PS3 Online, hard drives and on the road


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I'm looking to buy a PS3 or 360, probably a 360 but I don't know yet. This thread will be about comparisons but please don't flame.

PSN. Xbox Live Gold is ?30 a year, roughly. Free service is rubbish, true? Gold plan costs a modest amount. Using the PS3 for online gaming and the online portal (PSN?) is completely free, correct? How much stuff is there on PSN, like demos, trailers, downloadable content or even paid content like full games? How does it compare to Xbox Live? One important issue is the online community. I don't mind voice being added to games, that's inevitable. However, I don't want some whiny kid who thinks he's cool spawn camping and whining about hacks or something. Is it true that the PS3 has a more helpful, mature player base?

Hard drives. Is 40GB my only option? I've heard of others but none are visible in local stores. Is the 40GB model OK, or does the disk size or lack of PS2 compatibility hit it? I'd be getting the 120GB 360 but I must say, that seems excessive. Still, nice to have.

GTA4. The main reason why I'd buy a console and also a tinderbox of fan boy frustrations, so I'll keep this simple. Is there a compelling reason to get it on the 360 or on the PS3? The PS3 is more powerful, but the 360 will get extra content. It also apparently renders in a slightly higher resolution, which is always nice.

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There is very little between GTA on the 360 and PS3. Exclusive DLC is coming to the 360 but the PS3 is also getting DLC. The resolution 'debate' has been done to death and it really makes very little difference (imo and I have both versions).

XBL is very good, but it comes at a price. The PSN is finding it's feet and getting better with every update. The PSN is a very basic online service right now, but it works very well for the majority of games. XBL is an established service that has benefited from Microsoft's expierience in this field and as I've said is very good - integrated friends list/invites/communication being the biggest positive it offers (this is coming to the PSN in the future (summer)).

40GB is the only 'new' PS3 you will find, but you can cheaply and easily install an upgrade without ruining your warranty. Any 2.5" Sata HDD will do it really. Much cheaper than upgrading the 360 HDD.

The PS3 also comes with alot more for the money, built in wireless and Blu ray HD drive being the two biggest, and its better built.

All in all I would say get both as they both offer something good and bad but if you can only get one it's a tough call.

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I'm looking to buy a PS3 or 360, probably a 360 but I don't know yet. This thread will be about comparisons but please don't flame.

PSN. Xbox Live Gold is ?30 a year, roughly. Free service is rubbish, true? Gold plan costs a modest amount. Using the PS3 for online gaming and the online portal (PSN?) is completely free, correct? How much stuff is there on PSN, like demos, trailers, downloadable content or even paid content like full games? How does it compare to Xbox Live? One important issue is the online community. I don't mind voice being added to games, that's inevitable. However, I don't want some whiny kid who thinks he's cool spawn camping and whining about hacks or something. Is it true that the PS3 has a more helpful, mature player base?

Hard drives. Is 40GB my only option? I've heard of others but none are visible in local stores. Is the 40GB model OK, or does the disk size or lack of PS2 compatibility hit it? I'd be getting the 120GB 360 but I must say, that seems excessive. Still, nice to have.

GTA4. The main reason why I'd buy a console and also a tinderbox of fan boy frustrations, so I'll keep this simple. Is there a compelling reason to get it on the 360 or on the PS3? The PS3 is more powerful, but the 360 will get extra content. It also apparently renders in a slightly higher resolution, which is always nice.

Ah where to start..

XBL is indeed ?30 on most e-trailer websites or you can buy subscriptions from eBay (I've done both myself with no problems). XBL is by far the superior service, giving demos for all of the arcade games and far more demos than the PS3 for retail games. The online gaming aspect itself is far more interactive and connected with other players. By that I mean you can send messages (text and voice) at any time to a friend and join their games. The PS3 has a good store, it has been getting better steadily. However there is a limited amount of demoes for PSN games as it comes down to the developers if they wish to make one or not. There is no in-game XMB (menu) which means it's a lot harder to join friends online and you are unable to reply to messages etc while gaming. There are rumours the in-game XMB will be released next month, but nobody knows for sure. Both consoles I'd say have a large selection of trailers and other video, the 360 probably has more obviously because it was out longer.

The consoles themselves..

The PS3 is not more powerful than the 360, and vice versa. They do certain things better than each other but that's a whole other topic. Indeed the 40GB is the only option in Europe unless you are happy to pay an excessive amount for a 60GB on eBay. Down sides to this if you are planning to play PS2 games on it, you can't. Some think there might be a software solution release later on, but who knows..It also has less USB ports and no card reader.

Think about what you will be using the console for most. Is it primarily going to be used for gaming? Or will you be using it for media too? Do you want to enter the blu-ray market?

Both consoles have great media abilities, the only major plus for the PS3 is the inclusion of Blu-ray. However MS have a great online store of content to download. If you are all about the games though, the 360 undoubtedly has the best lineup of games (retail & arcade). Look at both of the consoles lineup for later this year as there is a lot of exclusives coming. Notably MGS4, Little Big Planet, Motorostorm 2, Resistance FOM 2 on the PS3. For the 360: Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts, Ninja Gaiden 2, Gears of War 2 and Fable 2.

GTA4 is pretty much the same on both consoles. To argue there is any major differences in performance only comes out of fanboy's mouths. The 360 has two exclusive episodes which begin to release later this year, but there will be other DLC coming to the PSN also (not on the same scale, but something).

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Thanks. What about the online maturity? Less swearing and moaning would be a big selling point.

Blu-ray would certainly be nice especially as it's supposed to be a good, quiet player. I wonder if the Xbox will get it since HD-DVD is dead...

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The online community will vary from time to time.

There's whiney kids on PSN, there's whiney kids on XBL. I've only ever come across someone really annoying (on TF2) on XBL once. Believe it or not, the most annoying thing for me is when people eat while playing :p

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Ya just get the 40 then swap in a bigger like I did. I put a 250gb in mine for like 120 cdn.

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Quboid, let me spell it out for you. I know this is in the PS3 forum so let me start with a disclaimer saying I am *not* slating PSN, it's a free service and anything for free is good. Genuinely I think PSN is quite good, it's free and does what it says on the tin (kinda).

ok, now on to the comparison. I own both a PS3 and an 360, and have found myself using only the 360 for gaming. As far as live goes, it's like comparing a Bugatti Veyron and a Ford Fiesta. Live has dedicated servers and bandwidth. It is built as a paid-for service and this shows through bandwidth and frequency of updates. Live can be updated every few days/a week but PSN can go baren for months.

Also, download speeds are a huge issue (in England, anyway). I find it very hard to get a decent download speed from PSN, but from Live things max out. Live is also more integrated with the xbox experience than PSN, like integrated friends list and (limited) in-game access.

I am *NOT* a Microsoft fanboy, in fact I am largely a hater of Windows, but my 360 has been one of my best purchases and I now use it for gaming over my PS3 (which sits here for Blu Ray purposes only).

My view is to go for the 360, no questions asked.

GTA4. The main reason why I'd buy a console and also a tinderbox of fan boy frustrations, so I'll keep this simple. Is there a compelling reason to get it on the 360 or on the PS3?The PS3 is more powerful, but the 360 will get extra content. It also apparently renders in a slightly higher resolution, which is always nice.
No, what you have to remember is, PS3 has more raw processing power, but the 360 has *double* the ram, and a better GPU. Still, from what i've heard, this has evened out to an equel experience, so if you have the choice, go with the 360 for the extra content. You're not missing anything. Edited by randomnut
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Quboid, let me spell it out for you. I know this is in the PS3 forum so let me start with a disclaimer saying I am *not* slating PSN, it's a free service and anything for free is good. Genuinely I think PSN is quite good, it's free and does what it says on the tin (kinda).

ok, now on to the comparison. I own both a PS3 and an 360, and have found myself using only the 360 for gaming. As far as live goes, it's like comparing a Bugatti Veyron and a Ford Fiesta. Live has dedicated servers and bandwidth. It is built as a paid-for service and this shows through bandwidth and frequency of updates. Live can be updated every few days/a week but PSN can go baren for months.

Also, download speeds are a huge issue (in England, anyway). I find it very hard to get a decent download speed from PSN, but from Live things max out. Live is also more integrated with the xbox experience than PSN, like integrated friends list and (limited) in-game access.

I am *NOT* a Microsoft fanboy, in fact I am largely a hater of Windows, but my 360 has been one of my best purchases and I now use it for gaming over my PS3 (which sits here for Blu Ray purposes only).

My view is to go for the 360, no questions asked.

No, what you have to remember is, PS3 has more raw processing power, but the 360 has *double* the ram, and a better GPU. Still, from what i've heard, this has evened out to an equel experience, so if you have the choice, go with the 360 for the extra content. You're not missing anything.

LIVE doesn't use dedicated servers at all, its all P2P. The PSN uses dedicated servers for many of its titles though.

The bold text always cracks me up. The 360 does NOT have double the RAM and a better GPU. The PS3 uses the Cell processor to assist in graphics/memory etc (Just listen to the Criterion blogs for proof). The bit you did get right is that the PS3 and 360 are 99% identical at this point in time in terms of hardware/power. I genuinely believe that the PS3 in the next 18 months will be kicking out the better games as the PS3 does have alot of hidden strengths (killzone 2 is a good place to start looking to see this), plus 50GB discs.

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The bold text always cracks me up. The 360 does NOT have double the RAM and a better GPU.

Also, they both have 512 MB total RAM, but the 360 has a more unified architecture, while the PS3 is split. There is some access for graphics to the main memory for the PS3, while both CPU and GPU share the same memory in the 360.

For the OP: http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/xbox360_ps3_wii.asp

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Also, they both have 512 MB total RAM, but the 360 has a more unified architecture, while the PS3 is split. There is some access for graphics to the main memory for the PS3, while both CPU and GPU share the same memory in the 360.

For the OP: http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/xbox360_ps3_wii.asp

Good link but its not quite right..

Its HD Media Center Extender experience blows away anything Sony offers on the PS3, and it supports live and recorded HDTV over your home network, along with TV show and movie downloads. Device connectivity--including direct support for Apple iPod and Sony PSP devices--is top notch

The PS3 has superb streaming capabilities, and is the better machine to watch TV/movies due to the quietness of the fans. Its also getting live a live TV feed, turning the PS3 into a PVR

Also...

And the hugely compelling Xbox Live service gets even better with Xbox 360. Sony has nothing like it: On the PS3, games are isolated islands of connectivity, allowing gamers only to communicate with others in the same games.

That's soon to be changing.

If you have any doubt on which console to choose, the best bet is see what your mates all have and go with that for the short term; save up and get the other console.

Sorted. :D

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LIVE doesn't use dedicated servers at all, its all P2P. The PSN uses dedicated servers for many of its titles though.

No, no, no, and no. I can't believe i'm reading this, get your head out your....... just no.

plus 50GB discs.

Ok, so they have bigger disks. Is this being used? No. PS3 devs are *repeating* files on ps3 games to compensate for the slow drive.

Please, if you want to argue, use valid points :shock: Sweet f****** j**** you can REALLY tell which forum this was posted in...

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Live does use dedicated servers, for file hosting and server statistics etc.

But hosting games is done by players in all games.

Yes, that's true. Live does use *hosted* servers to host demos, movies, trailers, everything except hosting games. Hosting games is done on the console, as is PSN. Still, if you want to download trailers, movies, demos, even system updates, Live is the network for you.

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popisdead uk is actually right on some PS3 games having dedicated servers.

Warhawk is one of them.

Devs can use PS3 server farms to host dedicated servers. I don't think 360 devs can do that? Most like PC's are the only option if any 360 game was to have dedicated servers - But I don't think any do, do they?

That's one thing I think could justify paying MS for gold - Access to dedicated servers.

Less popular console games like TF2 BOMB due to lack of people hosting servers, or hosting lag free servers.

Matchmaking is overrated IMO - But I come from PC online gaming, aka I prefer to see a list of servers and sort by ping, not sort by who's playing on them! (no I don't join empty servers just down to the ping, but I look at the ping foremost, then sift through server popularity).

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Don't form your purchase on the basis of 1 video game. Look at what other games offer. MGS4 is why I got my PS3

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No, no, no, and no. I can't believe i'm reading this, get your head out your....... just no.

Ok, so they have bigger disks. Is this being used? No. PS3 devs are *repeating* files on ps3 games to compensate for the slow drive.

Please, if you want to argue, use valid points :shock: Sweet f****** j**** you can REALLY tell which forum this was posted in...

You are the one that clearly hasn't a clue. XBL is built on a P2P network, only a handful of games are dedicated. Yes the content is hosted on dedicated servers, but so is the PSN content.

PSN however has far more dedicated server titles.

XBL is overpriced for what you get. Simple as. It is the better service simply because of its features but the actual 'playing' part is better on most PS titles due to the dedicated server thing I've already mentioned.

I don't wish to argue with you so if you can't reply without swearing or being abusive towards me, don't.

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You are the one that clearly hasn't a clue. XBL is built on a P2P network, only a handful of games are dedicated. Yes the content is hosted on dedicated servers, but so is the PSN content.

PSN however has far more dedicated server titles.

XBL is overpriced for what you get. Simple as. It is the better service simply because of its features but the actual 'playing' part is better on most PS titles due to the dedicated server thing I've already mentioned.

I don't wish to argue with you so if you can't reply without swearing or being abusive towards me, don't.

That really comes down to opinion again. I would take a little lag to keep the integration of XBL with friends, than without. Good an all there is dedicated games, but not much use when I can't join my friends easily :p

Some games do have the option to host a dedicated server on the 360 btw. Rainbow Six Vegas for one.

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That really comes down to opinion again. I would take a little lag to keep the integration of XBL with friends, than without. Good an all there is dedicated games, but not much use when I can't join my friends easily :p

Some games do have the option to host a dedicated server on the 360 btw. Rainbow Six Vegas for one.

Yeah, I understand your point but the dedicated servers are always better regardless of platform. Lag is bad however you look at it, friends integration shouldn't be used in trade off and I hope that is the case when the PS3 gets friends list integration in the summer.

There are not that many on the 360 that offer that though, Rainbow and a few others are about all there is.

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XBL has been on the market since the original XBox, and because it's Microsoft, they poured connectivity into it, integrating friends lists, messaging (via the Windows Live Messaging platform), Gamertag etc.

The PSN network is relatively knew (there was online PS2 play, but it always felt like it was tacked on). They PSN network has evolved a lot, and recently the Playstation Store has been updated (operates smoothly ;)), and with the (long overdue) upcoming Home system, it's going to have something the 360 doesn't.

DLC is present for both platforms, but naturally XBL is more mature and more widely supported. PLUS, with XBL you can play cross platform against GWL (Games for Windows Live) players, whereas I don't think PSN has cross-platform support.

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I haven't experienced much lag from any Xbox 360 Games so far, games either find players with the best connection or it lets you choose a server based on pings.

So unless you have a horrible connection or like joining servers with a high latency, you should be safe.

There are some games with a horrible net-code that will cause some lag, no matter how good the connection is *Cough* Vegas 1 & 2 *Cough*

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XBL has been on the market since the original XBox, and because it's Microsoft, they poured connectivity into it, integrating friends lists, messaging (via the Windows Live Messaging platform), Gamertag etc.

The PSN network is relatively knew (there was online PS2 play, but it always felt like it was tacked on). They PSN network has evolved a lot, and recently the Playstation Store has been updated (operates smoothly ;) ), and with the (long overdue) upcoming Home system, it's going to have something the 360 doesn't.

DLC is present for both platforms, but naturally XBL is more mature and more widely supported. PLUS, with XBL you can play cross platform against GWL (Games for Windows Live) players, whereas I don't think PSN has cross-platform support.

Sony has been on the market since the original Playstation, and because of their experience spanning three generations of consoles(four if you include PSP), Sony has much better dev tools than Microsoft...or wait...

I think that excuse for Sony is overused IMO.

p.s. First sentence is obviously missing a /sarcasm tag.

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Sony has been on the market since the original Playstation, and because of their experience spanning three generations of consoles(four if you include PSP), Sony has much better dev tools than Microsoft...or wait...

I think that excuse for Sony is overused IMO.

p.s. First sentence is obviously missing a /sarcasm tag.

we're talking about the online service, not consoles in general. If you really wanted to get picky then look at nintendo, it had online gaming 15 years ago and their (online) system still sucks. the playstation 2 did not get online capability till later in life, and each title depends on the developers hosting service. Xbox lvie came out a year after the consoles release and live has been going around 6 years now.

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we're talking about the online service, not consoles in general. If you really wanted to get picky then look at nintendo, it had online gaming 15 years ago and their (online) system still sucks. the playstation 2 did not get online capability till later in life, and each title depends on the developers hosting service. Xbox lvie came out a year after the consoles release and live has been going around 6 years now.

I Just wanted to raise the point that Live is better because it's been out longer is not really an excuse anymore.

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I Just wanted to raise the point that Live is better because it's been out longer is not really an excuse anymore.

Of course it's still a reason (not an excuse).

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