Size Matters? Comments

First you say this:

"I hate the debates about which games console of the current generation is better. Part of that hate is because in this fight the only way to ‘win' is not to take part and part because 95 per cent (perhaps more) of those debating don't actually know what they're talking about"

Then you write an article full of inaccuracies.

XBL is not £50 a year, closer to £30.

Games no longer exclusive like Final Fantasy or Metal Gear Solid are down to Microsoft paying the publisher to have it on their platform. Whether the PS3 had sold 50m or 5m these games would be on the Xbox 360 just like GTA4.

Also if you decide to talk to retailers you would find out that the £249.99 price is the upper limit set by Sony, retailers are free to discount for the first time ever. Minimum price is set at £220, and unsurprisingly deals have been cropping up all over the place selling the new console for £220 or £225.

I think it looks fine certainly better than the now very bulky 360.
also is the 10 year life cycle bit true?

*Jay said*
"also is the 10 year life cycle bit true?"
If you mean: is it a line propagated by Sony that's worked its way into public and journalistic consciousness, then yes. You know, a bit like that "The PSP is a PS2 in your pocket" which we're still hearing nowadays, despite the fact it became apparent pretty early on that the statement was insulting to the PS2.

My view? (sorry, I know you didn't ask)
The PS3 will sell about 3million more consoles than it would have without the 'Slim' and price-drops. So, Sony'll have a very nice holiday season. During this period, analysts will state it's all doom and gloom for Nintendo from here on out (yes, they'll neglect to comment on MS for the most part). However, the momentary boost will subside around February/March and the Q2 results will show a sharp decline in sales.

You heard it here first. If I'm not right, I'll refrain from speaking with a know-it-all air for... oooh... maybe a couple of months.

P.S. Sorry TR, I was going to refrain from commenting on the topic but my late night nerves got the better of me...
Just promise not to ban me, no matter how this turns out ;).

IMO the PS3 is not for me as I hate the square looks (its slim in 2D not 3D). I would consider buying this as I am in the market for a Blu Ray player (an upgradeable one at that - which the PS3 has to be commended on), however the problem for me is the online. I can't talk to any of my live friends and all my real friends have 360's so if I were to buy a game it would only be for the (quieter) single player but for multilayer I would have to go for the 360, due to the great group of like minded gamers that I have met that I fear I wouldn't come close to getting on the PSN. Therefore ATM I'm thinking of just geting a Blu Ray off ebay for £150 and use the remainder to spend on Blu Ray's and live. BTW anyone who wants 13 months of live for £26 should head to ebay - great deals.

Hugo. You started off well but ended badly. It was, in my humble opinion, a slightly biased editorial. Thats not to say it was not a valid one. A lot of the points you make are certainly based on fact, but some seem to be a little speculative.

For my part as someone who has invested in all of the current game consoles, I think the PS3 slim will sell very well initially. I might even get one myself as I actually prefer its styling over the current model.

The point I disagree with you most on though is software. I think the days of unique titles for Sony & Microsoft are on the decline. Both seem to share a similar number of exclusive titles and the rest appear across both platforms. In the end it is the software that will sell the machines as games consoles and for me, that argument ends in a tie.

I hope that more gamers are tempted by this new, slim PS3, especially die-hard 360 owners, but in the same way I hope that PS3 owners would dip their toe in the Xbox Live community and then realise that the £40 per year is actually a small price to pay for a truly seamless online experience and that free is not necessarily better !

Oh well, more competition across the board should always be better for the end user and so I end by applauding the arrival of Sony's new baby and I'm just now looking for ideas to get the financial clearance to 'upgrade' :)

@Max Power.
OK, so he should have used USD or converted to pounds. A minor slip up.

But in terms of the exclusives thing, MS chucking millions of dollars about is only part of the reason. Its also the potential increase in sales. A lot of the gamers that want MGS or Final Fantasy will already have a PS3, because playstation is where those titles historically live on. If the PS3 and 360 had switched places, and there was another 10 million PS3s out there, then MS would have had a lot more convincing to do to get the cross platform releases. That's what he was trying to say.

As to the £250 RRP. Its just that a Recommended Retail Price, same as it was before with the £300 RRP on the PS3 big. If the retailer wanted to they could drop the price into their cut of the sales. I haven't heard anything about Sony artificially inflating their prices, just the obvious that they've got to pay Sony a certain amount to get the actual consoles, so they're going to want to see some sort of return on their stock.
The lowest were seeing of £220 probably means that Sony is getting £200 to £210 of that. I wouldn't expect the price to go much lower, but we'll probably start to see older platinum range games being bundled for meagre sums of money.

Hugo, how could you say XBL costs £50, how could you! It's never been that, even if you are silly enough to buy it direct from M$! lol

Back to the article subject matter, PS3 slim. My starting point is I have never really liked the look of the old PS3. I hate the shiny surface - just because it is such a dust magnet and as such it always looks dirty. I hate the stupid touch sensitive buttons, everytime you clean the aforementioned dust, the damn thing turns on or ejects the disk - arrrhhhh. And generally the overall shape is just, well, dull! I don't like or dislike it. Therefore the new Slim looks okay to me.

@Max Power: "XBL is not £50 a year, closer to £30."
Erm, £39.99. I know, mine just auto renewed (nice of Microsoft to ask).

As someone who has yet to buy a games console but is interested in doing so, the question is whether the PS3.5 is enough to sway me into Sony's camp. As Bugs Bunny says, "Nyah, could be!" I like the fact it's now more affordable than the previous bread tin-sized and shaped PS3 (I'd never get that one past my girlfriend). The Xbox doesn't come into it since a) it's Microsoft and we both hate that company b) it has serious reliability and noise issues (I've heard these are being or have been addressed). Then there's the Wii; cute, white, modest, but lacking games where I can kill and chop and shoot and rampage to my heart's content. I'll take a look at the new console when it hits the shops but can't say it's the one I've been waiting for.

I'm mostly a PC gamer, but I also have a Wii (for it's novelty, had on release day) and an X360 which I bought recently. The 360 was an impulse purchace, i was simply amazed at the value on offer. I got a preowned 20gb model for £70 which I thought was phenomenal as I can use it as a media center extender, DVD player, as well as opening the door to some great games that werent released on the PC.

Now Im looking at upgrading to a 1080p TV and the PS3 Slim looks a compelling proposition. If I'm looking at 150-200 for a quality Blu-Ray player, £50-100 more is pretty easy to justify given the extra a PS3 gives.

Also I think the Slim looks much better than the original, but I seem to be in the minority...

@Jay... Sony are in this for the long game. 10 year lifespan is quoted from Sony, however don't expect a full 10 years between the release of the PS3 and the release of the PS4. They are referring to how long they will continue to push the platform, 10 years minimum. The PS2 is on its 9th year I think and support is still strong for that platform.

@max power... I actually cannot be bothered to check, but I'm pretty sure XBL gold is £39.99

@drdark... Of course there will be a sharp decline in sales around February with the christmas season + january sales ending. Im sure all 3 consoles will feel the same hit not just the PS3 because people have got over the price cut.

Now on topic. My only gripe on the PS3 slim is its loss of the piano black and touch sensitive buttons. Also why have Sony removed the ability to install another OS?

@Stephen Allred, J4ck1505 -> Yes official price is £39.99. But you are silly to pay that. Max was right as it is easy to get it for around £27 off eBay. Done that for the last few years without any issue.

@Malderon -> Have to agree, if you want BluRay and like gaming too than a PS3 is pretty much a no brainer. (Also with you on the looks of the Slim!)

Looks nicer but too late, not the slightest interested, same games bar the odd exclusive which never caters to my taste.

XBL cost me £24.66 for 13 months I guess some people like being mugged.

The PS3 slim finally adds Dolby True HD and DTS-HD MA via bitsteam for those audiophiles who were considering this console for watching films as well...

http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/21/ps3-slim-bitsreams-dolby-truehd-and-dts-hd-ma-audio-at-last/

Check my earlier post BTW you must really like throwing money away if you auto renew how hard is it to even go on amazon and save yourself a fiver or even close to half price on ebay.

as a person who has used both xbox live and PSN I've never noticed any difference in quality of service. but it is true if most of your friends have just one of the consoles then your pretty much tied into buying that one just so you can play with them in my case ps3 so I'll be buying the slim.

also where are the deals for £220? cheapest I can find is £245 just for the console

Price matter

Ps3 slim £229 at shopto


http://www.shopto.net/PS3/GAMES/PS3SLIM-PS3%20Slim%20120GB.html


@Max Power(the fanboy)

GTA was never a PS exclusive san andreas was on PC and original Xbox,
Metal gear solid was never exclusive MGS3 was also on the PC and xbox.

Sony has way more and better First party devs then MS's First party devs.

and lol @ those who say i maybe buy it for the bluray, your trying to act like the PS3 has no games, well you failed, im a 360 Ps3 owner, and i have to say the PS3 has way more exclusive games this year and next year, all of the 360 games are also on the PC(better graphics and cheaper versions) like ME2 and Splinter cell.

Games like: Uncharted 2, GT5, God of war 3, Killzone 2, Infamous, Ratchet and clank: a crack in time, LBP, MGS4, Valkyria chronicles, Demon's souls, The last Guardian, Resistance 2, Motorstorm, MAG, Agent(Rockstar north), Heavy Rain, Twisted metal. you can't play them unless you own a PS3, plus all the Multiplatform games that are also on the 360 and PC.

oh and btw, XBL is £39.

I can remember you ahlan from your past comments in posts a while (thats probably not a good thing). Your exactly the sort of guy the ed was trying to keep off the forums which he mentioned right at the intro. It wouldn't surprise me if all of the guys who clearly have allegiance, shall we say, one way or another haven't even read this great article that was very informative and that you simply jumped to the comments in order to defend your console to the death. As I mentioned above I would only buy a PS3 for the Blu Ray. TBH half the exclusives you mention I have never herd of but all I want are a couple of decent games a year with some nice fillers inbetween. Most of these guys sound angry yet surely all they actually want to do is to turn on their console and have a decent game to boot, not the satisfaction that you bought a console that has 1 more dev whos building a game you won't even buy. Oh and BTW yes xbox live is offically £39.99 but if you look here
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Xbox-LIVE-Gold-12-Month-Membership/dp/B000B5KMSE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1250958753&sr=8-1
and here
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=xbox+live+12+month&_sacat=0&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313&_odkw=xbox+live+13+month&_osacat=0
It is not as I already said. How some people annoy me when they skim read through comments, whilst implying someone is incorrect.

I think it was fair enough for Hugo to make that opening statement. Lets face it everyone's view will be skewed one way or another depending on their values and preferences.
But it we try and look at the value argument from a neutral perspective then the initial outlay (Amazon prices) for an Xbox is £254.98 [219.99 + 34.99] and £249.99 for a PS3. A neutral should see the better value in the PS3 considering the live subscription is a recurring cost.
I am biased towards the PS3 and even though it is clear Sony have made extensive cost saving with this new version I think it present better value. The cell processor, Blu-ray drive and Wi-fi components all add a significant material cost which make it more expensive to produce than the Xbox. Now I appreciate technical specs alone do not make one product better than another. Software is everything - but for me Sony is doing enough. I accept that Xbox live has a richer, more integrated online experience but that doesn't make it better value.
I wouldn't go as far as Hugo with the PS3 'is far more feature rich' but when you eliminate the common ground between each console multi-platform games, media streaming etc you find what appeals most to you. For me the better movie experience, high end audio and 'free' networking service outweigh any unique features offered on the Xbox.

I'm surprised no-one has picked up on the play-tv accessory and the ability of the PS3 to run the iplayer, as examples of it being more feature rich. Personally I am pretty much sold on buying a slim in the near future. Gran Turismo 5 would probably seal the deal for me.

For the record, I have been playing a borrowed XBox360 for the last 3 months and loving it, (apart from the fan noise). As it happens, it just died with a RROD, which doesn't exactly help persuade be that the MS box is the one to buy when the time comes. But as far as the gaming experience goes, it has been great.

@Andrew Violet, and you defend your 360 and bash the PS3 till death, i know alot of people like you, who were in past saying its too expensive!, now you say its a good bluray player give me a F***ing break, half of those PS3 exclusive games you never heard of, because you do NOT own a PS3 and you don't care, it seems your nothing less then a half-wit 360 fanboy, who got sensitive because of what Hugo said in the article, and go all wild finding links on ebay to show XBL is 5 pounds less, well not all people buy from ebay, and the official price from MS is £39, like it or not, so go cry else were. the only exclusive decent game i find it on the 360 is Forza 3, the others are no were near decent, or they are also on the PC.

see here:

http://images.pcworld.com/news/graphics/170411-ps3-slim-versus-xbox-360_original.png

http://www.pcworld.com/article/170411/ps3_slim_vs_xbox_360_price_fight.html

I think Sony has done well here. Microsoft have been revising the offering of their console regularly and Sony have needed to match it. Last I checked, the PS3 was the cheaper option when you paid for all the extras to bring the XBox360 up to the same spec as the PS3 (albeit without the Blu-Ray support), but few people add it up in full and it does mean that the XBox is the more flexible option so you can own the bits that you need for less.
I was dubious about Blu-Ray, but a mate bought a PS3 and we watched several films that all looked fantastic (I thoroughly recommend the opening shots to 'No Country for Old Men').
Hugo summed it up very well that this is good for consumers all around as it will force Microsoft to respond.
This should certainly extend the PS3's life against the XBox360.

Sony have to make the PS3 last 10 years (and possibly longer) becasue it has not been as successful as it should have been and they must recoup their costs; also, predicting the path to the PS4 is not simply a matter of increasing the performance. However, they will have to be very careful to keep their current offering relevant as a resurgent Nintendo will seek to capitalise on the Wii and no console has had its life extended by add-ons.
Also, the Nintendo uses 90nm chips, reducing those to 65 or 45nm processes will produce huge savings in both cost and power, further extending their advantage. Not even Microsoft have anything to counter the Wii just now. It is by far the most successful of the current crop and denegrating it on grounds of hardware is foolish: the fact remains that it has severely cut into the potential sales of the PS3 and the XBox360.

As for the Cell being more difficult to program for, that is a very significant thorn in the side of the console. Sony need to invest in ways to make it easier and research ways to make the power more readily available to programmers who's bosses and companies seem stuck in the past with linear processes on one core and reluctant to invest in tools realising the astounding power of the Cell Processor. However, it seems surprising since all three major consoles have processors based on the PowerPC architecture. It seems that hardware is well in advance of software just now, and that's just as bad as when software is ahead of hardware. Hopefully, by making the console last 10 years, programmers will have enough time to get used to the foibles. The only hardware limitation I see is the graphics chip, but that should be more than powerful enough for the post-processing effects necessary to make a frame suitable for display on an HD TV.

My prediction is that Nintendo will come out with a Wii with 45nm chips and an HDMI connector (but not necessarily supporting 720p or 1080p, but just to make connection to HDTV easier). WiiMotion Plus will get built in to the new controllers and they will - again - walk all over the competition.

*sigh* I knew this'd happen to this article the minute they posted it, so wasn't entirely sure it was a wise choice for TR to do so in the first place. Here goes:

Regarding multi-platform releases on 360/PS3: Apart from anyone throwing any amount of money around, many major game manufacturers said at the outset of this "next gen" that individual game costs would be double-figured 'millions'(i.e. 10 and up). I think it may have even been the head of Square-Enix who said so.
GTA IV also reportedly cost up to $100mil to make (source: GamesTM article).
So basically, it's just not financially viable to limit yourself to one "HD" console when you have all the material to port it to the other.


@J4ck1505: Sorry for not being clear. My point was the PS3 holiday sales will probably eclipse the 360 and possibly even the Wii, but in the new year they'll drop back to their current places. I realise there'll be more sales over Christmas, then a sharp decline. Wasn't trying to fudge the numbers in anyone's favour (after all, I'm not Sony :P).


@Ahlan: I won't dignify your post with a reply, but still just can't make out why you called Max Power a fanboy? I didn't see any comment warranting such an accusation and you've rather just proven yourself to be one.


Regarding Live accounts and points pricing: Do you buy games at RRP? I mean did anyone actually walk into a shop and pay £49.99 for Assassin's Creed? (And if you did, slap yourself.)
Most people won't pay £40 for Live membership.
Similarly, I paid £4.99 for 1000 Nintendo Points, rather than the average £10 it is out there.


@ripsnorter: You want Wii games where you can kill, chop, shoot and rampage? I'll spare the other readers a list, but let me know if you really do want to find some.


Lastly,
The PS3 is cheaper. That's a good thing. It's great value. I honestly don't think anyone would be "disappointed" if they bought ANY of the current consoles out there.

@drdark - if you could name some titles that would 'big up' the Wii that would be great. Maybe sneak a few into this PS3 thread that seems to have spiralled a bit out of control anyway?

Has anyone seen a review of this device yet?

Is it really that much cooler & Quieter

@ Ahlan... woahh that's a huge list of really good games. PS3 really is a no brainer 2009/10. The consoles finally got some great support behing it. Dare I say better than the xbox360. *awaits abuse*

Whilst I hated it to start with I actually quite like the look now. Understated and reminds me a lot of the old PS2. The size is not an issue though as it still has that curved top so nothing can sit on top of it so it could be as tall as you like.

@Ahlan, you have a problem; if you see someone mention the terms xbox and PS3 in the same sentence and they do not own or intend to buy a PS3 slim or otherwise there appears to be an alert in your brain screaming 'must try to defend PS3/ need to convince everyone that its better'. TBH I don't really care whats actually 'better' just happy to have a game with other people, hence why I'll happily play COD at a friend who has a PS3. After I adjust to the different (not worse) controller I having a great time. To round off not to bothered what you think hence why this is my last post on here; CBA coming back.

hey just one thing: when you talk about the ps3's miltimedia advantages and "its so much more than a console" wouldn't it be good to mention that the ps3 can run linux and therefor hast that capability to become a fully fledged multimedia machine?

@Ironduke:
I believe it now has a powerpack outside the actual console. That's what was causing a lot of heat the first time, so it should certainly be cooler. The new coating might not be shiny, but if it's anything like the DSi coating it'll be very fingerprint and scratch resistant. I'd say it'll grow on you, unless absolutely everything has to be shiny. The PS3 was always quieter than the 360 in any case, so not sure if the new design makes much difference.


@Ripsnorter:
At the top of the list I'd have to place a title which includes all criteria of killing, chopping, shooting and rampaging (ok, shooting in this case would mainly involve shoving someone's head down a barrel filled with fireworks...), the rest are in no particular order ;)

Madworld:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M6QeXjjioM

Resident Evil 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfTbDeKT-kc

Tenchu-Shadow Assassins:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-dnyqo06Ng

No More Heroes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqtHaeYmm-8&feature=related

Metroid Prime 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXCaKdN6jjc&feature=related
Have to note here that the Entire trilogy is being released in a special package next month:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb0Uh7u4zQw

The Godfather-Blackhand Edition:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD0QI48GFxQ

Scarface:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68F9TL6FXl4&feature=related

House of the DeaD-Overkill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziRD5dIezYM

Overlord:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM8CVOMU7nU

Deadly Creatures:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71zokHnocWY&feature=related

The Conduit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF7d0LXpQyo


Don't want to take up too much space but other titles that would satisfy adults (and I'm leaving many first-party Nintendo games out here) are: Call of Duty-World at War, Bully-Scholarship Edition, Resident Evil-Umbrella Chronicles, Ghost Squad, Rogue Trooper, Star Wars-The Force Unleashed, Legend of Zelda-Twilight Princess, Okami, Battalion Wars 2, Little King's Story, Zack & Wiki, Disaster-Day of Crisis.


[Upcoming titles sneak-peak]
Silent Hill-Shattered Memories:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42FF9ismMWY

Monster Hunter 3 (sorry, couldn't find a shorter trailer):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XvxNCyUGJk

Dead Space-Extraction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n05N_dHFPZc&feature=related

Red Steel 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC-Tb8U7Sw8

Tasunoko VS Capcom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQSS6x19bo4

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles-The Crystal Bearers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OG8mWS-MT0&feature=fvsr



P.S. iPlayer works on the Wii too. I use it quite often (only Youtube quality though).
P.P.S. I also didn't include any Virtual Console or WiiWare games in the lists. Some excellent ones one there.


Sorry for hijacking the thread! *runs*

@ Tarik Bos: secondary OS has been removed for the slim and I dont know anyone who has actually used the function but if I'm honnest I probably would have had a go with it if it had been left in the slim.

@drdark: there is no external power brick on the slim its exactly the same as the fat one in that respect

@Tarik Bos: sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you can't install Linux on the PS3 Slim. Not sure if they gave a reason for that, but several sources have definitely reported it.

@Jay: you're right, my bad. I was flicking through pics the other day on some website and saw a guy holding 2 power bricks, so assumed one was the PS3's. Wish I could remember the site... anyway, just seen unboxing vid, so yeah, it's integrated.

Can't resist piling into a PS3vXbox debate any longer...

Having read all 34 comments (phew!) I'm agreeing with Andrew Violet mostly. I do have a fanboy tendency whenever talking about either Apple vs Windows or Xbox vs PS3, but at the end of the day, all of them are state of the art technology, and I guess we all just get a bit defensive when something close to our hearts that we've invested hundreds of hours enjoying is bashed as being 2nd rate.

On the exclusives debate - some of the games that have been as deep and satisfying as a good Tolkien or Iain M. Banks series are - in my opinion - xbox exclusives. Halo, Ninja Gaiden and Forza. I've got dozens of other 'okay' games, and also some fantastic multiplatform games (GTA3&4) but those three series have been monumental, and I would have been denied that experience without owning a Xbox360.

So whichever the victor of the PS3vXbox debate I'm glad I made the choice I did!

The biggest problem I have with both the XBox360 & Playstation3 is that both claim to be a a central media hub, but in both cases there support for media is terrible.
eg. I bought an Acer Aspire Revo for £150 stuck XBMC on it and it play anything I can throw at it, just makes using the 360 as an extender look pants. It's a shame really, as I would far prefare a one box solution that played great games and was a great media player too.

@drdark - thank you so much for that. A Wii it is! The design and colour satisfies my girlfriend. I'll get her Wii Sports to keep her happy and little will she suspect *MWAH-HAH-HAH* Who knows, I might even be able to sneak a PS3 past her in the guise of it being a Blu-ray player. Pity it's not available in white, though. She loves white things!

@Ripsnorter:
This is quite old... but serves as eye candy anyway ;)
http://www.gearfuse.com/white-ps3-going-for-1500-on-ebay/

P.S. Wii Sports comes with the Wii for free (no need to tell the GF that though!)

Just reading through the comments. Where's the Picard facepalm pic when you need it...

Can't believe I got called a fanboy though, it's a bit unfair. I was talking about ebay style offers for XBL Gold, 13 months for like £25-30 is what I pay, anyone who has the auto resubscribe on clearly wants to be mugged!

@drdark, of your listed Wii games it would be hard to recommend anything other than Madworld, No More Heroes and Resi 4. Of the upcoming games, I agree with most of that list, but I think Dead Space is on rails which takes a lot of the fun out of Dead Space (which is really good on PS3 and 360), FFCC shouldn't really be called FF, it's frankly an insult to the great name. Little King Story is good, and I would also recommend Super Mario Galaxy and Mario Kart Wii. Both are really fun titles, and MK has an awesome split screen mode, though online is completely busted...

As far as PS3 vs 360. At £249 (or as I mentioned earlier £225) it makes an extremely strong case. No one can deny it's media prowess and the game library is extensive, but the 360 has some good exclusives coming up which any gamer would be a fool to miss out on. Mass Effect 2, Alan Wake and Splinter Cell look really good, I fully expect ME2 and SC to come out on PS3 though as they are from third parties. In the same way the article mentions PS3 losing PS exclusive franchises, the Xbox has lost Bioshock, Ninja Gaiden and others I can't think of right now.

Both make a good case to be bought on the gaming front because, well, the PS3 has got GT5 and GoW3 due before March 2010, add in Uncharted 2 and Heavy Rain and you really do have a case for the PS3 having the strongest line up of games of all three consoles. Where the PS3 shines is with Blu-ray. It's a massive feather in the cap. For the PS3 to be similarly priced finally as the 360 and have a next gen format for movies and games (thought the actual benefits of the latter are questionable because of the low bandwidth). It's the movies that matter, Blu-rays are getting cheaper, and I expect a massive push by the studios to force some sort of acceptance in PAL, as it's going really well in the States and Japan already and they can't have the PAL market fall too far behind.

Finally, on the internet side of things, PSN remains free for it's core functions i.e. gaming. Universal cross game chat and invites should be out by the end of the year, it becomes a mandatory TRC in December and the universal text chat service laid the backbone for it. There are still extra touches on XBL that PSN needs to catch up with, but having an internet browser is nice, it's err, well functional would be a good description, but you can get YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and Gmail/Hotmail/Yahoo on it. The option is there for those who want it and you aren't forced to use it. The best thing about PSN, IMO of course, other than it being free is full sized games and midi games like WarHawk, Burnout Paradise or SOCOM: Confrontation. No other console offers this type of service, XBLA offer small games, the biggest being Portal, and VC/WiiWare is pretty limited. I suppose Games on Demand is coming to XBL, but the pricing is very poor from what I have read, hopefully MS sort it out.

Anyway, I still resent being called a fanboy, I hope this post doesn't confirm that prognosis, I would like to think I am quite level headed...

Why do people keep going on about the 360 being more expensive once you spec it the same level as the PS3? I got my Pro for £180 with Fallout 3, Gears 2 and Pro Evo 08 when they were all newish games. The PS3 could never match that value even now.

I didn't need to spend extra on WiFi as ethernet works just fine and I don't need Blu-ray to play games. Live does cost about £30 odd but for me it's worth every penny. The PS3 may be great value for the spec but if you don't need all the features it doesn't matter. If the price had been right I might have gone for one instead at the time. The problem now is that the 360 does me fine and I don't have a need for a PS3 now so will happily wait until the price drops even lower.

I'm sure the PS3 is just as good as the 360, but Blu-ray aside there's not enough to differentiate it for me and justify the price.