Compare Playstation 3 to X-Box 360

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Price: The 360 with its diverse range of packages it is at current the cheaper system and will most likely remain that way for at least the foreseeable future.

Library: Thanks to being released a year before the PS3 the 360 has, at current, a much larger library of game titles
from which to choose. Among these are exclusives, such as Gears of War and Halo 3. Also to be taken into account is the vast selection of games available for download on the X-Box arcade. Together this makes a well rounded list with hundreds of titles. No matter who you are, you should have little trouble finding something to play.

Media Center: Thanks to the 360 being a Microsoft product, it is possible to link the system to your Windows XP/Vista computer via Window Media Player. Though this set-up can be somewhat difficult to achieve, once complete, it allows the 360 to access media from any folders you designate, including music, videos and pictures.

Parental controls: The 360's parental controls allow parents to completely control what their kids can and cannot play and even watch. Once set, the controls will block use of anything above the set threshold via a password that can also be set by parents.

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If you want to get the best deal possible.....

.....then you owe it to yourself to check the prices of new and used X-Box 360 systems on eBay before you decide to purchase retail. You can find some great deals. Just make sure you know you are dealing with a reputable seller.

For more detailed information on each of the 360 systems, visit my X-Box 360 Lens.
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Connectivity: While the 360 comes equipped for the use of a network cable to connect to the home network, it does not have wireless out of the box. To enable the system for a wireless network, you must purchase a wireless adapter, retail $99.99.

Game content: As I said before, you should not have trouble finding games to play regardless of who you are; however, there are drawbacks here. The 360 has a game library which is very much geared toward teens and adults, while there are some kid friendly games they are, sadly, few and far between.

System failures (A.K.A. Red ring of death): While the 360 is indeed a strong system, there is an issue with hardware failures that tends to strike this system from time to time. The Red Ring of Death, as it is called by those in the know, is an issue where one of many hardware faults occurs, leading to the dread three blinking red lights. And while Microsoft does have a three year warranty for red ring issues, the time between sending the system to them and getting it back can range anywhere from a few days to nearly a month. Since nearly all the Red Ring failures are related to too much heat, purchasing a Nyko Intercooler for $19.99 is an inexpensive way to protect your 360 from the dreaded RROD.

There's also a great Squidoo lens on Troubleshooting the Red Ring of Death. Check it out for more information.

Fees for playing online: Microsoft X-Box Live Gold, which is needed to play games online, has a cost. As of January 2008, one month is $7.99 retail, 3 months will cost $19.99 retail and 1 year will cost $49.99 retail. (This is definitely the best deal, because you also get an extra month free.)

Limited Customizability: While the 360 allows users to customize the on-screen display (called the dashboard) to some extent, its options are limited greatly, not allowing for any truly custom looks to be achieved. And there are only a few custom skins available for the console.

External power block: An external power block means high risk for households with puppies and small children. A power block, if damaged can be very expensive to replace, and the weight of the item means risk of injury if the block were to be pulled down. The cord from the block to the system generally isn't long enough for the block to sit on the floor.

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XBOX 360

PS3

System

Arcade

Pro

Halo

Elite

40 gb

80 gb

Hard Drive

no

20 gb

20 gb

120 gb

40 gb

80 gb

Blue Ray

no

no

no

no

yes

yes

HDMI Port

no

no

yes

yes

yes

yes

Cables

av

av/hd

av/hd

av/hd hdmi

av

av

Charge Kit

no

no

yes

no

yes

yes

Headset

no

yes

yes

yes

no

no

Memory Pk

yes

no

no

no

no

no

Network

wired

wired

wired

wired

wireless

wireless

Online

paid

paid

paid

paid

free

free

Media

game

none

none

none

movie

game

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Connectivity: All PS3 systems come equipped for both wired and wireless network connectivity out of the box.

Headsets: The PS3 can use any Bluetooth headset for communication, this means that if you already have headset for your phone, you can easily use with your PS3 as well, switching between the two in seconds.

Warranty: The warranty for the PS3 is a one year parts and labor warranty through Sony. This means that if anything happens to your PS3, such as a drive failure, you will get a replacement. It should be noted however, that the PS3 has very low failure rate--only about 1%.

Upgradeability: The PS3 is fully upgradeable, having been designed for both soft and firmware updates which will guarantee the ability to play all the latest Blue-Ray formats. The hard drive is easy to switch out, too, so that you can upgrade to larger drives as more downloadable content becomes available. PS3 is capable of using any 2.5" Serial ATA (better known as SATA) drive. (Note: It is recommended to use a 5400RPM drive, as this is what the system is designed for.)

Blue-Ray drive and disks: Blu-ray has officially won the High def format war. The PS3's Blue-Ray drive is able to read almost any standard disk flawlessly, from music CDs to DVDs to Blue-Ray disks. Minor scratches which once caused glitches in sound and music seem little trouble for this drive, and when you add the Blue-Ray disks to the mix, the near indestructible nature of these disks means that you no longer need to worry about accidentally scratching the disk surface. Some folks say that even steel wool run heavily over the surface of a disk won't render it unplayable. (I know, hard to believe. See video below.)

Free online game play: The PS3 network is completely free to access, and allows for online multiplayer games to be played at no additional costs. It even allows the user to surf the internet if so desired.

Video chat: The PS3 allows for video chatting with the use of what is known as the Playstation Eye. This fun and easy means of communication will let you see the person you're talking to, and can allow for great fun.

Media Center: Using your home network, the PS3 is able to access your computer through Windows media player 11, as well as being able to access any other DLNA device.

Customizability: The PS3 user interface allows for complete customizability, from the background to the icons to the sound made when you scroll through the files. Even the screen saver can be customized, which means you can truly make the PS3 your own. And thanks to multi user profile support, so can your brother/sister/significant other, etc.

Parental controls: The PS3's parental controls allow parents to have complete control over what their kids can and cannot play and/or watch. Once set, the controls will block use of anything above the set threshold via a password that can be set by parents.

No power block: The PS3 has no external power block, leaving only the power cable exposed. This fact is especially good in households with puppies, kittens, or young children. With only a power cord, if something happens and the cord is damaged, it is inexpensive to replace, and easy to find, as the power cord itself is a standard PC power cable.
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Limited Library: The PS3 has, for the time being, a limited library of games, with for exclusive titles. Though that is changing, it is still a limitation for now.

Game Content: The PS3 is geared very much toward the teen audience, with a few games aimed toward the adult. While there are some titles that are child friendly, they are far fewer, and released far less often than the teen and mature rated content.


No rumble: The PS3s SIXAXIS controllers dot not have a rumble feature, while this is somewhat disappointing it does not detract from game play, and will soon be remedied with the release to the DualShock3 controllers, set to release in late first quarter to second quarter 2008(More information will be supplied on release date when available).

Backwards Compatibility: The most popular 40gb PS3 has almost NO backwards compatibility with PS2 and original Playstation games. This is a major drawback, especially since all other versions of the PS3 will play virtually ALL of the games from the earlier systems.
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