• Gaming

  • Xbox 360 vs Playstation 3 (Lebanon-wise !)

Hello everyone,

I am planning to buy a PS3 or Xbox360 this Christmas.
I have a couple of questions regarding both:

1)Does the PS3/Xbox 360 come with a region lock?

2)Does PSN/XBLA work from Lebanon? Can I purchase games..etc

3)What are price ranges like for the Xbox 360. I've seen the PS3 prices range from $450 to $600.

4)Give me your opinion on why I should go with this console and not that.

5)Where is the best place to find Xbox360 products? I mean who is the main distributor.

6)Does the Xbox360 still suffer from the dreaded ROD?

I know there are some hardcore gamers here . Your input is much appreciated.

Thanks
Very helpful indeed ;),

I wasn't expecting that I get full answers.. anyways..
lol @ nuc

well, i wish i could be helpful in that topic :rolleyes:
don't have an xbox so i can't really compare. the xbox is like half the price of the ps3, but the ps3 is quiet worth its price. games will be expensive for theps3 too, getting copied games for the xbox is quiet easy.
but the ps3 is not just a gaming console. as nuc said, u can install other operating systems, u get the bluray player, you can just put ur usb disk or external hard drive and start watching ur ripped movies, you can copy your movies/mp3s to it, you can stream media to it directly from your pc, surf the internet, watch streaming movies from the internet in full screen on it, god bless bluetooth (for the controllers, remote control, headphones, ...). if you want to type and browse more easily just plug any usb mouse and keyboard. it's quiet a nice multimedia box...
it's huge, noisy and expensive, but i like it :D
Yes Nuc, PS3 can run Yellowdog which is pretty nifty.

Thanks for the brief description battikh, much appreciated.
I think I got some research to do in regard to streaming to ps3 but I used to use a software called Tversity with my PSP. I'm sure it'll prove of great use with the PS3.
The hard disk is also upgradble which is a plus.

Thanks again
for streaming you can do it threw windows media player...
there's also nero home which does the job pretty well
Alright gang, let's talk facts. We sell PS3 and Xbox360s. Let's begin with Darkstar's questions:

01- PS3 comes with a region lock that can be unlocked, whereas 360 has the PAL / NTSC thing. With PS3, the region thing affects online gaming and playing BluRays from different countries. With 360, PAL games don't work with NTSC and the opposite is true.

02- It's supposed to work, but it doesn't. Not really sure why. You'd lose your points and not get anything. Some people claim to have done it, but we've never seen any. The case applies for bot PS and X. (Also, region issues apply here for both).

03- Recommended PS3 with the new BIOS and 40GB HDD costs 515$. Why the new BIOS? Well, you can install Yellow Dog Linux on it and copy downloaded game ISOS from your PC to your PS3. They will work without any modding. You see, PS3's BIOS won't allow you to save any games larger than 4GB to HDD. With YDL, you can. Now, X, currently we're focusing on selling the Halo edition. Comes with more fan power, new mod chip, and can withstand more hours of gaming. Bigger hard driver, new games compatible, HDMI cable, rechargeable batteries.

04- For an average user, 360 seams more reasonable because spare parts are cheaper and there copies everywhere. Copies are the number one factor. If you have rocketspeed internet and plan to download PS3 games, it's still not worth losing that much time. Even if you have a BluRay reader on PC and can rent PS3 games, just not worth the effort. Not yet. By the way, you can install several operating systems on the X, Linux being one of them. If you have lan, you can share data on drive with other lan users. Personally, I'd go for the X for one simple reason: It's unbelievably tweakable. You can mess with it all you want, and then get it back in good shape on your own. All software thingies. Not to mention the fact that it can use emulators that use Direct X, and who knows what later on.

05- There is no real distributor for Xbox here, as Microsoft is supposed to be in charge. There are no Microsoft offices in Lebanon, only certified resellers, so it's a dead end. As for PS3, some are smuggled, others imported via SONY Corp. Hamra.

06- That ROD issue with the 360, it depends on which edition you buy. Either way, it is fixable. Takes like 15 minutes to do so. But word on the street is that the Black and Elite editions don't have that problem yet.

Now for some additional points:
PS3 has more exclusive games.
360 has more accessories.
360 online games can absorb WAY more players.
360 users can share data.
PS3 plays BluRay.
PS3 is supposed to be more powerful, but they seem to have the same graphics with common games, and X loads faster. Also, the ability to store games on X, putting the reader on ease, seems to give it another upperhand.
PS3 controllers are cooler.
360 BIOS can be updated directly from a downloaded file, meaning from a computer on a UPS. Chances of that suddenly shutting down are slim. PS3 updates straight from the internet. Internet chokes, kiss your BIOS goodbye. Hope that has been helpful. Peace out!
>nuclearcat: At least PS3 can run Linux.
Xbox Linux
PS3 has a better support ofc..but meh,good to see something OSS on M$ machines :-p
5 days later
For now I'd definitely go for the 360 for several reasons:

1° Its price.
2° It can be mod chipped and works like a charm.
3° So far games look and feel exactly the same on both consoles, just look at reviews / comparisons.
4° Wider selection of games + almost every PlayStation exclusive is now available on the 360 (Devil May Cry 4, Tekken 6, Final Fantasy XIII...) while the Xbox got its own exclusive babies (Gears of War, Halo etc.)

I've owned a PSone, a PS2 and I just made the switch to the 360 for those simple reasons. If the PS3 proves to be a much superior console in the future (4-5 years) I'll eventually get one, but I highly doubt it since we already own 2 out of 3 consoles (ma hek Cédric? :p)

I'm also pretty happy (being a dedicated GTA and Rockstar fan) to have bought the 360 since 2 episodic packs for GTA IV are coming exclusively to the 360.
a month later
Hope i am not too late, i just joined recently, but i would say go for the 360, it has a much wider collection of games, not to mention marketplace, where can download free arcade games and previews, and u can connect and listen to music from from ur IPOD.

Anywhos, good luck in whatever u choose.
18 days later
gl on ur 360 purchase if u're goin what they're sayin, and hope u're not gunna experience the RRoD soon ^^, u don't understand what i said, do some googlin and u'll do, but if u want my opinion, PS3 for reliability but wait a while until it's modded, and it'll get cheaper... until then, play some PS2 or pc gaming
7 days later
Got PS3. Running Linux on it :-)

And it becomes useful for my development, because of "different" endianness and support of 64-bit.
SPE programming also interesting field.
are the PS3 people playing online? can we get the IDs and games you people play online?
Warhawk... only this one. Working well...
I don't play much... no time for that.
Tigerheart.Hackers wroteEven if you have a BluRay reader on PC and can rent PS3 games, just not worth the effort.
Thank you for the clear and descriptive post. However i would like to comment on the quoted, although you did say "IF", is it actually possible to rent PS3 games?

Would you by any chance know from where?
nuc, i also don't play much, but i really try to play more :P and enjoying warhawk? not planning on getting something else? i want the damn final fantasy, it won't get out before 2010, it's taking ages :@


xterm, if more people have PS3s over here, it would be even better to exchange games...