Help Me Buy A Killer Gaming System, Money No Object Xbox 360 Arcade Or Pro?

[iGuest 3]

Help Me Buy A Killer Gaming System, Money No ObjectXbox 360 Arcade Or Pro?

Hi.  I need HELP!

My partner has a Z-something 50th Edidition Corvette.  She is hard core racing and addrenaline junkie.  She's set up to go and actually race at a track but the season here (mn with long winters) doesn't start until May.

Since the vette is her main hobby, and it is put away in heated storage for the winter, she has nothing much to do but sit on the couch all day and make me crazy.  Her job is very stressful so she needs a way to let off steam but she's not into sports other than her vette.

It was suggested to me that I should buy her the best, most realistic gaming package with racing games that I can find.  She may or maynot like it (I'm hoping she will become addicted) but it's worth a try.

I'm an old PC user and make my way around Windows lik a qiz,

But I know LESS! than nothing about the high tech gaming world.  We have a home PC netwetwork on the second floor but our 60 inch big screen HD TV is on the first floor in the living room.  She can use her wifi laptop there and hook it up to the tv is she wants.

So:1.  Is the XBox the BEST that money can buy?2. If so, which of the X-Boxes is the most current high teck everything you'd ever want in a gaming console?  I see pro elite and orange and only surmise that the elite is best since it seems to have a 120 hard drive instead of 60.3.  Is Sony Playstation, or any other gaming console superioor to exbox?4.  I want to get all the accessories required for the Best Experience because when I surprise her with this I want her to be able to set it right up and play, not have to wait to get some cable or adaptor or something I didn't know to buy5.  I'm sure I want that Race Car console but don't know if I want the laptop or table version.She tends to spend the time on our deep semi-circular couch at one end.  Because this has two semi-circle ottoman in front of it there is no room for a coffee table.  Just how stable is the laptop version while in use in one's lap.6. Lastly, including but not limited to racing, what are the best, most realistic adrenaline junkie games available and how do I get them (buy on DVD play that's attached to our surround sound system) or download them and burn to a DVD, which I can do on my computer.

Any other

Kathleen A Gallagher

[Zeyomie 0]

X-box has been around for some time, therefore there are a lot of different games for it, I don't have any of the latest consoles, but I know the 360 is good. Playstation 3 is the latest thing out there. I don't know if it's better then the 360 or not, I've never seen it in action like I have with the 360. But it comes with a Hard Drive (Like the 360) and plays blueray disks (360 does not). You'd have to research what PS3 games there are and see if that is what you are looking for. Now there is the Wii as well, which is extremely popular. However it is far from realistic in graphics, it does require more physical activity to play the games. Hence it's popularity with adults as well as children. I personally want all 3 and i will probably never get 1, if I did though it would probably be a 360.

[rayzoredge 2]

1. Is the XBox the BEST that money can buy?

That's going to be an opinion at best. Review all the features of all of the options that are available to you. You can go out with a Wii, play by motion and be off your bum, have access to a library of classic games, but be hampered down by graphical capability, the difficulty of being able to find a Wii at MSRP, and if you're not the sort of person to actually get off the couch and move around to play a video game (or if it just doesn't interest you), it won't work out. You can go out and get an XBox 360, have an enormous selection of games to purchase, utilize the Internet for XBox Live as well as the Marketplace and even download and/or stream Netflix movies, stream media via your home network from your PCs to play on your TV, have amazing graphics as far as next-gen consoles go (complete with HD and digital audio connectivity), and be able to play DVDs on the console, but be downplayed by the fact that it doesn't support BluRay or having the possibility of having a Red Ring of Death (which is less of an issue nowadays). You could go with a PlayStation 3 and get amazing graphics as far as next-gen goes, have free multiplayer over the Internet, utilize a combination of motion and the usual couch-potato play with the SIXAXIS controllers, have the advantage of being able to play DVDs and BluRay discs, and have HD and digital connectivity, yet pay out the wazoo for a console/BR player that doesn't have as much of a valuable game library as the 360 does, not to mention that it doesn't hold as much of a family audience as the Wii does.

2. If so, which of the X-Boxes is the most current high teck everything you'd ever want in a gaming console? I see pro elite and orange and only surmise that the elite is best since it seems to have a 120 hard drive instead of 60.

Personally, I would go for the Elite. They supposedly are designed better internally and have less (if any) of a chance for a "Red Ring of Death" (which is caused by a heat dissipation issue, infamously associated with the first generations of 360's), plus have HDMI support and come with the HDMI cable that you'll need to connect to your HDTV. There are other hardware advantages too, like a motherboard upgrade (Zephyr to Falcon), etc. (I've never heard of an Orange 360, so I can't comment.)

3. Is Sony Playstation, or any other gaming console superioor to exbox?

Like I said, it's all about what you're looking for. PlayStation 3, in my eyes, is superior because it has some exclusive titles that seem simply awesome (Resistance, Killzone 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, etc.) and it has a BluRay player and free multiplay. Even more cool is the announcement for the support of stereoscopic 3D gameplay and video playback, which means that in the future, you can watch 3D movies and maybe play 3D games on the PS3. However, it is inferior to the 360 because it doesn't have as much of a gaming library available to it as Microsoft's console does (mostly due to the fact that the 360 was released a year earlier than the PS3) and it's expensive. Compared to Nintendo's Wii, it's less easy to pick up and doesn't exactly attract the eyes of a family audience. If you want to compare the graphic capability between consoles, the PS3 truly trumps the Wii, but is comparable with the 360. The slight differences in shading, blooming, and whatnot does not even begin to create a comparable argument against the 360 and PS3 in terms of graphics, but don't tell that to a Microsoft or a Sony fanboy/girl.

4. I want to get all the accessories required for the Best Experience because when I surprise her with this I want her to be able to set it right up and play, not have to wait to get some cable or adaptor or something I didn't know to buy

Just keep in mind that you'll need:

* an HDTV with appropriate connnectivity
* a sound system with appropriate connectivity
* an HDMI cable to connect the console to the HDTV
* a digital optical cable to connect the console to a sound system
* a surge protector (highly recommended)
* any accessories, such as headsets or additional controllers

5. I'm sure I want that Race Car console but don't know if I want the laptop or table version.She tends to spend the time on our deep semi-circular couch at one end. Because this has two semi-circle ottoman in front of it there is no room for a coffee table. Just how stable is the laptop version while in use in one's lap.

Personally-speaking, I would rather have a table-top version of any steering wheel, but since it has to be a lap version, I would have to say that it's not bad for playing. It depends on how hard the steering wheel resistance is too... I used to play with a Mad Catz steering wheel for the PS2 and that sucker had some resistance to it, which meant that the entire steering device steered a bit off to the sides of my lap at times. If you can, try before you buy. Not sure how many Best Buys or electronics stores will have this available to demo, but if you don't like it, have the receipt handy. (Do your homework too... peer reviews can be nice... and sometimes misleading.)

6. Lastly, including but not limited to racing, what are the best, most realistic adrenaline junkie games available and how do I get them (buy on DVD play that's attached to our surround sound system) or download them and burn to a DVD, which I can do on my computer.

Uh... I'm not too sure about pirating 360 or PS3 discs, which is what it sounds like you're talking about. You can't burn a PC game to play in a console, obviously... but you can burn a 360 or PS3 image onto disc and play it that way. (I don't know how to, nor do I suggest you do it.) Just go out and buy the darn things... if money is no object, might as well, right?

As far as "best, most realistic" games go, that's all in a matter of preference. Your friend may be hard to please, considering that there's a Corvette sitting in the garage. (Honestly, I would just look at peer reviews... that's what I'm doing now.) "Best and realistic" might not cut it if the game isn't fun to begin with. So far, games that come to mind for 360 include Halo 3, Gears of War 2, Assassin's Creed, The Orange Box, F.E.A.R., Battlefield: Bad Company, Forza Motorsport, Burnout Paradise, etc. For PS3, I'd look at Resistance, LittleBigPlanet, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Killzone 2 (when it comes out). A lot of games came out for multiple ports... look for those too. I'd check out reviews and the common top lists to check out what's out there. The Wii doesn't have a powerhouse of games that look realistic, but there are a ton of fun games out there that compensate for the lack of graphical power with a fun factor you won't get from the PS3 or the 360, like the Rayman: Raving Rabbids games, WarioWare, Super Paper Mario, Super Smash Brawl, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Mario Party 8, etc.

Hell, if money is no object, I'd get all three and just have a switchbox to be able to utilize all three consoles. But then again, that's just me.

[Parubilla 0]

Just a little advice before deciding for an Xbox: It is really unpredictable, one day is fine the other you don't know if you're going to have an error, one you can fix or a fatal error that you have to replace the console, in my experience my boyfriend in 3 years since he first bought the Xbox 360, this month bought the fifth console, in the same amount of years he had have a Wii and until this day is working perfectly, so in terms of durability an Xbox is out of the question, this last one he bought is a Elite and those (the most expensive ones) are suppose to be better built than the others and hopefully they will last longer. So if you want to buy an Xbox better go with the expensive one... there's nothing you can do with an arcade, you have almost no accessories included, you have no hard drive, it's a waste of money, pay 60 bucks more and you have a little bit better console, and also I have red a lot reviews that says arcade is the worst of all in terms of quality and durability it break really easily... and the other thing is the costumer service, they take forever to replace or repair the Xbox but they do it anyways... and then when it comes the time to use the warranty, the console must be in it's original state, if you alter the console in any way then you will have to buy another one because the warranty is not effective anymore, and also the fact that you can get banned from live if the system detects you altered your console, and you will lose the best feature the xbox have to offer, so it's better if you don't have a lot of money buy original games little by little but don't risk your console. The same goes for the PS3. And Xbox 360 has the game a lot of people like to play HALO sooo if you are addicted to it you already have your answer. Now the PS3 is awesome as well, it's the latest technology I think with the implementation of the blue ray disks for the games. You get the best image experience of course if you have the tv to take advantage of all the features, and not only you can play but watch all of your movies in HD so it's two things for the prize of one. My boyfriend also bought this console last year and until know zero problems with it, so it is pretty durable, it has lots of fun games as well, the Playstation network that is pretty good, with the creation of the characters and the "virtual city" concept, your computer also recognize the PS3 and you can add movies, music, stuff like that... pretty useful. I personally would go with the PS3 because I have a PS2 so I don't want to loose a lot of things I have already bought that can be use with both consoles, and I want to watch movies the best way possible! :PAnd Wii it's soooo much fun, it's like a family oriented console, haha you have just fun games, you can play with your friends, family and laugh about how silly you look, I would say to buy it last, so it's like a second option, if you don't want to play any "serious" game then you can play Wii. One thing is really good is that it allows you to buy and download a lot of nintendo old games, so it's like an advance original collector box, where you can remember all the games you used to play a long time ago. You can surf the internet with it too, but I'm not sure about that with all the viruses and stuff if it's really safe. And the graphics are regular like PS2 quality I think, the amazing thing are the controls and the different accessories you can buy to the Wii to make it even more interactive. In conclusion my best choice: PS3, a little bit more expensive but worth every penny.

[Echo_of_thunder 1]

really can not be of too much help in this department, only what I have been told by my nephew who would die without his PS3 that I bought him for this past Xmas.

Uncle J it's the bomerino

I guess thats good. but he really loves it.

[rayzoredge 2]

 

Just wanted to correct you on the fact that the later-generation PS3's do not support backwards-compatibility with PS2 or PSX games anymore, which added to the price drop to make PS3's more consumer-friendly. (Remember when they used to ask for $500 and $600 per console, depending on the 20GB or 40GB variant?) If you wanted one, you should have bit the bullet and forked over the cash in 2007 and 2008, when they still had PS3's with backwards-compatibility using the Emotion engine or emulation software. You might be able to find one on eBay, but good luck with that.

Wii's also have "serious" titles too... but I wouldn't blame you by not associating Nintendo with "serious" games. Games like Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and what few "serious" titles the Wii has is buried under the Wii Sports giant, Wii Fit, the Mario Bros. games, and all the more-whimsical and kid-like games that the Wii is known for.

The XBox 360 is also making headway on having less hardware failures with later-generation consoles. I would still recommend the Elite variant over all else to have confidence in the console's well-being, but I still have my Pro variant, running two years strong. (Before that, I was a victim of the RRoD too... but Microsoft was rather quick with a turnaround repair service on the console: about 2 weeks. It didn't bother me much because I was more of a computer guy then.)

[Parubilla 0]

Just wanted to correct you on the fact that the later-generation PS3's do not support backwards-compatibility with PS2 or PSX games anymore, which added to the price drop to make PS3's more consumer-friendly. (Remember when they used to ask for $500 and $600 per console, depending on the 20GB or 40GB variant?) If you wanted one, you should have bit the bullet and forked over the cash in 2007 and 2008, when they still had PS3's with backwards-compatibility using the Emotion engine or emulation software. You might be able to find one on eBay, but good luck with that.

Well when I asked for that the guy at best buy told me if I buy the 80Gb it will play the ps2 games, but yes you're right I just review the Playstation page, and only the 80Gb produced on 2006 and 2007 would play ps2 disks. But anyway there's is a place that says that the compatibility depends on the manufacture of the game is they want to put that function or not so even if the console doesn't have that pre-installed it may be able to play some ps2 games.

Here is the information if somebody needs it: playstation.com
Edited January 21, 2009 by Parubilla (see edit history)

[Saint_Michael 3]

Help Me Buy A Killer Gaming System, Money No Object

 

Xbox 360 Arcade Or Pro?

 

 

 

<p>Hi.  I need HELP!</p>

<p>My partner has a Z-something 50th Edidition Corvette.  She is hard core racing and addrenaline junkie.  She's set up to go and actually race at a track but the season here (mn with long winters) doesn't start until May.</p>

<p>Since the vette is her main hobby, and it is put away in heated storage for the winter, she has nothing much to do but sit on the couch all day and make me crazy.  Her job is very stressful so she needs a way to let off steam but she's not into sports other than her vette.</p>

<p>It was suggested to me that I should buy her the best, most realistic gaming package with racing games that I can find.  She may or maynot like it (I'm hoping she will become addicted) but it's worth a try.</p>

<p>I'm an old PC user and make my way around Windows lik a qiz,</p>

<p>But I know LESS! than nothing about the high tech gaming world.  We have a home PC netwetwork on the second floor but our 60 inch big screen HD TV is on the first floor in the living room.  She can use her wifi laptop there and hook it up to the tv is she wants.</p>

<p>So:

 

1.  Is the XBox the BEST that money can buy?

 

2. If so, which of the X-Boxes is the most current high teck everything you'd ever want in a gaming console?  I see pro elite and orange and only surmise that the elite is best since it seems to have a 120 hard drive instead of 60.

 

3.  Is Sony Playstation, or any other gaming console superioor to exbox?

 

4.  I want to get all the accessories required for the Best Experience because when I surprise her with this I want her to be able to set it right up and play, not have to wait to get some cable or adaptor or something I didn't know to buy

 

5.  I'm sure I want that Race Car console but don't know if I want the laptop or table version.

 

She tends to spend the time on our deep semi-circular couch at one end.  Because this has two semi-circle ottoman in front of it there is no room for a coffee table.  Just how stable is the laptop version while in use in one's lap.

 

6. Lastly, including but not limited to racing, what are the best, most realistic adrenaline junkie games available and how do I get them (buy on DVD play that's attached to our surround sound system) or download them and burn to a DVD, which I can do on my computer.</p>

<p>Any other </p>

<p>

 

Kathleen A Gallagher </p>

1. Well first it depends on the games you want to buy and so you have to decide which system is most appropriate for your gaming needs. Due to the fact that what kind of games you play depends on the system you want, sure you could buy both systems and then play one type of genre on the consoles, but of course you have to understand that some games are exclusives and so it depends really on what you want to buy. The XBox is a good system but its your money and so it is up to you if you want to buy it or not.

 

2. Xbox that comes with the biggest hard drive and since I don't pay attention to the Xbox you have to find that out yourself.

 

3. I think it is, especially the original Xbox since it came out during the Playstation 2 era, but again it depends on the games you like, the franchies you like and the developers that produce those games.

 

4. Trust me accessories are pretty much pointless and a waste of money, a second controller and maybe a headset is all you need. Other then that everything else is pretty much unnecessary for your gaming needs.

 

5. No idea.

 

6. Again it depends on what you like and I wouldn't listen much to the fanboys and fangirls and haters and their opinions on games because thats them and they think they know more about games then anyone else.

 

 

Just a little advice before deciding for an Xbox:

It is really unpredictable, one day is fine the other you don't know if you're going to have an error, one you can fix or a fatal error that you have to replace the console, in my experience my boyfriend in 3 years since he first bought the Xbox 360, this month bought the fifth console, in the same amount of years he had have a Wii and until this day is working perfectly, so in terms of durability an Xbox is out of the question, this last one he bought is a Elite and those (the most expensive ones) are suppose to be better built than the others and hopefully they will last longer. So if you want to buy an Xbox better go with the expensive one... there's nothing you can do with an arcade, you have almost no accessories included, you have no hard drive, it's a waste of money, pay 60 bucks more and you have a little bit better console, and also I have red a lot reviews that says arcade is the worst of all in terms of quality and durability it break really easily... and the other thing is the costumer service, they take forever to replace or repair the Xbox but they do it anyways... and then when it comes the time to use the warranty, the console must be in it's original state, if you alter the console in any way then you will have to buy another one because the warranty is not effective anymore, and also the fact that you can get banned from live if the system detects you altered your console, and you will lose the best feature the xbox have to offer, so it's better if you don't have a lot of money buy original games little by little but don't risk your console. The same goes for the PS3. And Xbox 360 has the game a lot of people like to play HALO sooo if you are addicted to it you already have your answer.

 

Now the PS3 is awesome as well, it's the latest technology I think with the implementation of the blue ray disks for the games. You get the best image experience of course if you have the tv to take advantage of all the features, and not only you can play but watch all of your movies in HD so it's two things for the prize of one. My boyfriend also bought this console last year and until know zero problems with it, so it is pretty durable, it has lots of fun games as well, the Playstation network that is pretty good, with the creation of the characters and the "virtual city" concept, your computer also recognize the PS3 and you can add movies, music, stuff like that... pretty useful. I personally would go with the PS3 because I have a PS2 so I don't want to loose a lot of things I have already bought that can be use with both consoles, and I want to watch movies the best way possible!

 

And Wii it's soooo much fun, it's like a family oriented console, haha you have just fun games, you can play with your friends, family and laugh about how silly you look, I would say to buy it last, so it's like a second option, if you don't want to play any "serious" game then you can play Wii. One thing is really good is that it allows you to buy and download a lot of nintendo old games, so it's like an advance original collector box, where you can remember all the games you used to play a long time ago. You can surf the internet with it too, but I'm not sure about that with all the viruses and stuff if it's really safe. And the graphics are regular like PS2 quality I think, the amazing thing are the controls and the different accessories you can buy to the Wii to make it even more interactive.

 

In conclusion my best choice: PS3, a little bit more expensive but worth every penny.

Well I like to correct you on one thing, more expensive the game console the less likely it will have a long shelf life, besides Xbox's are know for their RROD or Red Ring of Death, meaning that if you get one of those on your xbox the system is pretty much toasted. Last I heard, they never fixed the heating issues and so you need to make sure the Xbox has great ventilation or run the risk of overheating the system.

 

Just wanted to correct you on the fact that the later-generation PS3's do not support backwards-compatibility with PS2 or PSX games anymore, which added to the price drop to make PS3's more consumer-friendly. (Remember when they used to ask for $500 and $600 per console, depending on the 20GB or 40GB variant?) If you wanted one, you should have bit the bullet and forked over the cash in 2007 and 2008, when they still had PS3's with backwards-compatibility using the Emotion engine or emulation software. You might be able to find one on eBay, but good luck with that.

 

Wii's also have "serious" titles too... but I wouldn't blame you by not associating Nintendo with "serious" games. Games like Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and what few "serious" titles the Wii has is buried under the Wii Sports giant, Wii Fit, the Mario Bros. games, and all the more-whimsical and kid-like games that the Wii is known for.

 

The XBox 360 is also making headway on having less hardware failures with later-generation consoles. I would still recommend the Elite variant over all else to have confidence in the console's well-being, but I still have my Pro variant, running two years strong. (Before that, I was a victim of the RRoD too... but Microsoft was rather quick with a turnaround repair service on the console: about 2 weeks. It didn't bother me much because I was more of a computer guy then.)

I bought one of those system, do I regret dropping all that cash? Not Really, although it comes to still play those PSX and PS2 games on my PS3 .

 

Well when I asked for that the guy at best buy told me if I buy the 80Gb it will play the ps2 games, but yes you're right I just review the Playstation page, and only the 80Gb produced on 2006 and 2007 would play ps2 disks. But anyway there's is a place that says that the compatibility depends on the manufacture of the game is they want to put that function or not so even if the console doesn't have that pre-installed it may be able to play some ps2 games.

 

Here is the information if somebody needs it: playstation.com

Hmmm I think it is the 60Gb PS3 that are not backwards, but I think because people didn't like that very much they produce another one, of course if you wanted to you could drop in a 300GB hard drive and format it and have some more room. However, you will have to seek some guides on that procedure.