Someone tell me what makes the PS3 good enough that I should have one either instead of, or in addition to, the Xbox 360. In short, what's the PS3 got that the Xbox 360 hasn't got? NOTE: "Well the PS3 has Final Fantasy XIII (or any other game) and the Xbox 360 doesn't" is not a good argument because I am not going to spend several hundred dollars on a console to play ONE exclusive game".
TBH, right now, I can't really say it's the games, because they are coming out really slow. But other than that, Blu-Ray player, and a processor that outperforms the other consoles, (albeit slightly vs Xbox2). The reason why I am getting one instead of the Xbox is solely because if history is any indication, the games I like are on the Playstation. Star Ocean, Final Fantasy, Chrono Cross, Dragon Quest/Warrior, Grandia, and all those RPGs I play seem to never make their way onto the Xbox console, which is why Playstation is my system of choice. And aside from Blue Dragon, there aren't any exclusives on the Xbox I am interested in. I've always said, if a person is into sports games, or first person shooters, then there is nothing wrong with getting an Xbox. I also don't get an Xbox because I already have a PC, and don't really need another for playing games on. Basically, I take a look at all the franchises that I like, and I go to the system that has them. I went from a Nintendo to a Super Nintendo, then skipped to the Playstation One because Street Fighter was on it, then fell in love with Japanese RPGs, which the PS1 and PS2 had plenty of. Also, I take a look at the companies that are developing for each console. Squaresoft, Blizzard, NIS, Capcom, and a few others are companies who's games I'll follow. There are a TON of excellent games developed in Japan for the Playstation system that never saw a release here. Some of them do, which takes the gaming world by surprise. Japanese companies don't develop games for the Xbox. They just don't. Well, aside from the huge ones like Capcom and Namco of course, which mean, the Playstation has a much larger pool of games being developed for it. The PS3 does have faults to it, and is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. The games for it are coming out too slow. But when you look at it's closest competition, I'd rather deal with those problems than a console that has a 25%-33% chance of breaking, and having to deal with the headache of sending it away for weeks for it to get repaired.
Give me a Sega Multi-Mega anyday. I shall probably end up picking a PS3 up at some point, merely because it will more than likely have a longer shelf-life than the 360, and more software support. I believe the same was eventually true of the PS2 & X-Box. I'm more of a Retro-Gamer anyway, and hence enjoy emulation & original systems a whole lot more.
Scorp's post also brings out one of the biggest flaws as well. If you aren't big into video gaming Japan-Style, then really, you can get whatever you want for a better price on the 360.
OK, let me try and make it simpler for you. If you love games from Japan, go with the PS3. If you like games from Japan, wait and see what comes out soon. Sony doesn't have nearly the stranglehold on developers that it used to, so your game of choice might come out on a more affordable platform. If you do not care about games from Japan, go with the 360. Excepting all those special games from Glorious Nippon, almost everything else produced will be on both platforms. That being the case, the PS3 is not worth the price if you do not care about games from Japan, no matter how much masturbatory Blu-Ray bullshit goes on.
Those statements hold far more truth than, "You can get whatever you want for a better price." Personally since the only American dev's I really care about are Rockstar and maybe a couple others I can't recall the names of, I'm going to end up poor and owning three shiny new systems, with no TV to do them justice. I want all three, but I can only justify buying the 360 at the moment. If you want to talk about over zealous wankery, just look at any discussion forum about Halo.
JRPGs coming for XBox360: Eternal Sonata Elveon Blue Dragon Lost Odyssey Already released: Enchanted ARMs Phantasy Star Universe FFXI Yeah, it's not a lot, but MS is realizing they need to pick them up. If you actually look at the Japanese 360 releases, there are quite a lot of JRPGs. But while we embrace tech from Japan, they're very nationalistic. An article on the 360 and RPGs in general: http://www.rpgfan.com/editorials/2007/06-20.html
This is something we tend to go back and forth on, but when I'm not at work I'm going to head to 1up and root around for info on those new RPGs you mentioned. I know enough about Blue Dragon to know that it is going to be good, but Eternal Sonata sounds worth looking into. I'd be glad if all the games I wanted ended up on one system, but it is still seeming like it will never happen. Specifically, the series of Tactics RPGs in the Disgaea franchise, including La Pucelle Tactics, Phantom Brave, Makai Kingdom, and Disgaea 2. Final Fantasy in recent years has lacked pizzazz, I hated X and X-2 and I think they really need to steer clear of ever making an FF like those ever again. Seemingly FF is sticking to Sony like white on rice so if I do end up solely with a 360 then I won't get to experience XIII and XIII vs. You win some and you lose some and it doesn't get much better.
Yeah, we do go back and forth. MS is trying to bring more JRPGs over, but it's a double edged sword. While they sell great in Japan, over here, not so much. They've brought out quite a few in Japan, which will never make it over here unfortunately. Then they look at sales in Japan, which are lackluster, so they drag their feet on releasing those games here. Eventually you'll see more and more, especially in future releases of MS's consoles. For right now, the amount of JRPGs coming to the 360, I don't think will satisfy PS owners craving for them. While I personally enjoy JRPGs as well, I wish MS would sign on more developers for them. They are slowly but surely, but not fast enough for this version of the XBox. For this reason alone I'd have bought or would be buying, (once they actually release some, if you notice right now, they haven't released much worth a damn), but since WoW fills my RPG needs, I don't have time to invest in a good, long JRPG.
You probably have the same problem as a lot of MMORPG players then - the MMO takes up so much of your time, you don't have much to devote to other games.
I see the merit in what Microsoft is trying to do and it is sad that it isn't paying off (at least not yet). The previous generation of consoles segregated us as players, setting rigid lines in the sand that set gamers apart by consoles and the games that they played. The user group for the original Xbox has carried over to the 360, and a lot of those people were the types that went with the Xbox because of the games it had and not a single person left PS2 to play an Xbox RPG. What we have now is a portion of the market geared toward games with lots of instant gratification, fast pacing and lots of pretty visuals- with a scant few RPG fans in between, so Microsoft is having a hard to time marketing RPGs to its user base because the core of that group isn't interested. This generation in consoles is changing the gaming industry in a lot of ways, a lot of hardcore fans are following the series and not the system as players are jumping onboard with the 360. With more of the market becoming open to them Microsoft is attempting to bring more diversity to their plate in terms of the games they present and is getting more positive results with some of the freshblood. The efforts of this generation of consoles will set a strong precedence for what happens in the next generation, as has happened with every generation. It is hard to say how far Microsoft will go, in terms of netting new users and hooking RPG fans, but at least they're broadening their horizons by trying new things. The main difference between what is perceived as a JRPG and a (regular) RPG, is the style of gameplay. While they both still wear a vestige of a deep and enchanting storyline, ARPGs (A=American) are geared more toward action than strategy. Admittedly, you aren't truly swinging your saber in KotOR, but the freedom of play and storyline are not befittng of a taditional RPG (JRPG). A lot of this has to do with the mentality and brainwiring of the players- in America we desire much more freedoms in our games and in Japan the gamers prefer an engaging plot and character development over freedoms in gameplay. A study actually showed that Japanese gamers have a hard time playing sandbox games like GTA and given the freedom to do anything in the game they would most often choose to do nothing. There is a large cultural seperation that makes it hard for some games to make the trip overseas, as some of the games made here are unmarketable there and vice-versa. Personally I get bored as hell with MMOs.
Yes, unfortunately. Well, I do get a lot of time to play other games, just not other RPGs. Though, if it can keep my attention, I will play it. Looking forward to Eternal Sonata and Blue Dragon. I was just not a fan of Oblivion.. I don't like playing RPGs in a first person setting.
I don't, because there is usually something new to do... But even if there is not, doing the same thing you've done multiple times, but with different people or different classes, is still a different experience. My guild downed Gruul the Dragonkiller last weekend for the first time. The 'rush' or feeling of success was quite incredible. We had not expected to do it, especially on our second try. We've only been together for 3 weeks now and we have the first 10-man (Karazhan) raid and first 25-man raid (Gruul's lair) on clear status. There is just something about 25 people working together for a common goal and achieving said goal. Have to rely on each other and work together as a team. It's quite fun, social and enjoyable. The guild I created is for mature people only, so frustration is very low.
