Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

ps3 or elite xbox

Jul 20, 2007 1:10PM PDT

looking to buy new console. 1080p hdtv. play mostly 3rd part games. they are approx same price. any advice?

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Up to you
Jul 21, 2007 7:00AM PDT

The Xbox 360 is probably the better choice if you're into first person shooter style games... Or really just any game that's heavy on action, light on story.

The PS3 is kind of the opposite... Better if you like games that are big on story and not so much action.

Not that there won't be plenty of overlap, especially with a lot of big name titles being released for both consoles, but as a general rule, that's how the games are likely to break down between those two consoles. So, if you're an action fan, get a 360... If you're an RPG fan, get a PS3.

- Collapse -
PS3 or elite Xbox
Jul 24, 2007 2:21PM PDT

I would go PS3. Firstly Blu-ray is better on HD T.V then the HD DVD.
Also blu-ray hold about 56Gb compared to a HD DVD that hold about 9Gb. This a good for the future because games will get bigger and developer will be able to use the space of the blu_ray to improve graphics and gme pyhics. PS3 also uses more memory on the HDD. A few days ago i went into EB Games and looked at a game on xbox360 and PS3 the PS3 version of the gmae minimum memory usage was about 2.5Gb and the 360 version minimum memory usage was 500Kb not even 1Mb which is small. The more memory a game uses on the HDD the faster the game will load because a lot of it data is already on the HDD and doesnt need to load from the disc. There is a lot more thing that are better on the PS3 than the 360 but it will take to long type. All the Xbox360 elite is an xbox360premium with HD DVD which is crap to Blu-ray and a bigger HDD so there is no difference in performances. finally did you see on the News and the net the the xbox360 has 33% error rate thats 1 in 3 faulty 360.

- Collapse -
No HD-DVD with X BOX elite
Jul 25, 2007 1:03AM PDT

The X Box elite does not come with an HD DVD player. You still have to pay the extra $200 dollars to get one. It does come with HDMI output and a larger hard drive. Seeing as the PS3 already comes with blue ray, HDMI and an easily upgradable hard drive it would be in my opinion the better deal.

- Collapse -
Consoles are Not good movie players
Jul 25, 2007 3:45AM PDT

I think I would only use my console as a movie player if I really had to. First off, you are wearing out the laser and processing hardware of your gaming console when you watch movies on it. Second, Most consoles produce alot of ambient operating noise that forces you to jack up the sound on your home theater system to drown it out.

I have the HD-DVD add on for the 360 (present from my brother) and the 360 is so loud that I have to turn up the volume to drown out the fans in it.

Don't buy a console for its movie playing capabilities. Buy a console for the game selection that you prefer. I like shooters and action games so I went with the 360.

- Collapse -
Why is it...
Jul 25, 2007 5:35AM PDT

That all the discussion seems to revolve around which DVD format is better? At best, that should be a secondary consideration when buying a game console. I would think the first and foremost thing on anyone's mind would be the GAMES.

Why would I want a PS3, for example, if I could care less about watching blu-ray movies with it, and I liked the game selection for the 360 better? Or maybe I like the game selection for the PS3 better, and could care less about watching HD-DVD movies.

I know I buy game consoles to play GAMES. I don't really care that they can also be used as DVD players. With the exception of my Xbox, which I got mostly for Xbox Media Center... But aside from Halo and Halo 2, there are virtually no games worth having on the Xbox that weren't also released for the PS2 and/or GameCube. At least for a die-hard RPG fan like myself.

- Collapse -
u should care
Jul 31, 2007 10:58AM PDT

many people dont like to pay a whole bunch of money for many seperate objects. Bluray is wat the games will be on. so.. would it not lend itself to be a bluray movie player as well but the main point is the ps3 is probably the cheapest bluray player out ther wat bluray movie capabilities do for the ps3 is make give the guy with not to much money a way to have both games and movie. Not every one is made of money

- Collapse -
Empty argument
Aug 1, 2007 4:36AM PDT

Stand alone blu-ray movie players will drop in price over time. I would be quite surprised if they weren't cheaper than the PS3 by this time next year.

Like I've said numerous times... Blu-ray movie players will be a dime a dozen in short order, but only the PS3 will be able to play PS3 games. So why wear out the drive motor and laser emitter on things like movies, when you can just wait a few months for a reasonably priced stand alone player?

- Collapse -
Yep
Aug 1, 2007 5:14AM PDT

There is already a HD-DVD player for $200 so a cheap Blu-ray around that price will probably be available within the year.

The thing about using consoles for playing movies is that consoles have a few fans in them that will run loudly during the movie, forcing you to turn up the volume for the dialog parts and then turning it back down when action starts to not piss off the neighbors/roommates/parents. I demand a quiet running movie player that I can barely tell is on.

Don't buy a PS3 to watch movies, buy it for the games and in the next year or so then worry about buying a cheap hi-def movie player.