Go with the system that more of your friends have. Or at least the friends that are fun to play games with. Assuming you're going to be playing multiplayer, it's a ton more fun in groups/with people you know than playing alone. It's also nice to be able to trade games with friends if you don't want to drop 70 bucks for a game that could potentially suck. With blu-ray and the exclusive titles I would go with the PS3. Halo is gay.
When I bought a laptop off of ebay a few years ago, I wanted some sort of insurance in case it showed up fucked up or whatever. So I looked around and read a little bit and found <a class="postlink" href="http://www.squaretrade.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.squaretrade.com</a>. It's a third-party warranty company and it's pretty reasonable. For a $300 PS3, it would cost 47.99 to get a 3 year warranty from squaretrade. For my laptop they were able to fix it and send it back quicker than the quoted time and they fixed some stuff on it that I didn't even know was broken.
360 for me all the way. For one reason, the controllers. I like the sticks (with tension and indent) compared to the PS3. I wish I had a PS3 for GT5 and the Blu Ray, but aside from those two reasons, I'd buy a 360 any day of the week.
I have neither but would choose the Xbox over the PS. Way more friends play with 360 than PS, some have both but choose the Xbox to game with over the PS.
I have very limited experience with the dual shock but I do not care for it. The handles are too wide and flat and do not fit my hand at all. I very much prefer the 360's controller. Plus the analog sticks are way better positioned, but that's probably because it's what I'm used to. It's like Sony still lives in a pre-1996 world, making the dpad the focal point for my thumb
PS3 Outside of the gaming (which is really up to your preference), its all the other stuff that comes with it. Free online play (which you can now upgrade for, I think, $50 a year and you get 4-5 free full game downloads from that) Kick ass Blu-ray player Super easy streaming from your computer netflix (this is a wash in terms of either console) the kick ass Bluetooth remote for the console Card readers, boat load of USB ports Back wards compatibility to for the Sony Library Either case, I think the biggest selling point for PS over Xbox is the blu-ray and free online play Then again, if your friends all have X boxes, then get one (or vice versa)
Fixed. Virtual Console baby. Plus they just remade Goldeneye, and there's already a new Mario Kart. Chater said they play CoD, Fifa and Fight Night. If that's the case, don't get a Wii. CoD is better on the other systems, but Goldeneye is probably the best shooter out for the Wii now. (Based on reviews, I haven't played any shooters except the Metroid games, which are awesome, but single player). Fifa is better on the other systems as well (based on IGN), and I'm not even sure Fight Night is on the Wii. But, if you like Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Mario bros or the like, for playing with your buddies, definitely consider a Wii.
You guys are doing it wrong: This is a big point for me, as well. Last year after the Super Bowl, a bunch of us were playing Modern Warfare 2 on my friend's PS3, and I'll be goddamned if that wasn't the most awkward experience for me while playing video games. The analog sticks are WAY too sensitive for my taste. The lack of tension was a deal-breaker. On the other hand, the L1-L2-R1-R2 buttons on the PS3 are much better than the LB-LT-RB-RT buttons on the 360. On the topic of Red Ring, I got my 360 fixed last April, free of charge. Not only was it a gift and I didn't have the receipt, but it was a pre-owned console. That didn't stop them from sending me a new one for free, with a 1-month Gold card to boot. Also, to those people who don't like paying to play online, don't you dare let me hear you complain whenever a patch or update doesn't work out in your favor. As far as I'm concerned, you get what you pay for. I could be wrong, but it seems like WoW players rarely, if ever, have a problem with tech support. I imagine that's directly related to paying a monthly subscription. Can any of you WoW nerds chime in on this?
Again, Wii. Virtual Console. $8 SNES games? You bet. I can't speak for PS3 users, but I imagine they get all the patches the Live users get. With the Live fee I assume you're paying to keep up the network, not deliver patches. That's the developer's responsibility, not Microsofts (unless it's their first party game)
I didn't think that the current generation PS3s were backward compatible. I'd get the Xbox 360, then wait for Sony to release their Bravia series TV with the PS3 built in, a la this.
Or I can buy a system where I don't have to spend the extra money in order to have batteries that are half decent because the controllers come with them built in. Mind you, the downside is that when the battery goes tits up, you have to buy a while new controller. PS3 is the best blu-ray player on the market for it's price and versatility. I have yet to find on that is updated with the newest codecs (sound and video) on such a regular basis - the support for the PS3 is unbelievable. My brother and I convinced my dad to buy a PS3 because of these facts and he uses it to just stream movies from his computer or to play his blu-rays. I bought the PS3 for quite a few reasons, many of them already said; I've had mine almost three years (got it right after release). I've never had an issue with it and I've never had to worry about the thing. It's given almost constant use, seeing as my roommates use it for movies or netflix and I use it for games every now and then. They're not. The old version are though, up until the Metal Gear Solid PS3 pack.
RE: Backwards compatibility Current Gen ps3s have no problem with PS1 games, but do not support PS2 games. Also Perfect Dark (original) on XBLA is awesome.
I have a PS3 and I've had a PS1, PS2, and a dream cast in between. I choose to stick with the playstations simply because I could never get used to a different controller. Not everyone has this problem but I can't make the change. I get so frustrated trying to teach my hands to use the 360 controller that I don't even bother any more. Others have mentioned the blue-ray player in the PS3. It looks like the 360 has more games but I'm a Playstation guy.
I was recently faced with this decision when I had some spare cash. What I wanted in a console was something to play sports games like Fifa and NHL on. Both machines can do this. Then the next thing I looked at was what many people have mentioned so far, PS3 has the blu-ray. To me this was significant because normal dvd's will soon go the way of VHS and sooner or later everyone will be rocking blu-ray players or they will be faggy hipsters who are too cool for blu-ray. I ended up getting the PS3 and couldn't be happier. Me and my family use it nearly everyday. My dad will watch blu-ray dvd's from netflix or I will be playing Call of Duty or steaming movies off of netflix or watching NHL Gamecenter Live. Its a versatile machine and really, aside from the xbox maybe having a better controller I really can't see any other significant advantages the xbox has over the ps3. Apparently xbox has more games, but I'm not a gamer so thats really not all that important to me.
Nobody seems to have mentioned that the PS3 doesn't need an addon for wireless connection. That for me was the deciding point when I purchased mine.
It pretty much comes down to what console the majority of your friends play on and which console exclusives you prefer more. Looking for the better multiplayer exclusives like Gears of War and Halo? Go Xbox. If you want a lot of the better single player games along with a few great, but less popular games like Killzone and MGS4. Go PS3. I have both systems and personally just pick up multi-platform games for Xbox because that's the console all of my friends play on. Oh and PS3 has the Uncharted series which by itself is worth buying a PS3.
I'm all about the Xbox I switched about 4 or 5 years ago and I have had more fun with the xbox than I ever did with the Playstation. But that was when Playstation didnt have the online system like they have now and when I use to like Halo alot. I like the xbox controllers better because ive now used them longer. I like that xbox gets some content faster than the PS3 such as netflix stream without disc and ESPN (Which I used yesterday to watch Stanford whoop Virgina Tech). So all in all its a matter of opinion I dont mind shelling out the $60 a year because almost all my friends have Xbox and only a few have the PS3.