I hated the PS2 but now I'm considering the PS3

[extremep]

I'm posting this here because I'm an Xbox owner and huge fan, and I'm looking for opinions from people in a position similar to mine.

When it was time to decide between PS2 and Xbox, there was no question. The PS2's graphics sucked, it didn't have anything like Xbox Live, it had no hard drive, and it didn't have many of the PC-like games and first person shooters that I wanted on a console (I don't like paying for PC upgrades all the time).

But now it's a whole different story. The PS3 and 360 appear to be similar in power (closer than the PS2 was to the Xbox, anyway), the PS3 will have "PlayStation World" (similar to XBL), both systems will have detachable 2.5" hard drives, and the 360 isn't really more similar to the x86 architecture than the PS3 is. We already know Epic is licensing the Unreal Engine 3.0 to developers for both systems, and UT2007 is coming to both systems as well. Halo 2 was a huge disappointment for me, because I was expecting a lot more from Bungie three years after the first Halo. So I'm not exactly drooling for Halo 3.

It looks like Sony has learned from the success of XBL. And even though Microsoft is now saying every Xbox game will eventually work on the 360, the PS3 will play PS1 and PS2 games right from day one. I already have an Xbox and I've never owned a PS1 or PS2. PS2 games may look like shit but I hear they can be fun.

The bottom line is, if both systems get the great first person shooters this time, instead of just the Xbox, it's looking more and more likely that I'll be getting a PS3. I'm not going to pay for both systems, and PC gaming.

Edit: And I forgot to mention the Blu-ray drive. Let's face it, HD-DVD is already losing in the format war. If Sony sells enough PS3s it's obvious which format will be dominant.

 

[CapAmerica]

360 isn't really more similar to the x86 architecture than the PS3 is

Ah, not sure what your trying to say here, But the PS3 is pretty much in the same boat as the 360 when it comes to being like a PC. Both systems use hardware closer to the Mac. The 360 uses a PowerPC G5 chip and The Cell is more or less a modified PowerPC G5 chip, hense why Sony says Mac OSX can run on a PS3.

If your a FPS fan I say stay with the XBox. The Xbox will always be the FPS console.

Also IF I remeber correctly MS did some deals where MS gets limited exclusives for all Quake, Unreal and Doom games. So even thou the PS3 will get UT2007 it most likely won't be untill a few months after the 360 gets it.

If you want to play PS2 and PSOne games, you can always get a PS2 for $100 when the next price drop hits. Is there anything you are looking forward to on the PS3? Are there any games on the PS2 and PSOne you want to play?

It all really comes down to what kind of games you like to play.

Edit: Jury is still out on the next gen format war, Hollywood is still devided. I would say wait till 2007 before picking your next format. All we know both formats could turn into the next Laserdisc and VCD

 

[extremep]

[quote name='CapAmerica']Ah, not sure what your trying to say here, But the PS3 is pretty much in the same boat as the 360 when it comes to being like a PC. Both systems use hardware closer to the Mac. The 360 uses a PowerPC G5 chip and The Cell is more or less a modified PowerPC G5 chip, hense why Sony says Mac OSX can run on a PS3.[/quote]

What I meant was, the Xbox was much more similar to a regular PC than the PS2 was, so it got a lot of PC-like games. But now both the 360 and the PS3 aren't really similar to a regular PC, so this is no longer an advantage.

If your a FPS fan I say stay with the XBox. The Xbox will always be the FPS console.

Also IF I remeber correctly MS did some deals where MS gets limited exclusives for all Quake, Unreal and Doom games. So even thou the PS3 will get UT2007 it most likely won't be untill a few months after the 360 gets it.

I definitely hear what you're saying. But since the PS3 and the 360 now have similar architectures, and unlike with the PS2, Sony is now using a PC-like GPU and open APIs, I think it's really possible that a lot of major FPSes will show up on both consoles. Again, if anything, all this definitely makes me want to wait and see what the PS3 will be like before buying a 360.

If you want to play PS2 and PSOne games, you can always get a PS2 for $100 when the next price drop hits. Is there anything you are looking forward to on the PS3? Are there any games on the PS2 and PSOne you want to play?

I haven't really followed PS2 games, so there's nothing in particular I can think of right now that I really want to play, except Ico. I'm sure I could find something though. The reason I brought this up is that backwards compatibility on the PS3 is an actual benefit for me, while I don't care about it too much on the 360 since I already have an Xbox.

It all really comes down to what kind of games you like to play.

Edit: Jury is still out on the next gen format war, Hollywood is still devided. I would say wait till 2007 before picking your next format. All we know both formats could turn into the next Laserdisc and VCD

You're probably right. Still, Blu-ray might be a safer choice than regular DVD. Almost everyone has a DVD player already, and even if Blu-ray doesn't dominate for movies, it'll still be used for PS3 games.

 

[CapAmerica]

I think we're going to continue to see alot of PC games ported to the Xbox360, MS has been promoting the hell out of XNA which in turn would alows easy porting of PC games to the 360 and viseversa.

Also the 360 still uses a Windows Kernel which makes it easier to port PC games to the 360.

I don't think we'll be seeing alot of PC games ported to the PS3, cause the games would have to go threw alot more to get ported.