So it is coming up to Christmas and if your a parent then your kid may ask for a console, but the question is which one… Well I’m here to give you the low down about each console.
The Looks:
Out of all of them the Wii is the smallest of the three consoles and it’s the only one to come in different colours, standard White, as well as Black, and the recently released Red edition, where as the Xbox has changeable face plates, but me personally… I like the look of the PS3 – especially the new slim model.
Controls:
I don’t know why but my Wii remote seems to eat the batteries after just one go on a game and I need to change them really frequently, meanwhile the Xbox and PS3 controllers are pretty much the same – but the Xbox controller is a bit chunky. The most impressive controller however is the Bluetooth remote you can get for the PS3 so you can watch the BBC’s iPlayer, Lovefilm, Mubi, and Blinkbox with just a click of a button like a regular TV remote.
If you like singing games then the Xbox is the best as it supports wireless mics, without the need for a USB dongle / transmitter like the PS3 (a transmitter which interferes with our AV Senders so we can never leave it plugged into the PS3). The Xbox mics easily sync to the console with a click of a button too.
Recently released for PS3 and Xbox are Move and Kinect, having tried both of these for a short period (as I don’t own these), the Kinect is most impressive. You become the controller the down side is you need to have a enough room for Kinect to work. Playstation’s Move is a uptown version of the Wii remote with what seems to be ‘a light up ball’ on the end, it doesn’t recognise your body just the control which you hold. But it’s super-accurate and for all you Time Crisis fans, it’s a lot easier to setup than the PS3′s lightguns!
Bonuses:
Neither the Wii or Xbox plays Blu-rays, but PS3 does (and I wouldn’t know where I’d be if it didn’t, besides £50-£100 down and a extra remote to search for).
The Playstation Network allows users to try demos for free and buy games for fairly cheap prices (in real money) but you can get a PlayStation+ account and some of the games are free as long as you pay (and keep paying) a subscription fee. Xbox Live is similar but instead of buying games with actual money, you have to purchase MS (Microsoft) Points and with the Wii you require Nintendo Points to pay for games and, like Xbox Live, a certain amount of money buys you a certain amount of points.
The downside with the Wii is it doesn’t stream files from the PC or Mac but can play from the iPlayer.
The PS3 does stream files – either wireless (without buying an expensive wireless adapter – I’m looking at you Microsoft) or hardwired, and you don’t have to keep selecting which files to watch / listen to you can select the first file and it will play all of them until it reaches the last file. Also available on the PS3 are movie streaming services LoveFilm, Blinkbox and Mubi (see our other on test HERE) for all you movie-lovers out there.
The Xbox 360 can stream files but it requires the purchase of a wireless adapter if you want it to connect to your network wirelessly, if not then it can be connected directly to the PC or router. Unlike the PS3 once it has reached the end of any file you are watching it will stop playing – you have to select the next one. It does get annoying, and the Xbox really needs a play all button! Xbox Live has it’s own film marketplace, and the Zune player, as well as Sky Player (for Sky subscribers or a small fee) – the downside to Microsoft’s offering is that to get the most out of the extra services you really need to buy an Xbox Live Gold subscription, whereas most PS3 offerings you can at least access for free – even if they require a separate subscription (like Lovefilm).
Conclusion:
The PS3 is the best all-round home entertainment system – for watching blu-rays, streaming media and gaming, but the one thing it doesn’t have… the Kinect. If it did it would be, for me, the ultimate console of the decade. I can only wait to see if Sony have a response to Microsoft Kinect – an Eye Toy upgrade perhaps?
Great article….. If it weren’t for the fact that Sony removed backwards compatibility and the cost is so high I’d have a PS3 … I hate Xbox I’ll never support them. Unfortunately I stopped supporting Nintendo when they stopped making the SNES. Yes I guess you could say I’m an old school gamer.
I prefer my PS2… and if Sony ever put backwards compatibility back into PS3 I’d get one.
@TFG1Mike – That’s why we’re hanging on to our old 60Gb Playstation 3, just so I can still play the old school PSOne and PS2 fighting games on the PS3.
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Yeah Phil, but even then at the time I couldn’t afford the original model lol I’m sad I know lol
I know what you mean about the cost – I had to trade in all my old console stuff to get the PS3 down to a price I could afford.
I have all three. The Wii hasn’t been used in ages. The PS3 is used daily as a media-centre and blu-ray/dvd player. The 360 is by far the best console for gaming though. Game graphics are better with regard to cross-platform games and XBox Live kills PSN.
If I was the recommend one console for gamers it’s be the 360. For everyone else get the PS3.
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