Before beginning this article I would like to make it clear that I’m a confessed Xbot. Even after churning through 3 separate Xbox 360’s due to hardware failure, I have remained loyal to Microsoft and believe that Xbox Live is an amazingly fun service, even worth paying for. BUT do I really? What has kept me coming back again and again when a normal gamer would have spat the dummy and gotten rid of the Xbox 360 years ago? Why is now the right time to finally break away from Microsoft?
The following reasons are what I believe to be the most compelling as to why my fellow hardcore Xbots should seriously consider taking the plunge and moving over to the PS3.
The Play Station NetworkNow I hear what you guys are saying, nothing beats Xbox lives usability, social aspects and servers, but PSN has come a long way over the last year or so. The Servers (due to less traffic) experience a lot less lag than what we have all become accustomed to on Live. The PSN interface thanks to 2.40 update will encompass almost all the functionality that Xbots are familiar with, including fast access to friends and game invitations, and it’s FREE!
The Price
In most countries you can now pick up a PS3 for roughly the same price as we paid for our Xbox 360’s at launch. Currently in Australia you can get the MGS4 pack for a little over $650. While the price may have seemed crazy at the beginning, the PS3 is now quite reasonably priced considering it comes standard with WiFi and a 40gb hard disk which can be easily and cheaply upgraded to any 2.5” laptop hard disk. 
Blu-Ray
Who knows when Microsoft will add an external Blu-ray player to the Xbox 360? In fact, I don’t even know what to do with my HD DVD external drive! But the point is that sooner or later we will be adapting to Blu-ray technology so why not pick up a console that comes standard with it? Moreover, whilst we may see a Blu Ray option for the Xbox 360, we will never see large games such as Metal Gear Solid 4 released on Blu Ray discs for the Xbox. And who wants to watch a Blu Ray movie with the noise which is the Xbox 360 drowning out the soundtrack?
As mentioned earlier, the ability to upgrade your PS3’s internal hard drive with any 2.5” SATA drive (basically any laptop hard drive), is indicative of Sony’s open policy to 3rd party accessories. It seems weird that an evil corporation such as Sony would allow this, but I for one won’t complain. The PS3 will connect with any Bluetooth device, so I can use my Bluetooth headset with my phone, my Mac and my PS3The same is true with webcams. Pretty much any USB webcam will connect with the PS3 and allow for group video chats and in game video support.
Media centre support
As the only console to fully support DivX codecs, as well as a whole range of audio, image and video files, the PS3 combines its Blu Ray player to stand out as a great media centre for your lounge room. And with the impending release of PlayTV, the twin HD television tuner, we can soon record our favourite free-to-air shows and then store them on our internal drive or any USB drive we connect to the console.
Trophies
Who needs Achievements? I for one do. But with the release of the trophy system on PSN, we Xbots will now be able to enjoy the satisfaction of getting trophies for our efforts.
The fact is that there are only two reasons for most of us to stick with the Xbox 360. One being that we have a regular groups of friends that we play with each night and the other, more importantly, our gamer scores. This reason above all else is probably what keeps us hooked. All those hours spent slogging through single player campaigns or online co-op has a numerical representation that we feel would be difficult to let go of.
Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to make the switch to the PS3?
nextgg
7/04/2008
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