Xbox 360 vs Playstation 3, Finally Decided.

Xbox 360 Premium vs PS3

I’ve spent quite a bit of time trying to decide between these two consoles and I think I’ve finally come to a conclusion having done quite a bit of research and spent some time playing both.

Price

PS3 is £50 more expensive but has Blu-Ray built in and Live service is a further cost for the Xbox 360.

HD Playback

PS3 is better, ships with Blu-Ray which looks like the format war winner. Blu-Ray stand alone players are still stupidly expensive (£300+!) which makes the PS3 a bargain.
Xbox 360 requires additional drive for HD-DVD another £100! (Blu-Ray not available but probably MORE expensive).

HD TV

Both Support 1080P but PS3 has slight edge with HDMI 1.3

Connectivity

Both offer Optical outputs to 5.1 HTS systems and Wired/Wireless access to the internet so tied.

Reliability

Xbox 360 has been a disaster zone; estimates running at 1 in 3 suffer from Red-Ring-of-Death occurrence. Disks can be scratched by the console and you can’t get your money back or disks replaced. As well as Red-Ring-of-Death other hardware problems with the console reported. Playstation 3 has very few widely reported hardware problems beyond what would be expected (1% or less). Microsoft has extended the warranty for the RRoD issue ONLY but it is worrying. Overall PS3 wins by landslide on this issue.

The Games

No two ways about it, right now Xbox 360 has more, significantly better games available right now. Will 2008 be the break through year for the Playstation 3 when we finally start to see some “System Sellers”? I don’t know. Maybe, if MGS4 really is that good there are some better games coming out but still not enough.

Online

Right now Xbox 360 has the edge, Live service is better although it costs.

Noise

It’s a small thing but the Xbox 360 IS annoyingly noisy, so much so that that I wouldn’t really want to use it as a playback device because whenever the movie was quiet I’d be aware of the whirring of the 360. As a result the 360 is very poor as a playback device. Another clear win for the PS3.

Graphics

Generally most games seem to look better on the 360.

Technology

Listening to a number of informed technical pundits and programmers the Xbox 360 seems to have the edge here too. Most technocrats seem to agree that the 360 has overall the better hardware setup, although it will always be debateable. Most programmers (that have expressed an opinion) seem to agree that the 360 is easier to program for and the technology is much easier to exploit and leverage. The 360 gives the developers what they want, in the format they want it while the PS3 is difficult to harness to it’s full potential. This should mean over the console’s lifetime that we get better games and better looking games from the 360.

Conclusion

So after all of that were am I? Well it might surprise you but I’m coming down on the side of the Xbox 360. I think to play games (it’s primary purpose) the 360 is the console to have right now and it has the best titles available.

It also comes down to this, basically I have quite a lot of faith in Microsoft, I think the Xbox 360 is really important to them as is the console market and they will adapt as necessary to serve their customers. They have pledged 1 billion dollars towards the cost of fixing Xbox 360’s and they claim (and it seems to hold up) that Xbox 360’s manufactured recently don’t suffer from the same problems thanks to moving to a 65nm process and they have changed the DVD player to a different manufacturer. I think Microsoft WILL see their customers through the Xbox 360’s problems come hell or high water because they want to keep their customers and this resolves my concerns about reliability.

I think even if Sony do finally raise their game in 2008 (and they have to) and get some really good games out there I think Microsoft will push even harder to compete and have just as many good games and so far the Xbox 360 defiantly has many more superior titles.

Finally while the PS3 is a much better deal on paper for HD playback I think the format war isn’t quite over yet and so waiting a little longer may not be a bad thing and if it turns out that Blu Ray really has won (and we’ve heard that a few times before) then Microsoft will very likely pop out a Blu Ray player for the 360 or more likely I’ll buy a separate player once the prices drop to ~£100.
So that’s all, it’s an Xbox 360 for me.

Darkheart

I bought an XBOX 360 about 7 weeks ago, having already owned a PS3. After not touching the PS3 for 5 weeks, I sold it (for £80 more than I paid for it, which was nice!) 2 weeks ago.

No regrets for me, I love the 360. But each to their own, you'll never convince some people that one machine is better than the other. Who cares anyway? If you have a console and enjoy playing it, no-one else's opinion matters.

on the Xbox this costs more.

For me, I dont need a large article like the one above. experience has shown me I find myself usnig the x360 more, and the Wii even more than that. i sold my Ps3 and won't be getting it back until there are games worth playing on it that aren't available on the 360.

Strangely..... the thing I miss about the ps3 is the DVD playback hah! generally it was better at dvd/bluray than the x360, though, i sold all my bluray because my telly upscales well enough that bluray isn't really much better looking than DVD to me right now.

[edit]
I sold it (for £80 more than I paid for it, which was nice!)
[/edit]

Me too, though I got a wii and 6 games with the proceeds. :-)

I didn't consider the Wii because having played on a friends one I think the controller thing IS just a gimmick. I was bored with it in under an hour. The only game I can see myself playing a lot is Mario Galaxy and I'm not desperate to play that. Side by side the Wii looks awful compared to the Xbox 360 it's GFX have barely moved on from the GC.

Darkheart

If you are a GFX slut then yes, the Wii is no choice.

But long term seen, the Wii will remain the only console with inovative game ideas. Not due to the controller but because creating an acceptable X360 / PS3 costs 5 Millions - 50 Millions USD, while a Wii game can be done in a 10th and less of even the minimum and look good. So "experimental" stuff is much more likely to come on it.

I actually own X360 and Wii as well, playing both about the same.
When it comes to play stuff with friends, the X360 is just crap, there is no party / fun like game the others just can grab the controller and play so they don't play anything with me there as I am the type of gamer (after 19 years now with each nintendo console available to europe and PS1 + PS2) that will beat them for quite some time until they have trained ... so thats a no go which is quite frustrating. XBox Live Arcade titles are the only exception here ...

Even though you've got an X360 now, this is probably worth mentioning here...

Don't know if its correct but I heard a whisper that the PS3 no longer plays PS2 games.

They first ones did but it was apparently a bit hit-and-miss. They released a cheaper version a few months before Christmas 2007, and apparently now that version is all that's available.

So if you're planning on getting a PS3 expecting to be able to play your vast pile of PS2 games on it, you probably won't be able to.

The time of the PS3 will come. And at the moment there is no decision between 360 and Wii, its only a question what kind of games you want to play.

bye

GFK you are correct, the new 40GB version of the PS3 no longer plays PS2 games at all. Only the old 60GB (no longer sold) PS3's still have some (emulated) PS2-1 compatibility, although it didn't work that well (lucky US and Japanese got hardware support but not europeans).

The Xbox 360 seems to have some issues playing Xbox games as well.

However I don't own any PS2 games or Xbox games this was not an issue for me (my last console was a GC).

Darkheart

I own both a PS3 and an Xbox 360. If I could only choose one of these then I'd pick the PS3. Why? The vast majority of Japanese RPGs will only be available for the PS3.

As far as technical stuff goes. The PS3 overall has more grunt than the Xbox 360, but their graphics hardware is roughly equal. It's silly to compare the "power" of the consoles at this point though, because xbox 360 development is already at an advanced and mature stage whilst PS3 development is still in its infancy. It will be a long time until we see developers getting the most out of the PS3.

One definite advantage that the PS3 has over the XBOX 360 is storage space. All PS3s come equiped with a HDD as standard, and as a result, developers are allowed to install to them (and make use of them in ways that XBOX 360 developers are not). HDD issues aside, blu-ray obviously offers significantly more storage space than DVD. As yet, I can't think of any games that are taking advantage of these two points, but I am certain that developers will do so in the future.

Here's another advantage: PS3 games are region free. If a game is released in another region earlier than yours then just buy the foreign version - it'll work without the need for dodgy warranty breaking hacks or modifications.

Having said all this, both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 are cracking consoles.

The xbox 360 has a far better controller, by the way.

I would buy also a PS3 if I was about to buy a game console. Blue-Ray is one reason, and the possibility to install Linux is another big reason. Although you can install Linux on a XBOX360 too, it seems Microsoft doesn't like it and has already released a Firmware nerf which makes it impossible.

id still go for 360
xna not that i can code for toffee its just nice to know you *could*
limited? clasic compatibility (mind you my list of games is sub 50) wasnt that cos of a change in cpu/gpu manufacures?

bluray/hddvd im on the fence and quite happy with 5 for £30 dvds thank you

i dont do killer app games and as ive posted before (more than once) this box is a chocolate teapot when it comes to games (old games scream about NT issues to boot)

The ability to install Linux on a console is of no interest to me, I have Linux on my Vmware and I'm quite happy with it there. I don't see any benefit in having Linux installed on an Xbox 360.

I also already have:

UT3, The Orange Box and Oblivion on the PC, which leaves me pretty short for really good games on the PS3.

Darkheart

Doesn't the PS3 have horrible frame rate issues (when compared with 360)?

I would just go with whatever has the games you like, or just about to come out. That's all that really matters.

I really can't be bothered with HD, format wars, realistic gfx, etc. So, it'll be no surprise that I have a Wii. I can always opt into one of the other two later on when I can think of a good reason. :)

Oh hell - i will NEVER buy XBOX360 (and all newer XBOXes in the future) - this product is unfinished - see Ring-Of-Death.
All things that come from MS are unfinished...

30% of XBOX360 was broken. This is unbelivable!

Yes and no. "Yes" when developers fail to take advantage of the PS3s "quirky" CELL processor (which, granted, happens pretty often because it's notoriously difficult to develop for.) "No" when they get to grips with it.

Generally speaking, PS3 versions of multiplatform games tend to suffer from frame rate issues due to not enough time being spent optimizing them for the PS3s peculiar architecture. This is one of the reasons why I own both a PS3 and an Xbox 360. I usually buy the XBOX 360 versions of multi-platform games that I'm interested in (like Assassin's Creed).

You still have the XNA creators club if you want to hit the indie scene for some interesting indie titles to play.

Credo: At least MS gives the correct specifications out and handles such issues correctly as a business with putting all those XBoxes to 3 year waranty.

Which sony does not do.
I'm one of those having owned a second generation PS1. They had massive problems with their laser diode focus material -> after 4 hours it crashed and didn't work any further till it had cooled down.
Sonys reaction to it: "You know there is this problem so take measures yourself"

Credo, also RRoD seems to be fixed in new models, see my OP.

Also see below, if that's not taking it on the chin, what is?

http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/support/systemuse/xbox360/resources/warrantyfaq.htm

How often do you see a company owning up and dealing with a problem as comprehensively as that?

Darkheart

I've heard this is partially an issue with the HDMI DRM scheme not being able to keep up. Whether it's true or not I don't know.

Sure. But in Microsofts defense they really did make a genuine effort to rectify the situation.

..as i said before, once we used to talk about this issue, im PS3 funboy...its simply not used properly at the moment in full capacity..time comming..

> Sure. But in Microsofts defense they really did make a genuine effort to rectify the situation.

Yup. Mine went south, MS sent me a box to ship it to them and paid the postage both ways. It took roughly three weeks total from the day I called them to have the replacement unit arrive.

*cough* halo 3 *cough*
Played it for hours with a bunch of my friends.

I have a Wii, Ps3, Xbox360, Gamecube, and a Ps2.
Personally, I like the Ps2 the best, but out of the new gen, the 360, cause the Wii has crappy graphics and controls and my Ps3 always overheats for some reason.

This has been my experience:

If you want a decent BluRay player for a reasonable price then the PS3 is worth it.
If you want a decent HD game console for a reasonable price then the Xbox 360 is worth it.
If you want a novelty game system that children as well as some adults enjoy then the Wii is worth it.

Other notes:
Yes, the Xbox360 has noise issues. Overcome by turning up the volume on your 5.1 surround sound system.
Persistent Xbox360 ‘Achievements’ are surprisingly compelling.
Xbox360’s lack of built-in wireless networking is a pain. You need a pricey adaptor to enable it.

Yeah, Halo 3 is awesome. I love playing it on LIVE. :P

An already stated probably a thousand times reason why people are not buying PS3's is because they are still making PS2's and PS2 games.

Sure if you can understand Japanese.

Only the ps1 was groundbreaking in terms of being a true successor console to the megadrive and snes. The N64 was "ok" but nothing like the ps1. Wipeout, tekken, etc at the time nothing came close. Amazing stuff, great controller.

Nowadays, sony is a dinosaur making huge heavy foreman grill toaster machines that are vastly overpriced and mean nothing to us.

No-one cares what hardware is inside. If it looks like the dogs balls then it is the dogs balls.

XBOX 360 stuff doesn't look as good as my cutting edge pc (runs crysis on very high at around 20-30fps) but comes damn close.

Plus stuff plays good. The games are FUN... wii is too primitive graphically to engage me.

XBOX 360 has won but I will only play my mates, its too old now for me to want to buy one. Next console I'll get? probably a microsoft one.

Er no, the vast majority are translated into English. They're not always released in Europe, but since the PS3 is region free, that won't be an issue either.

I don't really get whats so good about Japanese RPG's. All the PS2 and DC ones I playes were terrible. ANd RPG is my favourite genre.

Probably because of the way JRPGs are fairly straight-forward, linear, and simple, where-as western RPGs are usually massive, complex (in comparison), and buggy?

I like both sides of the formula, more-so on the western front if one that perks my interest comes out.

Anyways, 360, PS3......if both of them didn't require an expensive HDTV to enjoy fully I'd have purchased one of the two, but since I don't, I went with the Wii.
(it's annoying to play good games by developers that don't realize the damn text is barely legible on an SDTV)

Yeah too bad you have to play it on LIVE tho'.

"Yeah too bad you have to play it on LIVE tho"

@FlameDuck....lol

hehe, live doesn't cost much when you consider how much people spend on mobile phone and TV subs.

If you're interested in console programming you should go with the Xbox360 due to XNA Game Studio Express 2. If you're just after gaming i would go with the PS3.

Evak wrote:


Have you tried Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne? It's the best RPG ever made (for any format), period.

Darkheart, I think your made the right choice. I probably have to say that, because I bought an Xbox 360 in December. ;-)


Since these beasts are not really expensive, choosing a console is not an either/or decision. I might also by a PS3 when there's more than one title available for her that interests me (and at the moment, there is literally only ONE PS3-exclusive title out there that I would buy).

I don't care for either HD-DVD or BluRay. DRM and Copy protection until Judgment Day come? No, thanks.

I don't even use HDMI on my Xbox, although I have an HDMI compatible 24" display connected to her. That fucking technology does not allow to split audio and video signals, and I needed to connect my Xbox to a 2.1 Logitech subwoofer /stereo system. So I bought the HD AV cable from Microsoft and now video comes through a VGA plug and audio goes straight to the Logitech sound system. There is --NO-- loss in picture quality and I finally have split sound. With bloody HDMI, I would have had to buy one of those extremely expensive split boxes from China (remember: per definition, HDMI and other HD devices MUST SUPPORT COPY PROTECTION, so there is no 'legal' option to do what I wanted to do).

Lowcs, yes, the Xbox 360 might not look as good as your high end PC, but she comes at what? 10% of the price of that PC? And the next Crysis-like games won't even run at full settings on your PC anymore. That's why buying high-end PCs for gaming has always been insanity (I've done it for 15 years myself).

But since Crysis is not available for consoles, the comparison is not fair anyway. Let's rather compare Bioshock, Unreal 3, Assassin's Creed or something like that. I doubt that the PC versions look that much better, and I really doubt that the difference is worth a premium of more than 2000 Euros. You're better off spending that price difference on 25 games for the console of your choice, if gaming is the thing you were willing to buy that PC for.

FlameDuck, Live Silver costs $0.00 per month. But I don't know if Live Gold is required for Halo 3 online games, and honestly, I don't care. I don't play online.

What would interest me, though, is if anybody got the Team Fortress 2/PC and Team Fortress 2/Xbox 360 to play against each other on a LAN?

This is one of the reasons I'm buying a 360, I think that the current round of consoles are equalling (or in some cases bettering) the performance and quality available on the PC.

Console gaming is massively cheaper than PC gaming, if there is no performance advantage to PC gaming what's the point? If you realy want a mouse and keyboard you can use one with your console. If I just want to do non-gaming stuff with my PC I can have a MUCH cheaper PC as (as the only things that require high spec hardware are games).

Winni you can seperate your outputs if you want to:

I have a nice 5.1 Home Theatre System that I will want to use with my Xbox 360, all I need to do is connect the optical output on the 360's HDMI cable to the 5.1 system and thats it. Or you could do it the other way and use your TV's Digital Audio Output to feedback to your speaker system.

The cable is here:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x/xbox360hdmiavcable/

I'm buying the Elite console for the sole reason that it comes with this cable as standard and the elite is only £20 more than the premium.

Darkheart

People are too hung up on performance. It's the quality of the experience that matters most rather than grunt force of the hardware. In this respect, console gaming is infinitely preferable to PC gaming.

A price drop for the PS3 will be announced soon, as well as the phasing out of the 80GB model.
The 40GB model should be priced at 299 USD next week or so.
A few interesting titles for the PS3 (exclusive) this year:
Gran Turismo, White Knight Chronicles, Little Big Planet, and obviously Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot.

I tend to only look at what's availble right now not what might happen or might be good. Particulalry when you consider I already have: UT3, Gears of War, The Orange Box and Oblivion on PC already what good games are there for the PS3 that arn't available for the Xbox 360?

Darkheart

Before I sold my PS3 I went to Play (www.play.com) and looked at every upcoming release they had for both the PS3 and 360.

Both systems seemed to have a few exclusives, but nothing for the PS3 that persuaded me to keep it. You might find a title or two that you "must have", but for me just keeping the 360 was an easy decision.

consoles always have an advantage over PC when they are first released, just look at the original Xbox. It ran better than a 2Ghz PC right up until the 6xxx series of vid cards came out.

The realy problem with gaming today isn't the price of the system, its the crap games. The PC can be used for more things than gaming which probably only takes 10% of the time. For me 3D apps, photoshop, painter X take up about 80% and web browsing an email some of the rest which makes the extra cost a far better investment.

I would probably only actually buy about 3 console games a year and spend between 10 and 40 hours on each one. With my xbox I mostly used it as a media player but did buy about 10 games over a 6 year period.

Either games are getting worse or I'm just getting older and not really interested in games anymore, doesn't matter whether they are old or new games, they just don't hold my interest for more than 20 minutes these days.

Also, about the price of the XBOX 360:
Base model is 350$. With that, you have no 1080p and no wi-fi, no hard drive and no wireless controller (just a wired one).
If you want 1080p, the hard drive and the wireless controller, you have to buy the Elite, which is 450$, but you still got no wi-fi.
In order to get the wi-fi, you have to buy the wi-fi adapter, which is 100$.
So, don't come in telling me it is cheaper and has the same features. If you want the same features, an XBOX 360 is more costly than a PS3.
As for the current exclusive titles on the PS3:
-Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is an awesome 3D Adventure/Exploration game.
-PAIN is a real fun physic toy fo 10 bucks. And the game itself isn't that bad!
As for others, I'm not really aware as I don't own a PS3, but:
http://www.ps3forums.com/showthread.php?t=20553
has a more extensive list of PS3 exclusive titles.

> So, don't come in telling me it is cheaper and has the same features.

There is only one feature I care about in a game machine, that it plays games...

If that was true then you'd be happy with a NES.

The 20GB, now phased out, has the hardware Emotion Engine and can play the PS2 games without a hitch.
The 60GB (the first US one), also phased out, also has the hardware Emotion Engine.
The 60GB (PAL one), also phased out, has software emulation with problems with a minority of games.
The 80GB, soon to be phased out, also has software emulation.
The 40GB has no hardware and no software emulation to run PS2 games.
read more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3

Mine is a white Hong Kong PS3, which is also not backwardly compatible with the PS2.

> If that was true then you'd be happy with a NES.


I never liked the games on the NES. But of course that is a red herring argument. The important point being that I don't buy a game machine to watch movies, do the laundry, or cook the meals, I buy it to play games. The machine that plays the games I like is the one I'm going to buy, (mostly) regardless of price or other features.

What the heck, either the Sony fan boys/girls lurk here or they scour the web looking for PS3 vs Xbox360 debates to descend into.

I have a 360. Had it for over a year now. No problems whatsoever. Have loved almost every game I have played on it. Would by it for Mass Effect alone. It was amazing. Playing it again as a "not so nice guy" this time and it's still great.

Xbox live is really good. Nice interface.

Buy what you want. Enjoy it. If you don't return it and try something else. But please don't bash other systems. If you are truly happy with your purchase, trashing the other guy is pointless. I am happy with my purchase, I listed some reasons why I am happy. If others are happy with their PS3 purchase, cool. Glad you like it. One day I amy buy one and be happy with it, too.

Allan

Well, correct me if im wrong, but im positive that only the first generation consoles scratched disks. Barely any of those. I have a first gen console, and absolutely none of my disks are scratched. I can still play my first game, King Kong, just fine.

And as for your red ring issue, that is a pain. Mine red ringed. But now they have 360's that come with smaller hardware, making it overheat less, and pretty much minimise the red ringing. They are called, players pack, or go, or something.

As for your waiting idea, that is a good idea, i for one chose the 360, and am happy. A kid in my programming class bought a PS3, played it a few times, got really bored, sold it, and bought a 360. He says hes never been happier.


I've never had a single problem playing games. The only thing is the fact that there isnt alot of games.


No mechassault? WHY?!?!

I don't understand. What's the big deal?

Especially who says that you have to play it there? The single player mode and a few other things work offline ...
I'm normally not online with my x360 as I need to start my notebook to give it access as there is no WPA2 WiFi device and nothing beside XP SP2 + intel / linksys drivers is capable to connect at least from my experience with different linux distris, Wii and XP SP2 + WPA2 fix without intel drivers

I've never once played online on my Xbox360 (or my PS3 either for that matter). Single player is the bee's knees.

too true

if a game cant stand on its own two feet without resorting to online multiplayer then it should be cheaper to off set any and all online costs

split screen 2 player fps
hmm i know where you are just wait there a minute ...

I'm probably going to get a 360 eventually. Almost did at launch but held off, and so far almost all the games I like are coming to the PC appart from halo which I don't like, mass effect and a couple of racers.

yeah, I'll probably opt for a 360, on the strengths of my 2nd HAND LAST GEN XBOX, compared to my last gen PS2 - XBOX won. I'm still looking forward to PGR4, slightly off topic - but I'll have a Wii first... all in good time. My children were playing Wii sports at their grandparents house yesterday, and its fun. There you go.

I owned a Wii. For one week. Then I sold it. A load of rubbish.

I'll be getting a PS3. I'm looking forward to Gran Turismo, Metal Gear, Rachet & Clank and Drake fortune.

The xbox 360 might have lots of games, but you'd need to have a good bit of money to afford them all :o) That's why i'm choosing the ps3. I like those games better.

I hope GT at least matches up to Forza in the AI department, the series has been a bit weak of late, and Metal Gear for PS3 is looking more and more like splinter cell every day, graphics, gameplay and camera control look very similar indeed. Only difference I could see in the lengthy gameplay movie was the silly holographic camo trick that lets you turn into a cardboard box etc with the click of a button. Otherwise it just looked like the splinter cell game with a kind of elderly biker in Sam Fishers stead.

Can't comment on the other two since they aren't games I've any interest in.

My Xbox 360 Elite turned up yesterday and happily it's a Falcon so one of my gripes about the 360 (the noise) is now pretty much sorted and (hopefully) no RRoD for me.

I went for the Elite bundle with Forza 2, Viva Pinata and that football game + an extra controller for £319 seemed like a good deal to me.

Playing Assian's Creed ATM and it looks awesome in HD.

Darkheart

Lol, good description. They are going to be forced to release the game on the 360 anyway, so Tracy and I have absolutely no need to repurchase a ps3 at any time ever. I actually play the 360. I was constantly dissapointed with the PS3

Dearkheart- yes. AC is awesome in HD. I have to say, they are removing bugs, but I actually LIKE some of the bugs they have "fixed". Multi-Aitair for example. Awesome glitch!

Argh! My 360 just died after 2 years and 30 games. I had thought myself immune to the RROD but it just... happened... for no apparent reason.

Oh well, now I have a reason to focus on my PS3...

Impixi, Microsoft will repair your box for free; all warrantys regarding RRoD has been extended for 3 years:

http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/support/systemuse/xbox360/resources/warrantyfaq.htm

Darkheart

I picked up my 360 premium from Play.com for £199 (no bundle). They didn't do that deal for very long though, but I bet they will again at some point.

I wasn't going to buy a 360 again (I had one just voer a year ago) until I could run emulators, but at £199 I couldn't resist!

I've since spent around £140 on MS points to buy Live Arcade games and content packs for Pinball FX and Forza 2.

PGR4 is awful. PGR3 is far superior in terms of gameplay, although it's a little bit too easy because I managed to get platinum medals for every race within about 2 weeks.

Forza 2 is a lot of fun, as is Sega Rally :)

> Impixi, Microsoft will repair your box for free; all warrantys regarding RRoD has been extended for 3 years:


Yup - just give them a call, they didn't even ask for any kind of receipt when I got mine fixed. Probably since the machine has not yet been out three years anyway.

Meh, I can't be arsed dealing with MS support 'services'. It's easier for me to just buy a new 360 console. Not that I will yet. I've just started playing Burnout Paradise on PS3. Also got Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Folklore, Virtua Fighter 5 and Resistance: Fall of Man to start playing yet... Oh, and Universe At War on the PC...

its not that bad really, i just had mine fixed and it came back sooner then i expected. btw i vote for 360.

Impixi,
Well it's your choice of course but it's only one phone call and they will do the rest, an easy way to save yourself £200-300.

Darkheart

There is nothing to it, make the call, they send you a box to ship the xbox to them, postage paid, you ship it, then they ship it back and you plug it in. (more then likely they just ship you a new one)

They didn't even ask me anything about when/where/recipt when I sent mine in.

I have occasionally purchased a console and tried them out... and the first one since the atari 2600 that I've bought and kept... and play a LOT... xbox 360. I had a ps3 for a month or two and it rarely got used. I took it back and never looked back. Just didn't care for it at all. The 360 gets used 3 or 4 nights a week.