OT (sort of): Why should (or shouldn't) I get a 360 now?

Kazuya · Post by **Kazuya** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:12 am

Danimal wrote:
Kazuya wrote:I guess he has his own agenda, which is hardly a surprise given all of the agendas he's had in the past. One could lose count...
It must be nice going through life making up bullshit to try and make your arguments correct.

Saying I've had so many agendas here? Good lord if that's not the pot calling the kettle black I don't know what is.

I'll just go back to the sidelines and watch your Sony marketing campaign.

Wow, you must really want me to embarrass you with a quick search. I wouldn't even know where to begin... your stupidity on this board knows no bounds. But yes, go back to your glass house and sit on the sidelines... this discussion was moving along fine without your cowardly comments. If you want to call me out, I'm available for PMs or even civil discussion about it. No need for your lame shots in the dark.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:17 am

kevinpars wrote:I thought getting a 'free' DVD player with the PS2 was great until I started watching movies with it and having all kinds of freezing and synch issues. So it could go either way.

Speaking of rumors, the latest one that I heard was that Nintendo has downplayed the graphical improvements of the Wii so that they can get a big positive bump when they show off the 'real thing.'

Yeah, I still have an older PS2. I hooked it up a few months ago planning on using it for the kids and I forgot how bad it sucked. The picture is horrible and the sound is SO low.

The hands-on Madden Wii clips posted here recently looked very much last generation, but who knows what kind of TV they were using or if EA just ported.

Post by **Jared** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:31 am

Kaz and Danimal,

Stop. If you want to duke it out, do it in the PMs.

Everyone,

Thanks for the advice. It's really great to get everyone's feedback (and I hope others that are reading that haven't made the next gen plunge yet are getting feedback as well). I'm leaning towards waiting....one of the big sellers for me is having a few killer sports games on a console, and it looks like the 360 doesn't have this yet.

Of course, something tells me that when Winning Eleven comes out for the 360, I will cave in and buy it immediately. (And if that's the case, why don't I purchase now....)

Keep the impressions coming...this has been a really informative thread.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:35 am

That really seems to be the essence of it. I'm having some of the most fun gaming ever with the 360, but not really on the sports side. I do like NCAA football quite a bit, though. The benefit of waiting to buy a 360 might be some of those chip upgrades that were rumored a couple months ago, if they weren't debunked. It seems like hardware just gets more and more reliable the longer you wait. I have a launch 360 though, and haven't had a single problem.

btmmayor · Post by **btmmayor** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:46 am

Slumberland wrote:That really seems to be the essence of it. I'm having some of the most fun gaming ever with the 360, but not really on the sports side.

Exactly.

The sports games have been alot of fun on the 360. It's just that some of the other stuff has been stellar. I just played through Kameo and Dead Rising back to back and haven't enjoyed a few weeks worth of gaming like that in a long time.

laurenskye · Post by **laurenskye** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 12:37 pm

The 360 is the only system I've ever owned that I fire up everyday. Not that I play games everyday but I stream music and video off my computer to my big screen/suround system in the living room, I of course check if new free stuff is available, and basically just fart around with it. I think it's a great system.

Wilk5280 · Post by **Wilk5280** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:02 pm

Of course, something tells me that when Winning Eleven comes out for the 360, I will cave in and buy it immediately. (And if that's the case, why don't I purchase now....)

Exactly! If you know you're going to end up getting one once WE hits, why not just get it now and enjoy what it currently has to offer? I guess, unless you are hoping for an unlikely pricedrop between now and then.

I've had my 360 since day one and have not felt one bit of regret. Well, maybe at first when Madden 06 was a big letdown, but other than that. I've played the best basketball games money can buy in NBA 2K6 and College Hoops 2K6, NCAA 07 is a great friggin game IMO. If you ask me, it's the best the game has been since 2004 (which is my all time favorite football game).

Madden 07 while not superb, is a very good game. Oblivion, GRAW, Saint's Row, COD 2, XBLive Arcade, Dead Rising, and many I'm forgetting will give you great gaming experiences.

It's really up to what you want though I guess. I just know that I'm very happy with it.

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:57 pm

A big reason I bought into the original xbox a few years ago was because the majority of everyone here had one and if I wanted to play online with noncheesers it was the way to go and I haven't regretted it one bit, before that it was a hit or miss playing with randoms on PS2, more often than not though it was a miss.

I love everything they have done with XBL on the 360, from sending messages and using private chat to set up games to the downloadable demos and arcade games, also the media center features are great as I can stream just about any video from my pc onto the 360.

As others have said there are a plenty of great titles available now and I am looking forward to NHL 07, Tiger Woods, Forza and the Smackdown wrestling game the rest of this year and more great titles in the early part of next year with GTR and Virtual Tennis.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:30 pm

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.09/sony.html

rayray00 · Post by **rayray00** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 3:55 pm

laurenskye wrote:The 360 is the only system I've ever owned that I fire up everyday. Not that I play games everyday but I stream music and video off my computer to my big screen/suround system in the living room, I of course check if new free stuff is available, and basically just fart around with it. I think it's a great system.

Same here - in fact, the music streaming is so simple that my wife uses it almost exclusively to listen to our MP3 collection (and she can barely work her laptop) - came home the other night and she had Alice in Chains Unplugged playing while cooking dinner! Couple that with the greatness that everyone else has pointed out (XBLA, etc) and I couldn't be happier...

Best & most used console I've ever owned since playing the Genesis for about 5-6 hours a day while flunking out of college.

-Ray!!

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:37 pm

To be fair to the Sony Side.

http://genmay.com/showthread.php?t=667429

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 11:06 am

reeche wrote:To be fair to the Sony Side.

http://genmay.com/showthread.php?t=667429

LOL Well at least the was a fair an impartial story like the wired one LMAO.

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:00 am

I read through the pro Sony link and while it is poorly written (14 variations of the “F” word) and various uses of the word “retard”, but it does raise some points.

Anyway, I have a few questions/thoughts: Does the higher end version have wireless networking build into the box? Meaning, can you connect to your router without an add-on? If so, that alone makes the pricing the same as the 360 which has an add-on for $99. Of course, the question remains about what exactly you are connection to with Sony. And can you stream music and video from your PC, will it have anything close to Xbox live, etc.

Some of the other points have “down the road” implications. In the case of HDMI 1.3, while that is great, can you even buy a TV that is HDMI 1.3 yet? Like that feature, a lot of the features in the PS3 have “down the road” or “in the future” implications. That just makes me think that maybe sometime down the road I will get one, but for right now, it does not look like a clear improvement over the 360.

It would be great if the console lived up to all those implications and that it turns out to be a highly refined piece of hardware. There are still so many unknowns. Do we know now they are handling the power unit? Will it be a brick on the power cord like MS? Will it have heat issues and how will the default cooling system work? Will it be noisy? How will the Bluray player work compared to retail versions? Will the bluray player upscale regular DVD movies as well? How fast will it load and play games? Lots of stuff to wonder about.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:48 am

Assassins Creed finally confirmed for the 360, I know this was one of the PS3 games that had my interest.

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/01/final ... d-for-360/

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:54 am

Here is another negative in the Xbox 360 column: The "Artist of the Month" is Jessica Simpson and her video 'A Public Affair' is available for download.

Suddenly, I don't feel so bad that tomorrow is Day 14 without a 360. Who's it going to be next month? Enya?

AJColossal · Post by **AJColossal** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:13 pm

One thing that has really got me wondering about the PS3 is what exactly they plan on doing with the online system. All I've heard is, "oh yeah, it's basically anything you would want, but unlike Microsoft's, it's free". Maybe I missed something, but what have they offered in the way of proof of this?

And could it really be that easy? Microsoft took years to get XBox Live to where it is now. Sony dabbled with it on the PS2, and now it's going to be this great all-encompassing service with all the kinks worked out and everything that XBox Live is?

I'm sure there are people on this board that are more qualified to address this than I am. Is this even plausible?

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:24 pm

AJColossal wrote:One thing that has really got me wondering about the PS3 is what exactly they plan on doing with the online system. All I've heard is, "oh yeah, it's basically anything you would want, but unlike Microsoft's, it's free". Maybe I missed something, but what have they offered in the way of proof of this?

If something sounds to good it usually is. I have no idea what kind of service they can pull of as an afterthought, and regardless of what the PR department says it is an afterthought. But I'm not counting on anything near the level of Xbox Live. When the original Xbox Live launched they beta tested it for 4-6 months, I know I was a tester. Sony doesn't have this option, the system isn't out and they have nothing to build off of.

I also did read several pieces online in the last month or so which seem to indicate that the service will be a tiered system like XBL. I don't have the links and I'm not going back to look for them. but in each article the Sony person being interviewd said that "basic online functionality would be free" No idea what they meant by basic, that is kind of vague.

The thing is, we don't know what they are going to offer. We are 3 months from launch (supposedly) we have no confirmed launch lineup (not unusual), no idea what the online service will be and according to an interview I read tuesday production hasn't even started yet and the cut their estimates down from 4mil launch / 6mil fiscal quarter to 3 million fiscal quarter and unknown at launch.

Here is what i would suggest for everyone, if you can score a PS3 do so and then hit Ebay. If supply is so short you're bound to at leats double your investment.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:45 pm

PS3 power supply is expected to be internal. Sony has said it will be as quiet as the PS2 Slim model.

In 2007, both PS3 and X360 are expected to go from 90 nanometers to 65 nanometers for both the CPU and GPU, which should result in cooler, lower-cost chips.

That could mean they could redesign the consoles to be smaller and quieter. Could also mean they have more margin to do price cuts.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:20 am

For those of you saving $$$ for the PS3, expect to pay a bit more now since the HDMI cable is not included in their package, if you want to watch movies in blu-ray format in 720p, 1080i, 1080p.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 4:16 am

Another 50 bucks...cha ching.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:08 am

An HDMI cable could be had for a lot less than $50. Of course, if they have a custom connector like they usually have for consoles, you can't just use a regular HDMI cable.

But the PS2 for instance didn't come with a S-video cable, only composite and no RF. So you had to buy an S-Video (or component) and these could be had from third-parties for $10.

HDMI is digital so there's no point in buying way overpriced Monster Cables.

Seems like people are just looking for reasons to vent at Sony. That said, they would be smart to bundle it since they're trying to push Blu-Ray as well as their expensive 1080p Bravias and SXRD sets. Would cost them maybe $5 but would encourage people to try Blu-Ray movies.

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 12:47 pm

wco81 wrote: HDMI is digital so there's no point in buying way overpriced Monster Cables.

Exactly.

Only idiots buy $50 Monster cables from Best Buy, etc.... Overpriced garbage. A digital signal is a digital signal. No amount of super duper gold plated, ultra wrapped/shielded, tree trunk thick Monster cable is going to make the picture look any better.

You can get good quality 28 guage HDMI cable (1.5ft) from monoprice.com for $3.80. If you need a really long one (15ft), it's still only $8.07.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:49 pm

But you guys know it will be a custom connector...that's just the way it is with consoles. It's the accessories that they get you on...memory cards, cables, ac adapters, games, etc...not the consoles. They'd be stupid not to make it a OEM connector...then they can charge you an arm and a leg for it. They don't want you buying the 8 dollar one.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 2:07 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:But you guys know it will be a custom connector...that's just the way it is with consoles.

Agreed. It'll be an extra 30-50 for the extra HDMI.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 3:44 pm

Anyone know if it is coming with component cables, at least?

This should help the always-important attach rate.