There was a time when my beloved GameCube suited my needs. The graphics weren’t as good as some as it’s competitors, but it did offer Sega Soccer Slam. Enough said. Later in it’s lifespan I became addicted to FIFA 05, and I’m still progressing through the fifteen year career mode. Career mode is where you become a virtual manager, put a squad together and try to win as much as possible (and also control the players in every game play, unless you elect to simulate the match and let the console take over).
Currently I’m managing Arsenal in the year 2015… I started at Leyton Orient (got them promoted and won the F A Cup), then managed Reading before moving onto Monaco (where I put Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres and Ashley Cole in my line-up), then onto Real Madrid (welcome aboard Mr Steven Gerrard), and then AC Milan. Having brought more success to these already successful teams, I thought I’d bring some of my managerial magic to a team that needed it – Spurs. After two seasons of winning everything (the Premier League, domestic and European trophies) I moved onto Arsenal but failed to get many of my elite Spurs squad to join me. Not that it matters, I’m romping to success anyway.
Other fun aspects included buying greasy diving one-trick-pony Christiano Ronaldo from Man Utd, letting him rot in the Spurs reserves and watching his morale sink like a mafia informer wearing concrete wellies. I did also consider opting to manage Man Utd, selling all their best players, buying crap players, scoring own goals and guiding them to relegation, but I had my impeccable rating to preserve.
Compared to what can now be achieved on the modern consoles, the graphics on GameCube games leave a lot to be desired. But now I have a Wii, there seemed to be an obvious thing to go on my Christmas list… FIFA 08 Wii edition. But then I heard the news that was so catastrophic to my plan – the Wii edition doesn’t feature career mode. And let’s be honest, that’s a bit sh*t.
So now I have three options. The first is to wait until 2008 when Pro Evolution Soccer for the Wii is released. The second and third options are Xbox 360 or PS3 with FIFA 08 in whatever format. This is where I’m stuck (it’s a bit like the Archos versus iPod Touch argument which is still rattling around inside my head).
Choddo, a man who missed out on a mis-spent youth and now endulges in a mis-spent adulthood when he gets time, was absolute in his support for the Xbox. For a moment I thought he was going drive over and frog-march me into the Game store in Camberley to buy one… and they do have the Halo 3 editions of the Xbox in stock (nice shade of green, eh?). But while in the Camberley branch of Game the rather over-enthusiastic assistant manager all but declared his undying love and devotion to the PS3. According to him the graphics are better, the motion sensor controls are great, and the Blu-ray DVD player is an added bonus (assuming Sony win that format war).
Thoughts and opinions welcome.
Go for the 360
Hi Uncle Darren,
go for the 360 EASILY….graphics are better, the console is cheaper and it comes WITH the hd components, unlike the PS3 which you have to pay extra for, even on top of the over-expensive unit. Plus the online membership is cheaper for the 360, AND you can play online with me 🙂
The most important thing though in my opinion is the quality of the games. There are a few great titles out for the PS3, but with xbox 360 games theres a lot more, and for games that come out on both, xbox games usually get better reviews over the PS3 versions.
I have stated my case
GO XBOX 360!!!!!
Sorry didnt see the last paragraph, in regards to what that guy said. The graphics ARE NOT better, the motion sensor contols arent even avaliable in most games, and the few games that they are in, they are used badly (except for warhawk). and the blu-ray player is a nice addition but i think that by the time people have come to terms with having to pay $10 more for movies, the blu-ray players will have drastically come down in price. so weighing in everything else i think the blu ray addition is pretty much insignificant.
Darren do your homework.
Whoever Tom is he’s not telling you the truth. Just one glaring example.. the PlayStation Network (PSN) is absolutely FREE..the 360 is the one that charges you EVERY year to play on-line with other members..in N.A that is currently around $50 a year. Not sure if you want to trust much more of what he says given that whopper. If it’s different over there I apologize in advance. The PS3 also currently supports up 40-player on line games and the 360 maxes out at 16-18. Something he failed to mention. The dynamics and possibilities are quite unique with larger teams in play. Nice to have that choice with the PS3.
The 360 has more games available but I would say the quality of the PS3 graphics tends to be higher. Or rather let’s put it this way.. I’ve seen several games on the PS3 that the 360 is yet too match .. despite the 360 being out twice as long. The 360 trades-off realistic physics and animations to get it’s visuals..the PS3 seems to be capable of doing both. For example, Halo 3 the *flagship* franchise was actually only 640p instead of even 720p – never mind 1080p. Yes it sold a lot but so does McDonalds. There are many more 1080p games available for the PS3 for example even though it has been out for half the time of the 360. I think the Review sites are unreliable at best given the amount of money floating around influencing them. It’s unfortunate but that is the situation as pointed out recently here..
http://advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=10277
Think of the number of times you have shaken your head as you have read reviews of Domino vs Exchange and the amount of misinformation, slant, benefits left out etc..and you get an idea of what I’m talking about.
Some things to consider on the cost front in CDN dollars. Not sure about your costs in pounds.
The wireless ethernet adaptor is an extra cost ($120) on the 360. It’ built-in to the PS3 (except the discontinued 20GB model)
The wireless controllers on the 360 require a separate $40 re-charger pack if you don’t want to be going thru AA batteries all the time. It also changes the weight and finger placement over the standard controller since it sticks out. The PS3 has the battery built-in and recharges off USB ports. Again that applies for each controller in terms of cost.
The PS3 uses blu-tooth standard to support wireless devices like the controllers and headsets. That means you can use a wider variety of headsets. If your cell phone headset is blu-tooth 2.0 you should be able to use it with the PS3 instead of buying an expensive proprietary headset from MS. Same for wireless keyboards and mice as they are blu-tooth based. More choice at a lower cost across the board with the PS3 peripherals is a fact.
The PS3 HDD is a standard laptop drive you can easily swap around in the future if you run out of disk space. The 360 is a proprietary drive from MS that removes all those choices from you and costs twice the money to boot. Again taking choice out of your hands. Changing the HDD is in the PS3 manual and does NOT void your warranty in case Tom tries to claim it does.
The build quality is not even close. The failure rate of the 360 has been over 30%. The failure rate of the PS3 has been .2% – yes there is a decimal point there. When I invest large amounts of money in something I like to know it works reliably. It’s expected. Sending it back (in many cases repeatedly) and waiting 4-8 weeks each time.
The PS3 is whisper quiet – the 360 is very noisy in comparison. It’s an issue both for listening to movies and playing music.
Upscaling DVD’s. The PS3 uses the Cell processor and software to upscale them. The upscaling is tweaked based on the source material instead of the simple hardware scaler in the 360 that applies the same scaling to all sources. Sony’s extensive knowledge in the film industry is something they used to create added value to the picture quality on the PS3.
The PS3 can also upscales your audio CD’s and improves the quality. Something the 360 doesn’t do at all.
It also has a web browser so you can access content – again giving you choice outside of what Sony provides. The 360 is locked into accessing content determined by MS.
Blu-ray is 6x the resolution of DVD. It would be up to you to decide if you notice..I do:). It’s a bigger leap than VHS to DVD in that respect.
Europeans are also getting something called PlayTV that uses the PS3 as a PVR and will allow you to access HD T.V., record it etc. I believe that will an extra cost hardware unit that attaches to the PS3.
All PS3’s come with HDMI 1.3. Some 360’s come with HDMI and it’s 1.2.
In the end if you do your own research I think you will find the PS3 is more flexible, far more future proof, more reliable, higher game quality, less game quantity. To make an analogy..
The 360 is like Exchange with missing pieces (promised but not delivered), extra hidden costs, less reliability, purposely not future proofed (ie. upgrade costs) and the PS3 is like Domino – it’s all integrated, one time fee, robust and not a PITA to upgrade in the future because it was built on a superior architectural foundation…once you add up the costs I think you will find the PS3 is not as expensive as some want to paint it and is usually cheaper in the end or even beginning :). Your essentially getting the blu-ray player for free.
The HDMI cable is not included in the box for the PS3 but the retailers will often include it in a bundle.
Which ever you choose..enjoy…I think you’ll enjoy the PS3 longer.
Short but to the point. A friend of mine is a manager of a well known high street games shop and at his last check they’ve had, in 3 months, 132 xbox 360’s returned faulty compared to 1 playstation 3! Playstation everytime for me! Hope this helps.
I can’t comment on the other boxes Darren. But I received my copy of FIFA 08 for the Wii about a month ago and am hooked. I don’t care about the manager mode, so no issue for me. I am enjoying the game play, but still trying to master the more subtle controls that the Wii Remote and Nunchuk provide. Great beating Scum U and Arsenal!!!
I have upped the level of play to Semi-pro now, and almost feel like I am learning game again. Finding it hard to score at the moment, which was how it was at amateur level when I first got it.
The graphics might not be as good as Xbox 360 and PS3, but the interactivity of the controls has me up out of my chair, throwing my arms around, and of course cursing and swearing at times! The commentry is really good too!
I would stick with the Wii and wait for Pro Evolution, but buy FIFA 08 now, and just enjoy the game play.
I have a PS3, I purchased it primarily as a BluRay player, I also have lots of old PS2 games. I also use it as a media player, it plays movies from my PC, MP3s and Pictures, I don’t really play games much, but I have been very happy with it.
its all about the controller xbox360 has the best controller ever ps3 suks
i used to be an xbox 360 lover, and was planning on getting one (i have neither system at the moment) because many of my friends have one. the thing is though, out of the 9 or 10 friends with one, only 3 haven’t had to be fixed for the red ring of death. i still thought, “well, i’ll get an elite, those don’t have as many problems”. but then i was debating with my cousin about which system is better, and thats when i realized “i’m gettin’ a ps3” (also playing it you get the idea that its obviously better than a 360). free live, swappable hard-drives (my cousin has 1 terabyte), free blueray, 1080p (not just i), and a heluva lot more i don’t feel like putting down. in the end, ps3 is a better buy (not saying 360 is bad, just not as good). not as many games? wait a few months. controller kevin? i hope you’re joking.
Bottom line is that you feel a certain warm feeling when booting up the PS3. You dont get that feeling with the 360.
That feeling is called Quality. if your serious about your gaming the price differential should’nt really be a factor.
Hi – i’m female – enough said?
I’m thinking of getting a console for my boyfreinds 30th birthday but really unsure of what one to get, he used to own the PS2 slimline version but gave it to his younger brother when we moved about 2 years ago.
So…. my question is what one do i purchase?
Xbox 360 or Playstaion 3??
Thanks.
Now that I have an Xbox I’m going to say “Xbox”. But I’ve never experienced a PS3 so I’m not balanced in my opinion. PS3 has a Blu-Ray DVD player, the Xbox is just a standard DVD player. I’m told the on-line gaming experience is better and easier to manage with the Xbox. The Xbox is also a bit cheaper and many sites say the graphics are slightly better.
For another view, see here… http://hardcoreware.net/playstation-3-vs-xbox-360-one-year-later
This is also worth a look… http://winsupersite.com/showcase/xbox360_ps3_wii.asp
They say Xbox 360.
Darren, are you still with the XBOX? Wii EA FIFA 09 has the manager mode back in and its great.
The controls in 08 were good I thought, they are tho a bit easier in 09, which doesn’t hurt.
Let me know if you try the Wii version 🙂
Michael
Hi Michael, I do have the Wii version, it’s great. The manager mode is better than ’05 – the transfer market is quite difficult to deal with, which is actually quite realistic because it’s difficult in real life (just ask Arsene Wenger). The one glitch I’ve found is that if you have a successful season and progress in the competitions, you can find yourself playing a league match and an FA Cup match on the same day. That means you need a big squad as playing two matches in one day tends to leave the players a bit knackered.
The controls using the Wii-mote are ace. Overall very good. Obviously graphics aren’t as good as the Xbox, but Wii games have that something extra.