Which do you prefer and why?

I am thinking of buying one for my sons 10 birthday and don’t know which to go for. I don’t play computer games so quite clueless 😳

Which would you choose?

Which one has most of his friends got?

i don’t know!
Does that make a difference?

Xbox is cheaper and Kinect is superb, but PS3 has Iplayer an web browser if that bothers you. I’ve got an Xbox and prefer it to PS3, but that might just be because i have one.

PS3 = Bluray = My choice

What is Kinect?

Yes as he’ll want to play online and swap games.

I have 360, Wii and PS3 the only console plugged in and used regular is the PS3. I’ve not used the 360 for about 2 years.

I see.
There are different size PS3s when i look on Amazon, 160 or 320 🙄

Is the smaller one good enough?

I’ve got a PS3, 360 and a Wii.

The 360 gets the most use for games and the PS3 for both games and multimedia, although it is increasingly more multimedia based as it is downstairs and wired into the stereo.

If you are quick Play are doing a PS3 deal here which works out just a little more than a 360 and includes extras and games.

More than good enough and if needed can be expanded easily, unlike the 360 which can’t.

Is the smaller one good enough?

Yes, I’m not even close to filling 160gb on it.

+1 for find out what his friends have btw, online gaming will be fairly important to him.

btw online gaming is free for ps3, will cost you and extra £30/40 a year(not sure how much) for xbox, so although the initial cost of an xbox is cheaper, well it’s not really, they just take installments.

i’ve had the 40gb ps3 for years and still got plenty of space.

if you were wanting to store music and movies on it then the more space the better but you could always just store them on your computer and stream them from there to the ps3.

Restless – that is just the hard disk size and it doesn’t effect performance. The smaller one is more than ample if it isn’t being used as a media server.

So, is a 360 an xbox? is it the same thing ?
Also, do you get the same games for x boxes and ps3s? I know you have to buy different versions, but do you get the same games and are they the same on each console, or is there something that would make it better on one than the other.
I am even confusing myself now 😕

I just had a look at the Play deal. it is cheaper than Amazon 🙂

More than good enough and if needed can be expanded easily, unlike the 360 which can’t.

With the 4GB Xbox 360 if you need more space you can buy the 250GB HDD separate and just stick it straight into the console. But at that cost it works out not much more expensive to buy the 250GB one in the first place. I’ve got the 250 one and have only filled a tiny amount with installed games. Not sure how much space I have on my 80GB PS3 but I have a few games installed (about 9) and still seem to have room left.

Yes a 360 is an Xbox. In most cases games are available on both, at least the popular ones are like Call of Duty etc. Ones like Gran Turismo are only on PS3 but then theres Forza on the Xbox 360.

Cost me £18 to upgrade to 500Gb. 😀

Which one has most of his friends got?

… is the correct answer.

So, is a 360 an xbox? is it the same thing ?
Also, do you get the same games for x boxes and ps3s?

The 360 is the current incarnation of the Xbox, as the PS3 is the current incarnation of the Playstation.

Most games are released for both; each platform has some exclusive titles.

Kinect is the motion capture stuff for Xbox 360, google it for more details. Great fun with lots of people.

I should do some more research ! but also wanted personal views .

The last time i played a video game was probably pac man when i was about 12 yrs old. I am so out of touch 😳

I might have to ask him what his friends have then, but I want his to be a suprise so need to be careful what i say 🙂

Find out what his friends have got, as the big thing is online gaming, he will want to play with his friends.

PS3 is what my lad is after, would be my choice too, but I’m strictly a PC man.

Got a PS3 160gb from Sainsburys, £199.99 with choice of 2 games from Battlefield 3, Fifa 12, Lego Pirates of Carribean. In store only though.

Well if he wants to play online with his friends it will depend as well. Xbox has online subscriptions Gold membership is £39.99 a year, whereas PS3 online is free and you can have as many accounts as you like.

PS3 FTW!

If you go for PS3, then you get all the iPlayer, 4OD, Lovefilm etc functionality. You can also get PlayTV which allows you to watch TV through the PS3 (you still need an aerial connection), and turns the PS3 into a PVR to allow you to record TV. I don’t think they make it any more, but I got my PlayTV from Game 2nd hand for £13 – an absolute bargain.

I had an Xbox 360 which died, and now I have a PS3 which I much prefer. Although I do find the PS3 a bit more of a ‘grown ups’ product with blu-ray, and pretty good media centre capabilities. I have a 320gb version, but to be honest it is overkill as it connects to my NAS for all my music, photos, videos etc.

PS3 is technically better, but the xbox seems more popular with the kids. Online play is what it’s all about now, so most importantly find out what his friends have got.

The xbox seems cheaper up-front but is actually more costly because you will need to buy a subscription to the online service. With the PS3 the online service is free but Sony will occasionally give all your personal information away to hackers.

biggest factor is ‘what console do his friends have’. There’s no point being the only kid in the group with the ‘odd’ console. Perhaps you could ask his friends’ parents to keep the surprise?

Second factor – exclusive games.
Like folks say most games seem to be on both Xbox360 and PS3. BUT there are some critical differences: HALO is only on Xbox360, LittleBigPlanet is only on PS3 and the list continues. Sites like IGN.com usually have a good rundown of games that are for both machines or either.

Third factor. Network play
Back in the day we’d plug in our VCS2600, pop in a £30 cartridge and invite our mates around to play Space Invaders for the weekend. Now you don’t need to fill the front room with children or adolescents. They can play together whilst being physically apart via online play. Both online setups have downtime now & again. PSN (PlayStation Network) seems to have had more downtime and hiccoughs than the XBox360 network. However, for playing online now & again PSN has the upper hand as it is free. If you’re a determined online player, the XBox360 network has better features. You pay for those though.

Both networks can sell you stuff over the internet: games, game add-ons etc. PSN has free demos to download, I’d expect XB0x360 network to do the same. No need to go and buy ‘Computer & Video Games’ or today’s equivalent to get demos!

Fourth factor. Extras.
XBox360 has Kinect, a nice controller-free way of making things move on screen. A fancy camera/mic combination device sits on top/near the TV and it recognises you and turns your movement into game movement.
PS3 has ‘move’ controllers – like an advanced version of the Wii controllers.
PS3 plays BluRay discs. fairly priced used or in special offers, but it’s easier to buy an HD movie on demand so this isn’t the selling point it used to be.

Both consoles have a huge market for used games on eBay and in high street stores. There’s never a need to buy them at full price.

The base version of each console is OK for regular use now. upgrading the hard drive in the PS3 is easy and cheap. You must have at least 2 controllers, so you’ll probably have to buy an additional one when you get the console pack.

Enjoy getting it right. Expect a miserable Christmas if you get it ‘wrong’.

BTW, I have PS3. My children (8 & 7) seem to move between Little Big Planet & Lego Pirates of the Caribbean with occasional plays of Eye Pet.

PS3 here, brilliant, worth it for GT5 alone IMO. If you’re spending that money then you may aswell get a Dad friendly game, Dirt 2 and 3 are pretty cool too. My 7 year old boy plays FIFA12 online with school mates and his Uncle (I hope it’s his Uncle) all the time. I was looking at iPad2 nearly £600 WTF! I know it’s apples vs pears but it makes xbox and PS3 look VFM.

So – who has the bestest PS3 deals at the moment? The Play one above seems good value but I don’t actually *want* a Move controller – I just want a base model slimline PS3 as cheap as possible (or at least a deal on a bundle with CoD or t’other new war game).

That play one has gone up to £235 🙁

(It was £200 last night).

If you’re spending that money then you may aswell get a Dad friendly game,

Thanks, but it would be mum friendly 🙂

Anyway thank you for all the advice . It is mega helpful and I made a decision and have gone for the PS3 as there seems to be little difference game play wise but less hassle without the subscriptions for going online, and I managed to find out his friends families have them, so all good there 😀

Best of all I got the offer on Play.com . So happy me too 😆

Bit late now the horse has bolted but, just for balance,

You might have to pay a subscription for online gaming on the Xbox, but having used both I’d rather pay for the Xbox’s online experience than put up with the PS3’s free one.

I picked up one today ps3 with battlefield 3 and FIFA 12 for £199 from sainsbury….bargain

I don’t know But I do have the PS3 which I am very happy with
Also I think there is a big difference when online gaming between the
Two games consoles But again I have not tried the X Box

my mate has no problems with online gaming with ps3

I’ve had both for quite a while now but hardly use them anymore. As some said I’d also get the one his mates have. In terms of online gaming, the xbox is in my opinion quite a lot better, the ps3 might have improved in the last year or so since I haven’t used mine much though.

Sbrock thanks for that – couldn’t find that deal but just got a 160gb model for £158 via Quidco too so some cash back to come on top of that 🙂

Sbrock thanks for that – couldn’t find that deal but just got a 160gb model for £158 via Quidco too so some cash back to come on top of that

I think it was only Instore and may of ended today

My experiences via my son are there’s nothing in it nowadays. XBOX is a bit cheaper but it doesn’t play bluerays and you pay for the online stuff.

Most of my sons mates have an xbox so that’s best for him. But the games, nothing in it. Don’t believe any fanboys who claim one produces better games than the other, it’s simply not true.

What Drac said.

There is little in it between game play, online or otherwise. The 360 controllers are far better than the xbox ones though.