OPM Editor Buys 360 over PS3

[Bond]

Why I am buying a 360 this November

Contrary to popular belief, editors of the Official PlayStation Magazine don't get free hardware for their own personal use. So I've been having an ongoing debate with myself about the PS3 since E3. After Kaz announced that the price would be $600, I found my enthusiasm sagging.

It's not that I find the concept of a $600 console insulting. Inflation happens, and it's natural that eventually inital prices will be higher than they used to be. But when I know that a console's direct competitors cost two-thirds or half of that price, it becomes harder for me to justify shelling out that kind of money--especially when I can probably get the Wii and the 360 combined for the cost of a PS3.

$600 might be worth it if there were several huge titles on the near horizon that were PS3-exclusive. But for the first year at least, there are very few big titles that are PS3 exclusive. GTA4 and Assassins will be available for the 360 at the same time. And most of the big guns--FFXIII, MGS4--won't be hitting for quite some time after the launch.

The other big reason for people to shell out $600, BluRay, is frankly something I don't care about. I have a crummy 12-year-old 21-inch very-non-hi-def TV sitting on my stand at home, and while we've been talking about upgrading it for the past three years, we always end up walking out of stores TV-less. And I don't buy movies; I rent non-BR discs from Netflix. Much like I've never been an audiophile--as long as I can hear it, I don't care if it's mono, stereo, 5.1, 7.1--I really don't care how high-res the picture is. My bottom line is that as long as it has color and is free from static, I'm good to go.

So ultimately, I can't justify it. $600 is a lot of money, especially when I can get what--for me at least--will be a very similar experience for $400. I would like to own a PS3, and I hope that the price drops soon so I can consider it. But until then, this Official PlayStation Magazine editor will have to join the dark side.

Source: 1UP

Interesting.

[Jonbo298]

Why is he waiting until November to buy a 360?

[Null]

why woudlnt you wait? theres not much on the 360 worth playing yet, just as theres not much looking to come out soon on ps3.
plus add in the rumors of a possible price drop around ps3's launch. i think most people are waiting.


things are too damn pricey.

[fingersman]

Originally Posted by Jonbo298

Why is he waiting until November to buy a 360?

You might get a price drop on the 360 around November.

[DarkMaster]

They don't get consoles for free, but at the office he can sure as hell play any console he wants, with any currently available or upcoming game he wants, on a large HDTV, pretty much anytime he wants. How many consoles would you own if you could do that?

And just because he writes for OPM doesn't mean he's biased towards Sony, as if he has some sort of obligation to purchase their console. To my understanding everyone who works for Ziff Davis writes for all sections of the 1UP network, including EGM, OPM, CGW, and whatever else.

[KillerGremlin]

The Wii, as I've mentioned before, launches with dated graphics. If Nintendo pulls a 250 price for the Wii out of their Nintendo hat, for a console that launches graphically dated...

The 360 has a couple good games now, the horizon is looking much better. Personally, I still think I'd get a 360 when the PS3 launches, and maybe consider a Wii in a year or two.

The PS3 has bluray! and Riddddggeee Racer. How can you not want to spend close to 1000 dollars for it.

Of course, in terms of innovation, Nintendo might storm this generation. I'm sure this will be another generation spent playing Counter-Strike on my PC while people go spend thousands of dollars to play console games.

[Dyne]

Ouch. Man that was true.

And yeah, the 360 lineup looks pretty hard to beat this fall.