...Sparky buys a console.

Yes, I have done the unmentionable. My brother (MarineBoxer) and I just bought a PS3. I wanted an XBox 360 (seems everyone is playing online...) but he preferred the PS3 for it's BluRay capability.

Next purchase: Rockband.

Damn you Loafer for geting me hooked...  

Nice!  
It is also great to store all your music/photos on it as its playback/slideshow ability is pretty nice (especially as a digital camera photo viewer for your family pictures).
Have fun.

I am hoping to save enough to pick one up in about 2 months (just for the Blu-ray player capability as well - as I am a PC gamer only).  Time to build some harnesses to sell speaker kits!

Even though I have a preference for the xbox 360 (fantastic games out on it), the incredible fragility of the console is a big knock.  Factor in that there are/will be really cool games on the PS3, the added bonus of a bluray player and the better multimedia support of the PS3 warrants its purchase too.

Congrats on your new toy.

80s.fan:  yep, have you tried the earth visualizer yet? Blew me away!

The 360 is also very noisy.  If if were possible to somehow get Gears of War to play on the pS3 I'd be sound as a pound .  

I think you'll be happier with the PS3 in the longrun.  I splurged at Christmas on Black Friday and am pretty happy with it.  I haven't had a game console since Sega Genesis came out.

Quoted from The Loafer

80s.fan:  yep, have you tried the earth visualizer yet? Blew me away!

Just tried this yesterday on my Bro in Law's 46 Sharp Aquos while listening to some U2 and it was a pretty stunning feeling!  Like I said so many times before, in the near future, we won't want to leave our living rooms anymore!  Scary thought though.

Quoted from 80s.fan

Time to build some harnesses to sell speaker kits!

YES!

Count me in!

Quoted from Sparky

Next purchase: Rockband.

It's well worth picking up. I have it for the 360. When I play with the kids here I am usually the drummer, but on the older tunes I end up doing the lyrics because apparently according to them, I am the only one that knows them.

The kids and I started with a game called Amplitude for the PS2. I think really this was the foundation for most of these games. I know there were others before like Rez for DC but Frequency and Amplitude basically were one of the first of this format for console that wasn't just all techno rhythm. They were done by Harmonix before the rest of these games.


GH took this basic program and added the guitar which was great. The day I learned of GH, I picked it up. I could see from what I knew of Amplitude that this was going to be a fun game. To be honest the kids and their friends didn't really have much initial interest. GH didn't really get any sort of following from what I could see until GH II. It took awhile to catch on and then all of a sudden this thing that was sitting in the corner for probably a year was the coolest thing around. By then we had two guitars, the one from GH I and the one from GH II. So now we really could see this co-op play in action.

Amplitude was less rock but had some really great tunes on it like P.O.D. Boom etc.

We have GH I II & III for PS2, but Rockband is a further step up from those IMHO.

Don't wait. Pick it up. It's a big hit around here for sure.

This is a pretty accurate review.

http://www.gamespot.com/video/938870/6183227/rock-band-video-review

As for too noisy, never noticed. I have the sound running through my surround sound so the last thing I am going to hear is the console.

Quoted from Firehawk734

  I haven't had a game console since Sega Genesis came out.

My last (...and only ) console was the Intellivision !
(... and I'm still haunted by those damn controllers !  )  




Steph

Quoted from Steph

My last (...and only ) console was the Intellivision !
(... and I'm still haunted by those damn controllers !  )  




Steph

Haha - yeah those controllers were really brutal.  I had the same problem with the discs not working, buttons not working, etc, etc.   I can't believe you owned an intellivision and never played another console since...  Intellivision was KICK a**!  You can buy a small unit (controller) that now plugs straight into your TV and plays all the old Intellivision games - I think you can play like 60 games or something.  Perhaps you should go for that  

I've been off consoles for a LONG time, but I went out and splurged on a PS3 during boxing week.  Reason for doing so... GH3 and Rockband!  I played GH3 for the first time on boxing day and I was hooked.  I do find Rockband the better of the two games, mainly I find the guitar play more "natural" if that makes any sense?  Not to mention the local multiplayer aspect, and the D/L content is far superior.

One thing to note, if you haven't already found out...  Activision (the maker of GH3) is actively blocking a patch released by Harmonix to allow instrument cross compatibility on the PS3 platform.  GH3 will only let you use GH3 guitars, but Rockband was supposed to work with both, that was until Activision stepped in.   (and this only affects the PS3 console)     http://www.gamespot.com/news/6183944.html   I found this out the hard way.......

Also, if you're planning on using your PS3 for multimedia such as photo viewing etc, you need to purchase the higher end models if you want the internal media card reader.

D.

my first console ( gift from girlfriend) was genesis ... ( ironic, I know) ... then I was hooked to PC so that was the end of that.

I've recently bought the Wii to play super mario galaxy. Worth every penny! What a blast that was!
Now playing Metroid 3 and that too ain't bad at all

Quoted from Menace

I've been off consoles for a LONG time, but I went out and splurged on a PS3 during boxing week.  Reason for doing so... GH3 and Rockband!  I played GH3 for the first time on boxing day and I was hooked.  I do find Rockband the better of the two games, mainly I find the guitar play more "natural" if that makes any sense?  Not to mention the local multiplayer aspect, and the D/L content is far superior.

One thing to note, if you haven't already found out...  Activision (the maker of GH3) is actively blocking a patch released by Harmonix to allow instrument cross compatibility on the PS3 platform.  GH3 will only let you use GH3 guitars, but Rockband was supposed to work with both, that was until Activision stepped in.   (and this only affects the PS3 console)     http://www.gamespot.com/news/6183944.html   I found this out the hard way.......

Also, if you're planning on using your PS3 for multimedia such as photo viewing etc, you need to purchase the higher end models if you want the internal media card reader.

D.

I saved 150$ by buying the cheap one. Besides, my 50$ DVD shows pictures. That's enough for me.

There's no way I could get a new console in the house...  Unless I want to get castrated.  Already have 2 hacked XBOXes hooked up as media center PCs   and my wife just doesn't understand the "subtle" differences between an XBOX and a PS3 (or XBOX 360, or Wii)...  What also doesn't help is the way the kids are obsessed with and time they spend on the DS and PSP right now.  

Mike

Even on the cheap PS3, you can do all the multimedia stuff, you just don't get the memory card slots (and the PS2 compatibility).  You still have USB slots so just plug in a USB memory stick and you're good to go.

i have been more then lucky and owned almost every console that has come out (including a few vectrex)and also that includes the one for foreign lands.  japan snes, nes and turbo 16's and all them.  neo geos when they first came out for home use.
   after getting married it didn't really change.  wife enjoys alot of games.  shoot i remeber when were just friends, erin kicking my a** at the arcade on time killers.
   now i have a few home systems and i am looking at getting a ps3.  i haven't been a big x-box supporter and only have a few games.   so i know i will not be getting a 360 anytime soon.  but when they die right down i might buy one to put with the others.
  

i just got this nes arcade system.
   now i am looking for the versions of these they did for the snes and the n64.

Funny how they spelled "NITENDO"  

I have a PS3 and love it, the games I've played thus far are outstanding, Xbox doesn't appeal much to me at all, I plan to get a Wii at some point but I'm more or less passivly looking for one the active.  If I happen to be in a Ebgames or Walmart at the same time as a Wii I'll pick one up.  

I got my PS3 for Christmas, I have the 80 gig, games I have so far:

Time Crisis 4
Guitar Hero 3
Uncharted
The Darkness
Ratcet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Motor Storm

I also picked up God of War and God of War II which were for the PS2 but are amazing games!

I enjoy playing GH3 but I can't seem to make the jump to hard it becomes more of an exercise in frustration then an enjoyment I find so I'm sticking with medium.  I'll pick up rock band eventually as I like the drums it's a new challenge.

We should all post our PSN ID's and add each other to the friends list so we can play online.

my PSN ID is: PinballWizard23

Quoted from Vengeance

I also picked up God of War and God of War II which were for the PS2 but are amazing games!

Yes these are terrific. For the budget conscious there is a lot to be said about grabbing a PS2. The three GH titles don't really matter what console you play them on. They are a rhythym game and the differences between Dolby Digital and Dolby Surround are negligible when it comes to music. The graphics are really of no consolation with this type of game either. PS2 with optical out, works just fine. Toss in GOW and GOWII and you have a lot of bang for the buck.



As for XBox360 for me GOW (Gears not God) and H3 made it a must have console. GOW2 is out in November which I definitely will be looking for.

WTF is PSN id? Over. Must be a PS3 thing I guess.

Well God of War I & II play perfect on my 80 gig PS3 so no need to buy a PS2 if you don't have one.  I can't wait for God of War III on PS3!

Backwards compatablity works great on the PS3 last I heard it didn't work at all on the 360.  That was another big factor for me as I love the Final Fantasy series of games so I wanted to be able to continue to play them on the PS3.  

PSN ID = Playstation Network ID

Quoted from Vengeance

Well God of War I & II play perfect on my 80 gig PS3 so no need to buy a PS2 if you don't have one.  I can't wait for God of War III on PS3!

Backwards compatablity works great on the PS3 last I heard it didn't work at all on the 360.  That was another big factor for me as I love the Final Fantasy series of games so I wanted to be able to continue to play them on the PS3.  

PSN ID = Playstation Network ID

Other than Halo 1 and Halo 2 I haven't tried any other games for backward compatibility. I have 2 original Xbox's so it really isn't an issue. The originals have been relegated to being networked travel boxes that only really see play when they are sent somewhere.

I don't see anything that I haven't already played that was on the original Xbox that I would ever want to play now on the 360.

They elected to make GOW II for PS2 because there wasn't a big enough base to sell it only for PS3. PS3 definitely was a slow starter for titles. It may have a few key titles now to warrant buying it at this juncture. Not just at release, but for some time thereafter it was pretty dry. All the hype with no great titles, and the console hoarding at the initial release really gave me a bad taste for PS3 at that time. Now that it has dropped below even the price of some Blu-Ray players I will look at it again. I wouldn't be buying it for Rockband or GH so I would have to find some other titles of merit out there. GOW 3 would be a consideration to buy for sure. I would have to say though that WII right now is looking far more attractive to me than PS3 due to the Nintendo exclusive titles on it.

So Phil. Why does everyone seem compelled to give you a Genesis?

I've allways been a playstation guy as the games are geared more torward the hardcore gamer then the casual gamer, I've had PS1, 2 and now 3 .  So far I really like everything PS3 has had to offer.  Consoles as far as I'm concerned do a piss poor job on FPS games, the PC has them beat hands down on playablity from the mouse and keyboard perspective.  I like games that suck you in with good story telling, I've found the PC as of late has had a lack of good games which is why I'm back to consoles.  

Ratchet and Clank is like playing through a pixar movie which was great, I've already played it threw twice.

Uncharted while very short had me on the edge of my seat quite a few times.  Very good voice acting and a very good storyline.

I really enjoyed the Darkness, it was a standard FPS but good storyline with a very dark storyline which I enjoyed.  

Time Crisis 4 is fun to play but my TV is too wide to support it so I run into accuracy problems which is becomming anoying.  

Games I'm really looking forward to for the PS3:

God of War III
The Force Unleashed, Can't wait to play as a sith apprentiace to Darth Vader!!
Grand Theft Auto IV
Final Fantasy 14


To each their own at the end of the day, as long as you enjoy it who cares what anyone else thinks.

I've played Guitar Hero and it's pretty fun. I haven't tried Rock Band, it's supposed to be out for Wii sometime in 2008 from what EB Games is telling me. It looks interesting.

With all the time the kids spend playing Guitar Hero, they could actually learn to play a real guitar, I guess it's too much work.....

My 2 cents...

Dan

Really funny review of GHIII

http://www.escapistmagazine.co.....tion-Guitar-Hero-III

(Former Intellivision and Atari Pong fanatic (before going Osborne/Apple/Mac/PC...)

I personally druel everytime I see PS3 graphics .... however my family is hooked on WII because the Sports and some other games involve all the members of the family and the titles are generally more family friendly.  We very briefly allowed our 7 year old to hook into PS2 before having to withdraw him due to obsession with StarWars Battlefront.  Lego Star Wars is a kinder, gentler game that seems more appropriate...  The innovations of MIIs and the remote hand controller are nothing short of revolutionary.  Our goal now though is to get our hooks on DDR and GuitarHero for WII....

Some corrections on backwards compatibility (BC):
PS3: The 60 GB PS3 (discontinued) has 100% BC, because it actually has PS2 hardware in it. The 80GB model has software BC, and is therefore not reliable, it only works for a certain % of games, check the sony site for which games are compatible. The 40GB PS3 does NOT support ANY BC, none.
Xbox 360: Any 360 with a hard drive supports BC using software, and for the games it supports, they run great, often times looking a bit better than on the original xbox. Check the xbox.com site for the list of currently supported games.

And to chime in: I have an xbox 360, and it's awesome. My favourite games of the last few months have been: Bioshock, Mass Effect, Halo 3, and Call of Duty 4. 3 of those 4 are only on the 360. The only current PS3 game that I'd want to play is Uncharted. Plus, Ninja Gaiden 2 is coming out this summer on the 360, I can't wait!

You can't go wrong buying either system, both the PS3 and 360 are great. Even though the 360's hardware has been flaky, MS's support has been superb! I've had 2 systems go RRoD on me, and got each replaced within a week for free.

Go for the system that has the games you want to play.

Quoted from Bally Boy

With all the time the kids spend playing Guitar Hero, they could actually learn to play a real guitar, I guess it's too much work.....

My 2 cents...

Dan

Yes, there isn't the instant gratification that current society is in need of playing a real guitar.

When playing GH I rarely ever had to repeat a track and often had 90%+ accuracy on medium difficulty. I think it takes most players that "get it" about three songs to really be able to get on to it and readily advance through the songs.

So what your saying is the discontinued 60 gig PS3 is pretty well the one you want if you can find it?

I finished Bioshock. Mass Effect I have but not played it yet, maybe when I get a few days off I will crank it up.

As for reliability I am currently wrestling with my 360. I get read errors with Halo3 even with a replacement disk. Always at the same levels and I was talking to tech support and they suspect the HD. Yes the HD not the DVD drive??? I pull the drive and the levels load. Funny thing is the error does not come up with any other game but Halo3. A full format did not fix the problem. So what they are suggesting is try swapping someone elses HD and see what happens. I haven't been able to borrow one yet to do that.

360:  HW problems aside, the games listed above and specifically Xbox Live really ensures it's a system to own.  I have a PS3 and I love it but it's not without its own flaws too.  Sony brought out the PS3 much later and still they couldn't figure out that upconversion is a cool thing. THE result was, I had a SONY PS3, playing on a SONY 53" hidef TV, playing a few of the games at 480p.  Why?  Because as I was an early adopter, and thus did not have a 720p resolution, only a 1080i.  Unfortunately, Sony didn't see fit to include a hardware scaler, so I had to play the games downgraded to 480p.  Let me tell you, there's quite a difference playing games on a large screen in 480p as opposed to 1080i.  Happily, I bought a new TV that supports all resolutions but it's still a stupid move on their part to not support upscaling.  As for online, it's smooth, but I ended up selling Unreal Tournament 3.  I felt it didn't make sense to play a game with tactics when you couldn't converse. It supported voice chat, but you had to stop moving and press the d-pad to talk.  IE: sitting duck. Hopefully they'll be upgrading their firmware to at least support in-game chat in every game through the OS.  It's nice that it's free, but you get what you pay for.  Xbox live=$5 per month, not a lot of cash for imho the best online experience I've had.  No systems are perfect but thus far because of the online, 80% of my gaming is on the 360.

Yep, I'm lucky to have both systems.  I'll probably get a wii sometime but it does make me nervous if the remote strap were to break and interject with my TV .

Quoted from The Loafer

Hopefully they'll be upgrading their firmware to at least support in-game chat in every game through the OS.

Oh yes.... because there are so many profound conversations to partake in online.

If it wasn't for the N word I don't think half these guys would have anything to say. Occaisionally there are people that use it correctly and pass on tactics, but unfortunately for the most part I quickly turn down the volume.

Quoted from The Loafer

I'll probably get a wii sometime but it does make me nervous if the remote strap were to break and interject with my TV .

It's not the remote you have to worry about .......it's the nine year old boys running INTO the TV   being so involved in the bowling and not realizing how close they are getting or playing tennis and hitting each other by accident on the tennis swings. Makes for great adult entertainment watching them tho

ME

Quoted from medvet

It's not the remote you have to worry about .......it's the nine year old boys running INTO the TV   being so involved in the bowling and not realizing how close they are getting or playing tennis and hitting each other by accident on the tennis swings. Makes for great adult entertainment watching them tho

ME

Right on the money.  Though I think it's MORE funny watching the ADULTs lunge from side to side to bat at imaginary balls and take swings that hit their opponent or teammate's heads.  WE ordered more Wii condoms direct from Nintendo, forget the 3rd party "skins", the Wii version are ribbed and have extra head room. (Sorry couldn't resist.)  I can browse MAACA on the WII too, which takes a bit of navigation, but the zoom feature is a very good option.  The wireless remote (and machine) concept is a winner though since it's very easy to "like" a system that doesn't ahve wires running about.  And the imaginative use (in most games) of the Wii remote and Nunchuk makes most complex games easier to play.

Quoted from necro_nemesis

Oh yes.... because there are so many profound conversations to partake in online.

If it wasn't for the N word I don't think half these guys would have anything to say. Occaisionally there are people that use it correctly and pass on tactics, but unfortunately for the most part I quickly turn down the volume.

And I'd agree with you, if all I did was join existing games. But nope, I predominently play online coop games against the computer, playing with friends is the best.  So again, how the hell can you formulate any strategy without a mic?

Quoted from The Loafer

And I'd agree with you, if all I did was join existing games. But nope, I predominently play online coop games against the computer, playing with friends is the best.  So again, how the hell can you formulate any strategy without a mic?

This is a good reason for having clans. At least you can play with a bunch of guys that are more about playing the game and less about trying to be the most obnoxious person on there. Unfortunately my schedule is so random that I can't really commit to a clan. Friends lists come in handy. At least you might have one or two people that are reasonable on your team.

Yep, 100% agree.  I did play a lot of COD3 online versus and it was a heck of a lot of fun. Every now and then, there would be a git that would join in, but overall, it was a positive experience. My big problem with human vs human = I suck!  

Quoted from The Loafer

Yep, 100% agree.  I did play a lot of COD3 online versus and it was a heck of a lot of fun. Every now and then, there would be a git that would join in, but overall, it was a positive experience. My big problem with human vs human = I suck!  

My biggest issue with online play comes down to connection. If I connect to a host with a good connection or I host my performance difference is night and day. Until they can resolve issues with FPS and connection it will always comes down to connection that will determine how well you fair. The real kicker is the shittier the hosts connection the more advantage they have. Without a dedicated server, games should analyze the hosts connection and if it's poor, not allow them to host.

On Live, I once played a bunch of rounds of Settlers of Catan with a guy from California who works on political campaigns. He's met people like Karl Rove, George Bush, etc. and it was a very fascinating conversation. We talked for quite a while about the intricacies of the US primaries, and I found it to be a very worthwhile conversation.

On live, I've talked to a few americans who've had enough and asked if its a good idea to move to Canada!

FYI new PS3 bundle

PS3 (80 gb.) + Metal Gear Solid 4 + New Dual Shock3 Controler == $499.00 MRSP in late Q2 2008

http://blog.us.playstation.com.....ck3-release-date-by/
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/26/sony-announces-499-metal-gear-solid-ps3-bundle-god-of-war-psp/