The votes are cast and the envelope is here! Which console will give more bang for it’s buck? Let’s see the scores.

-Looks: XBOX360!
The simple white and slimming curves along with the “techy” light show for a start-up button won the console this vote.

-Components: XBOX360!
While the PS3 technically had more raw horsepower, it was marginal and the XBOX360 is able to load it’s stellar graphics more quickly. Loading screen times were the deciding factor here.

-Internet: Playstation 3
Simply having a built-in wifi receiver won the console this battle.

-Price: Draw
Recently both consoles have dropped in price and are comparable to each other. In this, there is no clear winner.

-Menus: Draw
When it comes to menu design, neither console offers any outstanding achievements. There is, again, no clear winner here.

-Console Failure: Playstation 3
Following the surveys, the PS3, especially in comparison to the XBOX360, is far less likely to need to be repaired. The Playstation 3 wins this round.

-Games: Player Preference
There really is no way to gauge which console has better games. Different players have different tastes. Game scores from sites and magazines could be gathered and measured but even those are just averages of the tastes of their office workers.

-Online Marketplace: Player Preference
Microsoft’s roundabout point system keeps players secure about their personal information. Sony on the other hand holds no restrictions for exclusive content and anyone could punch in their credit information to buy anything. In this, it boils down to player preference for security.

After the research is done and the votes are counted, which console is the better buy?

Both of them.

In the end everything has come out to a tie. Each console has its merits and faults and the decision would eventually boil down to little preferences or sheer advertising ploys when it comes down to buying  one of these machines. If after everything is weighed and a decision cannot be made, then perhaps you should just throw both ideas out and buy a Wii.

Image from travelblog.com

The digital marketplace abounds with interesting little tidbits from clothing for the players avatar to full blown games. Microsoft sells their digital items through their XBOX Live Marketplace.

The Marketplace has a free service and an optional “Premium Gold” service according to the official XBOX Live Marketplace website. The free service lets players “download games, game add-ons, videos, and avatar accessories. The Gold service does everything the free service does, as well as updates your Facebook and Twitter pages, access to exclusive content,  streaming Netflix service, and Microsoft social networking services like video chat and “party” chat rooms.” (Available Features)

While the monthly fee for extra services and deals is optional, there are still some required purchases before player can begin shopping at their leisure. Game and content costs are not listed in dollar amounts but rather in Microsoft Points. These Microsoft points may be purchased online, using your credit card, in increments of:

500mp- $6.25

1000mp- $12.50

2000mp- $25.00

5000mp- $62.50

They can also be bought in retail stores for:

1600mp- $20.00

4000mp- $50.00

Oddly enough, almost none of these increments directly correlate with the prices that the downloaded games and content are sold for. So when the shopping is done, it is almost guaranteed that there will be left over points, but not enough to buy anything else with. A nice benefit to this system, however, is that the points are available in various increments online. Also, all the content can be bought from a computer; when the player goes to their XBOX later that day, the console will immediately begin to download the items when it is turned on.

This is a close call as to whether the XBOX360 or the Playstation 3 would be a better buy in terms of online services. If you don’t mind buying point cards and are afraid to punch your credit card number into the console in fear it may be stolen then the XBOX360 wins out. If you do not want to deal with the point hassle and feel that exclusive content doesn’t deserve a subscription service then the Playstation 3 would be a better buy for you.

Image from designflavr.com

Shopping from home is an ingenious idea that both the XBOX360 and the Playstation 3 take great advantage of.  Through an internet connection to their console, the player can access the Playstation Network ( known as PSN) or Xbox Live for their respective consoles.

PSN gives players free reign to download game demos, videos, and menu templates with an emphasis on free. The service has no cost and features downloadable content for not only the PS3 but for Sony’s Playstation Portable as well. Average full game download content ranges around $10-$20 dollars for a full game and varies depending on content type and size. It may be free or $1.50 to get a new outfit to dress up a character in a game you own or you may find a $30 dollar download exclusive game that you simply must have.

PSN also connects to your Twitter and Facebook account. While the XBOX360 does this too, Sony has, in conjunction with Facebook, set up a year long tournament, dubbed merely “The Game”, starting the December. According to New Media Age, “The Game will integrate closely with Facebook via a series of applications and fan pages along with ads across the social network.” (Playstation 4)

Along with the social networking, PSN is has another feature available starting this year call Vidzone. According to 1UP it is a “free service that will be available via the PlayStation Store, and will contain more than 10,000 videos from the outset. Promised artists include the Pussycat Dolls, Tori Amos, Britney Speakers and Fatboy Slim, among others.” (PS3)

Might and magic or guns and tragic?  The XBOX360 has games of all genres but it seems to shine when it comes to first person shooters or FPS’s. With exclusive FPS hits like Halo 3, Bioshock, and Gears of War, the slim white console certainly has little competition in this genre.  This is almost by design since it is a close cousin to the PC where first person shooters are most popularly played. The games designed for this console also come from the sports scene. While most sports games are multi-console, they seem to be geared with the XBOX360 in mind since the demographic who plays them usually own an XBOX already. This in turn tends to make the XBOX360 ports of the same game have much tighter controls and tweaked graphics.

Based on a list, made by PC Magazine Online, of the XBOX360′s popular games , in 2006 two of the most popular games were sports games (racing in this case) and  four more were first person shooters or games that heavily involved the first person shooting element. (PC) This means that over half of the most popular games were of these genres.

If you are the type of gamer who loves a good explosion or just wants to toss around the virtual pig skin, then the XBOX360 is probably the right console for you.

The type of game one wishes to play is certainly a factor in the decision making process. Some people enjoy shooting games while others are more in line with the story driven “RPG” games. While both consoles have games of every type, they seemed to have excelled in certain areas.

The Playstation line has long been a source of many fine role playing games and is still adding to its library. Games like the long standing Final Fantasy series, the Star Ocean series, and The Last Remnant were made recently for the Playstation 2 and can be played on the Playstation 3. Other RPGs like Demon Souls, Valkyria Chronicles (a shooter and RPG mix), and Folklore can be found exclusively on the Playstation 3. The shiny black console also does well with platforming action games like Ratchet and Clank.

If the heart calls out for a great story or yearns for the running, jumping, and collecting addiction that is platform gaming, then the Playstation 3 is a sure buy.

Console failures are the last thing one thinks about when buying a console but is a very real danger.  The repair of a system that has ceased to function, due to internal error, overheating, or a myriad of other reasons, is free if you have not voided the warranty but it can take over a month to get shipped back. Plus, there is a good possibility that some or all data on the console will be lost. The wait can be devastating.  Which console is more likely to avoid “meeting it’s maker”? According to CNET, based on an article by GameInformer, “a frightening 54.2% (even if somewhat skewed)  of GameInformer subscribers who had an XBOX360 had experienced at least one system failure”, otherwise known as the “Red Ring of Death” because of the red indicator lights that show up during a critical error on a 360. (Cocker)

Image from GameInformer.com

Contrast this with a reported failure rate for the Playstation 3 of 6.8% and the choice is clear. Microsoft has disputed GameInformer’s survey but my personal experience has shown that at least the earlier “360″ models are prone to bricking themselves within the first year of use mostly due to overheating. My sister’s Wii was bricked because she kept it on the shelf directly above her XBOX360 and it was essentially cooked from what I suppose is the “raw awesome power” the XBOX360 exudes.

The most recent models have had internal changes to fix the issue where the XBOX would kill itself with it’s own heat. In an interview by “Design News” with Microsoft’s lead mechanical engineer, Jeff Reents, Reents said, “We couldn’t just go with one 60-mm fan because it would not provide the required cooling — as the diameter of the fan increases the air flow performance per revolution increases exponentially. So we ended up putting in two 60-mm fans and we came up with a water-cooled heat sink, as well, for the CPU.” in response to how they tackled the heating issue. (Microsoft 29)

For a single console home I would recommend the Playstation 3 as it is less likely to have need to be sent off and leave it’s owner in gameless despair.

Chart based on GameInformer survey.

Image from tri-valleytax.com

Time is money friend! Time to dig into the monetary worth of the XBOX360. The basic models out for the “360″ aren’t too far from the two models that came out when the console was new. Today’s consoles are the “XBOX360  Arcade” and the “XBOX360 Elite 120GB” and the “XBOX360 Elite 250GB”. The difference between the three being that the “Arcade” doesn’t have as large a hard drive, one controller, and comes with cheap sample games. The Elites come with a controller ( 2  controllers for the 250GB), a headset, and a larger hard drive than the arcade. All of which come with a month subscription to the 360′s online “Gold” services.

- Arcade: $200

- Elite 120GB: $300

- Elite 250GB: $400

Given the gamer’s play style and wallet size they could pretty much find any type of console that suits them through the 360. It also has a comparable low end price to the Wii’s $150 dollar price tag and much is $100 dollars lower than the PS3 standard price while having near equal graphics to the other powerhouse. Though if you want to put the wifi adapter on your console you will have to shell out the extra $100 dollars anyway.

With today’s models and prices the contest comes to a draw on this point. The XBOX360 can be cheaper but may be raised in price for needed accessories. The Playstation 3 has a higher price tag but comes with wifi.

Image from banklawyersblog.com

Nice things cost money and money is not something that many people have to throw around. A heavy investment like a gaming console is well worth researching before buying to make sure to spend all the hard earned cash.  When the Playstation 3 hit the markets there was a crushing price tag attached to the two models that came out. Either the consumer could spend $500 dollars on a system with a smaller hard drive and no backwards compatibility or $600 dollars for the same system with more space on it and limited backwards compatibility.  Sony was sure that die hard loyalists would understand that quality comes with a price. The consequences of their business plan meant that boxes upon boxes of consoles sat shiftlessly in the back rooms of game retailers across the United States and sales went down drastically even in Japan where the Playstation line has almost always held a firm grip in the top sales spot.

Today, Sony has seen the error of their ways and the drain in the “Sony Vaults”. The older, now discontinued,  models now sell for a flat $300 dollars as well as the new “PS3 Slim”. While still not what one would call “cheap” this does put the price tag in line with the XBOX360′s $250-$300 price tag that varies by model. This new price makes this buy seem even greater in that a Sony Blue-Ray player, which only plays movies, is priced at around $600 dollars.

These price cuts from both Microsoft and Sony, while fortunate for the consumer, were not brought about by generous graces. According to Daily Variety these were brought about by the recent economic downturn. Sony had in fact “suffered a sales slide of 14% during the first half of the year.” (Graser 19)

     The XBOX360 uses both it’s new verticle flipping style as well as it’s old horizontal dashboard style for “quick access”. Even after using an XBOX360 for months I still get lost just trying to turn on my game.

     My first hands on with the Playstation 3 was also confusing in that it was required that you signed into a user name to create another user name. The icons are less graphically intensive however so when flipping through it’s options I was less intimidated by flashy pictures but the simple icons didn’t always express exactly what options were under them. The controller obviously means “game” but do I access my game saves from there or do I go to the file icon?

     It seems that committing locations to memory rather than using interface intuition is what’s more likely come of the companies brilliant designs. 

Image from computing.net

This must be the only automatic lose for the XBOX360: internet capability. Most families or individuals who have a console might also have a wifi signal broadcasted their home and many internet capable devices do not need to be hard wired into a router but can connect to the wifi signal with an internal antenna and software. Devices like mobile phones, some MP3 players, Nintendo’s Wii console, and Sony’s Playstation 3 are some of those that come standard out of the box with this ability at what seems to be no extra charge. The fine folks at Microsoft, I suppose, decided to take a different stance. “Why should our consumers be troubled with a device that a minority of them would not use?”, I imagine a speaker at a board meeting question. “Why don’t we just charge them 100$ for a simple USB signal antenna if they don’t keep their console within cable range of a computer?”, one of them may have added. That is just what they did!

Image from www.xbox.com

The XBOX360 lacks the ability to connect to wifi and the price isn’t even lowered to account for having to buy a $100 dollar piece of equipment to do an act which now seems required in today’s consoles.  If an internet connected computer or the wireless router isn’t near by the console then half of the appeal for it is wasted. Xbox-LIVE, downloadable content, Netflix, console-to-console chat and more are impossible without it. Buying Microsoft’s “High Speed Wireless N Adapter” seems like an insult to the consumer. Currently, I keep a laptop that is wirelessly connected to the internet on my TV stand. The XBOX360 is connected to it with the packaged ethernet cord and it receives a connection that way. Even with this however it took much Google searching and Youtube browsing to find out how to get Windows, the Microsoft OS, to even share it’s internet connection with its brother, the XBOX.

How does the Playstation 3 connect: take out of box, plug in, turn on, put in wireless information, and smile. The Playstation 3 wins this one hands down.