[Zuke]

I want to buy a PS3, but the deletion of backwards compatibility really angered me. Also, for the $400, that's almost 10 games for my high-end PC! Lower the price $100, add B.C., and get more exclusive games and I'll bite.

[mightycaseyatbat]

Valid points on the PS3, and I'd add one thing more : I already own a Radeon 4850-powered PC, and most of the top 360 games, including shooters, which I'm a sucker for, are available and often better on the PC (Oblivion comes to mind - user add-ons made that game.) Maybe the PC's days as a gaming platform are numbered, but for now it's strong enough for me, and the 360 seems at times like a poor-man's PC. On the flip side, everybody has a 360, which means borrowing and sharing games is easy (useful in a college housing environment!) And the controllers - the dual shock was great ten years ago, but c'mon Sony - give my big hands something to work with! Both consoles have solid sports and 3rd person choices, most of which are multiplatform. Can any 360 users say whether the Arcade's lack of a HD is that crippling? In other words, can a primarily single-player get by with a memory card alone? I reapeat, Live does not interest me, but having to spend an extra hundred bucks on the 360 is a deal-breaker (please don't argue to spend more than $400 - no 360 Pro- games and cables will bump the price higher anyway and I'm determined to adhere to some kind of budget here!

[MarkG]

if you already have a PC, then the PS3 is definately the way to go. Most 360 exclusive games are only console exclusives and appear on PC, but most PS3 exclusives are PS3 only. Having a PC AND a PS3 give you near 100% coverage, having x360 and PC gives you lots up duplicates, and you miss out on all the great PS3 exclusives this season.

[HarveyDanger]

I was going to post something worthwhile, but now I know it will just be lost in fan-boy bickering. Way to ruin an article.

As a consumer with a very tight wallet, and one that only cares about -games- (neither I nor anyone in my immediate family own an HDTV), Sony will have to drop the price drastically before I consider buying the console. The only game I've felt any serious compulsion to play is MGS4, and I'm far from suffering while not doing so.

If I'm going to be saving that kind of money, I may as well just save up for a self-built gaming PC, as that will get much more use in my every day life.

[HarveyDanger]

By the way... $80 a year for online play with Live? You're obviously not the one controlling the wallet if you're spouting a number like that.

[2xist]

$6.67 per month is what Xbox Live comes down to if you're paying $80/year; cheaper and way more satisfying (imo) then most MMO's are these days (which are usually $10+). Not to mention you could also buy a 360 game every 2-3 months and obtain the 3-6 month free live pass they issue out on all new games, this saves you the $80 fee and gives you a new game to play (meaning you'll just have to buy 4 games a year).

My brother who just turned 15 easily affords that every few months, he buys a new game every few months and just uses the live pass that comes with it (and has been doing so for about the past 1.5 years+).