...and it’s a nice machine…. now that Sony has fixed most of their messup with the original launch. I got the new European 80GB console that unlike the original US 80GB console doesn’t play PS2 games. But it is the first console to be released with a DualShock 3 controller in Europe, and apparently it’s more quiet than the first generation of consoles. And I can understand that, because if you can hear anything from the old PS3’s, they’re automatically louder than this one. I have to more or less put my ear to it to hear it.

Also, everybody else who got a PS3, my PSN id is holybork.

Anyhow, since I’ve had a 360 since release, it’s obvious I have to compare them side to side:

Noise: The 360 is awful, not only does it outnoise the PS3 and just about anything else in my livingroom, even its its external power supply is louder than the PS3.

Controller: The DualShock is a classic… bordering on too classic. While it has slightly better face buttons and D-pad than the 360, it’s not as ergonomic and its triggers are phased inwards, making them pretty easy to slip off. I personally also prefer the 360’s asymmetric stick position.

Interface: The PS3 interface is nice and clean, but slow. You can definitely see what the upcoming 360 interface got its layout from though. The 360 interface is cluttered but fast… so I’d call this a draw. I personally think the PS3 one is easier on the eye… but whatever. 1-1 still.

Online: Not having played either online yet or on ages, I can just mention that I have been disconnected from PSN at least once a day since getting it. The online interface still feels like in a prototype state. Live scores on quality, but PS3 evens it out by being free. oth are still evolving as well, so it’ll be fun to follow.

Game Installs: Should not exist if they don’t do anything substantial, which they don’t seem to do for most of the games using it. Merely keeping at seconds shorter than the Xbox version. What’s even worse, you need to install demos after downloading them on the PS3. Having lots of HD space free now makes me not care too much, but it feels pointless in some titles.

Wireless built in: Now I have no gripes with having a wire to the 360 since it resides just under the AirPort Base Station… but it’s nice to have the option.

Graphics: Most cross-platform games looks better on the 360. This is not because the PS3 is weaker, but different. Like the PS2, just getting FSAA active seems to be a bitch, since so few developers have managed in cross-platform titles. The games that have hacked a bit deeper in the PS3’s odd language fares a lot better though, and Burnout Paradise for one looks better than it did on the 360, mostly because my launch 360 does not have HDMI and the PS3 does I think though New games is getting less difference between the consoles though, so I’ll probably keep on buying crossplatform games for PS3 for having them on the quiet machine with HDMI.

Movies: My 360 suck at movies. Not only does it whine too loud compared to anything else I could use to play a DVD on, but it butchers the image quality completely as well. It puts heavy banding across the full screen, and I’ve never been able to stand more than 10 minutes of it before shutting it down in panic. The PS3 on the other hand is orgasmic. It’s quiet, it plays Blu-Rays and it upscales DVD and does a great job of it. My DVDs has never looked this good before, and Blu-Ray is even better. No contest at all there really. But then Blu-Ray is part of the reason I got the PS3.

Exclusives: I’m leaning towards the 360 on exclusive titles, but I’d lie if I said the PS3 ones doesn’t interest me. I want to play the old ones I’ve missed out on, like MGS4, Uncharted, Ratchet & Clank, Heavenly Sword, Full Auto 2 (already have it and played it for a bit, but right now It’s mainly Burnout Paradise and Civ Rev that runs), and a lot of the PSN titles.

All in all I can’t recommend either over the other, and I could not get rid of either myself now after getting both If noise avoidance is your thing, the PS3 is the king though. Hands down.

3 consoles… man.

I had thought about a PS3 sometime ago as just a Blu-ray player, because movies at 1080p on my HDTV look fantastic when my friend brought over his PS3 to test it at 1080p. Shame it was then I found out that while the PS3 supports 1080p, most games do not, which is a shame. While he was here, I had the opportunity to play some MGS4 online, a little of Battlefield: Bad Company, and a few others he picked up. While the gameplay was alright online, I totally dislike the controller still and even worse the lack of customized controls or control sets for most of the games. If I had to choose a console, the 360 is still the most ergonomic controller. However, the PS3 controller was amazingly lightweight and recharges when you connect a cable instead of needing batteries.

In the past we all tended to mock it for the price, I have to admit it’s not a bad system now with added features and price cuts. The built-in web browser sucks balls though. But I’ve decided I still do not need one because I’ve said before I don’t buy many movies to own, Blu-ray penetration is still an uphill battle, and not enough games on any console these days interest me to warrant buying one for that reason when I’m home and have time to play anything. Most of my friends have one console or the other anyways. Renting Blu-ray movies is more expensive than renting regular DVDs, and DVDs upscale fine on my current DVD player. I may just invest in a cheap DVR instead, least I can ditch my VCR for recording shows.

Be warned though, as I found out when my friend was over and had the PS3 connected via Wi-Fi. The PS3 tends to eat your network for lunch whether it’s idle background downloading shit or what. As long as it is on and remains connected to the network, it really slows down traffic and internet access for other computers connected to the network, almost like anyone downloading huge files via BitTorrent. For a while, I couldn’t figure out why playing any PC LAN games which had no problems in the past were suddenly crashing or slow (I have a gigabit/wireless-N network since my desktop and laptop are both N with custom configuration settings to allow wireless-G connections on a separate band, not sure which the PS3 was using though), until my friend remembered his internet also becoming extremely unusable until he turned off the PS3. In fact he said online gaming was great and fast on my wireless-N network compared to his wireless-G (which it was). When we went back into my living room realizing we had forgot to shut off the PS3, just idling on the main menu screen, the LAN was fine once again.

Actually,the charge cable thing is both to advantage and disadvantage to the 360. With 3 rechargeable batteries and a standalone charger for the 360, I almost never have to use my charge cable (bought separately) and can keep my play wireless all the time. The downside of this is MS’s peripheral pricing… they charge you an arm and leg for most parts to the 360, while Sony only overcharges the DualShock controller, everything else is standard pieces (Bluetooth headsets, USB/BT mice and keyboard, 2.5” SATA HD drive, USB A - B cable for recharging and the likes). But with the battery built in, if it’s dead your controller is dead. No way to pop it out and put in a fresh one. Also no way to keep it wireless all the time If all my rechargeable batteries run out on the 360, I still have AA batteries as a backup plan.

I think the only reason I would want to get a PS3 is because I’m a big Metal Gear Solid fan, and since MGS4 is a PS3 exclusive, that would probably be the only reason. Either that or when my PS2 finally gives up and take a dump on me because of it’s age, that would also be a good reason to pick one up. But since most of the other video games out there that I’m actually interested in are for the 360 as well, my 360 will be the only one I get for a while. That’s probably the reason why the PS3 doesn’t have very many games out there. They have all this top of the range hardware, so it takes forever to write games that can actually use this Next Gen. hardware without shitting on itself.