I'm pretty sure all owners of a next generation console will be able to relate to this post.Since I got my PS3 around a month ago, a lot of people have turned their noses up at my decision. Now I'm not being.... Erm.... Consoleist (!?!?) but I find this quite immature. It's mainly Xbox 360 owners, claiming they have superior online, a better selection of quality games and that overall their console "Pwns" in all areas unlike the PS3 which is "teh Suxxors".
Now what really bothers me is this. Firstly, I have no problem with the Xbox. I think it's a great machine, offering crisp HD and a fantastic online community. What bothers me is that I give their console praise, they smite me down for my decision, urinating all over my personal preferences. Secondly, I'm content with my decision and personally very happy. But for some reason, a lot of people can't accept that.
So this got me thinking, why is it that there's always been rivalry between consoles? The SNES and the Megadrive? The Playsation 1 and the N64? The Playstation 2 and the Xbox? Why is it that no-one can accept that both consoles have enough cons that neither are technically "Superior"? Is it down to what games are exclusive on the console? How good the graphics are? Maybe it's down to just how darn good the console looks in general, or maybe even which controller is more "Comfy" (God I've heard that argument so many times).
These days, the main factor is surely which console pumps out the best HD, and which console has the best Online community and both the PS3 and Xbox excel in both categories. Only the Elite Xbox has HDMI, while it's standard on all PS3 models. However, Xbox Live offers a far simpler online community than the PS3, yet the online on a PS3 is standard.
I'm not here to argue, it just bemuses me that people will fight till their wits end over consoles that are clearly the same... Yup, I said it.
What I think it all comes down to is the price. No doubt, the PS3 is the pricer machine, you can get an Xbox now for £120. Obviously some of the little niggles should have been thought of, but the Xbox came out a year before any of the other "next-gen" consoles, so it didn't really have anything to compete with.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sticking on the Xbox's side here, I'm just giving some reasons why the Xbox is not technically superior.
I completely agree, I should have mentioned that. The price is obviously the major selling point and I agree with that. But if you take into consideration that to connect to Xbox live it costs at least a £100 (£60 for wireless adapter, £40 years subscription). So were talking already £220 and then a hard drive which is around £50? I'm not sure. Either way the price difference woks out to be quite small. Maybe £50 difference.
ReplyDeleteIf you take into account that microsoft now has spent major spending into "Family games" From a gamers point of view, the 360 is admitting defeat, in the fact it is trying to go the same way the Wii has gone.
ReplyDeleteThough no doubt they will make lots of money now, it gives its hardcore fanbase a dilemma.
Now there's something I didnt realise!
ReplyDeleteIf it goes down the Wii route, there's the risk it will lose followers but with Xbox live and pretty much every developer releasing games for it, I highly doubt that these new "casual" games will even make a difference in sales. Still, some users may worry about the image of the console being affected, which is important.