Andy’s October of Suckage: Day 2

It’s a real First World Problem to have, but I am a 30-something suburban dad so this is the kind of shit I spend actual time thinking about.

Should I buy a Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3?

Make no mistake: I eventually plan on owning both consoles. The dilemma is simply which to buy first.

Lets compare the contenders.

Online: At this point, more of my friends (and more Americans) own an Xbox 360 than own a PlayStation 3, and by quite a margin. On this point alone I would have to give online play to Microsoft, but the attention to detail they’ve shown in crafting the Xbox LIVE (I assume that second word is screamed) experience just seals the deal.

Games: Here the difference is more subtle. Both consoles have exclusives I want to play. Both have versions of multi-platform games with additional content (fucking publishers and their desire for easy money…). Both have developers who spend more time polishing a multi-platform release on their hardware than the competitor’s. Microsoft may beat Sony by a thin margin thanks to its greater US penetration (seriously, it’s sold like 2x more than Sony), additional year on the market, and simpler development process, in spite of having weaker…

Hardware: Sony, hands down. Gigabit Ethernet. Built-in WiFi (instead of an overpriced add-on). User-replaceable hard drive (upgrades are at market prices, not “Microsoft, please assrape me” prices). Lower power consumption. Quieter operation. Significantly lower failure rate. More powerful (I’m told) CPU and GPU.

Media: This seems like it should be an afterthought, but this may be the point upon which the whole battle turns. Sony supports streaming more kinds of video (including codecs a… um… downloaded movie is likely to use). Sony has a Blu-Ray player. No, let’s be more precise: The PlayStation 3 is probably still the best Blu-Ray player on the market. On the other hand, the Xbox 360 streams content from Netflix, including some 720p HD movies and shows. My living room TV does 720p, not 1080i or 1080p, so while Blu-Ray would look better than my DVDs, they wouldn’t look much/any better than the HD content I could stream instantly and at-will from Netflix. Now, if only I could tell which way this turns the battle…

My wife was excited to hear about the “PS3 slim” release and really, REALLY, wants to get Planet Earth on Blu-Ray, posthaste. She’s also a big fan of playing co-op and multi-player Halo. In short, she can’t decide either.

It really feels like my decision is whether to play the Xbox 360 or watch the PlayStation 3.