Sony = Junk

[noobish hat]

Yeah man, can't disagree with that - the PS3 is a royal pain in this regard. Absolutely no denying XBL is better, it should be free though - especially as a ton of game content is locked out if your not a gold member (CoD without Multiplayer...?) That said, patching isn't really that big of deal is it? Games are much more complicated to make these days so at least they can fix the bugs...

Fighting games without patches would just be constant broken rage fests otherwise!

None of the games I've played on the Wii had any bugs. I guess the lesson is that if you CAN'T patch it later, you actually have to playtest the frigging thing before you sell it to people. Having said that, if Skyward Sword had been released on the 360 or PS3, maybe they would have eventually patched the broken-ass controls, so I guess I've lost this argument.

[Brad]

The non-symmetrical sticks in 360 pads are indeed crap, and also too stiff. My opinion of course.
I also liked being able to plug in a PC logitech racing wheel, use a PS2 Socom headset and a PS2 Namco arcade stick in my PS3. For a while I even used PS2 component leads. I put my old 120gig macbook drive in my original 60gig unit and have a 750gig drive in there now. Both super-cheap. I got a 360 this week and I must say I quite like it but I was instantly pissed off when i saw the AA batteries for the controller and was reminded of the ?15 play n charge kit. Seriously; ffs.

I think Microsoft's strategy probably worked out better for them financially. Sony's investment in Cell? That must've hurt them but then MS's RROD fiasco and the wasted investment in HD-DVD (bet they can't believe Sony actually managed to win a standards war!) must have cost too. Charging for Live Gold was MS's master stroke. Money for nothing. Compared to Sony I mean. Sony's costs for running PSN must be at least similar to Microsoft's and yet they get no additional revenue from it.

Anyway, the next Playstation and Xbox will be interesting. Difficult to know how they should move on. I'm expecting PS3->PS4 to be similar to PS1->PS2. Better graphics basically.

[Brad]

Must be mixing me up with another forumite.

He was quoting J0e.

[Shozuki]

None of the games I've played on the Wii had any bugs. I guess the lesson is that if you CAN'T patch it later, you actually have to playtest the frigging thing before you sell it to people. Having said that, if Skyward Sword had been released on the 360 or PS3, maybe they would have eventually patched the broken-ass controls, so I guess I've lost this argument.

Hahaha, Mate I think your right about play testing - but I'm just saying in a world where most households have something constantly online, is it that big of a deal? For me it's not really and it is a smoother process on the 360. I much prefer my PS3 though.

[wakka]

My god, does everybody do everything while connected to the internet?

Well...yeah. And I don't even really like online multiplayer that much.

Consoles have changed quickly as time has moved on. It's not a new thing for the games industry - each successive decade since ~1980 has brought huge changes, but I guess the move towards consoles being more multi-purpose and having more sophisticated operating systems has been less popular for many 'core' gamers. At least in comparison to upgrades which more obviously benefit the games themselves (like better graphics).

But to be honest, the move towards shipping games that require day 1 patches and selling stuff that's already on the disc as DLC has been part and parcel of the move towards sophisticated online infrastructures, storefronts and apps like Netflix. We would never have gotten the benefits without receiving the downsides too.

[noobish hat]

Hahaha. The PlayStation controller is the most illogical pad ever made. All pads before it had the d-pad where? In the optimum position for your left thumb, seeing as it was the sole method of controlling movement. Sony then made the dual shock, which had the stick where? Somewhere else. i.e. NOT in the optimum place. I can only imagine this is because, like Nintendo, they weren't sure 3D would become the dominant style and thought the d-pad would still be a necessity. Ok, fair enough. It's 2012 now. How often do you use the d-pad on a dual shock? Often enough to warrant it still taking up the most comfortable position on the entire pad? Probably not. Seriously. It's time for Sony to piss off.

[Shozuki]

Hahaha. The PlayStation controller is the most illogical pad ever made. All pads before it had the d-pad where? In the optimum position for your left thumb, seeing as it was the sole method of controlling movement. Sony then made the dual shock, which had the stick where? Somewhere else. i.e. NOT in the optimum place. I can only imagine this is because, like Nintendo, they weren't sure 3D would become the dominant style and thought the d-pad would still be a necessity. Ok, fair enough. It's 2012 now. How often do you use the d-pad on a dual shock? Often enough to warrant it still taking up the most comfortable position on the entire pad? Probably not. Seriously. It's time for Sony to piss off.

Just use a different pad? I dunno it's all about the games really, that's where the PS3 comes into its own Uncharted, Infamous, God of War and Resistance 3(not the other 2!) are brilliant and exclusive. Not to mention Ratchet, Ni No Kuni, MGS4 etc, etc...

[J0e Musashi]

should the Korean be lumped in with the JPN

If it doesn't have CERO, it isn't JPN.

Since you famously only buy Japanese - why does it matter ?

My Mom always said I'd be famous.

[originalbadboy]

Compared to Sony I mean. Sony's costs for running PSN must be at least similar to Microsoft's and yet they get no additional revenue from it.

On the other hand XBL wasn't down for over a month and I didn't then have to change my debit card and passwords etc.

I have no quarms about paying for XBL .. Its an age old argument and holds no water in any way. You cannot compare what XBL gives you that PSN does not. If people don't understand that, then that's their problem. You pay for what you get in the end, so in the case of PSN a pretty crappy online system, compared to XBL. Besides XBL Gold isn't exactly expensive.

I have to agree with Noobish regarding the DS pad, its possibly one of the worst designs out there, its completely outdated and other than a better dpad (which 99% time doesn't get used), is inferior to pretty much every other pad that has ever appeared on a console, excluding the Jaguar.

If Sony don't significantly change the design of the DS pad for the PS4 I won't even bother with the machine in all honesty.

[sj33]

I owned both a 360 and a PS3 at one point. My 360 died, but I never actually got around to replacing it. I needed to buy a new console when arriving in Japan, and I went with a PS3.

For me, it's not a difficult decision. The amount of cross-platform titles this generation probably outnumber those in previous generations, so software is actually less of a deciding factor unless you have an affinity for one manufacturer's exclusive titles. But the PS3 is region free, the PS3 lets me use accounts from different regions, and I prefer the PS3's online implementation - not because it's free, but because I'm not swamped with advertisements every time I turn on the console. Online gaming is not important for me personally.

[originalbadboy]

I owned both a 360 and a PS3 at one point. My 360 died, but I never actually got around to replacing it. I needed to buy a new console when arriving in Japan, and I went with a PS3.

For me, it's not a difficult decision. The amount of cross-platform titles this generation probably outnumber those in previous generations, so software is actually less of a deciding factor unless you have an affinity for one manufacturer's exclusive titles. But the PS3 is region free, the PS3 lets me use accounts from different regions, and I prefer the PS3's online implementation - not because it's free, but because I'm not swamped with advertisements every time I turn on the console. Online gaming is not important for me personally.

That's fair enough, but then as you say if online isn't too important then the PS3 is perfectly adequate. I actually believe this generation has been good in that all three main consoles have had their own unique feature. 360 for online games, Wii for Motion games & PS3 for quirky games (LBP for example), I just don't think Sony has done as good as job in the end.

[Brad]

I suppose Live has features that PSN doesn't. None that I care about though (I don't even know what they are other than cross-game chat), even when playing online games. The PSN hack was bad luck. Live has been down on more than one occasion too. What Sony give you for ?40 a year now absolutely destroys XBox Live. I admit it wasn't always that way but IMO MS are now playing catch up. Free games to play every single month, patching the system, copying saves to the cloud, patching games and downloading games while you're asleep. I don't mind paying ?40 for that but paying ?40 a year for the privilege of playing onlien with friends when every other system does this for free is taking the piss these days.

[J0e Musashi]

its possibly one of the worst designs out there, its completely outdated and other than a better dpad (which 99% time doesn't get used), is inferior to pretty much every other pad that has ever appeared on a console, excluding the Jaguar.

Wrong. It's far easier to pull off a dragon punch on a Dual Shock 3 than it is on an Xbox 360 controller. This is the benchmark for any controller. The age old rule of if it's not broke, don't fix it applies here.

[Brad]

I have to control the xbox dashboard using the bloody analog stick because the dpad on the xbox controller is so absolutely broken. WHY has this ****e design not been fixed already? Entering any text on the system takes ages because you can't use the dpad. I do like the triggers on the xbox better though but everything else is better on the DS3.

[gambit6613]

I have to say that for pretty much most of this generation i have much preferred Xbox Live over PSN but in the last year or so that has completely reversed. I now much prefer PSN, PS+ was just such a fantastic move by Sony, i have got so much value for money out of it i cant believe it. I keep looking for the catch but there really isnt one, just as long as i stay subscribed i cant lose.

As for Xbox Live i really just dont know what im paying ?40 or so a year for. Im totally fed up with being bombarded with a home screen filled with adverts for crap i dont want, fair enough if i had a Silver account but as a full paying Gold subscriber i should be able to turn this off. Also what is really getting on my nervous is just the sheer amount of time it actually takes the Xbox to boot up nowadays. I timed it the other day and it takes at least 40 seconds now, i know its not the end of the world but i used to like just turning the Xbox on and within 10 seconds i could be playing a game.

Its a real shame because Xbox Live was once just about perfect and just used to nicely run in the background now its just a pale shadow of its former self.