Do you think all consoles bring the same experience?

A friend recently asked me what system she should get. My response was it doesn't really matter. With all the multi platform games your not missing out getting one over another and each of the big 3 seem to have great first party exclusives. Does anyone else feel this way in the end? 

textures are different, especially multiplatformwise imo. Pc you get even more graphical settings, framerates, anti aliasing, aniostropic filtering where you can see futher, higher texture resolution, more video ram for textures, more ram for loading speed, ect. Even though the xbox 360 doesn't stand a chance against the pc, however I am still impressed that the textures are still very good. I mean if your framerates are lowered and you get less anti aliasing overall which are shown at certain videogame sites, then you might be getting a lesser experience multiplatformwise imo. It may detract from the experience, unless you get used to the lower standards of multiplatform games where you don't care if there are anything better out there or refuse to look at it. It's like saying your girlfriend is good enough and you won't compare her to other women, i'm stopping here and i'm going to live with the flaws because she has the same parts as all the other superior female models.  
 
I still think it's wiser to get like two different source of platforms or consoles instead of one. If your implying the ps3 can do everything, well mulitplatformwise, I totally disagree. Those who disagrees with me, simply are hyprocrites because they buy all their multiplatform games on the xbox360 or pc then buys ps3 exclusives. It's best to get two consoles or platform even if it seems similar imo. I didn't mention the wii because I don't have one and have no experience to talk about that console. I can say that other consoles are getting motion controls now. I also think the reason why the pc wasn't brought up because the pc, never played a pc game in his entire life. When we talk about multiplatform in the orginal post, the word platform doesn't suggest multi console, for those obvious anti pc trolls, pro console gamers out there.  
 
To back up my statements about the state of multiplatform that can't be ignored. 

I am really hoping that those 3 do not include the wii cause if, well... 
 
as long as you don't go wii you can't go wrong really the biggest question you should ask yourself is on what platform do you have the most friends to play online with.

I think the content you find on the different consoles, specifically exclusives, feels a lot different. The 360 always felt kind of narrow in its focus (to me anyway): lots of shooters, lots of action games, etc. Sony just puts out some really great exclusives, even if they are a little too out there sometimes (Noby Noby Boy, Flower, etc.) But games like Heavy Rain, Uncharted, the Pixeljunk titles are just phenomenal. It seems that from a first-party perspective, Sony is a hell of a lot more creative than Microsoft in what it puts out - look at the Last Guardian, for instance.
 
That's not to say I don't love Gears of War, Alan Wake, etc. It's just a much different experience.

The Wii does not compare to any other machine and should be ignored.  The PC, if very top end, should have a slight edge in terms of experience but otherwise I would say they are the same.

Ignoring technical specs and pixel counting? 
 
I dunno. I can't really think of a blanket reason for why, but Sony's first party stuff appeals to me personally more so than the other consoles. I like the wii and 360 and I enjoy playing games on friend's consoles (Alan Wake effff yeaaahhhh) but I don't really feel the desire to own either console. I also approve of Sony making the PS3 fairly open in ways the 360 wasn't for quite a while; HDD compatability, built in wireless etc etc So PS3 is the console for me, in a non-rabid fanboyish way :3
 
If she doesn't have a preference, however, "It doesn't matter" is probably the correct answer. All 3 consoles have some really great exclusives and a lot of really good stuff cross platform between ps3 and 360. 
 
 But get a PC if you want the feeling of being spurned by developers taking games that feel most at home on PC and going where the money/not-getting-laid-off is and leaning towards consoles. Like Mass Effect 2 having a way lazier PC port that ME1 did or Dragon Age 2 sounding like it's being built more for console, etcetc

I think they're definitely coming closer together now. Especially with the 360 Slim and it's improved technical reliance.

Pretty much. Only real difference is whether or not she already has a bluray player. Or if she wants a better controller.

Mimicking a previous poster: 
 
Get the system your friends have so you can play together.

Different exclusives. Different controllers. Different online features. 
 
Nope, they don't offer the same experiences.

It all depends on how big video games are to you.If you love video games,play them every day then it will be a huge differnce but if you more of a causal player then ya all 3 are just boxes that play games lol.

No of course. There is a vast difference between the normal consoles, the Wii and the handhelds.

"

textures are different, especially multiplatformwise imo. Pc you get even more graphical settings, framerates, anti aliasing, aniostropic filtering where you can see futher, higher texture resolution, more video ram for textures, more ram for loading speed, ect. Even though the xbox 360 doesn't stand a chance against the pc, however I am still impressed that the textures are still very good. I mean if your framerates are lowered and you get less anti aliasing overall which are shown at certain videogame sites, then you might be getting a lesser experience multiplatformwise imo. It may detract from the experience, unless you get used to the lower standards of multiplatform games where you don't care if there are anything better out there or refuse to look at it. It's like saying your girlfriend is good enough and you won't compare her to other women, i'm stopping here and i'm going to live with the flaws because she has the same parts as all the other superior female models.  
 
I still think it's wiser to get like two different source of platforms or consoles instead of one. If your implying the ps3 can do everything, well mulitplatformwise, I totally disagree. Those who disagrees with me, simply are hyprocrites because they buy all their multiplatform games on the xbox360 or pc then buys ps3 exclusives. It's best to get two consoles or platform even if it seems similar imo. I didn't mention the wii because I don't have one and have no experience to talk about that console. I can say that other consoles are getting motion controls now.

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I went through the same question this time last year. Owned a Wii and dumped it no regrets, found the 360's "now you're in the game, now you're watching the not very tasteful looking interface take you out of the game to set up a save/sign in/whatev, now you're back to the game sorry for completely ruining your immersion" behaviour off-putting together with the RROD business that hit all but two of the 360 owners I know giving me a bad taste in the mouth (no YLOD hitting my OG PS3 crew though?), found Blu-Ray to be real sweet and worthwhile, enjoyed the audiophile friendliness of the PS3 (Slim) so just before Christmas I picked one up.

the PS3 and 360 are almost interchangeable when you forget about console exclusive games. 
wii is totally different but now that other motion gadgets have popped up, it might have a little less appeal. 
 
what you should have her do is try each console out before she purchases one. To me the biggest difference can be the controller.

wii is different compared to the others. thinking about other each other not counting exclusives then it's the same thing. counting exclusives they are different. 
 
suggestion getting what her friends play on. no point in getting a system with no friends unless she just wants to play single player games.

Tell her to get a PS3 and LittleBigPlanet.

No. PC offers the best experience for those willing to invest, and Wii is for extremely casual crowds. X-box and PS3 are pretty much the same.

@Icemael said:

"Different exclusives. Different controllers. Different online features.  Nope, they don't offer the same experiences. "

Pretty much this. 
 

Guys, enough with the PC. 
 
RE_Player is probably just trying to get in her pants so he needs something they can actually play together.

"

@Icemael said:

"Different exclusives. Different controllers. Different online features.  Nope, they don't offer the same experiences. "

Pretty much this. 
 

"

The differences are so slight that i'd just say get whatever your friends have. 

I'm not sure why the PC was really getting included here. Not only is it not a console but if the person in question is so unsure about this sort of tech stuff that she's coming to you on this, then she probably isn't going to be willing to put up with the aggressive bullshit that PC game companies perpetrate half the time. The more streamlined, disc in drive, game on screen, system of consoles is probably better. Also consoles are gonna be easier for her to kind of have that pick up and play with a couple of friends experience that PC's typically lack.

Kind of, they are all not fun to play on because I can't stand playing games with a controller. If I had to pick one though I would pick the the PS3 as I find the idea of paying to play 360 games online insulting, and the 360 has no exclusives I want to play while the PS3 has ones that I can't play on my PC. Ironically I'm actually thinking of getting a Wii as they are relatively cheap now, and there are actually a handful of games that I want to play on it and they are half the price of a PS3. Plus that new red Wii looks snazzy.

The number of PC fanboys on Giant Bomb is getting annoying.  It's getting so someone can't even discuss consoles without PC fanboys popping out of the woodwork to spread their idiocy.
 
Every console has their unique traits.  PS3 and Wii have a lot of exclusives, while 360 often has the edge in multiplatform titles.  PS3 and 360 share a lot of games that don't appear on any other platform while Wii tends to have exclusives all of its own.  360 shares a lot of PC multiplatform titles too.  At the very least the experience on a Wii is very different than a 360 or PS3.

" The differences are so slight that i'd just say get whatever your friends have.  "

The final aim of almost every game you play is mindless fun, so pretty much. 

" each of the big 3 seem to have great first party exclusives. "

The Xbox 360 and PS3 generally bring the same experience. They each have their own exclusives and unique features that set them apart, but are still very close in what kind of experience you get with them. In my opinion, the Wii doesn't compare to either, with it's highest resolution being 480p, a crappy online service that has no structure, and motion controls that are no longer exclusive to it, and are old, quite frankly.

In terms of recommending, I'd say tell her to get a Wii. It's simple and if she doesn't play games as much, it wasn't that much of a costly investment. Equally, if she wanted to play online, I'd recommend a PS3. If she's not playing regularly, she wouldn't get inconvenienced by having to shell out 60 to play online. Lastly, for cheaper games, I'd say have her get a 360. 360 owners seem to be quicker to return games, so the prices tend to be lower when shopping for used games(in my experience). 
 
You could just show her a couple trailers and see what type of games she gravitates towards and suggest from there also.