I've been posting a lot about video games recently, more specifically the Perfect Dark series, as well as a few consoles, namely the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Now, while I came to a conclusion awhile back about which console is better (with the result being a solid tie between the two), I still cannot seem to muster which console I should purchase for myself. This may make one ask however, "What? You don't already have one of these consoles?", and moreover, "How were you able to fairly judge both consoles, and comment on theirs games, if you do not own them?". Allow me to explain a little back story on these points...
I received my first Xbox 360 back in around 2006 when it first came out. I remember it very clearly: I had wanted a Wii for christmas, but my parents and my brother had no luck finding one, as they were red hot that season, and I was at a loss. Instead, they managed to buy an Xbox 360 Pro with Gears of War, as well as dead rising- about the two best games out at that time.
I owned this Xbox for a long time, but eventually, I got tired of it. Frankly, I did almost no exploration in terms of what the console had to offer with games and whatnot, and all I did was play Gears of War- this was a recipe for getting tired the console very fast. Because I was tired with the console however, around 2008 I traded it in and bought my first Playstation 3.
This Playstation 3 was the Uncharted bundle, a game I was incredibly eager to try. Upen playing and ultimately finishing the game, I was left extremely satisfied, not only with the game itself, but with my purchase of the console. Uncharted was an incredibly good game, and it really motivated me to go out and try other games that the Playstation 3 had to offer. Among these games were Warhawk and Killzone 2. While I had enjoyed Killzone 2 somewhat, Warhawk was the game that ultimately sealed my appreciation of the Playstation 3, and to this day remains one of my favorite games of all time. I had never seen a game with such giant scope, with such a sense of epic grandeur, where I really felt like I was on a gigantic battlefield- all against 31 other combatants, no less.
Not long after I had purchased this PS3 however, about a year or so later, the Playstation 3 slim came out. I was eager to have a lighter, smaller, faster, more dust-resistance machine, so I traded in my current PS3 and bought the new slim model. Frankly, upon purchasing it, I was not happy with the result. The slim model felt cheaper to me, and the lack of touch-sensitive buttons like the original fat PS3 was a real downer. Regardless, I was still somewhat happy with my PS3 experience overall.
However, all this occured during a time where, unfortunately, the Playstation 3 was having a drought of games, and was only beginning to establish good franchises. The one game that kept me in the Playstation 3 market was Uncharted 2. I played that game's beta so much that it was ridiculous, and I ended up purchasing it on day one- only to find myself utterly tired of it about a week later. Not because the game was bad, however, but because I had played it so much.
I was then left a sincere problem- the only games I really had at my disposal on the PS3 were Warhawk, the Uncharted series, Killzone 2, and a few hidden gems like Untold Legends. This was a pretty sore lineup of games in my opinion, and though I deeply loved titles like Uncharted and Warhawk, there simply came a point where my interested in them waned- I needed new games.
This was all compounded on by the fact that certain features which I had come to know and love on the 360 earlier, like integrated/cross-game voice chat, and the ability to play music over video games, was all sorely missed on the PS3. After about a year or so of having the PS3, I just couldn't deal with the lack of games and features anymore- I had had enough.
So, as it so happened, I traded in my Playstation 3 slim, and as luck would have it, was able to sell it for almost as much as the price of the 360 Bundle I bought, which was, at the time, a very good deal: 2 controllers, a 60gb hard drive, headset, and console for only $179.99. Very good indeed. I purchased along with this a few of my favorite games, namely: Gears of War and Dead Rising, of which I was so fond. I also sprung for Gears of War 2, Call of Duty 4, Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts, Perfect Dark Zero, Halo 3 and Left 4 Dead. When I took this console and its games home, and finally got to try new titles like PDZ and L4D- I was pleasantly surprised. I had finally rid myself of the lack of video games which I was experiencing for about a year.
Of course, as misfortune would have, not long after I spent almost $200 on this bundle and its games, the new Xbox 360 with built-in wifi, 250 gb hard drive, and better build quality was released. I was somewhat disappointed. However, I also realized that I got a pretty good deal overall, and I should remain happy with it.
And so I did, for a good long time. I played my 360, I purchased games like Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2, I watched movies, listened to music, and even hooked up my Zune- yes, Zune- to stream media directly to the console. I was very happy with my console overall. However, there was one thing which bothered me about the 360 I owned: the lack of wifi.
Unfortunately, the Xbox 360 wifi adapters were, and still are, upwards of $50. At the time, I was using a computer with a terrible wifi adapter, and needed the ethernet port. As one could understand, I had to constantly switch between my computer and the Xbox 360 with a very long ethernet cable whenever I needed to use the respective devices. This made life a big hassel in many ways, and it got me thinking about buying the wifi adapter.
However, I also considered the fact that, at $50 plus tax, I could spend $50 more and get the newest Xbox with a whole bevy of new features- this seemed like the best move. So, once again, I took my Xbox 360 to Gamestop, traded it in, and was dead set on purchasing a brand new Xbox 360 Slim.
However, though I had upwards of $100 dollars in credit towards the new console from trading in my old one, I was not able to buy it at the time, as I had no money (other than money in my savings, which I refuse to touch on principal) due to having just purchased my first car as well as some upgrades for it, so I would have to wait till I got some more cash. This game me a lot of time to think.
So here I am, months later, and while I have had the pleasure of playing new Xbox 360 games at my friend's houses and whatnot, I am still without a console of my own. However, it is not because I have no money- I am doing well very in that department as of right now- but because I hate wasting money, and I do not want to go through the trials and tribulations of console purchasing again. When I think of the money I've wasted from being so fickle about my previous console purchases, it's enough to make me sick. Even if it was just a few hundred dollars, which doesn't seem like much- that's a few hundred dollars to help me pay the rent in the future, or tune up my car, or buy the groceries. I do not want to make that mistake again.
That is why I am taking my time in deciding which console will best suit me. However, one might ask- well, if I like the Xbox 360 so much, and I originally planned on buying the slim model, what changed? Why am I reconsidering? Well, truth be told, I am reconsidering because the fact of the matter is, since I owned one, the Playstation 3 has become a much more respectable piece of hardware. It's true, its online/chat functions are very limited compared to Xbox Live, and music while gaming is still an issue, but the sheer number of quality titles available on the system, as well as the overall hardware and media capabilities, have all managed to improve exceedingly well. This is what gives me pause for thought.
I am, as I have mentioned, a frugal person. At least, now I am. No longer am I a 16 year old kid who spends his allowance on cheap games and candy- I'm a man, with responsibilties, a car, and obligations. I shouldn't have to go through life without spending some money on myself, and buying things that I enjoy, but I don't want to spend too much, and I definitely don't want to waste it. The fact of the matter is, whichever of the two consoles I decide to buy, I'm sticking with them, for better or for worse, simply because I no longer have the time or the money to switch back and forth between the two, and lose money each time I do.
This all leads up the main question: which should I buy? That is something I am not sure of. Just as demonstrated in my post before last regarding the console wars, there seems to be an even number of positive and negative qualities within the scope of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The Xbox has a number of great features, a fantastic online mode, and some good games to boot. Likewise, the Playstation 3 has awesome media capabilities, free online, better hardware, and is receiving much more developer attention than it use to. The question lies within which of these feature sets I will utilize the most, and which games I will play the most. This is why this decision is very hard for me- both consoles offer incredible value, with incredible games, and incredible features- and I don't necessarily even like one console's set of games more than another.
Unfortunately, at the given time, coming to a conclusion does not seem possible. However, with that being said, I hope to come to one soon.
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