What really did it for me was the backwards compatibility, since I have a sizable ps2 collection to begin with. So instead of buying a 360 and a couple games, I got a ps3 with a couple games, and then a few dozen more from the ps2 era.

But really, I love the ps3, it's just hard to be excited for some of the games that come out for it; exclusive or otherwise. Call of duty 4 got a LOT of playtime out of it, and I picked up Army of Two recently, which is good for a few laughs on co-op. But a lot of the time I'll be at the store going over the titles and not be particularly interested with what they have.

Also I'd like to ask how nice your TV is. Pretty much anything from the current generation runs fine on standard televisions, it's just that a lot of games didn't bother to scale the text down to accomodate. So sometimes you can't read important stuff; my SDTV is only a couple years old and it looks GREAT, but then if I'm over at my freind's playing on some 10 year old peice of shit I can see what's happening, but reading what's going on is out of the question.

Well I have a 360 at the moment, and it's excellent. Great range of games, from Orange Box, Halo, Lost Odyssey, COD4, etc. Also, online mode is fantastic. I play it on a 10 y/o television and it looks good.

I would say get a 360, unless you're a huge MGS/FF fan and MGS4 and FFXIII would sway it for you. Otherwise, I would say go for the 360. It's really a great piece of gaming kit.

Apart from Fable 2 and Bioshock 2 coming up, I don't see anything better coming up for 360 (IMO). But those games will end up on PC anyway. And MGS4 and FF13, maybe they will too, but much later. So I would go with PS3.

I have a PS3 and haven't really regretted it at all. I can't speak against the other consoles cause I don't own them, but I will say that you'll get much more out of the PS3 if you play PS1 and PS2 games on it, especially if you don't have those systems of course.

I bought a 360 about a year ago. I took me a while to decide between it and a PS3.

There have already been some good opinions in this thread but I wanna add something too. The 360 have more good games right now and better online stuff (although not for free), there isn't really much to argue there. However, what I also like with the 360 is the controller and all the stuff you can buy along with it. The PS3 controller feels too plastic, doesn't weight much and is a bit too small. I was never really bothered by the size of the PS2 until I got my hands on a 360 controller. So if you're also considering which console that feels best while playing, the 360 gets my vote.

Metal Gear is the only game I want exclusively on PS3. I would recommend the 360 as of right now, the PS3 has nothing really.

Btw: Star Ocean 4's console is still to be determined.

Btw: Star Ocean 4's console is still to be determined.

$500 says it isn't 360.

$500 says it isn't 360.

If this is the concern everybody better be keepin' that $500

edit:  Also I never really knew why backwards compatibility was a huge selling point for any console when the person already owns the earlier console.  If you DIDN'T have a PS2, it could be a selling point since it means not having to buy both, but the only real advantage if you DO have a PS2 is...not taking two seconds to plug in the other console?  And sometimes with less compatibility?  I never understood that.

wait, what? why is Final Fantasy a selling point at all?

this isn't fucking Mario, FF has been a lot of letdowns in succession. I don't see why anyone would think that would factor into buying a console when a lot of the people who made the series are gone.

at least MGS4 is pretty much guaranteed to be good in what it does, but Final Fantasy fucks up all the time.

Also I never really knew why backwards compatibility was a huge selling point for any console when the person already owns the earlier console.  If you DIDN'T have a PS2, it could be a selling point since it means not having to buy both, but the only real advantage if you DO have a PS2 is...not taking two seconds to plug in the other console?  And sometimes with less compatibility?  I never understood that.

I am sure I am not the only person whose PS1 had become unreliable and noisy by the time I bought a PS2, and whose PS2 had similarly worn out by the time I bought a PS3.  I don't play backwards compatible games constantly, but occassionally I want to play a classic game or buy a new PS2 game, and it really is nice that I can put it into the PS3 and expect it work.  A replacement PS2 is cheap of course, and I could always haul out my old one and wait five minutes for it to recognize there is actually a disc in there.  But still, why not consider that added functionality as a worthwhile feature?

wait, what? why is Final Fantasy a selling point at all?

this isn't fucking Mario, FF has been a lot of letdowns in succession. I don't see why anyone would think that would factor into buying a console when a lot of the people who made the series are gone.

at least MGS4 is pretty much guaranteed to be good in what it does, but Final Fantasy fucks up all the time.

I don't know man the sales are still there and the review scores are high and the games are always in GameFAQ's top 10 lists so somebody out there must still have faith in the series (like me?).  There are tons of people who haven't been disappointed by any of the major numbered Final Fantasies yet.

I am sure I am not the only person whose PS1 had become unreliable and noisy by the time I bought a PS2, and whose PS2 had similarly worn out by the time I bought a PS3.  I don't play backwards compatible games constantly, but occassionally I want to play a classic game or buy a new PS2 game, and it really is nice that I can put it into the PS3 and expect it work.  A replacement PS2 is cheap of course, and I could always haul out my old one and wait five minutes for it to recognize there is actually a disc in there.  But still, why not consider that added functionality as a worthwhile feature?

I'm not saying it's not worthwhile, I mean that some people think it's a GIANT SELLING POINT.  I think it's a nice little extra, but it wouldn't really help me make a decision on which to buy.  It's not a MAKE OR BREAK feature.

edit: Also as someone who owns one non-working PS1 and two non-working PS2's I must say that only makes me LESS likely to get a PS3, because I'd be worried it'd be the next non-working console in my house (the only non-Sony console I own is my NES, which still on rare occasions works unlike my playstations!)

In a way, the selling point is the pool of games available. For 360 in the beginning, there was like basically Halo for backwards compatible. So, you'd have to have that mammoth black monstrosity out if you wanted to play Xbox games. While PSone and PS2slim are tiny, there's really no point in having them out / owning them once PS3 is sitting in your shelf. It may not be a "giant" selling point, but definitely one of the stronger points. (ESP early in the console life. No that both have been out for so long, it's moot at best.)

In a way, the selling point is the pool of games available. For 360 in the beginning, there was like basically Halo for backwards compatible. So, you'd have to have that mammoth black monstrosity out if you wanted to play Xbox games. While PSone and PS2slim are tiny, there's really no point in having them out / owning them once PS3 is sitting in your shelf. It may not be a "giant" selling point, but definitely one of the stronger points. (ESP early in the console life. No that both have been out for so long, it's moot at best.)

But that's just more of a side-effect of having it, I don't understand how it's a strong selling point at all.  I can't see how anyone has a problem pulling out and plugging in a console to the point where they're more willing to buy a different console because of it.  Now, once you've bought a PS3 for OTHER reasons I can see why the feature is nice, but I can't see how not wanting to switch a couple of cables around is a priority unless the only other version of a game you have is a giant arcade machine that's tucked away in a laundry closet.  The pool of games isn't really the issue unless you don't own a PS2 (which most of the people who seem to put a lot of importance into this do) or...just...for some reason is too lazy to pull it out.  You're not lazy for using the feature if you already have the PS3, but fuck, if you ever considered the idea that "Maybe I should get the PS3 instead of the 360 because I have all these PS2 games..." there is a problem.  It's a convenience after the fact, not a selling point.

I mean things like this:

I have a PS3 and haven't really regretted it at all. I can't speak against the other consoles cause I don't own them, but I will say that you'll get much more out of the PS3 if you play PS1 and PS2 games on it, especially if you don't have those systems of course.

It does account for "especially if you don't have those systems", but it says YOU WILL GET MUCH MORE OUT OF THE PS3 IF YOU PLAY PS1 AND PS2 GAMES ON IT.  If you're getting THAT much more out of a system because of that (again providing you have a PS2 or PS1), then either you're incredibly lazy or the system doesn't have much to offer itself.

edit: also

What really did it for me was the backwards compatibility, since I have a sizable ps2 collection to begin with. So instead of buying a 360 and a couple games, I got a ps3 with a couple games, and then a few dozen more from the ps2 era.

what really did it for me was the backwards compatibility

I votes for teh Wii.