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Underground > Games & Gameplay >

Xbox 360, PS3 & Revolution - the next hardware generation

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22:55 / 19.11.07

Does anyone here use those godawful complicated modifications things for the Wii? I've been considering the console for a while now but remembering that my 360 dvds -- even when taking good care of them -- would get many scratches (and had actually to buy two copies of the same game for three diferent games), I've been giving serious thought to those modifications thingies if I get a Wii -- since games here cost twice as much as I'd pay for the 360's (Microsoft publishes the most popular games here with more reasonable prices -- but that were still really fuc&$#% expensive).

But I don't really understand the process of backing up your games on burnable dvds (if it's as simple as it sounds), or if there are risks involved or something else I should know of (most sites I find are either greek to me, or are mostly talks using criterias for the purpose of playing pirated games).

Things like Paper Mario, Mario Galaxy, Paper Mario, Zack&Wiki and Paper Mario have been alluring me since as far as I can remember of the 'console war' shenanigans.

16:09 / 20.11.07

Could you not just import a Wii from a region where the games are cheaper, then import the games? Grab a US or Canadian console, contact your local Nintendo branch - or whichever third party they use for distribution, if that's how they handle things in Brazil - and see if they'll sell you a PSU?

Because the PSU's seperate from the console, you can use it on any import console and it'll work fine. Nintendo UK will supply UK PSUs for about £20 to people who own US or JPN consoles, no questions asked. Again, i don't know if that's the case where you are, but it can't hurt to check. It's got to be easier than cocking around with a mod.

18:17 / 25.11.07

Hey Randy thanks for the advice. And sorry for taking such a long time. Haven't checked the 'Lith this past week.

The thing is Nintendo doesn't have much representation around here since a few years after the N64 (high activity in black market seem to have drove away both Sony and Nintendo). From what I understand, apparently the Wii console itself that is most sold around these parts are american ones and play the games of that region (1?), so on top of the dollar conversion, the government for some reason adds a few obscene special taxes on games that come in that doesn't have a more explicit direct representation like Microsoft or some PC games (making each game almost as expensive for the individual consumer as the console itself would be in a country with a more prevalent and well developed gaming market).

I'm still thinking and giving proper research to what's better (or if I'll even buy it), but the modification thingies seems too complicated and filled with too many headaches for something I was going for primarily for being fun, low-maintenance and casual.

18:56 / 25.11.07

Again, I don't know the situation where you are, so this may not be relevant. But certain online stores will mark the value of the package down, if I ask them (or once they recognise me as a regular customer), so that it gets through to me in the UK without Customs sticking import duty on the delivery. If they mark it below a certain value or call it a gift, it slips under the radar.

12:55 / 18.05.08

My second 360 just packed in on me. Three red lights, refusing to boot. Shocking, really. When I returned my original one as faulty, this replacement that they sent out was a different console, but one that had clearly been sent in by somebody else as faulty - a refurbed one, but not *mine*. So there's no excuse for it to also break down, especially after so little time.

I'm just hoping that my Japanese one doesn't give up the ghost at any point, because there's no way in hell that MS Europe are going to be prepared to fix or replace an import.

16:45 / 18.05.08

To add insult to injury, it appears that they now expect you, as the customer, to somehow get the faulty machine to a UPS depot. Not that there are any local to me, and not that I drive. So I'm not sure how the fuck I'm supposed to do that.

Oh, and the email that's meant to contain a link to the printable UPS returns label for the front of the box? it's there, but the link doesn't work.

I was already beginning to become tempted by the PS3, what with MGS4 just around the corner. This isn't doing a huge amount to make me want to stick with Microsoft's console, really.

[edit]

Correction from Paleface elsewhere: I can arrange for UPS to pick it up from wherever I want, which is good. Still not good enough that the hardware has a life expectancy of anything between one day and two years, though.

12:50 / 20.05.08

I've been perfectly happy with my Wii for the past year and a bit, enjoying all the major releases, Mario Galaxy, Zelda, yadda yadda. But, I feel myself twitching to get something a little bit more powerful and with a greater variety of games than the Wii. So, obviously, I'm going to go for the 360 or PS3 and as the 360 seems to explode at the slightest touch, requiring it to be sent back to the manufacturers for tinkering and jiggery-pokery, I think I'll go for the PS3 (plus, I'm hugely looking forward to MGS4, FF13 and a lot of other stuff). My problem is, I don't have a broadband internet connection for a lot of the time. I spend about 4 months of the year in a rural-ish setting with only a 56k connection, and the rest of the year in the city studying and trying to avoid gaming. Will I still be able to enjoy the games released for PS3 without the plethora of downloadable content? I've read that the PS3 system when connected to the internet updates itself with patches and stuff like that. Without a fast connection will I be unable to fully use the system and will my PS3 effectively be "stuck," at one point in development without being able to be updated?

16:01 / 20.05.08

No, it shouldn't. If the PSP firmware requires an update in order to run a specific game, it comes on the disc for the game that needs it. I'd imagine that the same is true of PS3 games.

The only thing that you'll be missing will be any bug-fix patches for specific games, much as the same as if you were playing games on your PC but had no internet access. It's something that I'm increasingly disgusted by, but there's barely a game released nowadays that isn't broken in some way, with a bug-fix becoming available at a later date. It's an abuse of the 'always online' nature of the current gen, as far as I'm concerned.

Janean Patience

17:49 / 20.05.08

The thing is I promised myself GTA4 if I got this new job that's better than my old job in every way, including pay. And I got it, wahey. And I'd rather have a 360 than a PS3 simply because there are more games I want to play on it. So what I'd like to know is:

a) What's the difference between the Arcade, the middle one and the Elite in practical terms? I know the size of the hard drive goes up, but if I'm not planning to download a ton of stuff from Xbox Live, and I'm not, will it make any difference? Do I need a larger hard drive to keep game saves on?

b) What's the best way of buying one and protecting myself from the Red Ring of Death? Do Microsoft guarantee it, or should I purchase from a particular UK store?

19:46 / 20.05.08

You get a three year warranty on all 360s now. As long as you're not buying it second-hand or anything.

Arcade has no hard drive. It also doesn't come with a memory card, so if that's the version of the machine you're going for, you'll need to pick one of those up too.

The 'middle one', if it's what I'm thinking of (what was originally known as the 'Premium' version of the console), has a 20GB hard drive with it. Unless you're planning on getting heavily involved with a MMORPG (of which there's currently still only the one on the machine, Final Fantasy XI), downloading the old Xbox games that they've made available on the online service or downloading HD films/tv shows, the 20GB is more than big enough for any and all game saves and Live Arcade games.

The Elite comes with a 120GB hard drive, which is absolutely pointless unless you're wanting to use it for the things mentioned above.

The Arcade and the Elite should also have HDMI ports on the back of them, which'll allow you to output an image at a resolution of 1080p, whereas the Premium doesn't have this port and will only output at a max of 720p or 1080i. 1080p is pointless on anything smaller than a 32" HD television set.

The Arcade I bought just recently also features the new internal components, which are supposed to be less prone to overheating, and a quieter DVD drive than earlier models. I think this is currently still luck of the draw, though. And whether or not the promise of increased reliability is true or not is anybody's guess.

My advice would be to pick up an Arcade and a seperate 20GB hard drive.

19:53 / 20.05.08

It's something that I'm increasingly disgusted by, but there's barely a game released nowadays that isn't broken in some way, with a bug-fix becoming available at a later date. It's an abuse of the 'always online' nature of the current gen, as far as I'm concerned.

I suspect this is something gamers might have to just suck up and endure to an extent. As games become increasingly massive in size and depth with more sandbox activity there is going to be more bugs. The solution may be to decrease the size of the games made or to postpone release dates until every possibility, of something like the new gta, has been tested. I'm not really fussed by a few bugs that can be ironed out with a, quickly released, patch as long as there is also new downloadable content. I'm speaking as someone with a decent internet connection though.

I'm not sure it's as much abuse of the online system as simply use in many cases. I'm sure many games would have had patches released if it was a possibility years ago - a patch to give Zangief a decent counter to jump, kick, jump ,kick......

From what I've played atm the xbox is my favoured option, mainly due to the online community, but I suspect the ps3 will scarf it up and shit it out in time. The two people I know who own both have pretty much avoided their ps3's and left them to gather dust whilst waiting for something to happen - ie loads of people owning them.

Janean Patience

16:28 / 21.05.08

My advice would be to pick up an Arcade and a seperate 20GB hard drive.

Thanks, I'll look into it. I'd always imagined buying second-hand - I like to be a few years behind because then everything's good and cheap - but it's not worth the risk. Just as I was reaching the End Of Games for the Xbox, too...

22:19 / 16.10.08

the cd tray on my 360 won`t stay closed, microsoft want sixty pounds to fix it ,,its been sent back 3 times,, anyone got any advice?
i may just buy a new machine

09:01 / 19.10.08

Try and force RROD. They repair free of charge and without question for that fault.

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