Can the 40GB PS3 @ $400 Win the Console War for Sony?

I love gaming. That's not always a popular thing to say when most of your friends are over 35. I play games almost everyday. I read about games and write about them too. I even consider myself somewhat of an expert on the subject. I think 30 years of gaming experience qualifies me as an expert.

So, when one of my best friends (who has no interest in the Wii) recently asked me which Next Gen console he should buy, an Xbox 360 or a Playstation 3, I didn't hesitate.

"Xbox 360 all the way!", I told him. I gave him all the reasons why too, and they all make perfect sense. There are more games for the 360 than any other new console, and some of the games coming out over the next two months appear to be among the best in the history of gaming. You have something for every kind of gaming fan...first person shooters, driving games, adventure games, role playing games, and all the major sports. Online play is great and now with the new three year warranty, you don't have to worry about the possibility of the dreaded red ring of death.

"What about online?", he asked."You have to pay for Xbox Live and Sony is free, right?" Yes, Sony's online service is free but it isn't nearly as gamer friendly as Xbox Live. Live is only $49.99 for 13 months which comes down to a little more than $4 a month. Let's face it, if you're considering paying $400-$600 for a console, you probably aren't worried about $4 a month, especially if that $4 gets you the best online gaming in the world.

"But what about Blu-Ray?", he asked. "I've heard Blu-Ray is great and the games are better."

Of course, I had to correct him here. "Well actually, so far all the games that have been released on both consoles have looked and played better on the 360. If you specifically want a Blu-Ray Player, then yes, you should definitely consider buying a PS3," I explained. "But if you are talking about the better gaming machine, then that's the 360. There just aren't enough decent games for the PS3 to justify paying five or six hundred bucks for it. Maybe in 2009 the PS3 will be worth the money. By that time, there should be a lot more good games for it and it will cost significantly less. Plus, by that time, we may have an idea whether HD DVD or Blu Ray is going to be the accepted High Definition DVD format"

Then last week, Sony threw a big wrench in all my reasoning by confirming the November release of a 40 Gigabyte PS3 priced at $399.99. Yes, they were forced to compromise by completely dropping PS2 backwards compatibility to reach that price, but it is a move that, in my mind, they needed to make if they were serious about getting back into this console race before it is too late.

I'm not saying I'm about to jump off the Xbox 360 bandwagon...far from it. I still believe the 360 is the best pure gaming console on the market now and for at least the next six months. But I did feel the need to call my friend and ask him just how important Blu-Ray was to him down the road? If you think Blu Ray is something you're ready to invest in, then it is difficult to ignore the PS3 at $400. But if it's just about the games, I still say go with the 360.

I myself already owned a PS3 and sold it after two months because I just got sick of looking at the thing and having nothing good to play on it except Resistance:Fall of Man, which was good but not great. After a while, 95% of my gaming time was spent on the 360. So, yeah, I sold the PS3 and used the money to finance a new gaming PC, and I've never regretted the decision.

Now that this 40GB version of the PS3 is becoming available AND there are some truly good looking games like Uncharted:Drake's Fortune and MGS4 on the near horizon I am ready to get back on board and set up another PS3 alongside my 360. I already have the HD-DVD player for the 360, and my wife and I both love it. But it is aggravating that we can't get all the movies we want in High Def on HD DVD. ALL High Def players should be combo players if you ask me, but since those are still priced at $1000, having one of them in our living room is only a dream at this point.

The biggest coup for Sony over the past six months was probably getting Disney/Pixar to sign exclusively with BluRay. We have a young son and love Pixar movies ourselves, so that is a factor when making movie buying decisions.

All in all, I don't know if this 40GB PS3 at $400 can help Sony win the console war this generation because there are still many unanswered questions surrounding the future of their online gaming service and a general lack of good game titles in comparison to the 360. But if Sony can manage to get a stream of quality titles to PS3 owners and at least offer an online gaming service that can compete with Xbox Live, then this new price point certainly has the potential to get them back in the race in a big way!

Adam Montgomery joins the GameJonez Blog staff.

I'd like to take this opportunbity to welcome a new addition to the GameJonez Blog writing staff. Adam Montgomery has written articles for UK magazines and websites on the subjects of Interactive Entertainment and film.

Adam will provide us with his views on gaming and film and whatever else he feels the urge to explore on a weekly basis starting tomorrow. Being born and raised in Britain, he offers North American readers a view from the perspective of a UK gamer.

Below is a sample of Adam's work for you to enjoy. It is a "review" of Gears of War. Tomorrow, he will offer his thoughts on "What It Means To Be A UK Gamer".

Welcome aboard Adam!

Tiberius Jonez

Gears of War Review

Your feet step across the blood-stained floor. Cover is needed. You duck your head and slam your shoulder into the base of a statue. Even in the heat of battle, fate affords you a show of irony; this stone figure of mankind’s civilised age now standing as refuge to the regiments of man’s armies. War can make you smile, sometimes.

Smiling is just for the living though, so stay alive. In Gears of War, staying alive is all about taking cover, an action natural after a moments practice. Your soldier’s desperate jog towards cover is a reckless thrill with enemy fire sweeping toward your location, missing by a thin margin as you successfully drop behind the defence of a small wall. Sheltered, the game’s satisfying tactical element comes to life as you must quickly grasp the layout of the area and the location of your adversaries and assailants. Knowing this, you can move productively. It’s not one-hit kills here, but dashing blindly into a pack of enemies will end only in death. If you come under fire then quickly get covered and get your bearings; cut that sod to pieces later.

Carving up the enemy, possible only in close quarters, is a rather detailed, graphic affair. More disturbing is the pleasure of these murders; chainsaw killing is one of gaming’s great joys. Technically, the visuals are an achievement. Detailed and weighty to an impressive level, Gears of War may be the pinnacle of apocalyptic, gritty renditions of earth in game history.

The world you battle on is torn to pieces. You’re fighting in a war here, not waging a one man assault, and you see your team live and die on your flanks -- often in one of the game’s spectacular set pieces. It is a shame that same effort could not be spent crafting a world which felt new, rather than what here feels slightly stale. Marcus Fenix, protagonist-at-work, is similarly lacking: another generic space marine for gaming, seen again and again.

With a dull plot which comes to a rather abrupt end, it is fortunate Gears has such an enjoyable multiplayer aspect. The artificial intelligence is no substitute for the tactical possibilities when playing with friends, which truly puts a feeling of teamwork and support into the gameplay. As the high profile release of the year, Gears does a good job in promoting the strengths of the Xbox 360 as a console, particularly the online capabilities of the machine.

Enjoyable though it may be, Gears of War may be worrying to some. With narrative and characters as shallow as they are here, some will question whether the new generation of consoles can offer anything above another step towards ‘Hollywood realism’? Asking such questions here is pointless, Gears is clearly without care for such matters and does offer more than just a visual appeal. However, an audience of both sexes exists that wants more than just blood ‘n’ guts gameplay, and a march towards only bigger and better graphics seems to be a march away from them, and this issue should be put into the spotlight.

Criticising elements such as this is criticising but a small part of Gears, which remains a fantastic action game. ‘War can make you smile’ was the point this prose began with. Gears of War will give you the brightest smile of all.

Adam Montgomery