I'm having a bit of a dilemma, I'm not sure whether to get Battlefield 3 on the 360 or the PS3 (It comes out tomorrow in the UK). But I am going to the midnight launch tonight so I have about 3 hours to make my decision. Oh, and this isn't a reason for fanboys to argue, I'm merely wondering what you guys would think the multiplayer would be better on and which console would look better. I have both, if that hasn't come across yet and I can safely say that both have their pros and cons so please don't make this an excuse to complain about either console.

Discuss...

Statistically the 360 has a bigger player base when it comes to shooters.

@LordXavierBritish: True, and I am thinking that as I pay for my subscription to Xbox Live and I don't have to on PSN the servers may be better.

I don't think thats a guarentee at all. You vold argue that since there are more people on Live, there are more jerks too.

Ask yourself these two questions: 1. Which version are the majority of your friends going to get. 2. Which controller do you prefer? I had the same dilemma with some games, but I prefer the 360 controller and the OS of the 360, so I decided to get the majority of the games on 360, my PS3 is for exclusives like Uncharted

@bunji: I've also heard people say that the general user on Xbox is about 12 and therefore can be quite annoying. But I think both consoles have their users that can be annoying, I've found idiots on both.

Go where your friends are playing. I prefer the 360 controller and Live is much easier to use so it was a no brainer for me.

Which console are your friends getting the game on? Get that one. If it's a split, flip a coin. If the coin lands in the middle.. it's a sign to just not buy the game.

@Warihay said:

Go where your friends are playing. I prefer the 360 controller and Live is much easier to use so it was a no brainer for me.

@khopps17 said:

Which console are your friends getting the game on? Get that one. If it's a split, flip a coin. If the coin lands in the middle.. it's a sign to just not buy the game.

This is why I'm having this dilemma. I have friends on both Xbox Live and PSN but I do have a larger hard drive on my PS3 for the high-res texture pack. But I think flipping a coin is my only way.

If you have no friend ties to either console (or rather don't mind playing alone, I suppose, as you said you have friends on both platforms...), and have a computer that at least meets minimum specs, I would honestly recommend the PC version. With only 24 players online, the maps feel empty and you lose the classic Battlefield feel of crazy/awesome/crazy-awesome random shit happening everywhere all around you. That is, of course, not to mention the installation stuff (which, with a small harddrive or a busy one could be problematic) or potential disc swapping, though those can be minor annoyances rather than damaging the gameplay.

Even if you are looking to play with the gamepad, I would still suggest PC since you can map your buttons to a gamepad and play that way, anyway. The PC version is reportedly a tad buggy on that, but there are ways to get around direct binding in-game.

As much as it will sound like an elitist thing to say, the PC is the platform of choice here. DICE made a game for the PC and then hacked it up into pieces to fit/work on consoles. While I know there are some crazy fanboys on this website for BF3 that will tell you that the game is lacking many "PC game" features (and will be partially right), it's still very blatantly made for that platform. Even if the hardware requirements seem super high, they really aren't. Due to money issues, I'm getting by just fine (albeit on low settings - still better looking than the consoles, I should add) with an XFX GeForce 8800 GTX, which is a card that is 5 or 6 generations old. Anything below that may have problems with the game, but I run it fine, with the addition of a modest quad-core CPU and 6GB of 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM. If you don't understand the mumbo jumbo, I'll just say that I have a very humble rig now, due to age, and I am playing the PC version of BF3 mostly without a hitch.

If you still REALLY want/need to get it on a console, I would put forth that the Xbox 360 tends to have the larger online crowd, but they also have more options to communicate with you, which can be a bad thing at times. Also, personally, I would look at which controller you are more comfortable with holding. It is a personal preference, but my hands feel uncomfortable playing on a Dual Shock due to the stick layout. If you have similar troubles and know you will be playing long stretches, buy accordingly.

@Jaserno: I'll say two things to you. If you can buy the PC version buy that. If you can't you might want to buy the PS3 version, the Xbox has far more CoD players so bear in mind the Battlefield multiplayer community will take a significant hit on Xbox when MW2 is released. Also the large number of CoD players on Xbox will hinder your BF3 experience, it's far more team based and in general people on Xbox don't like to play that way.

@Jaserno said:

@LordXavierBritish: True, and I am thinking that as I pay for my subscription to Xbox Live and I don't have to on PSN the servers may be better.

You'd think that but inexplicably that money doesn't go to server maintenance and instead the developers still have to maintain their own servers...

@gunslingerNZ: I did think I had come to a decision on getting it for the 360 but I think you're right, I have noticed that people are far more team based when it comes to the PS3 and less people on there play Call of Duty. I played the beta on 360 though and people did seem to get the hang of the Battlefield style of play and not 'all guns blazing' like most do on Call of Duty. But I'm not sure, I'm considering getting it on both but waiting for the price to drop eventually and get it on only one for the time being.

@Dyram: I would get it on PC if my PC was currently working, it would handle it but it is currently out of action due to a hard drive fault and I currently don't have the money for a repair. But like I said, I would love to get it on the PC. I'm sort of lucky that it is out of action because otherwise I would probably be considering all three. Haha

I have no friends so I play ps3 and don't have to pay for online play.

Bad company 2 on the 360 would frequently have big problems with their servers whereas I don't believe the PS3 version did. Might not be the same with BF3 but i's worth considering.

@Pie: Meh, PS3 servers would go down plenty in BFBC2, I don't think there was a major platform difference (the problem, as with most things BF related, was always with EA). Honestly the two are functionally the same, so I will echo what others have said: pick the console (and controller) you are most comfortable with. Also, as of now, there are a bunch of GB people signed up for the 360 platoon on Battlelog, if that influences your decision at all (just as a way of seeing if Bombers are playing the game).

XBL far excels over PSN and since BF3 is primarily bought for its incredible MP function, this should be an obvious choice. Unless you like being a rebel. In which case, have fun playing alone (or if there are others in there, then have fun scrolling through the menus trying to mute peoples crappy microphones, waiting for the XMB to load up if you wanted to check out what your other friends were doing while in the middle of a game) and when you realise this game rocks, it might not really make ALL that much of a difference!

Aside that rant, I would still go for 360. I tried the beta on all three platforms and the ps3 one was the glitchiest of them all. Might not be the same now, but who knows, it might still have more bugs.

360

Its a Battlefield game so you should sell both of those consoles and get a PC.

get it for PC duh

I got mine for ps3 vs the pc and would have got it for ps3 even if i had a 360 for the fact that i enjoy the free PSN. The servers have been fine for me since i bought it and the Limited edition (Pre-order) versions are in mass quantity for ps3 as the xbox's were over ordered in the pre-orders so there are very few that i can find around my town and probably the same everywhere else while the ps3 had tons. It is honestly your own preference which to get since you have friends on both but the free psn usually wins me everytime i think of online gaming on consoles.. Also, i have yet to meet someone who sounded like they were 12 online yet : /

I play on Xbox for 1 reason and one reason only. Party Chat. Without having to resort to an in game chat system like the PS3 does, you're guaranteed voice chat will work with friends while the PS3 versions usually always cut in and out. Basically if the chat sucks in game for PS3 you've got no options.

After suffering through choppy voice chat on Brutal Legend, Resistance 2, Borderlands, MW2 I said fuck it and got rid of the PS3.

I got it for PS3 no problems, bugs or empty servers at all yet. There are tons of people playing and its only getting better, the people that say PSN is a ghost town really have no clue. The online community is great and the free online is nice too. Although the voice chat is better on xbox it still works good for BF3 at least in my case. So don't buy into the whole "lol ps3 sux there's like noooo people hehehe" its just not true. Get it for whatever platform you have the most friends on. Simple

If you have friends playing it on one, go that way.
 
Also consider that you need to buy Gold on 360, but it has a slightly larger player base.