I have a 360 and its a good media hub.I have a laptop with vista so I got the media center extender to the 360.The media center is a great thing to have because it has everything.There are a few things they can do.


1.Drop the prices on some of these accessories. The wireless adapter should be $50,the 120 gig hd should be $120 and the 20gig should be $60 like the used ones.

2.They need to add movie ownership to some of these movies.

3.Stay friends with Disney the best way to get money from parents is through kids.Parents will do whatever it takes to keep kids happy and I am one of them. Get an exclusive contract for all the disney movies for download and ownership to some.

4.They should have already had Netflix on the Marketplace or the Media Center just like they have VONGO or try to revamp the VONGO service.

I have to say the 360 is a great machine but when you look at the capabilities of the PS3 MS has to build a new system and I for one don't think people will be interested in buying a new machine.Maybe I am wrong but people are looking for more so I think XB needs to step up their game.

I have a 360 and its a good media hub.I have a laptop with vista so I got the media center extender to the 360.The media center is a great thing to have because it has everything.There are a few things they can do.


1.Drop the prices on some of these accessories. The wireless adapter should be $50,the 120 gig hd should be $120 and the 20gig should be $60 like the used ones.

2.They need to add movie ownership to some of these movies.

3.Stay friends with Disney the best way to get money from parents is through kids.Parents will do whatever it takes to keep kids happy and I am one of them. Get an exclusive contract for all the disney movies for download and ownership to some.

4.They should have already had Netflix on the Marketplace or the Media Center just like they have VONGO or try to revamp the VONGO service.

I have to say the 360 is a great machine but when you look at the capabilities of the PS3 MS has to build a new system and I for one don't think people will be interested in buying a new machine.Maybe I am wrong but people are looking for more so I think XB needs to step up their game.

I would love to own the movies through that service... I would rather own what I pay for... There are still great games on the way though :D

Right now the 360 is still on top. Owning 45 360 games and just 4 PS3 games, I can say that I honestly do think the 360 is more limited and in the long run we will see it. I actually recommeded a PS3 to my dad because of all the media functions then I got to thinking that the PS3 is a much better bargain. If MS wasnt so damn proprietary with their accessories >:(

Right now the 360 is still on top. Owning 45 360 games and just 4 PS3 games, I can say that I honestly do think the 360 is more limited and in the long run we will see it. I actually recommeded a PS3 to my dad because of all the media functions then I got to thinking that the PS3 is a much better bargain. If MS wasnt so damn proprietary with their accessories >:(

As you have both, what exactly are the media functions the ps3 has over the 360? I thought they had the same functionality - streaming videos, mp3, viewing photos. Obviously the ps3 has br, any other differences?

I will also say, I think having br will definitely give the ps3 an advantage in a few years time and will eventully overtake the 360 but still second to the Wii.

I just feel they MS is like look at the 360 and some small advertising. I think it can do a lot more especially since the HD died I knew for sure that they will hit the consumer hard with downloadable hi def content but they didnn't.If anyone with a vista pc with a 360 should take advantage of the media center extender.I feel that microsoft should also look to take over the 720p market yeah 1080p is king but by how much and if you can give a great picture at 720 with a netflix/vongo monthly charge then it will be a true media center.efjay you are right that they do have some of the same they same functionality - streaming videos, mp3 and viewing photos.

Hmmm... an interesting question and a good one! I would have to say that this machine peaked on the release day of Halo 3. Let's look at what has happened since then: Xbox live outage, Blu Ray victory, WII continues to forge ahead. I totally agree about lower accessory costs. 40 bucks for the LIVE camera? Should be 15 bucks! And don't get me started with the headsets. Those are probably assembled in sweatshops for 3 bucks TOPS with 2 small little wires to connect. You could probably train a monkey to make those. But I still think this system and MS have a bright future based at least partially on the success of LIVE. You simply can't argue with the quality of the service as a whole.

Hmmm... an interesting question and a good one! I would have to say that this machine peaked on the release day of Halo 3. Let's look at what has happened since then: Xbox live outage, Blu Ray victory, WII continues to forge ahead. I totally agree about lower accessory costs. 40 bucks for the LIVE camera? Should be 15 bucks! And don't get me started with the headsets. Those are probably assembled in sweatshops for 3 bucks TOPS with 2 small little wires to connect. You could probably train a monkey to make those. But I still think this system and MS have a bright future based at least partially on the success of LIVE. You simply can't argue with the quality of the service as a whole.

very true my friend very true

The Xbox 360 is right in its prime as a GAMING machine, which is why I bought it. These GAMING machines typically make it a good 4-5 years before the next iteration becomes necessary, and I see the Xbox as no different, regardless of what the PS3 is doing. Quality online service, terrific games that the system doesnt seem to be limiting yet and great media capabilities make it far from needing an upgrade any time soon.

Everyone always talks about the capabilities of the PS3, but no one ever cares to mention them. Besides playing bluray movies and the lossless audio, what capabilities does the PS3 offer over the 360?

Owning both I pretty much see them as equal in capabilities.

im really trying to love the ps3 as more than a cheap bluray player...but damn they don't make it easy.

in the gaming category 360 has it beat by a mile.

Why do people think the ps3 is more powerful then the 360?!? The most important component of a gaming console now is the gpu,e NSX is considerably weaker then the on powering the 360.. The media is the worst for this misconception.

A cheap blu-ray player would be $200. The PS3 is not a cheap blu-ray player. :)

semantics really...

a cheap-er player i should say. but not even the cheapest nowadays...bit of a dated comment i guess.

Everyone always talks about the capabilities of the PS3, but no one ever cares to mention them. Besides playing bluray movies and the lossless audio, what capabilities does the PS3 offer over the 360?

Owning both I pretty much see them as equal in capabilities.


Its a much better media device than the XB360, the fact that I can connect my own USB HDD into its slot and watch my vids and listen to my music while looking at my pics without the hassle of streaming over my limited network is tops.

If I had to buy another system right now, having played Gears, Halo 3, Bioshock, and ME, I would buy a PS3 without hesitation. Better hardware, graphics, multimedia capabilities, and I think 08 will be a great year for PS3 games.

The 360 at the moment is better for gaming, however, I think that's undeniable. And maybe we'll see some surprises this year, not every hit game arrives with massive hype :)

If I had to buy another system right now, having played Gears, Halo 3, Bioshock, and ME, I would buy a PS3 without hesitation. Better hardware, graphics, multimedia capabilities, and I think 08 will be a great year for PS3 games.

The 360 at the moment is better for gaming, however, I think that's undeniable. And maybe we'll see some surprises this year, not every hit game arrives with massive hype :)


True, for me Disgaea 3 and Tales of Vesperia will be the biggest games of the year, unless the translations of both are botched.

Its a much better media device than the XB360, the fact that I can connect my own USB HDD into its slot and watch my vids and listen to my music while looking at my pics without the hassle of streaming over my limited network is tops.


I can do all that on the xbox too. I own both systems. The only advantage the ps3 has imo, is that it plays VOB files. Then again the Xbox plays PAL dvds which is a big plus also.

Its a much better media device than the XB360, the fact that I can connect my own USB HDD into its slot and watch my vids and listen to my music while looking at my pics without the hassle of streaming over my limited network is tops.360 does that too. I'll tell you what it doesn't do well, is streaming my content from my laptop. Especially huge jpeg folders and some music ,it finds my laptop fine but it chokes and freezes all the time. I've never had one issue streaming WMV HD or any other type of media thru the 360. To me the PS3 has a long way to go become the media center is aspires to be.

Its a much better media device than the XB360, the fact that I can connect my own USB HDD into its slot and watch my vids and listen to my music while looking at my pics without the hassle of streaming over my limited network is tops.

You can do the same thing with the 360. :rolleyes:

the 360 may have peaked... but i see it more as plateaued... which may be considered the same thing. i'm not sure its going to get any "better" regarding competitive perception... but i think it will maintain a (very?) strong lineup & be viable for a few more years. with a 20m userbase, 3rd party dev's will continue to support it. lead sku or not.

If I had to buy another system right now, having played Gears, Halo 3, Bioshock, and ME, I would buy a PS3 without hesitation. Better hardware, graphics, multimedia capabilities, and I think 08 will be a great year for PS3 games.

The 360 at the moment is better for gaming, however, I think that's undeniable. And maybe we'll see some surprises this year, not every hit game arrives with massive hype :)

Your logic makes no sense. So, because the Xbox 360 had by far the best games without question, that means you would buy a PS3 because you think it will have a great year of games this year? I own both systems, and I too think there will be some good games on PS3 (really looking forward to Resistance 2), but the 360 has been fabulous for games and there is no reason it shouldnt continue.

You can do the same thing with the 360. :rolleyes:


No you cannot, at least on my devices you cannot. I have two external HDDs that work no problem on the PS3, my XB360 refuses to recognize them.

I dont think it has peaked.... The one mistake ms has made (if you want to consider it a mistake) is not being more aggressive in the pricing dept. But then they are finally profitable on the xbox division where sony hasnt.

Value is the most important factor in any device and right now the ps3 is a better value.... I think ms will be far more aggressive in dropping the price now that sony is finally doing something in the market where sony wont financially be able to do as much.

I am still dumbfounded by the enormous accessory pricing.... they really need to address that and soon. the 120 gig drive should be 99.99, the 20 gig drive should be 29.99, wireless 19.99, etc.

Personally I dont want to own movies on the 360... what i do want is a subscription service where i can pay 20 bucks a month and get 20 rentals a month and can download from a huge library of movies and not do the crappy vod model they do now.

And the SAME service should come with the zune and media center/windows. Imagine how successful the movie service would be if all windows users could access it. They would exponentially increase their userbase overnight.

remember the ps2 didnt really even start selling until they hit $199 and the 360 hasnt even hit that yet....

No you cannot, at least on my devices you cannot. I have two external HDDs that work no problem on the PS3, my XB360 refuses to recognize them.

What format are they?

What format are they?

I formatted them via the PS3, so I would assume Fat32.

I formatted them via the PS3, so I would assume Fat32.

It is possible that the PS3's format isn't compatible with the 360. All I have read about it is that it is an altered version of FAT32. Don't know what the alteration is.

I would have formatted it on a PC. :)

The 360 does support USB 2.0 hard drives formatted using FAT32.

Too many great games coming out in 2008 for the 360 to have peaked. 2007 finished strong, but I believe that all of 2008 will be great for 360 gamers.

After all the games that came out during the 2007 holiday season it's natural to think that the 360 has peaked given how quiet things are right now. It happens with every console at various points of its lifecycle and the spring and summer months are notoriously slow when it comes to new games. Once some new high profile games start to emerge, the 360 will quickly be "in fashion" again; especially when Gears of War 2 arrives for the holidays.

I have to say the 360 is a great machine but when you look at the capabilities of the PS3 MS has to build a new system and I for one don't think people will be interested in buying a new machine.Maybe I am wrong but people are looking for more so I think XB needs to step up their game.

That's probably the dumbest thing I've read in a long time. Stealth trolling is fun isn't it?

The whole "Peaked" subject exists only because the print media is getting bored and wanting to drum up some kind of interest. Joe public hangs on every word and pow.

When everyone is playing this holiday's big games they'll forget all of this business. This time in 09 we'll see: "Did the Xbox peak with Gears of War II?" and things will recycle again.

1.Drop the prices on some of these accessories. The wireless adapter should be $50,the 120 gig hd should be $120 and the 20gig should be $60 like the used ones.

2.They need to add movie ownership to some of these movies.

3.Stay friends with Disney the best way to get money from parents is through kids.Parents will do whatever it takes to keep kids happy and I am one of them. Get an exclusive contract for all the disney movies for download and ownership to some.

4.They should have already had Netflix on the Marketplace or the Media Center just like they have VONGO or try to revamp the VONGO service.

I agree with all of those! Love to see those changes.

I have a 360 and its a good media hub.I have a laptop with vista so I got the media center extender to the 360.The media center is a great thing to have because it has everything.There are a few things they can do.


1.Drop the prices on some of these accessories. The wireless adapter should be $50,the 120 gig hd should be $120 and the 20gig should be $60 like the used ones.

2.They need to add movie ownership to some of these movies.

3.Stay friends with Disney the best way to get money from parents is through kids.Parents will do whatever it takes to keep kids happy and I am one of them. Get an exclusive contract for all the disney movies for download and ownership to some.

4.They should have already had Netflix on the Marketplace or the Media Center just like they have VONGO or try to revamp the VONGO service.

I have to say the 360 is a great machine but when you look at the capabilities of the PS3 MS has to build a new system and I for one don't think people will be interested in buying a new machine.Maybe I am wrong but people are looking for more so I think XB needs to step up their game.

Points 3 & 4 are doable. except MS is making money providing the Video Marketplace content, so i would be inclined to believe they would not hand over the reigns. Points 1 and 2 however are not. a lot of studios love the fact that you pay them X amount of money and you only rent a movie from them.

I don't think it is even close to peaking. Store shelves are empty, that would not be the case if people had lost interest.

There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about the 360s abilities. The Cell processor is more powerful, but the 360 GPU is far more powerful than the PS3 GPU. Games will be nearly the same on both systems. I also plug my portable hard drive in and use it all the time with my 360. Seems like people like to spread rumors on these boards often to promote the PS3.

Right now the 360 is still on top. Owning 45 360 games and just 4 PS3 games, I can say that I honestly do think the 360 is more limited and in the long run we will see it. I actually recommeded a PS3 to my dad because of all the media functions then I got to thinking that the PS3 is a much better bargain. If MS wasnt so damn proprietary with their accessories >:(

As you have both, what exactly are the media functions the ps3 has over the 360? I thought they had the same functionality - streaming videos, mp3, viewing photos. Obviously the ps3 has br, any other differences?

I will also say, I think having br will definitely give the ps3 an advantage in a few years time and will eventully overtake the 360 but still second to the Wii.

Id also like jasonstiller to share with us his wisdom, so how about it?
Thought so ;)

If I had to buy another system right now, having played Gears, Halo 3, Bioshock, and ME, I would buy a PS3 without hesitation. Better hardware, graphics, multimedia capabilities, and I think 08 will be a great year for PS3 games.

The 360 at the moment is better for gaming, however, I think that's undeniable. And maybe we'll see some surprises this year, not every hit game arrives with massive hype :)

I beg to differ... the Cell Processor is hard to write for, and is not as initially optimized for gaming as three separate cores, and when we are talking about third party games being on both, SOMETIMES the PS3 has better contrast, but not enough to say it has "better graphics" in fact, XB360s games as of now have amazing graphics and it has been said that they are not even utilizing its full potential (I.E. not using all of the cores, etc)

PS3 however is a GREAT media center as mentioned above, and now that BR has won why not have one? lol

I have both FYI, this is just my observation based on dual ownership.

-Mike

No, the 360 has not peaked. The PS3 is a better media center only because of the BR drive and I have yet to see a game on the PS3 that tells me that the PS3 has better graphics overall for its games.

To be honest, I think that this year looks just as strong for MS in the games department as it does for Sony. Gears 2, Fable 2, NG2 are all going to be huge hits so I always find it funny when people mention this monumental year for Sony coming up and they act like MS is done making good games. hahaha

I don't think it is even close to peaking. Store shelves are empty, that would not be the case if people had lost interest.
.


ha! The stores aren't stocked on purpose, jokes on you! Everyone is doing it now to create a false sense of demand within the marketplace. It's pretty sneaky, but massively obvious. I mean, this system has been out for how long now and they haven't figured out how to mass produce it yet? :confused::D

It's pretty sneaky, but massively obvious. I mean, this system has been out for how long now and they haven't figured out how to mass produce it yet? :confused::D

Mass producing is easy. At the begining when demand outstips supply its easy to just produce all you can. Every company that produces a product however has to deal with the downturn when supply outstrips demand.

Thats VERY hard to gauge. Microsoft does not want to prouce too many $300+ boxes if the demand is not there. This happened to the PS2 a few times already and its going to happen to all of the consoles again. MS expected a larger drop in demand than there was and its cost them but its not intentional. Market demand is not an exact science by any means.

Frank, come on. You can't really believe that they simply don't have enough systems.

It takes weeks to get product shipped from China. And China stops everything for a full week during Chinese New Year.

The last time I went to Best Buy, they had Pros and Elites right on the shelves to buy. I think that the supply issue was alleviated sometime in February.

Not having product on the shelves for people to buy is not a good strategy for getting people to buy your stuff.

Last year, they had an absolute deluge of 360s in stores in January. They over compensated this year.

Not having product on the shelves for people to buy is not a good strategy for getting people to buy your stuff.

.

Unless you are trying to create a false sense of demand which is what MAY be going on. I will stop talking about this for fear of being called a PS3 troll, which isn't the case FYI

That's probably the dumbest thing I've read in a long time. Stealth trolling is fun isn't it?

The whole "Peaked" subject exists only because the print media is getting bored and wanting to drum up some kind of interest. Joe public hangs on every word and pow.

When everyone is playing this holiday's big games they'll forget all of this business. This time in 09 we'll see: "Did the Xbox peak with Gears of War II?" and things will recycle again.



I agree with all of those! Love to see those changes.


First let me say I am not a fanboy.I do respect your opinion though.Maybe I should have said that maybe MS on the heals of HD dieing out MS should have taken over with more from the movies prospective.Some of the pionts that some has pionted out about supporting harddrives formatted using FAT32that is something a lot of people should know.Looking at some of the good posts I have read maybe MS should just put more advertisement in XBL which I love and pushing the windows media extender if you have a vista machine.Now seeing how everyone has pionted out great things the 360 can do and can potentially do maybe I should email MS about getting the Netflix type movie service and lower prices on the accessories.

Unless you are trying to create a false sense of demand which is what MAY be going on. I will stop talking about this for fear of being called a PS3 troll, which isn't the case FYI

I don't think that is the case. Over the holidays XBL had record sign ups and their were record numbers of consoles sold. They didn't expect so much demand and it exceeded all projected sales figures. Like Shape said...Not having product on the shelves is never a good thing.

I do think the article is right on in one important respect - EVERYTHING good Microsoft has done they have dropped the ball in something else. It has badly damaged their rep with gamers. The 360 could've easily been the greatest system of all time, now it's the system with great games but could break at any moment - and oh yea, if it does, you won't get to play it for a month. MS' customer support is embarrassing and the XBL downtime over the past couple months is very telling regarding their commitment to their customers.

MS just got a break last year because Sony didn't know what the hell it was doing... now that Sony is offering a compelling alternative, Microsoft's fumbling and bumbling will hurt them as we get close to the holiday season. They really need to get it in gear and I hope they do.

Frank, come on. You can't really believe that they simply don't have enough systems.


You did not read it correctly, they did not produce enough systems. MS does not want to pay for systems that are not going to sell any more than any company wants to produce more product than will sell through in a 30-90 day period.

So all companies need to project sales and produce product according to expected demand. When your projections are good you produce enough product to meet your needs and little more (or less even), when your projections are bad one of two things happen, you either run low/out or have a large surplus. Neither is good but both happen to companies quarter after quarter.

This is basic supply and demand and forcasting which everyone from the hot dog street vendor to GE has to do. With a procudct like a game console (expensive to produce and takes weeks to move through the channel) any mistake shows up as less inventory in stores and its not simply a matter of slipping a switch to "fix" it.

"We did not forecast the level of demand that we would see throughout the holidays, and we didn't manufacture as many units as we should have," Dennis said.

He explained: "It's simply a case of demand outpacing supply at this point. We're working as hard as we can to replenish supply with all of our retailers, but we are aware of supply issues across the board at most major retailers in the U.S."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/351201_tbrfs14.html

Xbox Live had issues through December due to an overload of new gamers. Systems are in short supply due to an overload of post holiday shoppers. How is it again that X360 is in trouble?

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/351201_tbrfs14.html

Xbox Live had issues through December due to an overload of new gamers. Systems are in short supply due to an overload of post holiday shoppers. How is it again that X360 is in trouble?

Many 360 owners (including me) are turning to the dark side for their blu-ray solution. I think Redmond needs to release a BD player rather quickly and cut prices on their console, or many nextgen buyers WILL skip on the 360. Im already using my PS3 for most of my media needs now so my 360 will last longer.

I bought the PS3 in late Jan. With the Xbox Live holiday frustration and BluRay looking to win the HD format war, I made a impulse buy. I'm not saying the PS3 was a mistake, but I can't find games that interest me. I bought 2k7 College Basketball for $12! That's it! The game selection is HORRIBLE!

I do throughly enjoy the BluRay with lossless audio, and the remote play with the PSP is pretty cool, but it's mostly collecting dust until the weekends. That's when my wife and I rent movies.

If you're a gamer, there's no question the Xbox is THE system to have. The only way the Xbox has peaked is if MS doesn't have a price drop by summer. MS has a huge lead, let's not forget that. If they do price drop and announce a BluRay add-on, Sony is going to have a hard time catching up.

Peaked ?? Maybe in the minds of the AV nuts that some of us are here. For the mass consumer looking at the 360 as a GAMING unit, it looks like the greatest "next gen" entertainment value, hands down. LIVE, Arcade and the game selection are still strong and only getting better IMO. I think the strategy game influx in the next year is going to create a whole new market on the console and IMO digital downloading of movies is going to put an end to Blu-Ray discs a lot sooner than people think. Imagine... If the 360 had a Wii-esqe optional controller and some family games for it. I have many friends with 360s and file streaming and using it as a media outlet is not even an issue. Gaming, achievements and LIVE are what it's all about and that's still going strong.

Many 360 owners (including me) are turning to the dark side for their blu-ray solution. I think Redmond needs to release a BD player rather quickly and cut prices on their console, or many nextgen buyers WILL skip on the 360. Im already using my PS3 for most of my media needs now so my 360 will last longer.

I agree 100% that MS needs to, and will support Blu Ray movie playback. I don't think they'll miss any next gen gamer sales over it, but general AV fans (like a lot of people here) who look at movies first and games second certainly might. I think most any real movie fans will go with a 2.0 dedicated player sooner than a PS3 though. The PS3 is the best Blu player now, not forever.

I agree 100% that MS needs to, and will support Blu Ray movie playback. I don't think they'll miss any next gen gamer sales over it, but general AV fans (like a lot of people here) who look at movies first and games second certainly might. I think most any real movie fans will go with a 2.0 dedicated player sooner than a PS3 though. The PS3 is the best Blu player now, not forever.

That's a really good point, that eventually (probably sonner rather than later) a better BD dedicated player will hit the market at a price point under $200.00. I imagine the other BD manufacturers are a little upset that Sony is stealing all the Blu sales, so will get newer cheaper players out there. At that point most audiophiles will probably go that route instead of a PS3

I agree with the person that mentioned that MS should advertise the Media Center extender more. That's a pretty nice feature the 360 has. I just started using it because I thought it was for streaming purposes only. I didn't know that you can do so much more with it. Just yesterday I found out that you can watch a lot stuff on it. I spent a couple of hours watching music videos, upcoming movie previews and clips, news, sports etc. and the lay out is pretty nice.

I do have a question about how it works though. Is the MCE using the 360s internet connection to stream all of this from the internet? or is it using the PCs internet connection and then streaming it to the 360?

I just started using it because I thought it was for streaming purposes only. I didn't know that you can do so much more with it. Just yesterday I found out that you can watch a lot stuff on it. I spent a couple of hours watching music videos, upcoming movie previews and clips, news, sports etc. and the lay out is pretty nice.


Yeah that's news to me to, as I'm only using it for streaming. Guess I'm not sure how to use MC to it's full capability, since I had no idea about the rest. I'll have to look at it closer I guess.

Here are some points that may help out the Xbox360 vs PS3 in regards to the media streaming capability of the 2 boxes (by streaming I mean getting content from your PC or Networked Attached Storage (NAS) and playing it on your TV):

1) The Open Source Avenue - The PS3 with its updates is a true DLNA UPnP device. It will see the small lightweight media servers embedded in may NAS devices like FUPPES or TWONKY. The 360 will work with these along with other PC based streamers like TVersity etc.. but not without some hair pulling. The UPnP implementation in the 360 is not standard or perhaps not complete. I am not sure which.

3) The Microsoft Avenue - Since the 360 is a valid and certified Windows Media Extender if you are running a Media Center PC everything works fantastic for the most part. One of the nice things about this is that as the capacity of the Media Center software grows so does the capacity of the 360. For instance ATI/AMD has released an add on box for a Media Center PC that will accept a CableCard. This device basically turns your PC into a digital cable box with DVR (including HD). So using something like this you can watch cable TV via your 360 as well as stream recorded shows etc.

So in a nutshell the PS3 is more open source media server friendly but the 360 will be able to do more in a total DRM'd Microsoft environment. Since Microsoft is still the dominant OS this feature may become more important as more applications come on line that use the Windows Media Center.

Laters,
Jeff

When everyone is playing this holiday's big games they'll forget all of this business. This time in 09 we'll see: "Did the Xbox peak with Gears of War II?" and things will recycle again.

If GoWII lives up to the promise well, we'll see if anything the PS3 has can hang. It is that simple. All of this talk of killer apps for the PS3 are just that until it's proven (which Sony is NOT good at doing) that the graphics on Killzone (for example) are even realistic to expect.

In other words, the 360 as a gamer's machine is hard to beat. For a BR/media center/some game thing, the PS3 is good as well. Seems to me though that if you are tangentally interested in games with movies as the focus, the PS3 is needless expense to begin with.

Many 360 owners (including me) are turning to the dark side for their blu-ray solution. I think Redmond needs to release a BD player rather quickly and cut prices on their console, or many nextgen buyers WILL skip on the 360. Im already using my PS3 for most of my media needs now so my 360 will last longer.
There is nothing wrong with picking up a PS3 for a Blu-Ray player. Makes perfect sense. But let's be realistic. If you have both and the same game comes out for both, you really telling us you're gonna get the PS3 version and play on PSN instead of live?

Not saying anything is wrong with that. Just saying that in my experience, you are in the minority if you do. Xbox360 and PS3 ( And WII for that matter ) are all here to stay. Each have their pluses and minuses. I doubt anyone (In large numbers anyway) is abandoning anything right now.

There is nothing wrong with picking up a PS3 for a Blu-Ray player. Makes perfect sense. But let's be realistic. If you have both and the same game comes out for both, you really telling us you're gonna get the PS3 version and play on PSN instead of live?

Not saying anything is wrong with that. Just saying that in my experience, you are in the minority if you do. Xbox360 and PS3 ( And WII for that matter ) are all here to stay. Each have their pluses and minuses. I doubt anyone (In large numbers anyway) is abandoning anything right now.

At this point, if the same game comes out for both I will choose the better of the two. Most of the time this will mean the 360 I am sure, mainly due to live. I think with the excellent lineup of games that PS3 has coming, more people are going to choose the PS3 as their one next-gen (thisgen?) console due to BD. To alleviate that, msft needs to get on the ball.

the only thing they need to do is get some better software out in the january to march time frame.

I'm sure we will see a price cut with gta 4 in march

I beg to differ... the Cell Processor is hard to write for, and is not as initially optimized for gaming as three separate cores, and when we are talking about third party games being on both, SOMETIMES the PS3 has better contrast, but not enough to say it has "better graphics" in fact, XB360s games as of now have amazing graphics and it has been said that they are not even utilizing its full potential (I.E. not using all of the cores, etc)

PS3 however is a GREAT media center as mentioned above, and now that BR has won why not have one? lol

I have both FYI, this is just my observation based on dual ownership.

-Mike

I own both and I don't see the really gorgeous Xbox 360 games that are out now. Halo 3 had some warts, Mass Effect has what I would call "the Jekyll/Hyde effect", Gears is old now and has been matched with UT3 on PS3, etc. The PS3 has Uncharted and Heavenly Sword, nothing on Xbox 360 can match those two. And Killzone 2 coming out looks insane.

I don't think that this is an indication of console power but more of developer ability. The PS3 first-party teams seem to be more experienced on console, versus PC guys like Bioware. Hopefully things even back out soon, I want both systems to shine on my HDTV.

Your logic makes no sense. So, because the Xbox 360 had by far the best games without question, that means you would buy a PS3 because you think it will have a great year of games this year? I own both systems, and I too think there will be some good games on PS3 (really looking forward to Resistance 2), but the 360 has been fabulous for games and there is no reason it shouldnt continue.

I said *for me*, having already played what I consider to be the Xbox 360's big exclusives. Even if I hadn't of played those 4 games and I didn't have a PC for Gears/Bioshock, the total PS3 package would probably sway me.

I think the two consoles are pretty even right now. The Xbox does have better games out, but hardware and upcoming releases go to PS3. You can't really go wrong with either, though.

Why is the ps3 more powerful than the 360, when the top developers say they are either equal or the 360 has a slight advantage.
Forget about how powerful a machine is (the Wii crushed all that "a system needs to have PC quality graphics to be successful" crap).
It's about the games (not bluray, not movie downloads, not streaming media, etc), all those things are secondary stuff. They are things you do when you don't feel like playing games at the moment.
Going back to the wii. Nintendo has proven that having good hype about a system can really move units. Look at the wii games, 80% of the stuff is pure crap. Most people who have the wii are playing the game that comes with it.
The graphics on the wii is xbox 1 quality. It has no hd (xbox has hd though small) but the machine is selling like hot cakes.
The ps3 is making a move because sony has changed it marketing. Remember the first set of commercials for the ps3? They were absolute garbage. The new commercials now show actual games. That's what pushing the ps3.

Microsoft could have had a better 2007 if they show cased (tv ads)all of the great games they had available for the 360 in 2007 (virtua fighter 5, bioshock, mass effect, ace combat. Promote xbox live arcade so the old school gamers, casual gamers would be covered).

It's gonna come down to who can deliver original games that a really good and every other gimmick will take a back seat..

ps.
With the 360 and ps3 getting a lot of the same games it kinda takes the fun outta things.

Microsoft could have had a better 2007 if they show cased (tv ads)all of the great games they had available for the 360 in 2007 (virtua fighter 5, bioshock, mass effect, ace combat. Promote xbox live arcade so the old school gamers, casual gamers would be covered).

Microsoft did do all that, and they could have had a better 2007 if they were a bit more aggressive on price (the system seriously stalled in the middle 6 months of the year) and they had properly tested the system before it released. The RROD thing is a huge blow, do not underestimate that. It really put a damper on this generation and kind of destroyed their reputation (not that it was that great to begin with).

All of this talk of killer apps for the PS3 are just that until it's proven (which Sony is NOT good at doing)

What is this ********. Sony has sold 200+ million videogame consoles. They have delivered just fine. Trot out all the ancient 2004 and 2005 quotes from Kuturagi to try to "prove" me wrong, he doesn't work for the company anymore.

I agree 100% that MS needs to, and will support Blu Ray movie playback. I don't think they'll miss any next gen gamer sales over it, but general AV fans (like a lot of people here) who look at movies first and games second certainly might. I think most any real movie fans will go with a 2.0 dedicated player sooner than a PS3 though. The PS3 is the best Blu player now, not forever.

Not even now, as there are dedicated players that do DTS-MA.. The one feature I really wanted add asap, if possible.

I will at some time buy a dedicated player if I they never upgrade the PS3. I used to be hopeful as insider hinted a long time ago that around Christmas 07 it was coming.. Well that was 3 months ago. Bummer for Fox titles on not having the absolute best audio possible :( Other than that though it is a fantastic player. Titles with LPCM and TrueHD sound amazing and PQ is top notch :D

Not bad for a very good blu-ray player, top notch gaming and some cool media functions as well ;) :D

Will a smart developer make a game which 360 and ps3 gamers can play online together. Take a game like UT2004 and allow xbox live people to compete against psn people. You can have all the good modes (vs, co-op, teams (mixed))etc.
We can have video game nirvana... And the creator of that game will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Will a smart developer make a game which 360 and ps3 gamers can play online together. Take a game like UT2004 and allow xbox live people to compete against psn people. You can have all the good modes (vs, co-op, teams (mixed))etc.
We can have video game nirvana... And the creator of that game will be laughing all the way to the bank.

No. Microsoft and Sony won't allow it.

No. Microsoft and Sony won't allow it.

Hmmm. remember back in the 8 bit and 16 bit days.. some developers created games on the nes, and snes without being licensed and did not have to obey any stupid rules - Ahhh Tengen, the good ole days.:D

There is nothing wrong with picking up a PS3 for a Blu-Ray player. Makes perfect sense. But let's be realistic. If you have both and the same game comes out for both, you really telling us you're gonna get the PS3 version and play on PSN instead of live?

Not saying anything is wrong with that. Just saying that in my experience, you are in the minority if you do. Xbox360 and PS3 ( And WII for that matter ) are all here to stay. Each have their pluses and minuses. I doubt anyone (In large numbers anyway) is abandoning anything right now.

Agree completely. I will buy the 360 version just for the live functionality.

My PS3 is a bluray player and a fine one at that. My 360 is a gaming machine.

Hmmm. remember back in the 8 bit and 16 bit days.. some developers created games on the nes, and snes without being licensed and did not have to obey any stupid rules - Ahhh Tengen, the good ole days.:D

Tengen also got buried, which is why developers don't do that anymore.

I do kind of miss the old days though when games would clearly be suited to the strengths of the hardware.

Even last generation... PS2 games would be baseline but Xbox would have better graphics, 5.1 sound, better online, etc. It seems silly that people seem to want these two $400 machines, each built at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars by 2 of the biggest companies in the world, to do exactly the same thing. It just seems like a waste.

What is this ********. Sony has sold 200+ million videogame consoles. They have delivered just fine. Trot out all the ancient 2004 and 2005 quotes from Kuturagi to try to "prove" me wrong, he doesn't work for the company anymore.

Selling consoles has nothing to do with it, especially in the case of a machine that:

A: Says Sony Playstation on it
B: Was designed to be a BR player FIRST and gaming machine second.

Question of quality SOFTWARE remains, in terms of compelling first-party exclusives. Oh, and ports that run as well as its competitor.

Are these things too much to ask?

There is nothing wrong with picking up a PS3 for a Blu-Ray player. Makes perfect sense. But let's be realistic. If you have both and the same game comes out for both, you really telling us you're gonna get the PS3 version and play on PSN instead of live?

Not saying anything is wrong with that. Just saying that in my experience, you are in the minority if you do. Xbox360 and PS3 ( And WII for that matter ) are all here to stay. Each have their pluses and minuses. I doubt anyone (In large numbers anyway) is abandoning anything right now.

I agree with you all the way. I spend a lot of cash on systems and games...heck on toys period. I do have both the PS3 and 360. When a new game comes out we always and I mean always buy it for the 360 if available for both systems. Mostly because of one where I have the PS3, two Xbox live (Kids LOVE it) and finally how I use the consoles.

The PS3 interface I love. Fits better with my home systems and the wife likes the way it looks. Plus the BR movies are great. I wish there was something that could be done with up converting from 720 to 1080i. My set won’t do 720p where the PS3 is at.

If the PS3 had online live as good as the 360 I would build our gaming around Sony. For now having both works just fine.

The only problem I have with the Xbox 360 is the quality. Its simple bad and this I cannot stand! One more hardware issue and I done with this console no matter how good Xbox live is.

One side note with the Wii. My kids never play with it. Fun when you have a lot of people but other than that it's collecting dust next to the original xbox and PSX. At this point I'm sorry I bought it.

MCNE

I agree with you all the way. I spend a lot of cash on systems and games...heck on toys period. I do have both the PS3 and 360. When a new game comes out we always and I mean always buy it for the 360 if available for both systems. Mostly because of one where I have the PS3, two Xbox live (Kids LOVE it) and finally how I use the consoles.

The PS3 interface I love. Fits better with my home systems and the wife likes the way it looks. Plus the BR movies are great. I wish there was something that could be done with up converting from 720 to 1080i. My set won’t do 720p where the PS3 is at.

If the PS3 had online live as good as the 360 I would build our gaming around Sony. For now having both works just fine.

The only problem I have with the Xbox 360 is the quality. Its simple bad and this I cannot stand! One more hardware issue and I done with this console no matter how good Xbox live is.

One side note with the Wii. My kids never play with it. Fun when you have a lot of people but other than that it's collecting dust next to the original xbox and PSX. At this point I'm sorry I bought it.

MCNE


I am definately going to pick up a PS3 as a Hi-Def player for Blu-ray. ALso, there are some games that I think are gonna kick some butt. I am a big fan of the Gran Turismo series. I Loved the original metal gear solid, but have not really liked the later ones. I may still try MGS4 though.

My biggest thing right now is the polarization of the gamers. I guess you hear the most from the biggest fans, so it may not be representative. You either have to be a MS fanboy or a Sony fanboy and I just don't understand it. I don't hate MS and I don't hate Sony. The PS3 when it came out did'nt fit what I wanted for the price I wanted to pay. The 360 did. That doesn't mean I would never get a PS3. It just seems there is so much hostility in the game market now between the two camps.

Dunno. I will rock out on my 360 gaming rig just as I will rock out on my PS3 watching Blu-Rays and playing some cool games.

My biggest thing right now is the polarization of the gamers. I guess you hear the most from the biggest fans, so it may not be representative. You either have to be a MS fanboy or a Sony fanboy and I just don't understand it. I don't hate MS and I don't hate Sony.


God bless the few of us left like this.

I will rock out on my 360 gaming rig just as I will rock out on my PS3 watching Blu-Rays and playing some cool games.

Yep, I feel very fortunate to have both and can play and experience good games. Actually it’s hard to imagine having just one with some of the good exclusive titles that might be missed.

MCNE

God bless the few of us left like this.

I hate Sony...

But that didn't stop me from buying a PRS-500 book reader or a PS3 or a myriad of sony products I have laying around the house

I am a huge xbox 360 fanoi...but here goes.

I think the PS3 is going to have staggering awesome sales this year and christmas...why?

Cause parents of kids with PS2s are going to upgrade...and it makes logical sense to them to buy them PS3s. Even if the one they bought wont run ps2 games..lol.

People ask me at work what to get - I tell them 360 for games and fun, older kids. wii for casual, ps3 for movies

They ALWAYS buy a ps3 cause their kids loved the ps2.

Its happened at least a dozen times. Kinda annoying...at least they buy what PC I tell them to go get...

I have them all...the 360 is the only one that I need to replace the controller batteries alot on...

Except there aren't any kid/family friendly games on the PS3.

The media keeps bringing up this moronic topic, just ignore them dude. The 360 is nowhere near its peak, a game console explodes at the price point sweet spot of 200 bux, only when the 360 reaches that point can we start talking about peaks, the 360 has not even sold a fraction of what it will likely sell in its life time, can you imagine a machine that does all that it does, as well as it does, for 200 bux!?! that machine will sell like hotcakes!

Also keep in mind that 360 still has far more games, many of which are VERY affordable.
Just look at Gamefly, they have 319 games listed for 360, and 192 for PS3. Heck even if 360 has reached its peak, at this point PS3 has still not delivered anything but broken promises and empty hype. 360 for the win for now.

Why do people think the ps3 is more powerful then the 360?!? The most important component of a gaming console now is the gpu,e NSX is considerably weaker then the on powering the 360.. The media is the worst for this misconception.

it makes me smile that you still here this sort of talk :) it's actually quite impressive how difficult it is to quantify the raw processing power of these consoles, and thus how much debate there still is on this issue

.......of course by now anyone should realize the point is entirely moot, "it's the games" certainly has been proven

as far as the OP's question: well, i don't think we'll see radical advancement in graphics from now on, but "peaked"..............well, maybe; i think it's fair to say that there are more great games now in the 360's past than its future, but have we seen the BEST game the console has to offer? i doubt it

i'd say the 360 has "arrived" rather than peaked; it's simply good and strong and fun and great right now, the best console ever; a price cut would be the icing on the cake though

1.Drop the prices on some of these accessories
........................certainly they "should" from a consumer perspective; but from a business perspective they ABSOLUTELY should not; that's a huge moneymaker, regardless how ****ing amazingly overpriced it is

2.They need to add movie ownership to some of these movies
........nah, most people have 20gb hdd's

3.Stay friends with Disney the best way to get money from parents is through kids.Parents will do whatever it takes to keep kids happy and I am one of them. Get an exclusive contract for all the disney movies for download and ownership to some
..................great idea

4.They should have already had Netflix on the Marketplace or the Media Center just like they have VONGO or try to revamp the VONGO service.
..............would be great but then they'd have to lower the price to netflix-subscription levels, and again it's much more profitable to do one-film-rental-at-a-time


I have to say the 360 is a great machine but when you look at the capabilities of the PS3 MS has to build a new system and I for one don't think people will be interested in buying a new machine.Maybe I am wrong but people are looking for more so I think XB needs to step up their game
..........the ps3 has no games, and will have no games, it's over, and all the hardware, media capabilities, and bluray in the world hasn't saved them (but i agree they will do progressively better, but they need a big price drop)




............ok

Nope,I do think it's leveled somewhat.But there will be some first party game down the line that will dispel that concept I imagine.Both machines have their pros/cons,and where we will see the advantages of each is in the exclusive software of each console.Multiplat games,now that developers are getting a grip on PS3,are gonna be a wash.What will make people flock to 360 for multiplats for the forseeable future is xbox live and achievements.PS3,for me anyway, is all about the exclusives(Killzone,Unchartered,Metal Gear etc).

As far as Wii,I could never have imagined it would catch on the way it has with it's dated hardware,but I'm glad to see Nintendo making(made) a comeback.It's gives the consumer more choice,never a bad thing.