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so with the recent price drop PS3 looks doable.
i know that there are fans of both but i think i like the 360 better but i am very worried about the red ring of death.
any thoughts?

the 2 games im looking at the most to start out with are left 4 dead and army of 2. PS3 has army of 2 but not left 4 dead :(

The newer models of 360 use a different CPU/motherboard set and are far less prone to the RROD. It is called the Jasper Chip set. Google it to learn more.

From some website i closed the tab to and can't remember the name of:

"How did I know it was a Jasper? As reported for months, the thing to look for when buying a new Xbox 360 is a power spec of 12 volts, which you can find by inspecting the box’s serial number cutout hole. It may take some finger wiggling to reveal the power rating – assuming, of course, the person selling you the unit allows you to handle the box in the first place."

If you like the 360, get the 360. Microsoft's replacement plan is awesome, so RRoD shouldn't be a factor (it isn't anymore, anyway).

I have both, and they're both good for different things (360 Ace Combat FTW), so its all preference.

Both systems have great games.

I'm a 360 man myself, but I'm not gonna slag off the PS3. Both are good machines, but from my experience Xbox Live is a better online system then the PS3 one, even if Microsoft have recently ripped off the Nintendo Wii Mii idea for the avatars. I choose the 360 mainly because I knew it would have the Halo series coming out for it and most of my friends had/would be buying one and I wanted to game online with them. I don't know how much the PS3 costs, but at the time I was buying the 360 came in a lot cheaper and has a lot of different systems to buy (in terms of Arcade, Core, Premium and Elite).
Ultimately everyone has a gut feeling over what system they want so go with what you want.
I wouldn't recommend Army of Two though. It is a sub-par game and unless you're playing with a mate online it is awful. Left 4 Dead is awsome online! However Left 4 Dead 2 comes out in November-ish time, so might be better waiting for that.

I would strongly suggest you avoid the 360. My friends has gone through 3 of them. One was a refurbish from Game Stop and died about 6-7 months later. He then got a new one witch then died with about 3 days left on warranty, so he sent it in, got a new one, and its dying again over the past week. He got it back about 2 months ago. Also according to Game Informer 360's have ~54% failure rate compared to PS3's ~14%. About 40% of repaired Xbox's died again.

Edit: Online wise Live is better since it has dedicated servers, which you have to pay for. PS3 online is free, but no dedicated servers. Also games wise God Of War 3 is PS3 only. Makes my mind up, though I need a job so I can get a PS3.

For my experience, my brother has a ps3 and I have a 360. Bought roughly the same time. A few weeks back he sent off for his second ps3 replacement while I'm still on the same 360. So ps3 certainly aren't immune either. + my brother has ocd and I have no doubt he treated it well.

+ I've also noticed a lack of online players and you can pretty much expect no one to be using a headset in most games.

Ps3 online being free is a big bonus though. As is little big planet, love that game.

PS3 online free is the key advantage over the XBox.

You have to pay for the Gold plan (if that's the right name) on XBox to be able to play online games.

The cost catches up with the base hardware cost of the PS3.

Fewer people on PS3 use headsets which means less verbal abuse and spam. Clan members usually have headsets.

Calling bull on that, Kilkrazy.

Playing KZ2 online, it's nothing but the same kiddies that you find on Halo/Call of Duty 4 on the 360 that holler out their newest learned insults/swear words.

However, owning both a PS3+360, here's my stance:

The PS3 has some good games, I won't deny that. But their 'exclusives' are very hit or miss. I think the only PS3 exclusives I enjoy are Killzone 2, inFamous, MGS4(of course--who didn't like that game?), and Uncharted. However, the online play being free does bring out the fact that the parents don't watch their kids on games in spades. The amount of mouthy little gits there are amazingly obnoxious, and there's no real way to ensure that you never play with them again(at least in pick-up games).

Then we have the 360...
Bear in mind here, I've had my 360 since its release. I have not had to send it in, and I leave that thing running almost 24/7(watching dvds, etc). The games are nice, but what really sold me on it was the fact that I can nab the shows I like pretty much right after the episode has aired(eliminates having to wait for the dvd to catch up, etc) if I miss something, the downloadable content and the like is another big selling point for me.

I'd say that Gold, however, is nice, especially now that they've made it so that Netflix is(afaik) included in the cost.

Paying for Xbox Live Gold membership isn't as bad as it sounds. I was dead against it at first, but I hardly notice the £5 a month now. Certainly worth it when you consider the fact it does give you dedicated game servers which allow for a good quality online gaming experience. It all comes down to the age old 'you get what you pay for', you want good online service you gotta pay for it, or you can have the sub-par Sony online service, but it is free. Plus as I said it's only £5 a month, not much when you consider most of us have mobile phones with a monthly bill much higher and we're prepared to pay that. Also like a mobile phone plan (in the UK at least) you can either have a direct debit for the Live or pre-pay top up cards bought from a gaming store.
I never thought I'd use Live enough to pay for it, however after I got going and added a few friends to my list I realised I was on it enough to feel happy about £5 a month.

Directed at original poster: If you are buying Left 4 Dead you are gonna want to get a Gold account on Xbox Live. After a few online games you'll realise it's worth it.

It's worth pointing out that you automatically get a Silver Live account if you go online with a 360 which is free. You can download stuff, but can't play online against other gamers.

I'll admit that the 360 has a black shadow over it in the name of the red ring of death, however as has already been posted that problem is all but fixed now. For at least the last 18 months (longer I think, but not sure) 360s have been made so that they should not get the red ring anymore. If you're buying a brand new one I wouldn't worry.

Kanluwen wrote:Calling bull on that, Kilkrazy.

Playing KZ2 online, it's nothing but the same kiddies that you find on Halo/Call of Duty 4 on the 360 that holler out their newest learned insults/swear words.
....

I only play Team Fortress 2. It doesn't have that problem in my experience, but I think it's because I am in Europe and you are in the USA.

The US servers tend to have more foul-mouthed early teens.

Kilkrazy wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:Calling bull on that, Kilkrazy.

Playing KZ2 online, it's nothing but the same kiddies that you find on Halo/Call of Duty 4 on the 360 that holler out their newest learned insults/swear words.
....

I only play Team Fortress 2. It doesn't have that problem in my experience, but I think it's because I am in Europe and you are in the USA.

The US servers tend to have more foul-mouthed early teens.

I've played with people from the other side of the pond on Xbox Live and it isn't that much different. Just harder to understand because they don't speak English good.

If you have a gaming PC, no reason to get a 360. Otherwise, if there's games you want on there, go for it.

Although I wouldn't be caught dead paying for online play.

When I got my 360, the price difference was enough to pay for 4 years of xbox live, so I am OK paying for it.

I personally prefer most of the xbox exclusices compared to the PS3 exclusives, so was never really tempted to go for the PS3 anyway.

As people have mentions, if you like the games on the system, go for it, if you don't, don't buy it.

I've not had the RROD other than when my GF dropped my 360. But it healed itself (my xbox=WolverineBox?).

Edit: Sorry for the typos, I am eating an orange and trying not to get juice and bits everywhere.

My vote is for the 360 mostly because of Halo 3 (and possibly because I own only a 360 and not a PS3... maybe If I owned a PS3 my thoughts on the matter would be different... or not)

Ahtman wrote:

Kilkrazy wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:Calling bull on that, Kilkrazy.

Playing KZ2 online, it's nothing but the same kiddies that you find on Halo/Call of Duty 4 on the 360 that holler out their newest learned insults/swear words.
....

I only play Team Fortress 2. It doesn't have that problem in my experience, but I think it's because I am in Europe and you are in the USA.

The US servers tend to have more foul-mouthed early teens.

I've played with people from the other side of the pond on Xbox Live and it isn't that much different. Just harder to understand because they don't speak English well.

Fixed.

Here's what I say to all of my customers. The 360 and PS3 are about the same.

The difference comes down to exclusives, online, and multimedia.

The PS3 has a wider range of exclusives, but has less of them. The online service for 360 is better, but you pay for it. The 360 also lacks a wireless adapter and that's a $100 cost while the PS3 has it already built in. The PS3 has a blu ray player, the 360 does not.


However, I suggest you wait for the PS3 slim to come out if you decide PS3. It'll be $299.99 and has 120 GB. Sure you can't bludgeon someone to death with it, but you can still crush small animals.

It is believed that Left 4 Dead 2 will be on the playstation 3 as well. There was a few mishaps on the EA website concerning box art with the PS3 logo and it being listed under PS3 games.

I also recall that during the interview with the creators of L4D(before it came out) they were asked about it releasing on only PC and 360. They said that they launched it because it is easier to make on the 360 and PC formats and that they would wait to see if it would sell enough to port to the PS3.
It may take the same route that Bioshock did, orginally a Xbox exclusive and then getting ported to the PS3 after it has been proven successful.

halonachos wrote:
The PS3 has a wider range of exclusives, but has less of them. The online service for 360 is better, but you pay for it. The 360 also lacks a wireless adapter and that's a $100 cost while the PS3 has it already built in. The PS3 has a blu ray player, the 360 does not.

I quoted Halonachos, because he said all I wanted to say, in 3 lines.
Thanks, Halonachos

PS3 = Bluray. Nuf said.

If you really want Left 4 Dead, get it on your PC...can you really say that a controller is better than mouse/keyboard for shooters?

I say PS3.
my 2 favorite console games are exclusive to the pwayshtayshon
Metal Gear Solid
Gran Turismo

xbox has alternatives, in splintercell and forza, but GT5>forza and I prefer the fantastical nature of the MGS story over splinter cell.
the biggest draw for the xbox was halo3, but after I played it at a friends house I decided it was not worth it, overhyped/rated.

Lormax wrote:
If you really want Left 4 Dead, get it on your PC...can you really say that a controller is better than mouse/keyboard for shooters?

No but I can say that my big screen plasma TV is better than a computer monitor.

Demogerg wrote:the biggest draw for the xbox was halo3, but after I played it at a friends house I decided it was not worth it, overhyped/rated.

I agree (the horror, a 360 owner agreeing Halo 3 was over hyped). But, whilst I agree it was an overrated game it was still good fun and a suitably epic ending to a great franchise. Of course 360 owners can now look forward to Halo ODST, which is genuinley being viewed as a lot better then Halo 3.
In terms of exclusives though IMHO the Gears of War series is the one that has replaced Halo as a draw to new gamers. Also it has been confirmed that the 360 will be getting the next MGS game, so that is no longer a PS3 exclusive.

Well, most of the technical details have already been said so I guess my advice comes down to exclusive games. I enjoy my 360 a lot (and it hasn't died on me yet) and it has some great exclusives. GTA4 DLC, Gears of War, Dead Rising, Banjo-Kazzoie.
The PS3 on the other hand has a blu-ray player, which only is important if you have a TV who can actually work with that and also a bunch of very interesting exclusives like Infamous, MGS and God of War (which, btw. I played on GamesCom and is frickin' sweet).

Get the 360, the PS3 is no substitute, trust me you don't get nearly the satisfaction out of a ps3, My 360 had red ring of death problems but you can simply take it in to have it fixed. No big deal.

Abit OT , but im playing my cousin's PS 1 , its like... 14 years old i think , and still works!

god of war 3, blue ray player, free online play are all things the ps3 has going for it while the xbox 360 only has halo. My buddies xbox has broken down twice over the course of a year! To be honest if you you are buying your system solely for the purpose of playing left for dead then go 360. If you want to buy other games then ps3 is obvious choice.




(just between you and me while halo 2 was good, halo 3 was the most overhyped peice of junk I have ever played)

Dedrith wrote:Get the 360, the PS3 is no substitute, trust me you don't get nearly the satisfaction out of a ps3, My 360 had red ring of death problems but you can simply take it in to have it fixed. No big deal.

Do you have a PS3? If you don't I hardly understand how you can say you don't get as much satisfaction out of a PS3. I get plenty of Satisfaction out of my PS3, my gaming computer, AND my 360. Each one serves a different purpose to me, my gaming laptop I play L4D, TF2, DoD Source, DOW 1-2, KotOR, Oblivion, Morrowind plus several others. My PS3 gives me the MGS series including MGO, something a friend who was Halo obsessed conceded was a greater online experience me I don't know never played Halo online. It also gives me Killzone 2, which I find rather fun on and off line, and a few other games I could get on any system. Finally the 360, it gives me the Halo Series which I admit I do enjoy, and most importantly the 360 gives me Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, the sole reasons I bought a replacement 360 in the form of the 360 E, that and the price drop, so I'll get my money back next week.

So OP it all depends on what you really want, is there a particular game you wish to play?

as a follow up...

i ended up picking up the 360... the price was the deciding factor and the fact that my son (who is 6) plays with his cousin on his 360.

i also picked up Halo 3, Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty: World at War, and Burnout Revenge.

Halo 3 - its a pretty fun shooter. My son and i tend to fool around in the forge editing maps more than anything. We played Co-Op all the way up until the flood got involved and then he got "creeped out" lol... and didnt want to play thos e missions anymore. i finished it up over the weekend. Now i plan on going back to try and do some of the insane crap that you have to do to try and unlock some of the custom armor.

Left 4 Dead - another good shooter. I enjoyed doing the first campaign only to find out that it seems each campaign is basically a one off game, they dont tie into one another. i was kind of disappointed in that. I was also disappointed by the limited weapon options as well as the limited types of boss type mobs. all in all though i do enjoy it because its always fun blowing the crap out of zombies
i also enjoy the soundtrack... very creepy Don't startle the witch!

Call of Duty: World at War - i'm still progressing through this one. I really enjoy it although some of the missions are extremely hard. i can live with all of them except for 1) where you are a russian sniper and need to kill the german sniper in the opposing building. 2)again, where you are the russian sniper and need to kill the general. both of those caused me no end of grief. this is probably my favorite of the 4. i want to unlock the zombie level at the end of the game

Burnout Revenge - a decent racing game. i mostly like it because my son enjoys wrecking the crap out of everything and wrecking cars is what this game is about. if i could only manage to figure out how to unlock cars id probably like it a lot better. playing the same 3 or 4 cars is boring.


all in all i am pretty happy with my choice. the PS3 sounded pretty cool but the system is in our game room and we dont watch TV in there so the blu ray while neat wouldnt have really gotten used anyway.

on a side not... i did have on emajor WTF moment.
the day after i bought it i was playing COD and the game locked up mid mission. i turned the system off and on then loaded the game and it proceeded to lock up while it was playing the intro movie. i tried a reboot again and it froze in the exact same spot. 4 disks later, yes i took it back four times... lol, i decided to try and start the game over from scratch. thankfully i was only on the second campaign. after i did that i never had a problem with it again and am almost done with the game.

this one had me baffled. so far no one i have spoken to says this makes sense.
i'm just glad its fixed

Skarwael wrote:

Ahtman wrote:
I've played with people from the other side of the pond on Xbox Live and it isn't that much different. Just harder to understand because they don't speak English well.

Fixed.

You lose the joke if you say correctly.

L4D - Teh Win!