.com, MGC.net, 360Voice.com, etc. If Sony doesn't embrace that community love, then the whole Trophy system is a bit of a waste.

MrEverdred01 @ Jul 4th 2008 1:31PM

@ejamer

Even though the Xbox 360 beat the PS3 to the market, look at how many games they share. Imagine if all of those companies started shifting towards PS3-exclusiveness. I remember hearing reports that Rockstar was going to shift to being mostly ps3-exclusive after they created GTA4. Ubisoft didn't seem to be too happy about the 360's lack of disk space either while creating Assassin's Creed. With the current cost to make video games, they're always going to share a ton of games, but the gap between the two might widen soon and look similar to the previous generation.

You're right about the price, though. I don't see Sony dropping their prices until Christmas maybe. And with a recession, people won't want to pay the extra $100 even if it's better. That's why the PS3 is rising in Europe and Japan more so than in the US.

Riley Freeman @ Jul 4th 2008 2:18PM

@ ejamer

well said

Riley Freeman @ Jul 4th 2008 1:07AM

hopefully more and more see the light. that way devs stop shrortening games to fit on a dvd and ps3 gets more exclusives. lets see if this post works this time cuz the first one didnt go through. ps3 fanboy seems to be the worst out of the engadget family. the only one that has consistent posting problems and i visit downlodsquad, cinematical, engadget, engadgetmobile, tvsquad. its annoying

J @ Jul 4th 2008 2:07PM

um..... the first one worked. dont blame the site.

This one is an ID-10T error.

Riley Freeman @ Jul 4th 2008 2:13PM

@ J

when someone complains about somethign not working is because when the page refreshed it wasnt there. Did u ever think of that or did common sense escape u?

John @ Jul 4th 2008 2:45PM

um, no. ps3fanboy is a major offender in terms of "dropping" posts. Think Fox News. But ps3fanboy is all we have. If Fox news was all we had, you would have to learn to read between the lines. And so we do.

Arnon @ Jul 4th 2008 1:10AM

People shouldn't base their choice off of what features a gaming console has.. they should base it off of what games it has. Not saying the PS3 has bad games, but to say that every fan of XBOX should move over to PS3 because of it's features is sort of "what?!"..

Roto13 @ Jul 4th 2008 1:21AM

In a perfect world, games would be the only thing that matters. However, the main reason I bought a PS3 and not an Xbox 360 is because I can't bring myself to spend hundreds of dollars on something with a 33% failure rate.

uh-oh polio @ Jul 4th 2008 1:24AM

Its pretty much everything i use on xbox +its free +it has more features so overall in my eyes. Its far more superior and more useful than my 360 is. And god forbid i have a different opinion than other people.

Mr.ESC @ Jul 4th 2008 1:52AM

I have enough money for all of them b*tches!

To be honest I'm disappointed of the PS3 firmware. I mean xbox 360 features are cool but the Trophy system supposed to reward you with cool stuff (See E3 2007 Videos) instead is a Xbox 360 achievement knock-off and I don’t even use most of the xbox 360 functions anyway.

I really don’t want an achievements system on the PS3, getting my OVER NINE THOUSAND gamerscore was quite frustrating from time to time. I wouldn’t like to repeat that also that achievement whores ruin games and some developers are ridiculous with the achievements.

Anyway this is pretty pointless, people will buy a console for its games but I really don’t see why the 2.40 is a big deal, same old xbox 360 features, I rather have Home.

Devin @ Jul 4th 2008 1:56AM

For me when looking at the 360, it's gotta be the:

1) Free Online
2) Reliable HW
3) Constant wave of FW updates
4) Original, fun, good-looking titles
5) Open-standards based HDD
5) USB M+K support
6) Media Centre capabilities
7) USB M+K support
8) Linux support
9) Blu-Ray - True HD Movies
10) HDMI 1.3 support
11) Bluetooth support
12) Internet browser
13) 10-year support
14) Built-in Wifi

Can't think of anymore, it's late....

Devin @ Jul 4th 2008 2:02AM

Now I know 360 offers Media Centre capabilities, but Sony IMO does it better through it's interface...it's just easier/slicker....

micheal82 @ Jul 4th 2008 2:13AM

@ Devin The only thing that was missing off of your list was the games. Its was the games the drove me to purchase my 360 and drove me to stick with it even though it has given out on me. For the most part my PS3 is used to watch movies. MGS4 pulled some of my gaming time away from the 360 but it wasn't enough to pull me away completely. lastly XBL to me is a lot more fun to play on than PSN. For the most part everybody on Live has mics unlike PSN. I for one enjoy talking to my competition and shutting up that annoying kid in the pregame lobbies. So as long as both systems puts out good and fun games I will continue to play them. Why miss out on any experiences?

BananaBoat @ Jul 4th 2008 2:12AM

Looking at just the games (all that really matters) the 360 destroys the PS3 hands down. Other than MGS4, I've yet to play anything on my PS3 that I couldn't have gotten on my 360, that is truly worth the price of the console (except maybe Pixeljunk Monsters...but that's another story). That said, I use my PS3 as my main Blu-Ray player, and it's gotten a TON of use that way, so it's easily been a good investment thus far. Looking to the future, you've got Killzone 2 (a sequel to Killzone 1, which I loathed) and Resistance 2, both of which do absolutely nothing (that they've shown so far) to pull me away from either COD4, or the upcoming Gears of War 2. Little Big Planet is easily the only exclusive coming to the PS3 this year (hopefully...) that I'll absolutely have to buy, now that I have MGS4.

None of that matters though..what matters is that this is such obvious flamebaiting that the author feels the need to attempt to somehow diffuse the fact that it's flamebait, by saying that it isn't. Switching from one console to another, if you have both consoles, is idiotic. Why wouldn't you just get the games you want on either console? It doesn't make any sense, and it's clearly just to rile people up.

When all is said and done, the thing keeping me picking the 360 version of a game over the PS3 version, has almost nothing to do with the PS3 itself. It has to do with the developers that make an inferior product for the PS3 when compared with the 360, and that can't seem to cut load times out of the equation (how about background loading as I play? Ehh?). When I have to see a 3 minute load screen EVERY time I want to jump between chapters in Metal Gear Solid 4, something is freaking broken. Fix those issues, and I'd have no problem putting my money into PS3 versions of dual release games.

devilmaker @ Jul 4th 2008 7:14AM

Sure, the games for the 360 are great and what not, but I still always get back to this point. With only 10gb DVD capabilities the 360 soon won't be able to fit any more into its games. God knows how they managed to fit GTA IV onto DVD, I mean, the PS2 used DVDs for its games. I believe that soon Microsoft will have to make a new Xbox and many owners will get pretty annoyed that they have to buy a new one. For that reason, I belive the PS3 will be able to survive far longer with 60gb Blu-ray. In the same way that the PS2 survived for I don't know how long previously before Sony made their new console.

BananaBoat @ Jul 4th 2008 7:32AM

GTA4 managed it because there are no pre-rendered Hi-Def cutscenes like in Metal Gear Solid 4 (don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure they are all in-engine cut scenes). Hi-Def Pre-Rendered cut scenes are the only real advantage of the Blu-Ray disc, and when you put that up against the lower read times (which makes installs necessary) it's not a case of Blu-Ray wins, but rather, that Blu-Ray and DVD both have their strengths and weaknesses.

Personally, from my experience with MGS4, I'd much rather have interactive cut scenes (like the mission briefings with the MK II interactivity) than cut scenes that are pre-rendered, but completely static, that are the equivalent of making me watch a movie (hours and hours of movie in MGS4's case..)

Oh well, that's just my preference. Blu-Ray will be in MSofts next console for sure, but GTAIV and other games have shown that you can do a hell of a lot with good ol'DVD.

Devin @ Jul 4th 2008 11:39AM

@ michael82

Michael, did you read #4? *Original*, fun, good-looking (graphics-wise) titles.....seriously.....

_sean_ @ Jul 4th 2008 1:20AM

system warz: GO!!1!

BigGW @ Jul 4th 2008 1:47AM

Finally maybe developers will see the light. 360 is not a forward thinking technology and the hardware is extremely unreliable and clunky. I had a 360 7 months and it quit working, just in time for the ps3 release. 360 already shot it's wad anyways a far as franchises go. Sony's ps3 will be on top in two more years guarenteed.

frankym @ Jul 4th 2008 1:25AM

All this is true at the moment, however, I predict MS launching the successor console to the 360 very soon. Probably fall of 2009.

With this, they will have 2 consoles to support, like Sony does---a cheap one and an expensive one. if you look down the road, MS does not have any big games planned for next year.

Devin @ Jul 4th 2008 1:42AM

Man if I was a new 360 owner that just spent $349.99 and they unveiled a new console next year, I'd be so pissed. Another reason to hate the 360, it's been tapped. If Too Human does bad, there is seriously no reason to own a 360 unless you're willing to wait until Fable 2 comes out (which could be late Xmas).....

Riley Freeman @ Jul 4th 2008 1:44AM

not true they have about 3 diff versions of halo and a sequel to gears lol

i hope u can sense my sarcasm

chimaera9 @ Jul 4th 2008 1:52AM

Interesting point, frankym, and if you're right, it should be amusing to see what happens if MS rolls out another Xbox console only 4 (?) years after the original 360. Though I know some people upgrade their computers more often than that, I, for one, would be rather put off to see such a short lifespan for a console. The PS3 is additionally enticing, in my opinion, because Sony has a track record of designing and supporting their consoles for the long haul of 8 years or so.

I'm a big fan of this, since I get rather annoyed that to stay current with PC software, I have to upgrade my computer every 2 or 3 years. Now 90% of my gaming is on the PS3 because, though I have a new (and fast) computer, I'm sick of the constant upgrading. Every 8 to 10 years (or even 6) is a MUCH better spread.

So, I think MS is making a mistake if they're planning a new box in 2009. Somehow it reminds me a little of their recent mistake with Vista--it's buggy, not doing as well as they hoped, so they're just moving on to Windows 7. Where's the support? That certainly doesn't make me trust them as a company, because who's to say their next product won't be buggy and obsolete in a year or two?

Sony has my loyalty, and for good reason--they've earned my trust.

Frankenstein Black @ Jul 4th 2008 3:52AM

"Does anyone remember laughter", er Windows ME?
Yea, the Vista step-over is not a new move by M$...

Maverick Saturn @ Jul 4th 2008 6:28AM

I for 1 would be pissed, its waaaay too soon to be jumping into next gen, we've only just gotten used to this one, some people are still on thier original xboxs, PS2s and Gamecubes getting ready to take the step up.

Jumping into the next next gen seems a bit of a desperate move despite the fact 360s are selling well. And even me, a gamer who has the opportunity to play all wouldn't bother to buy another console so soon unless the graphics and games blow me away.

No doubt Sony and Nintendo are also working on the latest technology to step up thier game as well, if Microsoft was smart, they'd wait, because if Nintendo and Sony see what Micro has to offer work to beat it and destroy what Micro puts forward with even better technology (Sony being a technology company and all), Microsoft will wish they hadn't rushed thier next console out the door. An early release this soon doesn't seem business smart to me, at least give it another 2/3 years. Microsoft is pretty much relying on others for the tech side of things, they are a software company, they can't afford to mess up against two other companies of which this is thier daily playing field.

tan @ Jul 4th 2008 7:35AM

ms doesn't really talk about what games they have planned for the next year..
like last year they never really spoke of many of the games that are coming this year.
they focus on the current year most, which is good, and bad.

also new xbox in 09?
no way.

skin.bintin @ Jul 7th 2008 12:50AM

I seriously doubt Microsoft will release a new console next year. That is ludicrous. late 2010 at the earliest although probably more like 2011.

wicko @ Jul 4th 2008 1:33AM

For me, it has to do with me having a good gaming PC and all the titles I'd want to play on the 360 have been or will be released for PC. PS3 is not the case.

gb @ Jul 4th 2008 1:36AM

if you like gaming then you will own as many gaming devices that you can afford, me im lucky enough to own all 3 current ones, ps3 for exclusives, wii for different games and 360 for exclusives and multiformat games which are still 95% better on 360.

If your fanboy (or except you cant afford them all) then you stick to one console and religously follow a company which is sad and treats you like sh!t and your missing out on loads of great games on all formats.

Yes 2.4 is great but its still not on the same playing field as 360 firmware atm with all games not having the same functionality and they should have had more games with patches out to add trophy support, one is pathetic !! Few more weeks delay and say 5 more games would be cool

forget xbox buy a ps3 @ Jul 4th 2008 1:37AM

ps3 is the next generation console and xbox cant compete with that
sony is doing a very good job
and eveyrone should get a ps3

Dwag @ Jul 4th 2008 1:41AM

He's lame not because he's switching to PS3 but because he still brings up RROD and that he ask others to go along with with him and he's not a real 360 Fanboy he's a pS3 fanboy trying to play the 360 ones its obvious.

Real Fanboys don't do that even when they convert they never try to convert there old Fanboy friends. Its kinda of like a real war he may betray you but he doesn't comeback saying 'all of you join me or die' he lets them die cause he's now one of the opposition.

Don't get tricked by his Self proclaimed 360 Fanboy act unless I see the post of him commiting the act of 360 fanboyism.

Dwag @ Jul 4th 2008 1:51AM

He might have never had a 360 in the first place.

uh-oh polio @ Jul 4th 2008 1:56AM

Couldnt it be possible that hes had bad experiences with his systems (as many people have including me*on my 4th* have had multiple problems and got sick of it?) Unless you know this guy personally, you have 0 idea of what he plays or whom he favors. It could be possible he came to his senses after being dissapointed many times that he switched and tried out the other system and happened to like it more. People have there own opinions you know.

Davedrastic @ Jul 4th 2008 1:51AM

Personally I think the Xbox is good for the impatient and those that are cash-strapped. Outside of it's lower price point I don't see any reason to go for the xbox other than the MS Live argument - but as stated in the article it's advantage over the PS3 has diminished, and is likely to diminish further. Also the PS3 can play Divx, and has the hard drive potential so for me it seems like I can easily turn it into a real media hub, blu-ray being another bonus.

I'm not saying the xbox is without it's merits, but Halo or Gears can't be seen as it's killer applications when you have Resistance, KZ2, CoD4 etc

Still, i'm not going to get a PS3 until the price comes down - $699 AUD is just too much, when you consider $100 per game, $100 for another controller etc

Dwag @ Jul 4th 2008 2:06AM

you did not just say COD4 it is Multiplatform why even bring it up more people play it on the 360 its a fact more copies were sold to the 360 why even bring it in to thing thats suppose to prove why PS3 is your choice of platform your gonna buy? I think you have been listening to too much PS3 fanboys bias comments my friend.

KIillzone 1 was trash why do you believe Klllzone 2 would be any better?

Restistance is just an average/solid shooter that copied from the rest including one of the 360s games you mentioned?

The 360 games you mentioned on the other hand have been praised all around.

Doug @ Jul 4th 2008 2:41AM

Just to set the record straight, the 360 also plays DivX, and has for quite some time now.

Jacob @ Jul 4th 2008 8:17AM

I just purchased my PS3 last friday. Up until then I was mainly a PC gamer, my last console being the original xbox. I am simply amazed by it. I mean I knew what to expect, but I didn't realize the potential. I'm already looking at buying an external hard drive to stash music, pictures, and videos and I'm anxious to try different USB devices with the PS3. A lot of people argue that the xbox is better just because it has more games, but games will come, and the technology is there for the PS3 to continue to blow our minds. I remember when I first got an N64 and was amazed by the 3D graphics of Super Mario 64, and now I have a PS3 and still can't believe how real GT5 Prologue looks. Anybody who doesn't have a PS3 now doesn't know what they are missing and will be desperate for one in the next few years!

Charles @ Jul 4th 2008 8:38AM

Reading your comment makes me want to cry. I'm actually looking into buying one, but it just doesn't seem like it'll happen any time soon! Though truthfully, the reason I want one is more for the games to come rather than games currently there. LBP, Home, God of War 3, R2, KZ2, etc. I also really found games on the PSN store interesting such SSHD and PJM and I found the features that happen with the PSEye brilliant, like in LBP and those small games (toys?) on the PS Store. Also, I think I'd love Singstar and esp. with the Singstore!

Mr.ESC @ Jul 4th 2008 1:53AM

Ps3 fanboys please don't post this stuff,it only adds more un-need Drama to the Ps3 community.

Kenneth @ Jul 4th 2008 1:56AM

surprised to not see more talk about the actual GAMES. I mean that is what the thing is for right?

Deadpool @ Jul 4th 2008 2:12AM

Hey!!!! You're trying to confuse us with your "logic"!!!!Well I'm not falling for that!!!!Why am I using so many exclaimation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? I'm not even really yelling or anything!!!!!

Just kidding. Anyway, people forget about the games too often in the console war. I don't have an XBox 360, but I don't trash talk about the games. I give credit where credit is due. Which is fair, right?

Maverick Saturn @ Jul 4th 2008 8:13AM

Kenneth, don't be silly, who plays consoles for games? Its called 'entertainment system' for a reason, god... Slow people these days. lol

Devin @ Jul 4th 2008 2:00AM

How does PS3's online offering "suck" in your opinion? Yes, it still has video chat while in-game (woohoo blah blah blah, it's coming) and secondly, how is Sony copying? You can only do something so many ways my friend and they didn't "copy" trophies if you actually read into what it is they offer terms of leveling and such, but who cares, you're a lost cause because a company can only do so much with the budget it has and all I can say is that within a 1 yr and a half Sony has made the PS3 go from "probably not" to "must-have" IMO...imagine what they can do in another....

Dwag @ Jul 4th 2008 2:14AM

Are you blinded Trophies are just Achievements my friend get it in your head theres nothing special about them.

Sooner or later there gonna have a Filmware update that puts numbers to the equation like how mant EXP you got left until you hit lv 2 then what thats just like saying how many Achievement points you got until you hit 2000GS. They are equal stop trying to get around it even PS3 fanboys know.