In the second half of 2008, once I finally decided that a next-gen console purchase was imminent, I did a fair amount of research on the Xbox360 vs. PS3 question. I came to the following conclusion:
The only real option is the PS3. Xbox360, which many love, is waning technology and weaker hardware. Wii is a toy, a novelty (incidentally, I bought a Wii in addition to my PS3). Blu-Ray is the highest quality video delivery system available right now, I have a largish HDTV, and I want that. Most importantly, as of year-end 2008, there are numerous critically acclaimed, high quality games for the PS3 that I really, really want, which are either exclusive to or available on the PS3 (this was not necessarily the case at the end of 2007). If I had purchased a 360, I'd feel like I was buying inferior technology.
After one week of ownership, I can add the following ‘surprise’ observations that only became apparent once I started fiddling with things:
- The look and feel--the build quality--of the PS3 is very high. It runs silently, as a high-end A-V component should. You get what you pay for. The XMB interface is sleek, intuitive, and a joy to use.
- The PS3 is an *amazing* networked media server. I installed TVersity on my PC and my PS3 immediately found all my shared videos, music, photos with *zero configuration*. This feature alone is almost worth the price of the PS3.
- I love the PS Network Store. I’ve already downloaded Super Stardust HD, Echochrome, Pixeljunk Eden, and plan to continue this behavior. The downloadable demos are a great feature.
- Playstation Home -- I like it, or…I want to like it…it’s cool, very well executed, but there’s not a lot to do there yet. We need expansion!
- Curious about: Installing Linux and MAME on the PS3.
