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Beginner's Guide to Gaming Consoles
By: Nikhil Singh  &  Gagan Gupta   |   Jun 12, 2008


mg_69001_online.jpgOnline Functionality
Xbox360
The Xbox360 has the most extensive online functionality amongst the three, thanks to the Xbox Live Network. Microsoft has done a great job with Xbox Live, making it really easy to find/add friends, invite them to games, keep track of what games they’re playing and how much so (via the achievement system). You can also buy a ton of arcade games on the Xbox Live network, and download demos, themes for your dashboard, game trailers and movie trailers.

The catch here is that to do most of that stuff or to even play online, you need a Gold Membership, which requires you to shell out a good chunk of cash. This membership costs Rs 350 for a month, Rs 880 for 3 months, and Rs 2,200 for a year. To make things worse, if you wish to buy something as basic as an avatar or a theme, Microsoft charges you! In short, while the Xbox Live service is really good, it should have been made available free for Xbox360 owners.

PlayStation 3
The PlayStation Network isn’t as sophisticated and doesn’t have the plethora of features Xbox Live has (yet), but it gains the upper hand in a couple of key areas. For one, the service is free! Secondly, there’s less lag when you play online since the PlayStation Network hosts dedicated servers for most games, making them far more stable than the player-hosted servers Xbox Live uses. Also, Sony doesn’t charge for stuff like themes and avatars.

Wii
Apart from the free online play available on the Wii, the online segment is broken up into Channels (which includes a News Channel, a Voting Channel and Virtual Console, among others). Virtual Console is a lot like the Xbox Live Arcade, where people can buy games present on all of Nintendo’s old consoles.


mg_69051_stability.jpgStability
Xbox360
The failure rate of the Xbox360 is the highest I’ve seen to date. The console is ridden with hardware failures, and this is denoted by three flashing red lights on your console, nicknamed the Red Ring of Death (RRoD). Microsoft has extended the warranty just for this issue, so if you console RRoDs within 3 years of purchase, they’ll replace it. If it weren’t for the great library of games, there's no reason to even consider this console.

PlayStation 3
Unlike the Xbox360, the PlayStation 3 is one of the most sturdy pieces of hardware I’ve seen in a while. The earlier 60GB version had a drive issue, which was quickly rectified in later SKUs. So far, there are no complains about the 40GB version.

Wii
There are no major issues with the Wii as such, but modding any console can cause a whole lot of issues, since you’ve got to open it physically before installing the chip.


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hmmm.. come to the point dude, my pick is ps3 b,cause mgs4 the best ever exclusive out there n the wii is just a gimmick u just hav to stick wit a short guy jumping around galaxies n stuckin toilet cleaners in rabbit heads :D n only reson to buy a 360 is gears n upcoming gears2 n live consist of stupid lag n that is not supposed to be next gen way of multiplayer gaming were as ps3 completly lag free so no bullet lag so buyers please buy ps3 atleast for mgs4.
suds @ Jun 18, 2008
I did a little more research ... WIi is available on Indiaplaza ... for 19950 .. with a six months replacement warranty
MaxAxe @ Jun 18, 2008
I have got an Xbox360 and i am happy with the range of games available for this console, yes the RRoD fear does creap into my mind, i was also under a great confusion whether to go for xbox 360 or PS3, well in the end i chose Xbox 360 and i am getting stunning visuals on my LCD television
Bhautik Joshi @ Jun 15, 2008
This is a really good post, bookmarkable! keep em coming :)
ORB @ Jun 14, 2008
@ Nikhil .... i am smarter ... I got it the grey market on play asia only the jap version was available at the moment and I have had to pay no duty so far for the games coz we've got other resources for genuine game DVDs(family... friends ... amazon .....etc etc) seriously guys the console has no match
PS2 officially entered the Indian market very very late so did Xbox 360 and so did PS3. They all entered coz the consoles become hot property in the grey market, so only if you can show the parent company that there is a market here then only do they enter. Moreover, the Wii has such a high demand in US and UK that its always sold out, so how and why would Nintendo even think of India how would the cope up with the demand ??? Moreover 90% of the junta buys consoles from grey market. :-)
MaxAxe @ Jun 14, 2008
@ MaxAxe
I understand that the Wii is the best selling console out there and for good reason, but I really don't want to support a company that doesn't even care about entering the Indian Market. Nintendo's always had a very callous attitude towards India, and I really can't stand that.

Besides, supporting something that's sold only through the gray market is not something we do. And ordering it from Play-Asia can be a real bitch, since you end up paying a huge amount of duty on everything, including non-PC software. I actually paid Rs.3000 in duty for my Guitar Hero 2 bundle, so I don't expect the Wii to be any exception.

Did you buy your Wii from Play-Asia? If yes, how much duty did you end up paying?
Nikhil Singh @ Jun 14, 2008
the 360 beats the ps3 in every other way except the hardware.... be it the graphics,contrast ratio,better loading times,controller wid rumble....i just heard tat microsoft are introducing a new gpu by this year end ...then the 360 will be stable...which will make it the ultimate console
arjun @ Jun 14, 2008
hhooo hooo hooo hahahahahahaa ....... funny ... I'd say really really funny .... common guys ... Wii is being kept out of stock ??? the console is readily available throuh play-asia ... and they have free shipping to India ... moreover the games are also available through the same site .... ive done a complete review of the wii .... even you guys have done it earlier .... this is completely unfair ... dont keep the Indian audience away from the hottest selling console in the world ....
MaxAxe @ Jun 13, 2008
Anybody knows the price of Xbox 360 Pro in the Gray market
aamiracle @ Jun 13, 2008
if only the psp had an inbuilt hard disk like the ipods it would have been a great media player in comparison to the ipod also for storing other stuff like movies,songs and pics as it has the advantage of its large screen.still im looking forward for sony to launch the 16GB memory stick in India.
ankit @ Jun 13, 2008
Great stuff..keep it up homies !
Pranav @ Jun 13, 2008
ps3 is d best option hoo cares it has lessr games as if u r going to buy ol d gams out der shelling laks of rupees for a console dats not mor dn 30000 bucks....

where ps3 is bettr dn xbox 360 is dat it has much advanced and bettr graphics bettr loding tyms good build quality sterdiness and durability along wid elegance also it has much much more powerfull processor and memory (mnot saying storage) and d ultimate sixaxis controller.... wat t xbox has bettr is bettr wireless technology which is not to show very clar difference as both r good and a bettr grip on to d controller........
Nikhil Jain @ Jun 13, 2008
but nywes its a good article v shud appreciate d man he rot such a long article.......
Nikhil Jain @ Jun 13, 2008
A good article for the real beginners i m too a beginner and amature player at this topic still i did not gain ny info from dis xcept dat nintendo coonsoles are availible in d grey market it is an article that shud hav been posted 2-3 years bak... anyone who knows a site such as tech2 wud oviosly know dis much about game consoles for me it was a waist of time reading 7 pages... its an article 4 40 year old uncles hoo wnna buy somthing to pass som good free time and totally unware of gadgets etc however i wud not advise peepl to follow dis article as it is in som sens motivating d peepl to go to d grey market but its olso stopping dm dats good..... yar pata nahin tech2 pe grey market ke baare mein itne charche kyun hain it hrms r nations nd evn odr nations v shudnt promot it yaar cmmn guyz
Nikhil Jain @ Jun 13, 2008
Original Wii Games are available in the market and they cost about 1,500 to 3,500 and the Wii Remote costs less than 2,000
Sidhant Garg @ Jun 13, 2008
Sorry the "Remote Play" feature is available on the Network menu of the PS3 not the psp
Udit @ Jun 13, 2008
There's another plus point for the PSP that it can be connected to a PS3 and on can share files and even play the games of PSP on a bigger TV through a feature known as "Remote Play" which is available in the Network menu of the PSP (Not sure about the quality of graphics though).
I currently own a PS3 and it roxx!
Udit @ Jun 13, 2008
really nice and informative ulike the other beginner's articles.
yogesh @ Jun 13, 2008
unlike the other beginner's guide this one turned out great.......
shibtanu @ Jun 13, 2008
Thanks for pointing that out Jatinder. Corrected.
Nikhil Singh @ Jun 13, 2008
Hey guys,
You got a typo error in the page 6 Library/Multiplayer. The first heading should actually be PSP instead of Xbox360 coz it talks about PSP games

Quite a informative article.
Jatinder @ Jun 13, 2008
A really long due article, have been waiting for something lik this since the consoles launched here.
well written though, in a way to please owners of all the consoles ;)
Arjun Sood @ Jun 13, 2008
ouch!!!! very biased
and a very messy article i might say
Madan @ Jun 13, 2008
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