PacManPolarBear
05-15-2008, 07:24 PM
May 15th, 2008
by PacManPolarBear (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/author/pacmanpolarbear/)
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/ps3-copy-copy.jpg
Ever since episode one of the Sarcastic Gamer Playstation Podcast aired, I have been getting as much love from the Playstation community as I have been getting hate from the Xbox neighborhood. Considering the console war never meant a damn thing to me before (and still doesn’t), seeing as how I have alway been a proven PC addict, news that I am now a biased PS3 fanboy struck me as ludicrous, and more than a little funny.
Check out why I went with the PS3 over the 360 after the jump!
Do I like the PS3 more than the 360? Without question. Do I think the 360 sucks? No, and anyone that believes I do needs to take 10 chill pills (Pez candy of course) and go back to their Halo 3 happy place.
I agreed to co-host SG’s new Playstation Podcast because I recognized the opportunity it presented to speak out on a lot of what is going on within the Sony gaming world, a world that has been widely, and unjustly vilified by one-sided Podcasts, sites and shows. Also, the original SG podcast is NOT an Xbot show and anyone who thinks it is needs to have their hearing checked. The 360 was the first console the hosts owned and is their main gaming platform of choice, but they have no qualms about knocking the 360 down a peg, or two, when deserved. Rothbart, Frawlz and I intend to be just as critical (if not more so) of the PS3.
I may not own all three consoles, but that does not mean I have not played on all of them extensively over the past 2 years. If anyone wants to travel back in time to previous things I have written it should be obvious that I WAS a critic of the PS3. I thought Rothbart was deluded to think that Sony could bounce back, but unlike Xbots and their PS3 equivalents, I have the ability to admit I was wrong.
Why was I swayed towards the PS3, away from the 360 (which was originally ahead)? The answer to that takes into account numerous issues.
I pay enough monthly fee’s already, and I have yet to see ANY direct correlation between XBL paid subscriptions and quality support. Major down time two years in a row during the holiday season? Nice, the only time of year when I have a load of free time to play and I can’t. Having XBL drop for even two days over the Christmas break would have me foaming at the mouth. RRoD? Sure, if this was an isolated, 1 in a million occurrence, I’d consider it a non-issue. The fact that every single one of my IRL friends with a 360 has had RRoD at least once, if not multiple times is a huge negative for me. Exclusives? Sorry, not one Xbox semi-exclusive has ever made me want a 360 that badly since the great ones will make it to my PC eventually (hello superior Mass Effect). That does not mean I think Halo or Gears of War are crap (though I am not a big fan of either since few shooter titles hold my attention long) or that I cannot understand the attraction. On the whole, the games I want to play on the 360 are also available on the PS3. 25+ games with high MetaCritic scores that DO interest me on the PS3 are more than enough thank you very much. Oh wait, Ninja Gaiden II is a 360 exclusive, but I’ll live without it.
Achievements and Gamerscore mean next to nothing to me, so the lack there of on the PS3 is a non-issue. If you like’em, good for you, but I for one never got the attraction and marvel that people equate skill level with either. I admit I would like to see something basic like a competitive stat page for a given game. How many online matches have you won, how many kills do you average a match, who have you defeated etc… Anything beyond that does not interest me in the slightest. The only thing seeing that you have found all the flags or discovered all the Easter eggs in a game proves to me is that you spent a whole bunch of time achieving things that are only passably fun.
Does the 360 have a better online setup right now? Without question. Is it easier to find friends to play with? It sure seems that way to me. Do the majority of my peers game only on the 360? Not any more and that is one of the prime catalysts for my change of position. Over the last 6 months a fair amount of my 360 friends have either purchased a PS3 or traded in their Xbox for one (for the above reasons). I have no doubt I will have ample people to play with on the PS3.
“The PS3 has no games.”
I hear this one all the time and it never ceases to amuse. Exclusive wise, your right, the PS3 does not have as many titles as the 360, but NO games? Please. If we must talk exclusives, this years PS3 roster looks a hell of a lot better than the 360’s, but even that exclusive roster has only a few games that really caught my eye. Yeah I’m looking forward to Haze (if it turns out better than the demo), Resistance 2 and Killzone 2. Sorry, but my appreciation for the PS3 does not make me a Metal Gear fan by default.
All those issues aside, I really really like the 360. It’s fun, easy to use (I dig the Marketplace) and a bunch of the SG community plays on on XBL. The PS3 won out over the 360 by a few strides, not a mile. I wouldn’t be surprised if I own a 360 before the end of the year too.
Are PS3 rabid fanboys just as bad as Xbots? Hell yeah they are and I’d even go so far as to say they are even more easily agitated because the PS3 DID start off so rocky. A lame online experience, a very high starting price for the PS3 when it came out, no rumble, and a noticeable dearth of exclusive “this is why you should buy a PS3″ games early on more than justify a lot of the knocks Sony has taken.
Bang for my buck, the PS3 offers a lot. $399 for a PS3 vs. $349 for an Xbox 360 Pro is chump change. Blu-Ray has yet to prove itself to me, but it is a nice “future-proof” piece of tech. I have yet to hear about anyone I know having their PS3 die on them. No subscription fee’s to play online and Home should be here by the holidays which means PS’s online inability to match up to XBL will hopefully be a thing of the past. Bluetooth keyboard/mouse/headset and Linux support also peaked my interest. All the major games that I want are available on the PS3. The mesh between the PS3 and my PSP is also a nice fit, especially on those days when I’m avoiding my jealous PC mistress.
What it all comes down to is I wanted a PS3 more. If you prefer the 360, or the PS3, good on ya. The whole point of playing video games is to have fun, and I see no reason why I can’t champion one without needing to hate the other. I write and talk about EVERY platform, I don’t pick and choose which segments of the community I want to support and which I want to attack. If you disagree with what I write or what I say on the Podcast, great, tell me so. I have reconsidered my point of view numerous times because of criticism and I welcome every Xbot rant, one sided PS fanboy diatribe and general gamer criticism as much as I appreciate all the love and support.
Just don’t expect me to become a Wii lover any time soon. As I am so fond of saying, “I don’t get it.”
by PacManPolarBear (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/author/pacmanpolarbear/)
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/ps3-copy-copy.jpg
Ever since episode one of the Sarcastic Gamer Playstation Podcast aired, I have been getting as much love from the Playstation community as I have been getting hate from the Xbox neighborhood. Considering the console war never meant a damn thing to me before (and still doesn’t), seeing as how I have alway been a proven PC addict, news that I am now a biased PS3 fanboy struck me as ludicrous, and more than a little funny.
Check out why I went with the PS3 over the 360 after the jump!
Do I like the PS3 more than the 360? Without question. Do I think the 360 sucks? No, and anyone that believes I do needs to take 10 chill pills (Pez candy of course) and go back to their Halo 3 happy place.
I agreed to co-host SG’s new Playstation Podcast because I recognized the opportunity it presented to speak out on a lot of what is going on within the Sony gaming world, a world that has been widely, and unjustly vilified by one-sided Podcasts, sites and shows. Also, the original SG podcast is NOT an Xbot show and anyone who thinks it is needs to have their hearing checked. The 360 was the first console the hosts owned and is their main gaming platform of choice, but they have no qualms about knocking the 360 down a peg, or two, when deserved. Rothbart, Frawlz and I intend to be just as critical (if not more so) of the PS3.
I may not own all three consoles, but that does not mean I have not played on all of them extensively over the past 2 years. If anyone wants to travel back in time to previous things I have written it should be obvious that I WAS a critic of the PS3. I thought Rothbart was deluded to think that Sony could bounce back, but unlike Xbots and their PS3 equivalents, I have the ability to admit I was wrong.
Why was I swayed towards the PS3, away from the 360 (which was originally ahead)? The answer to that takes into account numerous issues.
I pay enough monthly fee’s already, and I have yet to see ANY direct correlation between XBL paid subscriptions and quality support. Major down time two years in a row during the holiday season? Nice, the only time of year when I have a load of free time to play and I can’t. Having XBL drop for even two days over the Christmas break would have me foaming at the mouth. RRoD? Sure, if this was an isolated, 1 in a million occurrence, I’d consider it a non-issue. The fact that every single one of my IRL friends with a 360 has had RRoD at least once, if not multiple times is a huge negative for me. Exclusives? Sorry, not one Xbox semi-exclusive has ever made me want a 360 that badly since the great ones will make it to my PC eventually (hello superior Mass Effect). That does not mean I think Halo or Gears of War are crap (though I am not a big fan of either since few shooter titles hold my attention long) or that I cannot understand the attraction. On the whole, the games I want to play on the 360 are also available on the PS3. 25+ games with high MetaCritic scores that DO interest me on the PS3 are more than enough thank you very much. Oh wait, Ninja Gaiden II is a 360 exclusive, but I’ll live without it.
Achievements and Gamerscore mean next to nothing to me, so the lack there of on the PS3 is a non-issue. If you like’em, good for you, but I for one never got the attraction and marvel that people equate skill level with either. I admit I would like to see something basic like a competitive stat page for a given game. How many online matches have you won, how many kills do you average a match, who have you defeated etc… Anything beyond that does not interest me in the slightest. The only thing seeing that you have found all the flags or discovered all the Easter eggs in a game proves to me is that you spent a whole bunch of time achieving things that are only passably fun.
Does the 360 have a better online setup right now? Without question. Is it easier to find friends to play with? It sure seems that way to me. Do the majority of my peers game only on the 360? Not any more and that is one of the prime catalysts for my change of position. Over the last 6 months a fair amount of my 360 friends have either purchased a PS3 or traded in their Xbox for one (for the above reasons). I have no doubt I will have ample people to play with on the PS3.
“The PS3 has no games.”
I hear this one all the time and it never ceases to amuse. Exclusive wise, your right, the PS3 does not have as many titles as the 360, but NO games? Please. If we must talk exclusives, this years PS3 roster looks a hell of a lot better than the 360’s, but even that exclusive roster has only a few games that really caught my eye. Yeah I’m looking forward to Haze (if it turns out better than the demo), Resistance 2 and Killzone 2. Sorry, but my appreciation for the PS3 does not make me a Metal Gear fan by default.
All those issues aside, I really really like the 360. It’s fun, easy to use (I dig the Marketplace) and a bunch of the SG community plays on on XBL. The PS3 won out over the 360 by a few strides, not a mile. I wouldn’t be surprised if I own a 360 before the end of the year too.
Are PS3 rabid fanboys just as bad as Xbots? Hell yeah they are and I’d even go so far as to say they are even more easily agitated because the PS3 DID start off so rocky. A lame online experience, a very high starting price for the PS3 when it came out, no rumble, and a noticeable dearth of exclusive “this is why you should buy a PS3″ games early on more than justify a lot of the knocks Sony has taken.
Bang for my buck, the PS3 offers a lot. $399 for a PS3 vs. $349 for an Xbox 360 Pro is chump change. Blu-Ray has yet to prove itself to me, but it is a nice “future-proof” piece of tech. I have yet to hear about anyone I know having their PS3 die on them. No subscription fee’s to play online and Home should be here by the holidays which means PS’s online inability to match up to XBL will hopefully be a thing of the past. Bluetooth keyboard/mouse/headset and Linux support also peaked my interest. All the major games that I want are available on the PS3. The mesh between the PS3 and my PSP is also a nice fit, especially on those days when I’m avoiding my jealous PC mistress.
What it all comes down to is I wanted a PS3 more. If you prefer the 360, or the PS3, good on ya. The whole point of playing video games is to have fun, and I see no reason why I can’t champion one without needing to hate the other. I write and talk about EVERY platform, I don’t pick and choose which segments of the community I want to support and which I want to attack. If you disagree with what I write or what I say on the Podcast, great, tell me so. I have reconsidered my point of view numerous times because of criticism and I welcome every Xbot rant, one sided PS fanboy diatribe and general gamer criticism as much as I appreciate all the love and support.
Just don’t expect me to become a Wii lover any time soon. As I am so fond of saying, “I don’t get it.”