Ok, so, I decided I may as well update to the latest generation, but I can't decide which to get (wii isn't really an option).

Some relevant points:

1. I can afford either and have money for a couple games, though being cheaper is definitely an advantage for the xbox.
2. I can't realistically use the internet on either: last time I tried wireless it was FRICKIN' HORRENDOUS and I don't think an extension cable would work in my house, too many doors and such in the way that I like to keep closed for the same reason I still play on nexus after 4 years. So games that are online only or have a very heavy online element are probably not favourite (Halo etc.)
3. I have a lot of old PS2 and PS1 games, so I could sell my (thin) PS2 if I got a PS3.
4. PS3 is apparently region-free, so I could import merkin games (citation needed) like Disgaea 3 that haven't come out here yet and don't even have a projected date. Is xbox this way?
5. My favourite games are typically RPGs or SRPGs (FF*, Disgaea), horror games (silent hill, fatal frame) or stealth games (MGS, Siren). Naturally I've played and enjoyed more than that, but those are the genres I'm mainly looking at. No racing games and very few fighting games (mainly GGXX at this point) though.
6. Related to 5, I gather that those kinds of games are most prevalent on the PS3, but that the xbox has a broader variety of good games in general (citation needed).
7. I have essentially no use for a blu-ray player, and I don't think the TV in my room is even HD. If I wanted to watch films I'd either go see them at the cinema in Lincoln or watch them the conventional way ().

May add more later if I remember anything. Discuss.

I'd say Playstation 3, if only for Fat Princess.

PS3: "Free" Blu-ray. Decent online multiplayer support, no generic lobby system. Lacking exclusive commitments from some prominent studios that used to favor Sony, now exclusive to MS. Exclusive titles pretty much down to MGS4 (probably the coming MGS titles if there are any as well), and what a doozie it is.

360: Live, multiplayer for every game that supports it and lobbies/downloads/content expansion even for those that don't. Dead HD DVD format means you have to buy Blu-Ray if you want it. HD-DVD will be completely gone soon which is what MS has as the add-on for 360. Several exclusive RPG studio commitments. Several microsoft-exclusive in-house titles (Fable 2, Gears of War, etc). MS finally cracked the stronghold of Square exclusives and will now be getting multiplatform releases (That's starting with FF13).

Live sealed the deal for me. Things like Castle Crashers being a 5 dollar download and packed with multiplayer fun, scoreboards for even single player games, co op and versus, all under a single unified lobby/scoring system. I have a Blu-Ray player as well, so it was no loss to skip the PS3's capabilities. YMMV, if you don't care so much about Live, as a lot of ps3 games have their own online play modes hosted by the parent companies, and you don't have Blu-Ray yet, PS3 is a solid choice. Plus, MGS4, can't go wrong there.

I voted for the Xbox 360, even if you won't have access to Xbox Live. The games are better, though the real joy is in the online service. The PS3 is still a glorified Blu-Ray player, in my opinion.

Keep in mind: pretty much all new PS3's being sold today do NOT have backward compatibility with PS1 and/or PS2 games. They systematically removed it with each new revision/SKU.

I wish the 360 had wireless built in because I had to pay nearly $100 just for their special adapter, as running a wire to my router is out of the question. I mean, even the Wii has built in 802.11 wireless!

Same, although I did buy a refurb wireless attachment for 30, I ended up dropping the cash on a dual broadcast router so I could get the 360 set on 5ghz channel while the normal channel served the rest of my wifi.

PS3! Once game developers learn how to properly thread their games to run all out on the PS3 it will blow any 360 game away in graphics and performance.

I'm buying a PS3 personally, there's a couple games on it I want but it generally isn't backwards compatable so you do need to keep your PS2 (which is).

Airell's player has told me very good things about the Xbox 360, but nothing on the system tends to interest me. So ultimately it depends on what type of game you're looking for and playing standards.

(and the Wii is fine! my Wii.)

But I did vote PS3.

Wait, what?!?! What's this about?

I voted ps3, mainly because that is what I am getting for MGS4.

Also, I read an article on changing a Ps3 into a computer and it seemed so cool. You could probably do it with an xbox too if you wanted though.

Hrm, yeah. With that addition news, plus the fact that there are several RPG studios signing on with Xbox (I know the Star Ocean team, can't remember the others), I would definitely say get the 360.

I wasn't actually that impressed with star ocean, honestly, but I did hear square-enix is going for xbox/PS3 both and I've always been a fan of final fantasy.

I voted 360, basically for the reasons posted above.

Did you play SO2 or SO3?

I forget, actually, but it was "till the end of time." For supposedly being space age you spent almost the entire game on a medieval planet with swords and crap fighting dragons and cockatrices.

EDIT:

That's the one I have, I certainly didn't enjoy it too much.

I voted PS3 cause any XBOX I've ever owned I've had some sort of problem with. My first original XBOX, the fan went out in a few weeks. The second, the 360, maybe a month after owning it, it started freezing up during gameplay which ended up turning into the "Three red lights of death" on the light ring. Haven't bought another since. Though gears and halo are def. worth owning an xbox for but I have never had any trouble with any Sony product I've ever owned, esp. the PS3/PS2 etc.

Look at exclusives lists and go from there. I would pick X360. If I'd ever consider having one that is, because no console beats a good PC for me. Not to mention the fun when 'exclusives' end up being released on PC with better graphics at half the price.


That's what guaranty is for, no?
New X revisions are supposedly free of all those old problems.

@Vathael: My old PS2 broke in less than a year of owning it.

It is true though that a lot of people have had problems with the 'red ring of death' from the 360, but I think any newer one you buy has had a lot of those issues corrected.

And Microsoft fixes that for free, btw.

Also, just judging from the 360 vs. PS3 gamespot pages, the content for the 360 looks far superior.

A year is a lot longer than a few weeks to a month.

Eh, anything that breaks within that span of time is pretty inexcusable though.

But if your 360 has the RRoD, why don't you just call MS and get it fixed? They send you a coffin for it and everything.