Why I Like The PS3 (and Why It Will Win The Console War Again)
Well, the PS3, what some would consider overpriced with a poor collection of games and doomed to fail. Well, that’s what some people think, they seem to be overlooking the following points and hopefully thanks to some recent revalations, the PS3 isn’t as disadvantaged as it once seemed.
Ability to Install Linux
By being able to install Linux on the console, you can use it for a multitude of purposes, such as streaming video and audio from your media server or other computers directly into your living room. You can use Linux to play Linux based games and all the other benefits of having an operating system on a computer. There are some things you can’t do with Linux on the PS3 when compared to a computer, but it is still better than nothing.
Blu-Ray Player
This was not only an important part during the format was for the next generation of DVD’s, but is also important in the post-was stages. Think about all the poor 360 owners of the HD-DVD drive add-on, seeing as the PS3 has the Blu-ray drive built into it, this will help to boost it’s sales and should help push the PS3 into being the winner of the console race for this generation. Look at the DVD playing capability of the PS2 and CD playing capability of the PS1, these features of these two consoles helped to boost sales.
Actually Does Have Games
A common misconception is that the PS3 has few exclusive games worth playing, here is a list of some to look forward to over the coming year:
- Final Fantasy XIII
- God of War III
- Gran Tourismo 5
- Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
- LittleBigPlanet
- Metal Gear Solid 4
- Motorstorm 2
- Resistance: Rise of Man
This isn’t of course a total list and there are still the games already released. Just expect to see over the next year the PS3 start to have some really good games. The only reason other consoles have plenty of good exclusives is entirely down to the fact that they have been out for longer and so developers have had more time to develop games for it. There is also all the old classic PS1 games becoming available from the store at low prices. I’d also like to bring up how most games you will ever buy for a console will usually be released on multiple platforms.
It Wasn’t Rushed
Unlike the xBox 360, the PS3 wasn’t rushed as much, the xBox was rushed in order to try and capitalise on the market by being first to release a new console, in a way this is a double-edged sword. By getting it to the market earlier, it got more sales and had more developers interested in producing games for it but at the cost of faulty hardware (very high failure rate with the RROD).
Other Media Capabilities
With it’s larger hard-drive (which can be replaced by a regular SATA laptop hard drive) media can be stored to it easily and accessed. It also has the ability to play DivX content (which how you will use this function is beyond me, but may have something to do with a media server) without the need to go through any complex mods to it.
Acutely Affordable
According to Amazon, the price of a PS3 is around £280 and the 360 is around £230, This price difference of 50 quid isn’t as bad as it once was, especially when compared to the time when the PS3 cost £425 to get hold of (the price I paid for it). The price of games is about the same and varies from place to place. Hardware accessories however are something interesting that needs to be looked at, the PS3 controller is around £28 and the 360 controller costs around £30, but then again the PS3 controller doesn’t have a rumble function, but has motion sensitivity (which I have yet to see being fully used) to make up for it.
I’d also like to bring up the cost of a wireless adapter price for the 360, weighing in at around £60 and a USB port. This suddenly causes the 360 to cost more than a PS3 which has built in wireless. Now I undrstand not all will have or use a wireless network, but seeing as they are increasingly becoming popular, this is something certainly worth mentioning.
A Pre-emptive Response to Fan boys
Now all I need to do is to wait for the 360 fan boys to come in here and start throwing insults my way because of my superior logic. Whilst I’m not claiming the PS3 is the going to be the winner and is the superior console, all I am saying is that it has a lot going for it and do not be surprised as the 360 falls behind it into second place.
Also, if you are wondering why the Wii wasn’t included, just wait until later this week to see my reasoning.
Chronicler said,
February 28, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Nah, not really. Falls into a different category – it’s a light, “casual” console, whereas the Xbeaks and the PS3 are the “hardcore” options.
I hate to see Sony succeed, but this is exactly what’s happened. They’ve got a better console.
Would have liked to have seen a mention of GTA4 as a positive…
Rokusho said,
February 28, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Considering that the PS3 and the XBox 360 are both going to get GTA4 on them, I don’t really see the need to mention it.
Ben said,
March 2, 2008 at 7:12 pm
My response is a lot shorter than your original post, but I think it sums up why you’re wrong pretty succintly.
Why I Like The XBox 360 (and Why It Will Win The Console War This Time)
Online play. It has the easiest to use and most popular online play with the best multiplayer console games and the highest number of players. And in today’s world of broadband in every home and the must-play-now mindset, it’s a winner. Halo 3 is still amazing 3 months after you finish the single player, and why? Because XBox Live is a fantastic and reasonably cheap, seamless service with endless breadth and thousands of similarly skilled players online 24 hours a day.
Compare that to marginal benefits like a big hard-drive and linux – something that’ll be used by <1% of owners – and the PS3 is shown to be the laughable joke that it really is. Until BluRay becomes worth using – ie, when most people have HDTV – the PS3 has no chance. And unless their online gaming becomes as slick and popular as XBox Live, it’s dead in the water.
The games aren’t as pretty? Big deal. They’re infinitely more playable, purely because of the longevity a successful multiplayer option provides.
dave said,
April 3, 2008 at 12:04 am
Before I start i’d like to say that i don’t own any of the next-gen consoles, only a PC and PS2, so I could consider by viewpoint fairly neutral.
1. The 360 Elite now costs £250 (play.com) and has a 120GB HDD. Only the 40GB version of the PS3 is available in the UK and costs £290 (play.com)
2. The 360 has some form of backwards compatibility. Only the older 60GB and 80GB versions of the PS3 had this function.
3. Like Ben said the 360 has a better online community. Although as Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw put it “the 360 community can charitibly described as lively, and uncharitibly described as a bunch of hooting dick-holes”.
4. GT5 will not be the second coming of the messiah. It will simply be a re-hash of GT4 with different tracks, cars and improved graphics. Although the same comparision can be made between Forza 1 and 2 for the 360.
5. The majority of people buying a PS3 either don’t know what Linux is or have no desire to use it.
6. Blu-Ray adds unnecessary cost to the PS3. A lot of games are coming out on both formats, but the developers seem to have no trouble squeezing the same content onto a regular DVD.
7. Grand Theft Auto IV is multi-format, and if you can wait long enough it will eventually come to the PC… which if you have half a brain will be the best format to play in on.