So last week, my well worn 19" Magnavox CRT television finally bit the dust, and I replaced it with a 32" Element FLX-3210. The room its in is too crowded to really put the Wii in, so right now I've got my Playstation2 hooked up through one of the components. Its crystal clear that way, but at the same time the combination of a much bigger screen and a much clearer hookup makes the PS2 look really obsolete. So sometime in the next few weeks, I'm inclined to get one of the newer consoles so I can check it out in HD. Here's my quandry.
I'm considering four bundles:
1. The $400 PS3 40 GB bundle that comes with Spiderman blu-ray. Also get 5 blu-rays by mail, and while I'd probably watch them once or twice just to see the HD, none of them is really my type of movie.
2. The $500 PS3 80 GB bundle that comes with MotorStorm. Not really my type of game, either, but I'd probably play a game more than I'd watch a movie, and the 40 GB difference might come in handy in the long run. Likewise comes with the 5 blu-rays like 1.
3. The $350 Xbox 360 20 GB bundle with Forza2 and Marvel UA
4. The $450 Xbox 360 120 GB elite with Forza2 and Marvel UA.
Here's what I've noticed so far.
1. There is some question whether my TV supports HDCP over the HDMI. The manual doesn't say, nor does the manufacturer's website. This would make option 1 and 2 potentially unusable through HDMI, though since the TV is 720p/1080i anyhow, the different between this and component may be trivial.
2. Hookups: Options 1 and 2 only come with composite cables, requiring an added purchase. 3 comes with composite and component, and 4 actually comes with the HDMI cable.
3. PS3s come with Blu-Ray... and that's a big plus (though the free ones don't look too great). OTOH, the HD-DVD attachment for the Xbox 360 seems to go on sale fairly often, and might be just as good an option.
and then there's the thing that really matters... games:
My first purchase for either system will be Oblivion GOTY. I've heard it looks better on a PS3. At the same time, that's about the only PS3 game that really interests me right now, whereas the Xbox 360 has several other games I'd love to get (particularly PC games that never came out for the Mac). Also, I'm really interested in Catan off Xbox Live.
So what do you guys think? Which will make a better second console alongside the Wii? Do I go Wii60, or PSWii? Is it stupid that I'm still considering the PS3 even though there's no exclusive content yet I really want?