I going to sell all old consoles and possibly even my Wii to help me buy either an XBOX 360 or Playstation 3. I was hoping some of you might be able to give me some advice. I'm big XBOX fan so I planned to by a 360 but a lot people I've spoken to say they are very unreliable suffer from something called "Red Circle of Death"? :shrug: and over heat. It's manly people with PS3's who have told this I was hoping someone with 360 could give me honest opinion are these problems as bad there are making out?

As for Playstation 3 the graphics are great but is there that much difference between the two and at around £50 per game not mention the more expensive console is worth the extra money?

Any thoughts or opinions very welcome! :)

There is no particular difference graphics wise between the two imo.

360's the best at the moment if you want it for games as there are far more available (it having had quite a head start over the PS3).

There is no denying that the 360 has had a bad failure rate problem, though I've had no trouble (Steve may have a different story ;) ) and MS now offer a 3 year RROD repair guarantee.

The only reason to get a PS3 in preference is if you're interested in BluRay movies (for which you'd need an HD capable TV.

Also, if it makes a difference, it appears that the new 40GB PS3 is not going to be backwards compatible with PS2 games (while the XBox360 apparently can be).

Which pretty much sealed it for me - now I just have to fight with my wife as to which we get first! It's either the 360 for me (which I want for GTA4), or the Wii for her :)

Yeah, my first 360 failed after about 4 months. At the time M$ were very good at replacing them. They arranged collection, picked it up on a Thursday and I had a new machine on the following Tuesday. But I hear they have slowed down a lot since then (I believe it's taking as much as three weeks now).

The other good factor is Xbox Live (and Xbox Live Arcade and Marketplace, where you can download games specially created for the Arcade in exchange for Microsoft Points, or demos of upcoming games for free). I know the PS3 online service is free but the lack of games at the moment is a definite factor. An Xbox Live Gold subscription is only £3.99 a month. You get a free month's trial when you get the 360.

And Phillip's right, a lot of your old Xbox games will be compatible with the 360 (not all, though, see the current list here).

Tbh, though, once you start playing games like Oblivion, Bioshock and Halo 3, you won't be interested in your old games anymore, but it's a handy facility to have. The only Xbox games I've played on the 360 are Halo and Halo 2 in the build up to 3's release :)

I suspect that the new PS3's backward compatibility issues will be solved sooner or later, though. The PS3's built-in Blu Ray capability is a definite factor if you've got an HDtv, whereas you'd have to buy a separate HD DVD drive for the 360 to get access to high definition movies. The 360 also looks very sleek, but they never show you the rather large power brick that comes with it, which you will have to find space for. The PS3's power supply is built into the machine itself.

Pros and cons for both machines, imo, but if you're looking for a games machine at the moment the 360 is the way to go :)

Are the games on that list backward compatible (not to worried that as I can the Buffy game still love it after all these years) or is just the ones in green? I don't have HD TV and won't to afford one any time soon so not an issue at the moment.

Is worth spending more to buy the 360 Elite?

Thanks for help guys :)

That list is all the games that are compatible.

I'd say save your money on the Elite, get a Premium and get some extra games :)

The Elite is only really worth getting if you do have an HDTV - for the HDMI connection.

It seems that M$ are also sneaking the HDMI connection onto the lesser models as well - the Halo 3 limited edition certainly has one.

Something you want to tell everyone, Paul? :whistling: :ph43r:

Um... Like what? :shifty: :whistling:

Like you've probably spent the afternoon watching Blu Ray movies :lol: :p

:o

Xbox 360 Premium pack plus FREE Halo 3 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 for £249.99 :o

Better be quick, though, looks like the offer's today only. They're a good company, have used them a lot :)

Gameplay.co.uk