invicta
Mon 03-Dec-12 20:18:48
Which should I get for my children? Thanks.
my DSs (both quite old) love their XBox for games, & also use it to watch films via Netflix, but I believe PS3 can be used as a Blu-ray player, which is probably more useful
not sure how the price of games compares
HTH 
MonsterBookOfTinsel
Mon 03-Dec-12 20:22:59
Ps3
It can be used for everything, sure it can do net flix, has blu ray
MonsterBookOfTinsel
Mon 03-Dec-12 20:25:12
Posted to soon, it can store pictures, downloaded films, music.
Price of games are the same but online is free unlike x box.
Also my brother has an x box and its life span is not as good. He's had about 6 x box 360 in the time we've had 2 ps3's.
how old are your children? Game recommend both XBox & PS3 for "dads & teenagers" - for "mums & kids" they prefer the Wii (graphics not so good but games are more fun I think)
invicta
Mon 03-Dec-12 20:34:36
They are 12 and 10. We already have a Wii and used to have a playstation 2.
fwiw XBox 360 used to have chronic problems ("red ring of death" - that happened to at least 2 that we had - they were repaired/replaced by Microsoft but it was a faff) but afaik that doesn't happen with the new ones.
but it sounds as if the PS3 is more versatile.
what do their friends have? if they want to play online they need their friends to be on the same system
invicta
Mon 03-Dec-12 20:47:48
Their friends have a mixture of consoles. That's making the decesion harder.
have they played on their friends' consoles? do they have an opinion on which they prefer?
if it turns out to be a tie you'll have to either toss for it or see which one you can find the best deal on 
Arisbottle
Mon 03-Dec-12 20:54:26
I have just ordered my family an Xbox , worrying now that I should have ordered a ps3.
kylesmybaby
Mon 03-Dec-12 21:49:44
when they get older if they are going to go on line to play games against other people then you pay for it on x box an its free on ps3.
Arisbottle
Mon 03-Dec-12 22:18:30
The children range from 4 to 18. I am not sure how I feel about playing online. Is it safe? I have no clue what I am talking about , and could be being a real stick in the mud
grumpyinthemorning
Wed 09-Jan-13 15:48:20
IME Xbox works better, the online features are less likely to crash. We have a PS3 but only use it as a bluray player.
DP used to work for PS3, and his opinion on the online features was "you get what you pay for", meaning PSN might be free, but Xbox Live will be more reliable etc because it does cost you. It's not extortionate, about £40 for a year's subscription. Plus you don't HAVE to go online, if it's single-player games or just the kids playing together, offline works just as well.
Online play is generally pretty safe, obviously wouldn't recommend it for the younger children, but the older ones will be fine if they're sensible. I believe there's also an option not to save card details if you purchase online content, but would have to check that (I saved my details because I'm lazy, and I'm the only one who uses my Xbox.)
