Xbox 360 or PS3 for my son...please help?

[JR17]

I have decided to buy my son a games console for christmas, he is 14. Recently i was shopping in BestBuy and saw they were having a closing down sale, the console prices looked really cheap with their discounts so i decided it was a good time to buy one, but im a little stuck as i no nothing about gaming! (apart from Tetris!)

Which console is better for boys of his age? any specific games i should be looking at?

Would appreciate any help!

[HamadaLFC8]

Ahhh any of these will satisfy him really :s only thing I can say to this is that Xbox you have to pay to play online and PS3 you don't .... they're both really good consoles so it's a hard choice haha

[Sunsetforgotten]

^ I tend to agree. They share a lot of the same games. I personally like the ps3 for its free online capability and the controller isn't huge and awkward to use. As far as games go, it is entirely up to you. The ps3 has games like little big planet if you want to have him to have a simple but fun game.

[Mizel]

Im in agreeance as well, for all those reasons ^^ Ps3 wins for me based just on the free live play and mucho better controller design. Oh, and it's a Blu-Ray player as well with better graphics capabilities overall, as far as I know. :)

[Sunsetforgotten]

Yeah it does have better graphics capabilities but most of the time it is limited due to the xbox and ps3 sharing games. I forgot about the blu-ray part. I watched LOTR in blu ray when i first got my ps3... it was the stuff of gods.

[Mizel]

Haha, same here.

[denboyz]

I prefer the controller design of the 360 and i think that the online is better than that of ps3 but that is just my opinion i do have to agree that they are both great systems but ps3 just wasn't for me so i would have to say XBOX is the way to go

[HamadaLFC8]

Yeah I think that Xbox Live is better then PSN which makes it worth the amount I pay per year, but then again everyone has his/her own opinion :p

[ROFLBRYCE]

I have decided to buy my son a games console for christmas, he is 14. Recently i was shopping in BestBuy and saw they were having a closing down sale, the console prices looked really cheap with their discounts so i decided it was a good time to buy one, but im a little stuck as i no nothing about gaming! (apart from Tetris!)

Which console is better for boys of his age? any specific games i should be looking at?

Would appreciate any help!

The Xbox is more suited for Online Gameplay. If he's into gaming, go for this.

The PS3 leans towards more multimedia, so if he's super into movies go for this.


When you get more into it, there's many different games. I don't know if you have a Wii or Nintendo, PS2, or anything like that, but if he's into more action, beat-em-up shooting games, and online interaction, the Xbox 360 has got a lot more in that area that people are into. The Halo and Gears of War series are Xbox exclusive games many people enjoy. Most online functions of the Xbox do cost a subscription fee of $20 every 3 months, or $60 for the year however.

The PS3 has a lot of games like that too, but they've got a lot more story to them. If he plays games that take hours upon hours upon hours to play through, this is for him. There's more exclusive PS3 games that fit this category, like Final Fantasy and Uncharted, but there's still lots of the games they both share; like Call of Duty, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Battlefield, Need for Speed, etc. The PS3 has free subscription fees for their online features with optional paid features, but is less reliable I found. Still very good, but not AS good is all.

[L337_Ninja_Girl]

It's a toss up really. I have both and I play PS3 mostly for the free online and Home. Who doesn't love dancing on random strangers? :D But really, the blu-ray is pretty sweet and the library is similar.

But on Xbox, you do have the signature games like Halo, Gears of War, Left 4 Dead and Mass Effect. If he's into that sorta gaming. XBox Live is a little iffy but eh, I mostly play alone anyway and I still get by just fine. :)

Good luck!

[Dhevix]

Whilst the PS3's online is free, I've heard some very bad reviews from friends who actually own the system with regards to the connection dropping out... however, that could always be plain bad luck or issues with their own connections.

I personally prefer the Xbox 360's format for online social capabilities. Whilst the 'free' side of PS3's online is nice, new releases in the actual games for the thing will be fairly costly anyway. I think I've ended up paying out roughly £4 a month for my Live membership (I purchase 3-month membership cards for £11-15 a pop).

In short, I tend to think think the system might simply be a case of personal preference (I'd take a look at which games are exclusive to each system, if you think your son would especially like any of those :) ) and so I really wouldn't make the decision based on free online.

[skaterbobby95]

I say ps3, it has more games suitable for him like the Ratchet and Clank series and they are remaking Jak and Daxter on HD so that is also going to be a great choice for him, you also have Playstation Move which is like a wii but better, more accurate, ^like sunsetforgotten had said, Little Big Planet is also a good game.